E30 Zone

I'm taking my track car to Snetterton on the 11th and have never been there before.

Just wondered if you guys could give me the benefit of your experience and give me a run down on the circuit layout, gears for each corner etc? I've been watching some in-car footage on YouTube but it would be great to have someone with experience talk me through it. I would like to try and have a good idea of where I'm going rather than being a mobile chicane!

Anyone else there on the 11th? I see there are a few e30's attending.

i wont be going round the track, but might come to have a look.

Planning to be there with my brother, a silver and a black E30. The track layout has changed since I was there last a couple of years ago so not a lot of help to you , I'm hoping that they will have stuck cones out as I'm useless at learning a new track. (Cones are not always in the right place, but at least they give an idea). Corner at the end of the start/finish straight is a lot faster than it looks so I'd guess 4th, after that your guess is as good as mine

I've got an Autosport circuit guide but it dates from before the changes they've made. Hopefully someone else will be able to give me/us some more recent information? Do you know if there were many changes made?

There is a whole new infield section, almost as big as some circuits in itself. The RH corner at the end of the start finish straight is the same, then a new hairpin RH that turns into the new infield instead of the old RH corner that was onto the back straight, new section eventually joins the old back straight again as a RH and down to the Esses, stays the same as the old circuit through the Bombhole until you get round to the chicane at the start of the start/finish straight. The chicane isn't there any more, instead it looks like the long RH continues to tighten round into a normal LH onto the straight. It'll be fine, been in use for a year now so there should be plenty of in car stuff on youtube to get the idea. Looks like it will be busy from the numbers on the Javelin site, is it first come first served for garages? Hope there are plenty available, it's a four hour run there for us

Thanks for that Brian. I'll try and find a circuit map that I can compare to YouTube footage to get a good idea of where I should be. Hopefully, I won't get in peoples way!

A friend of mine has booked a garage so you might be better off doing the same, just to be on the safe side. He's trailering his e30 M3 but I'm sure he'll put in some slow laps to show me the lines.

I'm only 2 and a bit hours away but I have to collect my track car from near Southend on the Saturday afternoon. Rather than come all the way home and then head back again early the next morning, I figure I might just continue up on Saturday and stay in a B&B. The cost in extra fuel would probably be the same and I'd have a couple more hours sleep, instead of a long drive.

I've still got a few jobs to get done on the car this week too!

What will you be in Brian?

White Movano crew cab car transporter with silver 2 door E30 on the back. The engine for the black one is currenly in bits on my garage floor, if I get it sorted out it'll be in a matt black 325 (that at the moment is a 318i) and my brother will be driving that car down. If I don't get it finished it will be on the transporter to finish when we are there (last minute dot com) and he will be driving mine down, a silver 318is #23 that I put a 325 engine into a couple of weeks ago. Both cars are caged etc, but really thrown together in a hurry so will be a load of fettling setting up and tweaking to do there on the day. Are you in the car that was for sale a couple of weeks back?

Brian28 wrote: Are you in the car that was for sale a couple of weeks back?

Yes, I thought I was going to have to sell it to raise funds for my Alpina e21 restoration. The guy that was doing it turned out to be full of 5hit and despite several £k, 18 months and the fact the guy used to have a good reputation as a BMW mechanic, the car's in a worse state than when I got it. Luckily the guys at Pristine stepped in and we've managed to work out a solution that's meant all the work on the e30 hasn't been for nothing. In fact, I plan to do some sprint events in it this year too!

Hope the weather brightens up for Sunday!

BBC forecast gives overcast and nippy but dry, so all good. Black BM is running the 325 engine after a few gremlins (mostly needing odds and sods I didn't have to hand, new E36 rad leaking like a sieve, and the new 6 branch manifold being for a LHD car). Standard exhaust bodged on for the weekend, held up with copper brake pipe tubing as I don't have any mounts and that was all I could find in the garage that won't burn! So my brother will take it to work and back tomorrow to check everything is Ok, still needs the tracking done (will likely be Sunday) and the rear pillow ball top mounts are rattling their nuts off, otherwise seems good to go. Will try and get a look at mine tomorrow, just got the engine thrown in a couple of weeks ago and the car went for MOT and got parked up afterwards, still a load of odds and sods I need to finish off properly on it, but looks like both cars will be there and up and running

Might come along to see the these!

