Answers to a few of your questions... (archive)

My 79 does that same damn "too long to rev down" thing. I wish I knew what caused it, because it drives me insane. But my car has some other issues too, so I'm not looking to tear it apart just yet.
Anyway, as far as your other questions, I'd suggest Bilstien HD's for your replacement suspension. They're great shocks, aren't unneccesarily stiff, and corner nice too. I have them on my 83 and it's one of the best upgrades I've ever done.
Tires and wheels may be a problem. There are options out there for larger wheels sizes, but it can get very pricey. Another option is to use 15mm spacers on the front, and then you can use basically any wheel from an E30 (84-91) 3-series car. I have MSW 14 inchers designed for the e30 on my 83. Rubber is another issue. It seems today in the performance market, bigger diameter/lower profile tires are the way to go, perhaps this is because of the big wheel honda craze, but it is making tire companies rethink what sizes they are going to make performance tires in. Up until about 6 months ago, you could get V-rated 13" tires no problem. Nowadays it's very difficult even to find 14 inch V rated tires. Lame. But check tirerack and see what they have, there are still a few good 13-14 inch tires out there, or you could consider going to 15 inches as well. Check the archives on this, there's a lot of discussion.
As far as the go fast upgrades, probably the best thing to do for right now is to switch out the differential. The 77-79 320i came with a 3.64 diff, which is a little sluggish. Putting a 3.91 diff from the later model 320i will really help your motor get up to the peak HP range quicker. This is a direct bolt in, and freeway RPM's don't suffer that much. You can also, if you're not in CA, consider going to carb/s. The injection system is simply torn off and a carb is put on there, using manifolds from a 2002. From what I understand, this is a nice clean swap, and I would have already done it if my car didn't need to be smogged.
This is just a quick couple of things to get you started, but if you continue to read this board, you should find all the info you need. This is a great group of people that really know their sh*t, and are pretty friendly, if you don't confuse the 3-series production years. :) Feel free to ask more questions if I'm not being clear on anything, it's pretty late and I'm beat. HTH!
-alan
83 320i
79 320i

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