325 track day, drift and weekend toy

[MattT]

I picked this up last weekend:-



The cars came with some mods already:-

- Gaz coilovers and rear top mounts.
- OBP Reverse pull hydro handbrake, mounted in the dash and extended. Currently painted pink from the last owner so I need to paint it asap.
- Steering rack spacers (for extra lock).
- Front Superpro polybushes.
- Welded diff - 3:6 or 3:7 (need to confirm).
- Straight through exhaust with aftermarket back box.
- Sparco Rev Carbon bucket seat.
- OMP 4 point harness.
- Wheels - 15" BBS painted black, 14" BBS (drift wheels).
- 20mm spacers with extended studs on the front.
- New front lower arms.

I brought the car for track days, a few drift days and some sunny weekend drives to wales. The plans are to tidy it up, fix anything thats not quite right and drive it lots over summer. So far its booked in with Guglielmi motorsport to have its tracking done and the suspension given the once over. He used to race E30`s when they were new and won the chanpionship in a car he built so I`m looking to pick his brains alot. I`m also going to read up on the mods the production cup guys make to the brakes and uprate them fairly soon.

I`ll add some more picture this weekend and keep you posted on the work.

[keri-WMS]

I`m also going to read up on the mods the production cup guys make to the brakes and uprate them fairly soon.

I'd be iterested in this, do the regs mean they need to retain the OEM calipers etc?

[Altrezia]

Yes, discs and pads are free, and we can fit discs on the rear in place of drums, but everything else is stock

[keri-WMS]

Are calipers free?

[Altrezia]

No, just pads and discs.

[MattT]

I think calipers are to stay standard, thats why I want to follow their mods. It`ll be cheap and if its good enough for them it`ll be more than good enough for me.

[keri-WMS]

Fair enough!

[milescook]

No, just pads and discs.

You sure...? If you both mean the PBMWC, 2014 regs say

5.11.1 Brake systems are free (though see 5.12.1) save that carbon or ceramic disks and ABS systems are prohibited unless fitted in production, in which case they must be to production specification.

[Altrezia]

Yes, I'm sure. My reg doc looks different to yours?
Edit: You're looking at the Project8 regs, not PBMWC I think, Miles!

5.11 BRAKES:
The braking system shall be as standard as fitted to either 318i or 320i, as per regulation J 5.6.1
and the following;
i) Anti-lock braking systems (ABS) must be removed or disabled.
ii) Brake pad and shoe material is free but dimensions to remain as original equipment.
iii) Discs are free but must be one-piece construction, steel, of original diameter and use
standard callipers.
iv) Adding of ducting and removal of splash guards only are allowed to improve brake cooling
but refer to 5.6.3.i.
v) Rear discs as per standard fitment to the BMW E30 325i or 318i/320i that provide for the
optional ABS system are permitted but refer to 5.11.1.ii and 5.11.1.iii above.
vi) No adjustment to the brake bias is permitted.
vii) The standard flexible brake lines may be replaced with braided items.
viii) Hydraulic brake lines may pass through the driver/passenger compartment as per J 5.12.1.
The drilling of holes in the chassis of a diameter no more than twice the diameter of the
brake line is permitted.

[milescook]

Ah - my bad! Good job I decided a while back I couldn't justify the cost of gucci calipers and pads

[keri-WMS]

Project 8 is mixed manufacturer isn't it? There's a chap who races a FWD Starlet with WMS brakes on, 90% sure he's in the Project 8 Saloons....?

[Altrezia]

Yeah, Project 8 is for all sorts. I don't think it's actually a championship, but I could be wrong.

[rix313]

Are you in Northampton area then? The race team I work for is round the corner from Guglielmi.

Car looks good

[MattT]

I am indeed! I`m living in Daventry, moved here as I got a job at Cummins. I`m guessing your working at Fortec? What do you do there? I used to work in motorsport, building and running most of the cars in the Ma5da MX5 championship and I ran one in max5 for abit to. Bailed to industry for more cash.

[MattT]

I did abit more work this weekend as it was sunny. First job was to move the seat so I didnt have to steer with my knee`s! The most important job was abit of painting. If you saw the for sale thread this car was in, you`ll know it has a hydro handbrake and that it was painted bright pink. Well, obviously had to go. So i painted it a more subtle colour:-



There is no point in hiding it, its massive, but I didnt want to make a big feature of it. So it went ford metalic purple as it was a half decent colour the local paint place had in. The hand brake is useful for drifting and well plumbed in so I didnt want to remove it so its here to stay.

Next up, geometry set up and a drift day.

[rix313]

I am indeed! I`m living in Daventry, moved here as I got a job at Cummins. I`m guessing your working at Fortec? What do you do there? I used to work in motorsport, building and running most of the cars in the Ma5da MX5 championship and I ran one in max5 for abit to. Bailed to industry for more cash.

Ah cool, yeah at Fortec, I do the GT3 stuff with the Merc SLS Got any jobs going at Cummins ;) ha

[MattT]

Been a busy week for the car. Firstly, I fitted a new steering wheel because the old one was to far away and was to big so hit my knee`s. Fitted a decent, cheapish, RMD wheel. I`ve had one before and it was good for the money and not weak like alot of other cheap wheels.



Next up, the car went to Guglielmi Motorsport. The plan was to get him to do the tracking and give the car a once over to check for anything nasty or that needed replacing asap. The tracking was done and he set it up with a sensible front geometry for fast road use. He didnt uncover any big jobs and said the car was a good example over all. He did put together a list of little jobs and some advised future suspension mods so these are aded to the list. The biggest thing is that my gearbox exhaust mount is missing so I`ll have to find one of those. I cant reccomend these guys enough if your local. They really know their stuff and wont just do jobs to get cash.

The next day it was off to pod for a drift day. The car was ok but I was struggling in the morning. I thought it was me being abit rusty but as the day went on I realised it just had no rear grip. I had a fiddle with the suspension and dumpped a load of tyre pressure and bingo! Car handled really well. So by the end of the day I was linking the main track and pullng some nice thrd gear drifts, which were much faster than I remember!



Was nice to drift with these guys, cool cars and sound drivers....



No action shots just yet sadly. Next up is my some sunny weekend drives and fingers crossed a track day next month.

[rix313]

I did see your car outside their workshop the other day mate looking good