E30 Zone

hi i'm in the the search of an e30 cab at the monent and winter is near basecally how i crashed my frist one! i just like to know what are the ways of geting more grip while diving in the rain yeah i could get winter tyres but what else could i do, its just those steep wet cornings that i have to go slow but still slide out
thanks andy

If you want more grip in the wet, tyre choice is critical. E30's dont have any driver aids (other than ABS on some), so a bit of care is required in the wet, as it sounds like you've already found out.
There's not really much you can do other than make sure you have good tyres and that your suspension is in tip top condition.

Does your car have an LSD?

Decent tyres and some driver training

I'd suggest www.carlimits.com and CAT Drivertraining.

don't most 325i have lsd? are there different ones? i heard one guy say its been welded? whats that mean? and whats aftermarket suspension choise are best coilovers? and how about spacers would't they help?
thanks andy

Only 325 sports have an LSD as standard, although many 325's were fitted with them. factory and after. A welded diff wont help you at all.
Spacers might give you a marginal improvement in cornering grip, but wont do anything for traction.
I wouldnt go mad with suspension, maybe look into an oe m tech setup, or some decent aftermarket shocks and springs.

shabalake wrote: i heard one guy say its been welded?

Now there's your problem.

A "welded diff" is one where the sun and planet gears inside the centre portion of your differential have been welded together. This means that the rotation of your rear wheels are fixed relative to each other. Keep in mind that when your car goes round a corner the outside wheels need to turn slighly faster than the inside wheels. A welded diff stops this from happening, typically forcing the inside wheel to break traction with the road surface, resulting in epic oversteer. Great if you want to go drifting on a track. Absolute madness if you want to take a corner in the rain on a public road.

You'd better find out from if you really do have a welded diff under the back of your car. If you do, either get rid of it or become an experienced drifter. Otherwise risk side-swiping someone on a roundabout.

Check all your suspension bushes too - particularly the rear subframe bushes.

you can't beat a set of PROPER winter tyres. And I am not talking about new summer tyres.
Last year I drove twice to Germany with snow from door to door without getting stuck once in a E39 with autobox. Same car with summer tyres I can't even get dow my road without sliding all over the place.

As most people have said... poly bushes, good tyres, spacers will give you a little improvement and a good set of coilovers if budget will allow. You could even try tyre softener!! Get the suspension geometry tested aswell... you never know! Kumho racers often remove the rear ARB for a wet race too.

A welded diff will be easy to spot... if you can't push the car while full lock is on and the inside wheel looks like it's trying to turn when on full lock going slowly.... do it on gravel

+1 for winter tyres! I use them on my daily driver as I live in the sticks and regularly embarrass the 4x4 brigade when they can't get out of the village....! As Uwe rightly states, they are AWESOME on snow...

Cheers,
Mike

Are we talking uphill or downhill? In either case stiffening up the suspension springs/shocks/anti-roll GENERALLY has two main effects (yes I'm greatly simplifying):

1 - Stablises the car when cornering hard / at high speed by reducing body roll / dive etc.
2 - ...but when it's wet (lower forces involved), this makes the car FAR more twitchy, especially on bumpy roads.

Fast road/summer tyres are the same, great in the dry where forces are high, but badly compromised in the wet. In the wet the tyre gets less grip from friction (due to the water lubricating the surface) and far more from mechanical deformation of the rubber into the road surface. This is why F1 wet tyres are so soft, making them fall apart as soon as the track drys!

If it's uphill, then a diff change might help (maybe even to an open diff so you get some warning before it goes). A welded diff really is hero-or-zero as Geoff said, not good on the road.

If it's downhill then reduce the engine braking to the rear by either taking it easy on the downsifts, or getting an engine with less torque!

I tried to push an E30 with a welded diff and it's bloody difficult as it keeps locking up even with the slightest of turns on the steering wheel.

A welded diff should be illegal on the road IMHO.