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Old 05-16-2022, 08:24 AM   #4
dannyzabolotny
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Join Date: May 2022
Location: Tempe, AZ
Posts: 11
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While poking around the car, I noticed the parking brake did absolutely nothing, which makes sense since neither of the cables were hooked up. I tried hooking up the cables but found them to be too short, eventually figuring out that they are E36 non-TI parking brake cables, which wouldn't work. I've got the correct cables on order, they should be here later this week.

In the meantime, I threw my Apex wheels on the TI, since I had to give back the style 9's I was borrowing from my friend. It actually looks great on the Apex ARC-8's, which makes sense considering they're E36 spec wheels that I've been using on an E34.





The car definitely needs to be lowered, but it already looks a lot more aggressive with just the wheels.

Last week I was able to find a 3.64 open diff locally in the correct small-case E30 size. While it sucks that it's an open diff, 3.64 will be a much more practical ratio; plus I can always combine it with my 4.44 LSD to make a 3.64 LSD in the future.

Old 4.44 diff:



Very easy diff removal.





I did have to swap the output flanges to fit the axles, but that was super easy to do since they just snap in. With the flanges swapped, the diff bolted up super happily.



While underneath the car, I also found the source of my exhaust leak, which I'll have to get welded up at some point.



The trans mounts weren't look great, so they got swapped out.

Before:



During:



After:



Taking the TI on a road test, I immediately noticed how much more usable all of the gears were. It felt a lot more natural to have a 3.64, as it makes the gear spacing feel a lot closer to my E34 (which has a 3.23). The main benefit, however, is the much improved highway RPM:



4k at 80mph isn't ideal, but compared to the 5k I was cruising at before, it's a huge improvement. The replacement diff is nice and quiet as well.

Next up will be installing the new parking brake cables, shoes, and hardware. After that, I'll finally be able to reinstall the interior and give it all a good cleaning.
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