poor weather and the 1st time was admittedly my poor driving, thing is i dont drive the volvo quick.

these skinny wheels dont do much for traction but i have been back home (teesside - Yarm) the past 2 weekends and each weekend i have spun the 343 into a curb!

so first spin -

i was late setting off to a meal in newcastle with my girlfriend and after setting off i realised i had forgot something and turned around to get it. on the last corner entering my street i was going a bit quicker than slow and the back end stepped out!

i was not awake enough to catch it and the back end hit the curb, the corner normally isnt slippy and i was not going that quick but the back end just flung out.

result -
1 buckled steel wheel and 1 angry fool.

so the spare went on and i was really confused.


2nd spin - this was much more substantial
right this is a dodgy junction that is just by an industrial estate so the truck make the corner very slippy.
i was at the T-junction turning right with no cars around me, so i continued through the corner in 2nd gear and got most the way round and the the whole car FLUNG round!

back end swung and smacked the curb, bounced up the central reservation and there i sat with 3 wheels up there. so turned it round and drove into the nearest car park to check the damage.

pure anger as that was ridicules! the car cut out on me as i pulled in too.
so the spare wheel is dented (badly) and the engine now cuts out and wont idle

i didnt hit anything but the curb and thats it. more shock than anything it just stepped out.

result -
2nd buckled wheel and now the car wont idle and cuts out.


so i need either 1 steel wheel or a new set of alloys? i like the look of the steels but they are dangerous in any sort of road use!

i tried the BMW wheels but the inside ring thing is too big, does anyone know where i can get something to make them fit? they look pretty off road but its ok, i will put pics up later.


with the car cutting out its a real pain as its hard to start or wont start for ages.
could this be an exhaust issue??? i know it was blowing at the front before and it still is but could the bumb have worked it loose more causing a starting and idling issue or could it be the carb needing a tune?


how the car spun out i dont know

Ouch... unlucky dude!

I'd get some 175 wide tyres or something if you're going to keep the original wheels. Assuming they're 5.5" wide, 175's would go on fine. Otherwise get some 14" GLT wheels on wider rubber?

I tested my 343 last night in 2nd gear on a u-turn and was surprised that it actually went without any effort whatsoever - and I have new BF Goodrich 175's on the rear. I suspect they can certainly bite when they want to...

Might be hard to find some mk1 steels, I'm sure you could probably get it repaired if you wanted to keep it original. This might be useful to keep you rolling in the meantime though:

Ebay link

you might have jolted the carb loose , check the mounting bolts also check that none of the vacuum pipes have been shaken loose
the things you need to take up the slack between volvo hubs and the bmw centre bore are called spigot rings ,

these are the chaps

LINK

theres a lot of debate as to whether they are necessary or not .

but for that money I would get some

the volvo centre bore is 52.1

the only bmw wheels that fit are from the

- 3 Series E30 Year - 86 to 91 PCD - 4x100 Offset - 15 to 25

and there centre bore is 72.6

so you want spigots with an internal circumfrence of 52.1
and external circumfrence of 72.6

Internal/External diameter, not circumference

Still... hmmm, beemer alloys... Intriguing! It'd at least be a look that isn't played out, although I've got too many sets of 400 alloys already

thanks Chris ,

I was going to put diameter but it didnt sound right

think the old brain must be a bit frozen ,

have been outside all day putting christmas lights up

What kind of tyres you have fitted can make a huge difference in grip. I swapped my crappy Turkish-made Lassa Atracta summer tyres last week for some Vredestein Snowtrac winter ones. No more heart-stopping moments in roundabouts now ...

Do you know how old the tyres are on your car? More than 10 years is getting seriously dodgy ...

<edit>Is the poor starting weather-dependent or has that only been happening since the spin-off?</edit>

Tom

cheer people i see we are all working hard

she has never started well but once she gets going and is warm she is fine. its just getting her to start takes a few try's to get her going. not really weather related.

well gutted as i do want an original steel cause they look so retro.
tyres are over 2 years old i would say but they are cheap rubbish!

super skinny.

i may get some of the wheels things for my BMW bottle tops they dont look bad. but i left the wheels in teesside as i didnt want the extra weight in the car and i aint getting back there till the 23rd of dec.

also i dont want to come to the meet with a buckled wheel.
i may get one re shapped? the classic look is the best.


i

Bad luck dude....

I'm sure Redline is right about the carb or vacuum system being at fault re poor running post knock.

Invest in some good tyres. Steer well clear of Kwik-fit and their like, big rip off. Go to a specialist like Protyre and see what they've got on offer.

Also, I think a set of Mk2 alloys would look excellent on your car, and would give you a lot more grip. I have more power than you and I never step out unless I want to

Ronnie wrote:I have more power than you and I never step out unless I want to

You also have a 360 though.... I've found my 360 to be much more grippy and predictable, on the same tyres.

Agreed on tyres... try mytyres.co.uk for some good prices

Ric

It has to be a lesson for you -these spins Doesn't matter how good weight distribution is there is always a margin you can get close to on a RWD car when it will slip In my experience slight acceleration combined with an almost/ but not quite straight course can be lethal on an unknown surface New tyres help but over time as they wear you have to be careful once again
cheers mickt

One tip: Learn to drive it sideways! practise, practise and more practise then you will learn to know and handle the car.. And it behaves as you want it too...

I had an accident like that once. That costed me about 5 hours of work, a new rear-axle and one MK2 GLT rim...

1.4's are much lighter in the front, and easier to get sideways than a 360. If you like it: Get a little practise with it. And put good tires in the front. If you don't: Get good tires on the back. (understeer is easier to correct) Pirelli's or Michelins for instance. New el-cheapo tyres still have a worthless grip.

Are your shock's still ok? And the springs? Could become inpredictble with that.

Have a set of MK1 rims lieing around here in the NL...

i dont like doing powerslides in the 343, i have done a few in the wet but i like to really look after this little car.

my advise would be dont buy any of my BMW's because i rape the things to hell i let them warm up and i look after them but i drive them hard.......saying that i dont powerslide them in the dry. so i dont beat them that hard.

im good with doing naugty slides in them.
had a 320i which had a short diff so i stepped out nice but i crashed it too many times and sold it.

got a 325i but eventually the shell was to rotten to keep - also experience poor shock real issue.

but got a full set of shocks and -40mm drop springs for it now but most of it is on my 318i which now has a 3.5L m30 from a 535i e34.


kielder foest goodness




so i not new to the power slides and messing around with skinny over inflated wheels on the back and wide grippy wheels on the front.

i just have never had such random-ness? the shocks seems fine as do the springs, they are soft but they are fine......he says. they do bounce slightly but im comparing that to my e30 rock solid good stuff. may get some stiffer rear shock for the e30 actually?

right back to the 343 here are my spare bottle top e30 wheels. car still on jack. anyone got a better idea for the bolts? my 343 ones are really small






thats the rough spare at the back which is now bent too

actually just done a quick photoshop to see what we think:



poor and very quick but you get the idea.


oh and on the running issue i cant see a problem with the tubes not being connected so i will get the take some bits apart and see what i can do.
i will read the haynes manual on my lunch break and see if i can figure out how to adjust the carb if i need to.

That really doesn't look that bad, certianly look almost old enough to be in keeping with the car...

Maybe stick them on and source some Volvo alloys for the future?