New ed30 owner

[Adam ed30]

Hi all, I recently picked up a black ed30 manual which I have discovered belonged to a member on here.
I’m pretty new to these being I had a 350z which was my daily for 8 years but due to ongoing back issues needed to find something a bit more comfortable for a daily.

This was actually a p/x at the car dealership I work at and was lucky enough to do a deal before this went off to be auctioned.
I do have to mention I had my doubts on buying it due to the high mileage (177k) however once up on the ramp it was clear the previous owner took pretty good care of it with only a minor oil leak (so far) to resolve from the filter housing.

There is stacks of paperwork to suggest this was a stage 2+ spec with invoices for decent parts like a Loba hpfp, roller rocker conversion etc, but appears to have had quite a few of the decent upgrades removed, I suspect possibly to be sold on after the owner part exchanged it which I completely understand due to trade values.

I will be getting in touch with the likes of AKS tuning or possibly Rtech as I knows these are the recommended to get the car fully looked over to try and get this back to stage 2+ spec.

I have so far fitted an intake, down pipe, S3 intercooler (non-plastic ends) and plans to do more once I clarify on any other parts which were upgraded but removed.

Hopefully the previous owner is still on here and could possibly shed some light into the parts / figures this was running.

Thanks

[pudding]

Yeah that’s my old steed. Plenty of posts about it on here, warts and all!

Yes I removed all the 2+ stuff as it just ruined the car, imo. I ran it standardish with Revo stage 1 software for years and enjoyed it far more. I did leave the helix clutch and MK6 gearbox in it for you though 

[Adam ed30]

Yea the clutch took a little getting used to but my clutch on the 350z was pretty heavy anyway.
I’m just a bit curious about the revo SPS controller map setup, I see there was three different map set ups on there, was the higher boost setting based on the stage 2+ setup ?

[pudding]

Yup, as I said in my PM, I switched to an automatic car as I now do 20K a year commuting, so that Helix was pretty annoying in heavy traffic tbh. It's smooth though and doesn't judder, so that's a small consolation. The stock clutch just burns itself to bits with remaps though, so no choice unfortunately if you want to tune it.

Yeah the Revo is currently running stock mode. It's stage 1. You will need to get it reflashed to Stage 2+ to get that, but you need downpipes, intakes and all that stuff to support it.

You will need HPFP internals to run the higher performance modes even on Stage 1. I recommend VIS Motorsport as it uses the stock spring, so doesn't chew through tappets.  The pump on there now is stock, but it's only a year old, like most of the mechanicals 

I would just run it as Stage 1 for now because 2+ doesn't add a lot extra.  Personally I would be reluctant running 2+ on a 180Kish engine, but it's your car now 

Oh, that oil leak will be the filter housing gasket, which is no easy task unfortunately.  I did notice on the last oil change (September) there was a slight weep of oil on the filter cap, and I always clean the whole area with brake cleaner after an oil & filter dump. That was on my to-do list, but sounds like it's got worse.

It's had all the usual pick up pipe, cam chain etc done. Belt is due in 2024.

[Adam ed30]

Yea the leak only appeared to be a weep then got a little worse, I did actually buy a whole new filter housing and cooler just to be sure However as you mentioned me and my mate discovered it’s basically a whole front end off job but only after getting the oil cooler off.
Luckily I actually brought the block gasket and cooler gasket as the same time as it didn’t mention on auto doc if the housing came with these.
Once we got the cooler off it was apparent the cooler gasket was possibly overnighted so the seat was t shaped.
We ended up just changing the cooler gasket for the mo as too big a job at the time to tackle the whole housing but so far seems to have stemmed the leak but keeping an eye on it.

I’ve got to say I did actually eye up your 3 series as it’s a really nice car especially in estoril blue, sad to say it was a bit out of my budget as my 350z is a bit of a mine pit.
I do all the retail car photography for that dealership.

[pudding]

Yup, it's a pig of a job but it's done well to last 177K to be fair.  I guess with the front end off, you might want to give the intake valves another walnut blast. I last had it done in 2018 at AKS Tuning, so might benefit from another blast.

I never touched the filter housing under my ownership. Whether a previous owner was in there, it's hard to say.  It's not unknown for O rings and rubber gaskets to be fitted incorrectly at the factory when they're rushing engines down the production line.

Yeah I was drawn to that car, probably because of your photography! It just popped looking at it on the screen. The 360 rotation is a nice touch as well.

I removed all the aftermarket front bumper plastics as its not really my bag, but the rest of the car is spot on and mint.  Well, it was until I slid it into the wall at the end of my drive in the snow    Got it booked into a proper BMW bodyshop in a couple of weeks to sort it. It only looks like a wing job, but the headlight broke as well, and those LED ones are £1000+ each. You think 350Zs are money pits    Never had any issues with Golfs in the snow in 20 years, but BMWs...... 

[Adam ed30]

Yea I did think about getting the walnut blast done, will get it booked in with AKS.
Ah sh*t, shame about the bm, I worked at a bmw dealership before knebworth and unfortunately yes some of the parts prices are eye watering (especially headlights)I’m sure second hand are plentiful on eBay it’s just getting one where the led running lights work as they should.

[pudding]

Put it low on the priority list.  I noticed sweet FA after getting it done.  If it doesn't cold start misfire, I'd leave it personally. That car always was a good cold starter but some of them can be lumpy as hell.

Insurance are covering it, so it will all be brand new OEM stuff going back on.  I was going to cover it myself but I haven't claimed on insurance for years, so I was due!

[LC5F]

Good to see Puddings ED30 in a good home

Insurance are covering it, so it will all be brand new OEM stuff going back on.  I was going to cover it myself but I haven't claimed on insurance for years, so I was due!

And que the "we hear you were in an accident" calls!
Shame about the bump mate, how is the new car working out?

[pudding]

Good to see Puddings ED30 in a good home

Insurance are covering it, so it will all be brand new OEM stuff going back on.  I was going to cover it myself but I haven't claimed on insurance for years, so I was due!

And que the "we hear you were in an accident" calls!
Shame about the bump mate, how is the new car working out?

Me too. I wasn't expecting it to show up on the forum again quite so soon though!

No whiplash cold callers/texters yet 

It's annoying but it could have been worse i.e. something structural got bent!  A wing and a headlight aren't the end of the world.  Winter tyres are a must for next year I think.  RWD cars are pretty useless without them.
Yeah so far so good cheers.  It's definitely the better car for commuting. 50mpg and a super smooth auto, but it's not what I would call a fun car, even in M Sport flavour. It ticked the boxes that needed ticking but if circumstances change, I can see myself getting back into a fast VW again