E30 Zone

i am a newby with track days but always wanted to do it, have a good car for it but afraid to take it as its one i polish etc! so thinking of buying a stock 320i and learning in that as i am unsure of my abilitys to drive fast round a track as i tend to somtimes drive fast on the road in good conditions but have never felt like i could be let loose as theres other peoples saftey at risk where as on a track there is still saftey but you know what i mean lol!

so would a 320i be silly or any other e30 for that matter in standard and very cheap form!

also to go on a track day do you have to have mot? or can you trailer it with no mot what are the the rules and regs? the track i would be going is oulten park

any advice is very much apriciated!

Not silly at all... OK, it won't be very fast but it'll be more than enough for you to learn in..

I used a 320i as a trackday car for 2 years and it was fine.. Personally, I found the standard car a bit frustrating. However, a cheap suspension kit made a big improvement, along with replacing the worn bushes.

From your post it sounds like you don't want to spend anything on the car, which is fair enough but you will have to pay some attention to the brakes as you won't be having any fun at all when you go on track. New discs, fluid and something like EBC red/yellow pads will be fine and relatively inexpensive.


As for regs - You don't have to have an MOT but the car does need to be "track worthy" (i.e not a complete deathtrap).

Trackdays are so much fun though - I'm sure you'll love it whatever you choose!

you can take anything on a track day so it wont be silly taking a 320. you dont have to rag the 4rse of it, just take it as easy as you feel you want to. some tracks are different and only allow mot'd cars on, some allow on anything as long as its not hanging with fluids dripping everywhere. ive seen guys turn up with £50 bangers from the scrappy with no mot . you need to avoid those sort as they dont care if they hit you as theyll just be dumping their car afterb the track day anyway. many tracks are much stricter now though. always take basic tools, spare fluids and a set of brake pads if your planning to drive the car home again.

We did the first trackday in our e30 racecar at a very early point in the build - it was stripped out and had the toyo r888 tyres but otherwise standard. Neil gained some valuable experience during the trackday at Rockingham, and we confirmed that we had a good strong engine since he was able to keep with the "finished" race cars in a straight line.

I'd say go for it, I think most trackdays just do a noise level test to ensure cars are worthy to go on track, probably due to the noise restrictions on non-race days.

Go for it and have fun!

just take your car it's not hard a bit daunting but they tell you the basics and there will always be somebody around to guide you and give you tips. I have done a couple at oulton and only ever sailed past one braking point and straight through at knickerbrook.
Go at your own pace the car will easily accept it.

thanks guys, i have a nice e34 that is crying to go on a track! but i would never forgive myself if it got hurt! so i wanna learn in maybe a 325i or a cheap i.s does anyone know if cars at oulten park need mot and also how much would a trailer cost? do trailers need mot's or seperate insurance (never looked into trailers before!)

A decent trailer will cost more than your car if you are just going for a cheap car to do track days with. Check that your car insurance covers you to tow a trailer, household insurance may cover it if stolen from home rather than accident insurance. Reasonable second hand trailers from about £500 upwards, more expensive the more modern they are. If you want a tilt bed rather than faffing about with ramps, start at about £1000 second hand.

Never been asked for an MOT at track days before (but then again I think I've only ever done about four in total), unless the car looks a complete hanging shed with bits dropping off unlikely that you will have any problems.

Port Sunlight Trailers (Wirral) charge £30/day for hire or PM bikemanjai on here for his monster!

Im sure that your car will be fine on a track day, I used mine with the standard M40 1.6 engine at the BMWCC day at Oulton Park in February and although not competitive, the day was more about learning lines and confidence.... Good luck.

BTW. BHP were not asking for MOT's to be produced there last week....

no. do it.

Put it this way there is a race championship for 318i & 320i cars http://www.pbmwc.co.uk/

Youwill have a blast. Aslong as you don't won't to be the fastest. Just have fun. Ow and jais traiter is amazing.

Just get out there and enjoy it. Get the basics right i.e engine service with good quality oil, brakes etc and enjoy. You don't need the fastest car out there to have fun. Be warned though, trackdays are addictive and you will want to do more and more. I started out with a 320 and moved to a 325. Just keep the costs down and think about simple maintainance and you will not go wrong.

Try and find a trackday for novice drivers for your first one or one that at least welcomes them. Nothing worse than ferraris ripping past on your first day. You find yourself looking in the mirror more than in front.

Remember to have fun as you have as much right to the track as everyone else.

Good luck

As others have said, a lack of power doesn't necessarily mean a lack of fun.
Do it.

When I got my e30 325 off ebay - totally standard with cr@p tyres on it, I went to a track day in the wet and had the best fun and learned loads.

Track days are to have fun without being silly, I think loads of people spend far too much on their cars and pussy foot around the track missing the whole enjoyment of the car.

My advice...DO IT!! Picture from my first day..wallowing and sliding - I span straight after this