Track only 325 - a summary of all the knowledge to date...

[rtdracer]

Well, my best effort anyway...All comments much appreciated:

Brakes:

Brakes on the E30 are okay - big brake kits are fine, but can be overkill. Make sure the bias is preserved half-decently otherwise spinneroony.

Engine:

Some good deals to be had with upgraded cranks etc, but recieved wisdom is to keep it stock to start with. Airbox is possibly a contentious issue - stock might be just as good as a cold air kit - opinions wildly divided. COnsensus is that a remap will get you 6-7 more ponies.

Suspension:

Best is a reputable coilover - Leda (whom I've used on an STI in the past) are excellent, and Gaz seem to be good and possibly better val/money. Other makes (fast road use) won't be as good (Spax, Bilston, Gmax etc.) but will be better than stock.

Lightening:

Do it!!!

Roll cage:

Again, various opinions, but nowhere have I seen anything other than, you can spend about 300 quid upwards, and it's a good idea.

One thing I haven't read anywhere are tyre choices for dedicated track use - any offers?

Same thing applies to exhausts - usually a straight through exhaust frees up 10-15% power - is that the case with an E30?

Me? Ex bike racer and trackday instructor - fancied a change. 80K mile 1985 325i Saloon, Fast road suspension, upgraded pads/brake lines, stock engine/zorst/intake/ECU.

Budget - sod all, because I spend money on my road M3 Evo, not on track stuff.

Oh, and anyone want to buy a 185bhp track bike? Feel like four wheeled playing from now on...

Cheers,

James

[JimmyC]

Welcome!!

All seems pretty spot on to me, to help fill a few holes:

Cages- Custom cages (IMO the strongest and safest if fitted correctly but not the cheapest as fitting is expensive and expert only job), Sparco- seems a good budget option, OMP- avoid from what i've heard (very bad fitting), Safety devices- very good option if you can find one (not sure on quality now production has moved)

Tyres- we use Toyo R888's in the PBMW, good selection of sizes and a cheap semi slick

Exhausts- we use Miltek in PBMW and personally I think its a great system

[rtdracer]

Welcome!!

Exhausts- we use Miltek in PBMW and personally I think its a great system

Thanks for the welcome....However, I thought Miltek only did a system for the M3?

J.

[Taylor325i]

Wecome to the zone, mate.

Another tyre option is the Colway Formula 2 semi slick. I used these on my 325i track car and at £50 a corner I couldn't fault them. My car also has custom stainless side entry exhausts (no backbox, two pipes exiting the centre box, one pipe to each side of the car). Not sure if it gained any power but sound is awesome.



Taylor.

[JimmyC]

Welcome!!

Exhausts- we use Miltek in PBMW and personally I think its a great system

Thanks for the welcome....However, I thought Miltek only did a system for the M3?

J.

If your interested call John @ http://www.thorneymotorsport.co.uk/

He does an M20 exhaust, and and M40 one developed for the what was Miltek BMW at the time ;)

The M20 we run on 320's shouold be fine for the 325, just check the diameter first

If you are after some Toyos call Mike Stokes on 01202 547555. http://www.mikestokes.com he supplies the PBMW and CTCRC so stocks a range of sizes

[northloop]

Hi there.

There is no right or wrong answer with regards to tyres. I have run a few variants and these are the 2 which stand out in my mind.

1. Michelin pilot cup sports - probably the king of road legal track tyres. Standard issue on M3 CSL's (if you signed the 'if I crash in the wet I won't come back and complain' discalimer) Bought 6 cheap from a friend. I got about 50 laps of the ring from them 800 miles ish, in total. They are a brilliant tyre and knocked around 20 seconds off per lap. They need to be warmed up and are close to useless in the wet......They cost around £160 a corner.

2. Yokohama A539's. A great budget track day / road tyre. I have run these for quite some time with good results. They last around 120-140 laps for a set, give reasonable grip with loads of tyres squeel in the dry, are poor in the wet. They cost me around £32 a corner.

My summary would be this.

