October 24, 2009
1989 BMW E30 M3
Adam is on a roll, he unearths yet another gem from the collection, his 1989 BMW M3. You might be asking yourself “wait, is that two cars in a row that are German” Yep, seems we are on a roll. And as we say here at CarCast “Bitte Füllen Sie bitte den Tank”
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Adam, I love these videos; wish you had a show that did this a couple times a week.
Have a good holiday season, Tyler
Hey Adam,
I like CarCast, but why don’t you and the professor do a little Googling before going over your cars. A couple minutes on Wikipedia would give you a lot of info. You really owe it to yourselves to spend 5 minutes to get at least the years of production and engine sizes before suggesting cars as investments.
Keep Getting it On!
For instance:
Your E30 M3 has the wing, body kit, fiberglass decklid and unique rear window for aerodynamics to race in the German Touring Car Series (DTM).
From Wikipedia.org:
“Based on the 1986 model year E30 3-Series, the first M3 was introduced with a 2.3 L I4 S14B23 engine (or S14 in shorthand). The engine design was based on various BMW genealogy; basic block layout from the M10 4 cylinder (found in the 2002 and 320 series) overbored and reinforced to similar specifications of the BMW M88 inline-6. The valve train and head architecture from BMWs M1 and later M6 inline-6 cylinder was adopted for aggressive breathing, resulting in outstanding performance for the day.
The most notable characteristic of the E30 M3 (relative to later M3 iterations) is its racing pedigree. It was campaigned by BMW as well as other racing teams including Prodrive and AC Schnitzer competing in many forms of racing including Rally, DTM, and Australian touring car.
One of the main reasons for production of the road car was to homologate the M3 for Group A Touring Car racing. One of the reasons often cited for its creation was that it was to compete with the “2.3-16V”-model of the Mercedes-Benz W201 190E which was introduced in 1983, although this was only speculative. When the E30 M3 was in its final years of top level competition, the 2.5 liter S14 engine in full race trim was capable of 340 hp (250 kW) plus, naturally aspirated.”
I enjoy Adam’s style of delivery and in particular how the CarCast isn’t a car geek’s wet dream. I’d like to think I had the same relaxed attitude to my collection should I be fortunate enough to have one. The cars are there to be enjoyed. If you really want to know how many podiums a particular car took in the ’89 DTM, go look it up.
Anyone can post a “fact” on wikipedia.
AND?
1. Please point out what is not factual in the above
2. If Carolla is going to take time to A. Buy a car for his collection and B. Tell his audience about it, doesn’t he owe both himself and his audience the courtesy of doing a cursory level of research about it?
Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy the podcast, but when Ganz talks about 930 Turbos and is almost 10 decade off their original introduction date, it makes the show less enjoyable. The E30 M3 is one of my favorite cars of all time and to have Adam act like the body kit was just tacked on for fun irritates me.
You have some good points, and it is something we are working on with Adam but he is often too slammed to get with the discussion before the show. No excuses but will tighten it up. BTW which episode did I botch the 930 data? I do know they are from the 70’s but may have just botched the delivery. Was this for an old Investment car?
Sandy
Sandy,
Thanks for checking the comments and continuing to improve the show. After watching The Adam Carolla Project, I can definitely understand how slammed you guys must be to put together a show.
I think the 930 comment was on one of the 1st three episodes. You mentioned 911 Turbo and said something about early 80’s.
Thanks again,
BTW: What do you guys think about the Lexus LFA?
Cheers
Yeah, Adam can jam me and the Weez up! I also favor the later ones as I have a few gearboxes and they are better then the first few years as I’m told.
Yeah, I try to get on the cars before, not an expert in anything just trying to keep it close sometimes. Me and the Weez are always trying to get Adam the data but sometimes he is so slammed it live, especially on the calls 🙂
Don’t know much about the LFA except from some pic’s on the Lexus site, looks like they have mixed in Audi/Aston Martin/Ferrari all in the same mix. A bit too modern (read loud) for me. I think I’m getting old.
And when you catch us with a mistake, pump it immediatly and I’ll make sure it gets posted I’m not too proud.
Sandy
1. Please point out what is not factual in the above
“For instance:
Your E30 M3 has the wing, body kit, fiberglass decklid and unique rear window for aerodynamics to race in the German Touring Car Series (DTM).”
Every e30m3 coupe has the wing when it rolled off the line. The “body kit” is standard too, as all e30m3s were wide body. The decklid and rear window are all OEM so i dont see why you would say “his” e30m3 as if ALL e30m3s didnt have this.
The M3 body shares only a few common body parts with the e30 coupe – the hood, sunroof panel, and maybe door glass. So the changes made to the E30 car to make it an M3, were really way more than any “body kit” could ever provide. The back window was extended to facilitate a steeper rake of the rear glass to aid in aerodynamics.
Hey Adam, the wheels you have on the car might be really lightweight, but it doesn’t negate the fact that they are super ugly dude.
Nice M
In my junior year in high school, a senior drove one of these into the school parking lot one morning. I, like Adam, wanted to kick my dad in the nuts.
BeerGarage
Nice car Adam. I have an 88 Lachssilber/black as well. Always good to see the E30 M3 in the limelight even after 20+ years. It is a classic with a huge following across the globe. Feel free to join our community on S14.net.
I have a BMW dealership with in my company and I spend alot of time with the dealer race team. The added back window/deck lid is an Aero package for high speeds. There have been a few cases back in the day were people stole them and the cops would just wait for them to ran out of gas in a chase. Side note that block is almost bullet proof super thick walls. We just had one car come in for a head gasket leak that would only act up when on the track after several laps. Tank race cars that only go up in price!
Beautiful car Adam. I have an ’88 Alpine White M3 myself and absolutely love it. Please take the advice above and join our e30 M3 site on s14.net. It’s one of the most helpful groups of car enthusiasts out there.
Adam get on s14.net and get educated.
I love your show and not to jump on the spell checkers bandwagon i like how the pistons go into the middle of the head too!!! 😉 Adam sounded kinda tired!!
Adam, I have a 1989 5-series. I feel we are connected in some way!
I wonder if anyone else has ever used the word “Autobahny”.
Not that I know of, but I totally understood what he meant. Thats Adam!
yes, get educated. the e30 m3 came with 220 BHP, and weighs roughly 2700 lbs dry.
No it didn’t. In America it came with 192hp. In Europe the no-cat engines made 215hp.
Adam, babu! Love those Brembos! I did the same for my E34 Touring, always wanted them for my E30 M3…maybe someday! Not to bust yer ass but you were way off on the weight, the E30 M3 is closer to 2900 lbs than the 3400 you state. And you think the rear spoiler is there just for looks? It’s one of the few spoilers you’ll see on the road that actually produces usable downforce, as does the front spoiler…even more so when upgrading to EvoIII specs. Again, not to rail on you, I love the Car Casts! Just want to clarify for the non-bimmerheads out there. You’re a huge stud, dude. Cheers!
Sweet car. I learned to drive on my parents’ silver 1987 325is, which is actually surprisingly different. Cloth interior was a little more downscale (and not durable at all) and I think even the dash looked different, didn’t have the weird rear window, and although it had a body kit/spoiler, from what I recall they were completely different than the M’s. I believe (without looking it up) that that car had 172 hp and weighed ~2850 lbs. Super fun to drive. Just wish I appreciated it more at the time, though in fairness it really wasn’t an appropriate car for a teenager to be driving around– back seat access lever, cloth interior, front spoiler were not holding up well. Would love to have one now. In hindsight I do think those are the 3-series’ best looking years.
haha 3330lbs. Wow I loved you morning show but geez dude. Do some homework