1st Gen Lunchtable Thread - General Discussion

Sponsor me bro

 

My admittedly nonsensical list for the next one so far. Some call louder than others...

E90 Wagon
L322 RR
Another 100
E46 Wagon
80
New Ranger
LR4

 

E46 wagon or 80, the rest of the list is actual nonsense

 

E46 wagon is a wonderful thing.
LC market seems to be chilling out a tiny bit. Both are high on the list.
I loved borrowing my moms E46, such a well put together package. I even took out a fox at 60 and it didn't hurt much haha.

 

I can see you enjoying an 80, but not keeping it.

Mainly because you've been expressing joy in other cars you've driven/borrowed/etc. like the bimmer, the Mini and all that.

 

True. And if I weren't keeping the Tacoma I think the LC would be even more tempting. I'm just a sucker for a LC and I know it'd fit well for what I'd want in general and I wouldn't hate it, but for a daily and a (pavement) road trip car...thats also fun in a corner, tough to beat a good quick wagon.

 

@Speedytech7 So M54 over the N52? Or just that the E46 is better built/simpler and overall easier to maintain? The pre-facelift E90 is fuglier, I can't argue that for a second, but the later ones are nice. Still familiarizing myself more with the nuances. No rush.

 

There's nothing wrong with the N52 but the whole car is an electrical nightmare and the water pump/valvetronic shit does get old. The E9x cars age like milk and no reason to go through the effort of owning one if it doesn't have the turbo, cuz then it's just a pain and not very fast.

The E46 is way easier to maintain and way cheaper too, the M54 is solid as a BMW gets IMHO and as an NA engine it is stout and zippy enough. Just get a manual cause the GM trans they used in this gen is a bit of a turd.

 

Thanks, I appreciate the info! I was going to go non turbo, so if it's something that does age like milk and also isn't quick it's sort of a bummer versus the e46. Though I was looking at autos because I want it to be something I can potentially toss the keys to a family member or friend if need be. Plus I'm in heavy traffic daily. Gotta say, the initial prices to get into an E46 are pretty damn good for what you're getting as long you know what you're jumping into. Decisions decisions.

 

You really dislike the 100 series huh?

 

I think some of the later models of E46 switch to a ZF Auto which is much better than the earlier GM one which is based on a 4l60

 

The E90 335d is supposed to be an incredible car with a delete and tune. I think top gear even called the 335d wagon the best car in the world.

 

Yeah it looks like you have to look it up via VIN to see what's its got. Most listings just say "5 speed auto"
I'm sure GM would be cheaper to fix but ZF of course a better drive.

 

I just don't see any point owning one. The ifs is a pretty big downer and then on top of that it's a torsion bar ifs so it's an even bigger downer... I'm not a fan of that V8. The interior is nice enough I would take a 100 series body and plop it on an 80 series frame and drivetrain if I had the extra time and cared enough to do it. But just about everything else is a notable downgrade from an 80 series. There's a reason other markets got the 105 which basically kept everything but put it 100 series body on... The usdm just needed a more watered-down Land Cruiser so that people would buy it to drive their kids to soccer or whatever.

 

The ZF shouldn't need a major fix, the GM trans is pretty much guaranteed to need work if it hasnt just been totally babied its whole life. Never driven any GM trans vehicle over 100k mi that didn't feel shagged someway or another.

 

Aren't torsion bars more durable than the Tacoma-style IFS though? You could make a case the 100 is better than the 80 unless you're throwing on 37s and rock crawling or whatever.

 

I have to say I still don't understand your hate for the 2UZ. They go 500k miles with just maintenance. It seems like less upkeep is required than the 1FZ given the same history and driving style.

 

I haven't either. But I also never owned a GM product that long, sold em both before that haha.

 

They might be more durable than early Tacoma IFS. But they don't stand a snowball's chance next to the radius arm 80 with a solid axle. The torsion bars also flex awful and ride tuning on them is a nightmare. I'd rather have the more tunable ifs in the cheaper truck. Also you've moved to comparing to a vehicle we weren't talking about. The 80 series front end doesn't break much. A lot less moving parts/joints.

 

That's okay, I didn't expect you to.