Newbie E30 Looking For Advice

Thu May 22, 2008 9:14 pm

I've just got a E30 320i as a track day car which has a little work done to it but I'm thinking of sprinkling a little more track day magic on it before it's first track day in July. Catch is, I've set myself a budget of £250 to start with. Any advice of where I should start?

The interior is stripped and there are two no-name bucket seats in the car. Apart from that, fairly standard.

Thu May 22, 2008 9:58 pm

fishnchips wrote: The interior is stripped and there are two no-name bucket seats in the car. Apart from that, fairly standard.

Stripped how much? Does it still have the sound proofing crap stuck down and the sunroof cartridge? If so thats more weight saving at no cost

Thu May 22, 2008 10:06 pm

im new to the e30 scene aswell and im building a track/road car . firstly id go for a panel filter or cone , some half decent tyres, a good service including diff oil ect. And i think some decent front pads wouldnt go a miss because off brake fade ect. some shocks and springs also but i think this would be over budget atm.

but im still learning atm

best to get the handling and safty sorted first as people keep telling me!!

Fri May 23, 2008 5:45 am

For £250 total, a 2nd hand shocks/springs kit. Cheapest you can, because when budget allows you will want to upgrade. Proper engine service incl cam belt and petrol filter, some uprated front pads. 320s are very nose heavy, so bonnet pins to get rid of the front hinge mechanism. Move the battery into the boot. That's your budget blown, so as Joeey says you can still do stuff that won't cost anything. Ream out the front top mount bolts for as much neg camber as possible. Get rid of everything that isn't needed, interior sound deadening, fog lights if fitted, any interior trim, etc. Fill in any hollow suspension bushes with polyeurethane glue to tighten them up. (Evo stick nail and seal is good as any and easy to find)

Next upgrades for me would be tightening the car up as/when budget allows. (You will find that your budget always stretches once you start, because you want always want to do more than you can afford

) Re bush everything starting with eccentric bushes on the trailing arms as these help castor as well as minimising flex. Then, when the car is tight and reliable, tyres. Road tyres are a lot more progressive than track tyres, so after a few track days on crappy road tyres you will have got into the swing of balancing the car on a corner, almost feels like the car is "floating" between gripping and not gripping.

After better tyres better brakes, and finally power. By then you will have realised that your suspension isn't really up to the job, so its back to the start again for better suspension

with better suspension you'll be going faster so better brakes, more corner speed so better tyres, .......

Fri May 23, 2008 4:30 pm

if you have a strict budget, then it's all about saving weight to go faster mate, power will probably be the last thing you upgrade! also keepng a good condition shell is important so keep your eye out for rusty bits! Have fun with it mate!

Fri May 23, 2008 9:39 pm

punk_sy wrote:im new to the e30 scene aswell and im building a track/road car . firstly id go for a panel filter or cone , some half decent tyres, a good service including diff oil ect.

best to get the handling and safty sorted first as people keep telling me!!

Just a tip - try and leave the air flow stuff as original as poss, unless spending loads on major upgrade, BMW did a pretty good job. maybe replace original filter with K&N or similar, try and get some cold air ducting to the inlet (popular mod is to remove main beam) cones are no good... IMHO..

Defo sort brakes and then suspension... Toyo r888s are excellent road legal track tyres for not huge money on ebay for 15s, but soft and only have 5mm to start so dont last that long...

Sat May 24, 2008 2:01 pm

Wow - thanks for all the advice. So once I've finished stripping the car out and checking the base mechanics, it looks like new suspension is the way to go. Does anyone have any experience of the Hottunning.eu offering:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... 0249729824&

Cheers,

Mike

Sat May 24, 2008 3:51 pm

quote Just a tip - try and leave the air flow stuff as original as poss, unless spending loads on major upgrade, BMW did a pretty good job. maybe replace original filter with K&N or similar, try and get some cold air ducting to the inlet (popular mod is to remove main beam) cones are no good... IMHO..

hi ive get a 318is aswell its got a k&n panel filter nad a chip just wondering im thinking on getting a bmc air box has any one used these ? are they any good ?? after that im going for a cat back exhaust ..

Sun May 25, 2008 10:26 am

punk_sy wrote:
hi ive get a 318is aswell its got a k&n panel filter nad a chip just wondering im thinking on getting a bmc air box has any one used these ? are they any good ?? after that im going for a cat back exhaust ..

Hi might be worth searching previous threads about BMC. I seem to remember there being some lengthy debates about whether they actually make a "noticeable" difference performance wise - but definitely sound great !

Wed May 28, 2008 9:29 pm

Pay to give the car a decent service and put new brake pads in