Best E30 Trackcar Base..? 318is or 325 Sport

[g60racing]

Me an a few 2 other friends are after a car for the Nurburgring.

Our requirements are upto around £1500
Cheap parts/running
Low maintenanace
Fun
Not too Slow.

Both friends are familair with high powerd front engined rwd cars (300bhp NA)

I however have little experience only having taken a caterham roadsport on track (fun!). I currently own a Mk2 Golf that Supercharged (FWD). Obvoulsy the car has to cater for me with the limited rwd experience.

Q's

How does a LSD affect the handling of an E30 - only the 325 Sports came with these?

Is the 325 noticibly less responsive to turn in than a 318 due to more weight upfront, or is it not noticable to a good normal (ie not race) driver.

Do the cars commonicate well before you reach the limit and do they break slowly rather than loads of grip then gone.

How much does replacing all the parts for the bushes, shocks etc normally cost as I expect on a car this age they will be past their best.

Thanks for any input guys/girls

Jason

[Davenotouring]

Lots of your questions are totally based on setup, i.e. traction/turn-in and you can alter the setup with different parts so you get it how you want it.

Personally, I'd choose a 325i. You can get the LSD from another Sport (some other models will have an LSD as an option) would cost around £200/250.

For a decent suspension setup including bushings you are looking at about £600. Add another couple of hundred for uprated anti-roll bars.

Will have fun in a stripped 325i with those mods.

[maxfield]

Go 325.

With the right suspension setup you wouldn't notice the difference.

The ring is a big track so 325s power is much better.

[northloop]

Sorry to disagree with you guys

BUT


The locals over there building quick E30's will tell you that the best car for the job is the 318 not the 325. The reason being that the 325 is too nose heavy. I have followed many an E30 round and the only standard engined one I couldn't catch to date has been Christine Pulver in her 318is

Why didnt I buy a 318? God knows

[schuey]

Having had 2 318is's one as a full on track toy,and I now have a fully stripped track day 325.......
The 318 is in a different league in handling terms-lighter, better turn in, more neuteral and just better balanced all round. Certainly faster round a track.
The 325 sounds better,is simpler(engine) and slightly faster in a straight line when stripped,in road trim a well driven IS will eat a 325 up.
If I ever get another E30 it would be an M3-purely because the car in general is better with a 4 pot in it,and they are just a faster IS-(oh what a scandal!)
I used to say the IS was better before I had a 325,now I know they are-the six pot noise still takes some beating though

[Theo]

I think that the 318is will only be quicker round the ring in experienced hands, otherwise the grunt of the 2.5 will mean you can accelerate quicker from all those corners which you have needlessly slowed down for. Exmuhle (wheres the umlaut!?) is a good example, i'm always too slow through there.

[Davenotouring]

Well feed me Weetos and call me Shirley.

Get a 318iS.

[Davenotouring]

Ãa

There you go Theo.

[Theo]

Cheers Shirley.

[schuey]

NIce to see some decent spelling/grammar attention to detail round here!

[Chris-W]

NIce

Tut tut.

[Davenotouring]

Haha!

[d-anie-l]

I have followed many an E30 round and the only standard engined one I couldn't catch to date has been Christine Pulver in her 318is

have you seen the spec of that car, or done a pax lap with her? That will probably explain why you couldnt catch her (and she is a GREAT driver of course). IIRC they also have a 2.7 which they say is faster... So maybe the handling isnt that compromised with the heavier engine.

[northloop]

d-anie-l.

I spent some time chatting to the guy (her boyfriend?) who has built all the cars that hang out by the food caravan thing. This has proved to be the basis for my car. Same suspension, cage fillets, lack of uprated ARB's etc etc. I also spent time with Marc at TTE having the same conversations. I already had the 2.5 so decided to use that rather than the 1.8.

I had a lap last month where Christine left the barrier just behind me. I let her past after Karousel and hung on to the back of her until Mini Karousel where a slower car split us up. It was nice to watch the car doing its stuff and we had a good chat after the lap.

Not sure I have seen the 2.7 yet....

[g60racing]

Ok cheers for the feedback guys, so most say 318is. I'm guessing the 318 is easy to work on too due to more space in the Engine Bay.

Although some of you have pointed out that if you dont know the track (which we dont - only been once before) then the 325 grunt will be as quick due to excesive slowing down.

Suppose it will probably come down to which one we can find at the right price. Preferablt shody looking with great mechanicals.

Seems like a friendly and good resource here, with a nice bit of banter..

[Davenotouring]

The 318iS is a more modern engine, it's chain driven and 16v. Worth bearing in mind. The 325i kills it on paper, but from personal experice, I've never seen a massive difference. If the weight difference and handling are in the 318iSs favour, go for that.

[Dan318-is]

Also remember the 318is did not come with an LSD but they can be easily sourced; a 3.91 will bolt straight in or a 4.10 can be imported from the states while the dollar is shite!

[Weeman]

318is is the way forward, I cant complain with mine on the ring, the handling is amazing, not pants on fire fast, But fun factor is great

[Karan]

reliability issues with the 318is would ward me away...... buy a 316i for peanuts and spend the money fitting an s14 in it

[schuey]

NIce

Tut tut.

Just checking to see if anyone else paid attention

[frankiez]

I have a 318is as a track day car and atleast here in Finland the heavy-nose 325 can't keep up with 318is. Our tracks are little bit shorter and twistier.

The car is so balanced that it makes me smile. During next weekend I will be chasing Alfa's on their track day.