Post by slimreaper on May 12, 2014 19:44:50 GMT 1
I’ve decided to start this thread mainly for my own benefit of outlying my plan and keeping track of what order I plan to do everything. This has always been my problem with previous project, I never make a definitive plan and get side tracked too easily, so hopefully this will keep on on the right path. But I also hope it will get things rolling and maybe we’ll see a few more build threads appearing in the forum.
The car
1988 BMW E30 325i
The story so far…
When I got the car a few years back, though the engine and shell were pretty straight, the rest of the car was in a rather sorry state. So I rebuilt the suspension with Spax PSX kit, poly bushed it, brand new everything else suspension related, decent disc & pads all round and braided brake lines. The Spax feel nice and tight on the road, but when you get it them on track, and you start asking them to deal with bigger forces, they leave a lot to be desired. Next I decided that I wanted to shed a few pounds, so I stripped out most of the interior. Another track day later, started getting annoyed with constantly spinning one wheel and not putting the power down effectively thanks to the open diff. At the time, I didn’t want to spend big money on an LSD so I went for a welded diff, which was fine in the dry, but after a recent trackday at Silverstone where it didn’t stop raining all day, I couldn’t touch the throttle without getting massively sideways, which is fun, but it ain’t quick and trackday organisers start tutting at you a lot. Which is pretty much brings you up to speed with the history of me and my E30.
It’s definitely not the quickest car I’ve ever driven, nor the best handling, looking, comfortable or reliable. But for some reason it just puts a smile on my face every time I drive it and I just can’t bring myself to sell it. So after a lot of thought I’ve decided to do right by the car and turn into what I’d hope to be ultimate E30 track weapon.
Couple of pics from the day I bought the car...
Pics from the first suspension rebuild...
Pretty much as it sits today...
The Plan…
Step 1 – Handling
First things first, get shot of the Spax and replace them with GAZ Gold coilovers, complete with fully adjustable top mounts. Next 25mm adjustable anti roll bar up front and 22mm at the rear, all with adjustable drop links. Throw the horrible E30 steering rack, with its daft 4 turns lock to lock, in the bin and swap it for a nice E36 rack. The BBS wheels are to be swapped out for some gold Rota Kenzei’s 15X8 wrapped in Federal 959rs-r’s. All topped off with a Quaife ATB LSD.
Step 2 – Weight Saving & Shell Prep
Get the rest of the interior stripped to a bare minimum, including sound deadening, roof lining, carpets and anything else which doesn’t need to be in there. Then Perspex window kit. Once this is done, I’ll be taking the car down to Nickson Motorsport to get a full cage put in, complete with triangulation to the front turrets and a few other bits of fabrication work in preparation for future steps. Finally, replace the bonnet, boot lid and bumpers for light weight fibres ones.
Step 3 – Stopping
Wilwood 6-pot front brake kit is the order of the day here. Tarox disks & pads on the back. All to be complemented with a floor mounted pedal box & brake balance bar from OBP ltd. Get rid of the crappy ABS and servo assisted nonsense.
Step 4 – Seating and safety
Bucket seats, harnesses, plumb in fire extinguisher, kill switches, racing battery and all that good stuff.
Step 5 – Setup and testing
Get to track and dial the whole lot in and start having some fun.
Step 6 – Power
Once the thing is handling and stopping the way I want, it’s time to start thinking about adding power. This is the only part I’m still undecided on, but this is probably going to be at least 6 months away, so plenty of time to think about it yet. There are just so many options but I do want to stay in the BMW family, so M3 engines, V8’s, V10’s hell even V12’s are all options, or go really different and put a 3.5 diesel lump in it. But a big part of me likes the idea of keeping with the original power plant, stroke it up to a 3.0, fully lighted and balanced crank, forged piston & rods, baffled sump, flowed head, big valves, scary cam and triple Weber’s.
The car
1988 BMW E30 325i
The story so far…
When I got the car a few years back, though the engine and shell were pretty straight, the rest of the car was in a rather sorry state. So I rebuilt the suspension with Spax PSX kit, poly bushed it, brand new everything else suspension related, decent disc & pads all round and braided brake lines. The Spax feel nice and tight on the road, but when you get it them on track, and you start asking them to deal with bigger forces, they leave a lot to be desired. Next I decided that I wanted to shed a few pounds, so I stripped out most of the interior. Another track day later, started getting annoyed with constantly spinning one wheel and not putting the power down effectively thanks to the open diff. At the time, I didn’t want to spend big money on an LSD so I went for a welded diff, which was fine in the dry, but after a recent trackday at Silverstone where it didn’t stop raining all day, I couldn’t touch the throttle without getting massively sideways, which is fun, but it ain’t quick and trackday organisers start tutting at you a lot. Which is pretty much brings you up to speed with the history of me and my E30.
It’s definitely not the quickest car I’ve ever driven, nor the best handling, looking, comfortable or reliable. But for some reason it just puts a smile on my face every time I drive it and I just can’t bring myself to sell it. So after a lot of thought I’ve decided to do right by the car and turn into what I’d hope to be ultimate E30 track weapon.
Couple of pics from the day I bought the car...
Pics from the first suspension rebuild...
Pretty much as it sits today...
The Plan…
Step 1 – Handling
First things first, get shot of the Spax and replace them with GAZ Gold coilovers, complete with fully adjustable top mounts. Next 25mm adjustable anti roll bar up front and 22mm at the rear, all with adjustable drop links. Throw the horrible E30 steering rack, with its daft 4 turns lock to lock, in the bin and swap it for a nice E36 rack. The BBS wheels are to be swapped out for some gold Rota Kenzei’s 15X8 wrapped in Federal 959rs-r’s. All topped off with a Quaife ATB LSD.
Step 2 – Weight Saving & Shell Prep
Get the rest of the interior stripped to a bare minimum, including sound deadening, roof lining, carpets and anything else which doesn’t need to be in there. Then Perspex window kit. Once this is done, I’ll be taking the car down to Nickson Motorsport to get a full cage put in, complete with triangulation to the front turrets and a few other bits of fabrication work in preparation for future steps. Finally, replace the bonnet, boot lid and bumpers for light weight fibres ones.
Step 3 – Stopping
Wilwood 6-pot front brake kit is the order of the day here. Tarox disks & pads on the back. All to be complemented with a floor mounted pedal box & brake balance bar from OBP ltd. Get rid of the crappy ABS and servo assisted nonsense.
Step 4 – Seating and safety
Bucket seats, harnesses, plumb in fire extinguisher, kill switches, racing battery and all that good stuff.
Step 5 – Setup and testing
Get to track and dial the whole lot in and start having some fun.
Step 6 – Power
Once the thing is handling and stopping the way I want, it’s time to start thinking about adding power. This is the only part I’m still undecided on, but this is probably going to be at least 6 months away, so plenty of time to think about it yet. There are just so many options but I do want to stay in the BMW family, so M3 engines, V8’s, V10’s hell even V12’s are all options, or go really different and put a 3.5 diesel lump in it. But a big part of me likes the idea of keeping with the original power plant, stroke it up to a 3.0, fully lighted and balanced crank, forged piston & rods, baffled sump, flowed head, big valves, scary cam and triple Weber’s.