I.S. a good track car ??

[Steve-E30]

Bought a i.s. recently and am thinking about using it for some track action
I dont want this to go into a 6 pot vs 4 pot either as already have a sport and thought this would be a laugh as they are very revvy lil cars (first i.s. i have owned) , Opinions please

[fuzzy]

strip it completely of all un nessesary weight and im sure it will be up to the job.

[Steve-E30]

strip it completely of all un nessesary weight and im sure it will be up to the job.

My thought exactly mate

[maxfield]

Strip it. Make sure it stops. Make sure it handles.

Then learn how to drive it.

IS's are supposedly very capable on the 'Ring with the right driver...

[Jon_Bmw]

All I can imagine is an iS struggling up hills.

130bhp at 1050kilos+ doesn't really cut it anymore

I suspect it would be fun'ish, but desperatly underpowered

[gareth]

lose a lot of weight and it'll be a giggle. perspex windows for all but the screen

then chuck and M30 in it and undo all your good work

[Steve-E30]

Only using it for fun tbh thats why i asked for opinions .
Not expecting to be the fastest on the track but faster than some on the bends etc as will be stripped and a few modifications

[ShepsEvo3]

All I can imagine is an iS struggling up hills.

130bhp at 1050kilos+ doesn't really cut it anymore

I suspect it would be fun'ish, but desperatly underpowered

Jon, they aint that underpowered with a remap and getting an E30 to below a tonne is pretty easy

I have suprised many a mate when they have been a passenger in my full fat 318is

[jam172]

All I can imagine is an iS struggling up hills.

130bhp at 1050kilos+ doesn't really cut it anymore

I suspect it would be fun'ish, but desperatly underpowered

Er not too many hills on trackdays i'e been on, as in trackday not hill climb, with an Evolve chip and lightened, it's nearly 150BHP ideal for a novice to trackdays IMHO.

Distinct advantage over a 6 pot in tight bends as well, less weight up front so less understeer.

[miniblob]

Should be a good laugh!!!!!

Can't wait to get back on some track days!!

[Jon_Bmw]

Sorry someone mentioned the ring, thats got some 'hills.'

I'm pretty sure mine is spot on power wise, it just feels quite slow. No doubt it will be good in the bends, but mildly depressing having to let everything past on the straights

My opinion, and seeing as I have a 318is, I class it as valid

[Brian28]

Much better balanced in the corners Jon, you'd make enough distance on corner speed so you'd be at the next bend by the time they caught up

[ShepsEvo3]

Much better balanced in the corners Jon, you'd make enough distance on corner speed so you'd be at the next bend by the time they caught up

Hey Brian, thats ok if you are infront of them in the first place

[AlpineAde]

Great little cars for trackdays. Congrats on the purchase.

Put it on a diet, whack some good pads on it, chuck some decent fluid in it, tighten up the suspension and you'll have a blast.

[Dave_M3]

A totally stock iS is capable of a 9min lap of the 'Ring afaik.

With a Chip and remap, some uprated suspension while being completely stripped and little things like good pads etc, I'm sure an iS would surprise quite a few cars on the track

[Bob_S]

I think the underlying issue here is how good the driver is as we all know an e30 is a capable car... in the right hands. You could have a bugatti veyron and still be slower than road fodder because the driver is incapable.

6 pot, is.. quit your bitching 2 extra cylinders doesnt make 2 jots of difference on here if your in the kumho cup ok I will take your point but most of us find a good a or b road and whatever you drive are safe in the knowledge that the only thing that is quicker is the fucking superior 325i sport..

[Dave_M3]

To be honest I'd say the superior car would also be a 4 pot

[harry_p]

it might be fun, but it'll still feel slow on the bits between the corners

[fuzzy]

To be honest I'd say the superior car would also be a 4 pot

yes, but not a bmw one.

[12345kevin]

Great fun on a track with short straights I would imagine, a bit depressing when everything is passing you. I found the same even when I had the standard 6 cylinder. Depends what you want from the car though

[Gibson]

All I can imagine is an iS struggling up hills.

130bhp at 1050kilos+ doesn't really cut it anymore

I suspect it would be fun'ish, but desperatly underpowered

Er not too many hills on trackdays i'e been on, as in trackday not hill climb, with an Evolve chip and lightened, it's nearly 150BHP ideal for a novice to trackdays IMHO.

Distinct advantage over a 6 pot in tight bends as well, less weight up front so less understeer.

Distinct? Yea hardly! ive driven both round the twisties and deem myself to be a reasonably good driver and have to say with the right suspension set up you would have to be Lewis Hamilton to notice the difference a couple of extra KG's up the front makes on these already rather heavy cars. im not saying it wont be fun because it will! but a six pot will be more fun! and easily quicker, especially with the right suspension set up!

[Brian28]

Perhaps on the road, but on a track the extra weight up front makes a world of difference, also front tyres won't go off so quick

[Gibson]

Perhaps on the road, but on a track the extra weight up front makes a world of difference, also front tyres won't go off so quick

im skeptical i have to admit. im pretty sure the extra power will not only make it quicker round most circuits but also alot more fun.... so it ticks all the boxes

[tomtomtom]

i've just put an evolve chip on. they are good but for a track car i'd put some cams in as well. the best thing about the chip apart from the better mid range torque is that with the higher rev limit, if you rev it to near the limiter the revs drop right into the torque (all 2 ft pound of it!) when you change up a gear, however you can tell its not built for breathing at those revs the torque really does drop off. mine lets out a comedy puff of blue smoke as well haha

[Bob_S]

All I can imagine is an iS struggling up hills.

