ive done the unthinkable, want advice

[Aiello]

hey guys after owning my beutiful e30 323i for over 3 years now, this is long considering it was my first car, i have bought another car and my bmw has been pushed to the side. being an aussie my heart lies with v8's and a couldnt resist buying myself a holden vy calais (no clue what its called any where else in the world, lol) even though the petrol prices are rising faster then a fat kid running to a piece of cake. but i dont want to sell the old gal and was thinking of making it a amateur track car as lots of guys at work do the sport and i would love to participate so i need advice.

do the e30's make a decent track car and what needs to be done to get her ready. just so you know i have a complete sports exhaust, sports springs (will get shocks), bigger injectors, after market spark/fuel management, high flow intake filter, heavy duty clutch and pretty much every bush and ball joint in the car have been replaced.

i know i need a race seat and required roll cage maybe a better diff then my 3.5 open diff and a set of race slick tyres but what else do i need to get going or should i just pick a different car to race with? i would love the advice of people who have raced there cars on the circuit and take in mind i dont have a big budget but i am almost a qaulified technician so i will be doing all the work myself

[stevotheevo]

perhaps a different engine would see good results, the 323 could be replaced with a 325 lump, or even an M30/M50, depends on your budget and spanner skills.
also an LSD will improve things a lot.

[Rosc0PColtrane]

Completely overhaul suspension brakes and bushes. Look at a bigger lump if you like but not necessary.

Should be enough to get you started.

[Rosc0PColtrane]

Oh rip out everything to save weight!

[nickso]

being an aussie my heart lies with v8's and a couldnt resist buying myself a holden vy calais (no clue what its called any where else in the world, lol)

basically its a vauxhall omega, not a much loved model over here, still the v8 should help.

[Aiello]

oh sorry left that detail out, replaced the engine about a year ago with a m20b25 motor from a 88 325i so i already got a bigger lump in there, she dyno'd a 155rwhp that a mate tuned for me but im sure i can make more hp with a professional performance tune so for a car that started with about 140hp and the engine im happy with 155 at the wheels, i would really like advice on diff ratios, would a 4.1:1 be to big for the track cause i really want to slam that acceleration? oh and what about the brakes?

[papercutout]

Brakes - better spec pads and brake refurb
Suspension - get it low and stiff, by low I mean over the 60/40 people here use as a 'slam', and short stiff shocks
Interior - what interior? Drivers seat, and thats about it - pick a nice tight fitting bucket, and find a harness. Also, as you said, get a basic roll cage fabbed in
Diff - not sure on ratio, but definitely an LSD



Spare wheels! Possibly remove the mid-box from the sports exhaust too, depending on set up, it should flow better, need SOME back pressure though. lots of people here can help far more than me!

Did you use polybushes when replacing? Good idea...



Should be able to do all that on a fairly low budget.

[Aiello]

sounds like good advice, the only thing ill leave in my car is a seat and a dash as i want to still drive it on the street i need a dash by law. all bushes were replaced with factory oem parts. ive had the polybushes on other cars and find them stiff and a little faster wearing ( went through 2 sets of swaybar bushes within a year on a mazda 323 i had).

my sports exhaust is long tube headers, one resonator and a high flow muffler so good flow, very loud so thats all good. ive good stiffer 2 inch lower springs and like i said i want new shocks (yay for bilseins). would a front strut brace and oversized front and rear swaybars pay off.

[papercutout]

Yes, bigger anti roll bars will help a lot! Its the next thing I want, just to lose what little body roll I have left (when you've dropped a car 70mm or so, there's not as much to roll ;))
As I said, I'd have it lower than a 2" drop. And as short shocks as you can find.


I know this guy is well ahead of you, and his car is absolutely mental, and its probably WAAAAY above the level you're thinking about, but its worth pm'ing him (just sign up) about what parts etc are good to use for suspension etc.
http://www.turbosport.co.uk/showthread. ... hlight=316