I can get a set of A539's for less than 1 cup sport. They last nearly 3 times as long. I have no less fun driving on the A539's than the cup's, i'm just a little slower. My budget is low as you say yours is so stick to road tyres rather than dedicated track tyres.

Full slicks would be quicker still but kills heavily stressed parts of the car in time.

These were on my track 205 not E30 by the way, but i'm sure the results would be similar.......

Suspension --- My only dealing with Leda was through a friend whose cheap Leda coilovers split a weld redering them useless after around 10 laps of the ring. He decided that the buy cheap buy twice policy was an expensive one and bought the proper gear. This was on a 944 turbo, not an E30.

I would suggest that H&R, KW and bilstein make good kit too?


Exhaust --- You can make big power gains on Subaru's through changing exhausts as generally it involves removing the very restrictive CAT's fitted as standard. It also involves a not so cheap re-map at the same time. Been there seen it, done it. I would suggest you wont get a 10-15bhp gain on an E30 in the same way though.


Gary

[rtdracer]

2. Yokohama A539's. A great budget track day / road tyre. I have run these for quite some time with good results. They last around 120-140 laps for a set, give reasonable grip with loads of tyres squeel in the dry, are poor in the wet. They cost me around £32 a corner.

Gary, thanks for that.

WOuld it be fair to say that the A539 was a fast road tyre (like a Bridgestone S-02 Pole Position etc.) rather than a semislick (e.g. Pilot CUp Sport, R888, A032 etc.)?

James

[northloop]

The A539 is most definately a road tyre not a semi slick. I can only speak from my own experience and for me they are a good cheap, reasonably performing tyre.

gary

[paulg390]

Just my twopenneth worth

Tyres... we have tried Dunlop semi slicks (bit like Yoko A048s) which were pretty good and then Yoko A006s which i believe are liek the Colway Formula twos but 3x the price.... except on ebay

These are awesome in the dry and seem to be lasting really well...

As for A539s we had them to start with and yes they seemed to hang on pretty well but we fount the Toyo T1s is probably better all round... just IMHO

Have heard very good things about the Toyo R888s but never tried them... maybe next time...

Definitely agree about the lightening.... dump everything it the cheapest way to improve your bhp/ton ratio !

Suspension - We've got full HR Cup set up inc ARBs and seems to acquit itself well even when on the same track as PBMW cars testing...

Brakes - standard size but black diamond discs and pads.... also cut away backing plates to get more air in... not so clever in the wet though

Good seats essential too so you dont have to use the steering wheel to hang on to !!

All just my observations from a year or so of E30 driving and maybe widely different to others views....

[agent006]

A539 are slightly softer than most fast road tyres in my experience. I've got MaxSport Rb5 on at the moment as they're cheap. Grip well but construction is poor which shows up in poor balance, had to send one back as it was so far out. Worth considering at £40 a corner, but would be beaten by the 539s as an allrounder.

[northloop]

Have heard very good things about the Toyo R888s but never tried them... maybe next time...

.

R888's go off quickly, especially if you knock up too many laps in one stint.

Colways are the same.

[JimmyC]

Have heard very good things about the Toyo R888s but never tried them... maybe next time...

.

R888's go off quickly, especially if you knock up too many laps in one stint.

Colways are the same.

our control tyre, very good tyre for the price but they do go off, but dont think it would be a problem on a trackday

[northloop]

Depends on the length of the track

[maxfield]

R888's go off quickly, especially if you knock up too many laps in one stint.

Colways are the same.

would R888s take us to the ring do 10 laps and get us home with tread left??

[JimmyC]

ok maybe not at the ring but pretty much any UK circuit

[northloop]

R888's go off quickly, especially if you knock up too many laps in one stint.

Colways are the same.

would R888s take us to the ring do 10 laps and get us home with tread left??

Yes of course, the issue isn't the amount of tread it's how they perform on-track. They loose their effectivness (go off) if you're not careful. If you only plan to do laps one at a time they should be fine though. Plus on a second visit you wont be killing them anyway.

Gary