130bhp at 1050kilos+ doesn't really cut it anymore

I suspect it would be fun'ish, but desperatly underpowered

Er not too many hills on trackdays i'e been on, as in trackday not hill climb, with an Evolve chip and lightened, it's nearly 150BHP ideal for a novice to trackdays IMHO.

Distinct advantage over a 6 pot in tight bends as well, less weight up front so less understeer.

Distinct? Yea hardly! ive driven both round the twisties and deem myself to be a reasonably good driver and have to say with the right suspension set up you would have to be Lewis Hamilton to notice the difference a couple of extra KG's up the front makes on these already rather heavy cars. im not saying it wont be fun because it will! but a six pot will be more fun! and easily quicker, especially with the right suspension set up!

so basically your saying that there is cock all in it between the 4 and 6 pot.. yet if you setup a 6 pot you would have more fun? surely being the same car both with the right suspension setup yet a the engines deliver their power in different ways.. and without being funny I've never seen a 18 yr old M20 put out the quoted 171bhp on a set of rollers.. but I have seen is's consistently putting down 145-150.. so all in all there wont be much in it and tbh I dont think even lewis would notice a difference once set up

[oldroydsr4]

A totally stock iS is capable of a 9min lap of the 'Ring afaik.

Unless you have evidence of this, i don't believe it.

However an IS with super sticky tyres, trick suspension and stripped out can get to the 8:30 mark with a very good pilot.

[pugboy]

Track days are surely all about fun so if thats all you are after then an iS might be a nice first track car to get some experience in. A slow rwd car could be a great way to learn.

I reckon that you would be frustrated by the lack of grunt and soon get bored. I'd be careful how much you spend on it. Although I guess long term you could drop a more powerful engine in.

Cant you pick up a 325i for less than an iS these days anyway? If this is the case you might be as well off buying the more powerful car with a slippy diff to start with.

IMHO if you have a car the weight of an E30 your going to want 200bhp to keep you interested on track.

[Steve-E30]

Cheers for the responses and input guys
Its all about having fun at the end of the day and i know its not going to be super fast down the straights but should be better than a lot in the twisties
My e30 sport is far from the quickest car i have owned and driven so its not about how much power it has its more of a grin factor .
There will be cars faster than the i.s. and some slower , Surely the i.s. will be quicker than a 320 and people use those on the track
Looking forward to stripping this out now

[Gibson]

Er not too many hills on trackdays i'e been on, as in trackday not hill climb, with an Evolve chip and lightened, it's nearly 150BHP ideal for a novice to trackdays IMHO.

Distinct advantage over a 6 pot in tight bends as well, less weight up front so less understeer.

Distinct? Yea hardly! ive driven both round the twisties and deem myself to be a reasonably good driver and have to say with the right suspension set up you would have to be Lewis Hamilton to notice the difference a couple of extra KG's up the front makes on these already rather heavy cars. im not saying it wont be fun because it will! but a six pot will be more fun! and easily quicker, especially with the right suspension set up!

so basically your saying that there is c**k all in it between the 4 and 6 pot.. yet if you setup a 6 pot you would have more fun? surely being the same car both with the right suspension setup yet a the engines deliver their power in different ways.. and without being funny I've never seen a 18 yr old M20 put out the quoted 171bhp on a set of rollers.. but I have seen is's consistently putting down 145-150.. so all in all there wont be much in it and tbh I dont think even lewis would notice a difference once set up

Im saying Torque is fun!much more fun than a few hundred extra RPM from a less powerfull engine...

[fuzzy]

how come peope assume the 2.5 will be well down on its quoted power figures but no mention of the same for the 'is'? itss all relative. if an 18 year old 325 will be 25bhp down then its likely so will the 18 year old 'is' so the power difference remains the same.

[hoshy]

IS is a great little car on the track. Plenty capable of giving a few surprises to faster cars

[Dave_M3]

how come peope assume the 2.5 will be well down on its quoted power figures but no mention of the same for the 'is'? itss all relative. if an 18 year old 325 will be 25bhp down then its likely so will the 18 year old 'is' so the power difference remains the same.

But it has shown that most iS' put on the rollers do indeed still make they're factory power.
Whereas, it's rare enough to have a 325 still putting out 171bhp

[jam172]

I think if you go right back to the beginning of this thread, Steve clearly said that he did not want this to turn into the usual boring 6 pot V 4 pot thread

The fact is that Steve has a very nice Sport for the road that is too good to rag around the track, he bought this I.S. for the square root of F*** all and intends to have a bit of fun with it. Unless you have driven a car round the track you won't have ever experienced serious understeer and heavy up front=loads of it.

[fuzzy]

how come peope assume the 2.5 will be well down on its quoted power figures but no mention of the same for the 'is'? itss all relative. if an 18 year old 325 will be 25bhp down then its likely so will the 18 year old 'is' so the power difference remains the same.

But it has shown that most iS' put on the rollers do indeed still make they're factory power.
Whereas, it's rare enough to have a 325 still putting out 171bhp

its also been shown that some standard 2,5's are not only making standard power but a couple of bhp's more than the quoted figures so thats a pointless argument to make to assume all 325's are under and all 318's are running perfect .

[pacerpete]

My favourite thread of recent times was the ring trip thread where a posse of megasquirted modded 318iS scuttlemeisters discovered that the car in front (over a minute a lap ) wasn't a toyota ! oh how i laughed !