I'm trying to get mine back in one piece myself. I had to paint the new front bumper as I'd bought an M3 evo front splitter not realising it would be wider. Doh! Anyway, I got a fiberglass mtec2 one.

Added to that, the sump bolts rattled themselves loose, the tappets need doing, wheel bearings are shouting for mercy and I need to do an oil change. Final jobs on the list are to fit my fat-boy drivers seat and put a passenger seat in, incase any friends want to come for a blast?

I had hoped to try and memorise the circuit at some point too!

Take it easy at Coram - unless you have a baffled sump. It's a long, long, long (and even longer!) right-hander. I've heard of a few motors which have gone bang there.

As others have said, it's a new circuit. Which layout are they running? 100, 200 or 300? The 100 (unlikely) is a very short track on the new infield. The 200 is "almost" the same as the old track ( but Montreal has changed) and on both the 200 and 300, the chicane at Murrays has been re-profiled.

My advice would be to take things easy (as you should at any new track) initially and build up after getting used to things. Enjoy - it's a canny circuit. Oh, and make sure you don't run out of room at Riches! It's fast.

Thanks for that. I believe it's the 300 they're running? AFAIK I don't have a baffled sump. I guess that's something else for the shopping list? Mind you, when the old m20 does finally go bang, I'll have a good excuse for slotting in an m52.

I'll defo be taking things easy. I went off at Paddock the first time out at Brands and learnt my lesson about having more enthusiasm than talent. There are going to be some nice cars out on Sunday if anyone's going along? My pal has a properly sorted e30 M3 that he can pedal along at quite a rate of knots.

Anyway, I'm off to try and get the car finished before heading up to a travelodge on the A11.

A11 is the shittest most dangerous part about going to Snetterton! Nearly had accidents on there twice as idiots trying to overtake in front of on coming cars.please take care!

Cheers, will do.

It looks like a gorgeous day, hope all goes well, get lots of photos!

Finally got the car done and drive up to a travel lodge 15 miles from Snetterton. Set off at 7.30am and after 9 miles the bloody alternator failed. The RAC got me to the circuit and once we couldn't get a replacement, they brought me home. Just got in. Oh well, maybe next time?

Bad times Get a good spares box together.

Balls mate had I known I would have brought one down for you - the only spare e30 part I have!!

A spares box would have been a plan yesterday. Wasn't a good omen when we met Hoobs pulled up in a layby on the A11 on the way to the track. The other E30 guys there had an early day as well when the fuel pump packed up. We could have done with an oil pump and a steering column link. Rubber on the steering coupling disintegrated after the second session, so steering was a tad wandery after that. Valve stem seals shagged on my car, Ok to drive but smoking like a chimney on start up afterwards.

Still, that's what pre season shakedowns are for . Busy couple of weeks ahead!

I just don't think yesterday was ever meant to be. Never mind. Just proves that preparation is everything! I'm getting 2 so I can keep a spare too.

On a side note, I have never known so many red lights at a track-day as there were yesterday! Within minutes of opening the track an old Honda dumps oil for about 250 yards all along the racing line. Then there were a few offs, with people running out of talent, but also mechanical failures down to poor maintenance. When the organisers start putting it out over the tannoy for drivers to ''check all your wheel nuts are tight'' you know there's something wrong!

Good to see a few e30's pounding around though and thank to those of you that stopped to offer help when I was sat at the roadside on the way there. Much appreciated.

If I'd have thought of it fella we should have stuck your car on the truck and you could've driven mine to the circuit. At least you would have been there and we could have kept swapping batteries over with Mickeys car and the truck to keep you mobile for a few laps at a time then get the RAC involved at home time.

The red flags were a bit of a joke really, especially through the morning. Probably first track day of the year for many people, so most likely a combination of wheeling the car out of hibernation and hoping that everything will be Ok, and people hammering round expecting to have the same grip as their last track day in August and coming unstuck.

Snet has always been like that, nothing new, there are only a few track days a year worth going. The last TopGear episode hasn't helped!