E36 Track Car - Square or staggered wheels?
Discussion
Another firm vote for square here. My car is very neutral like this, and can easily be adjusted with geometry and, if you chose, ARBs but I haven't felt the need for that yet.
I've never seen any serious E36 track car on a staggered setup, now I think about it, including lots of ex-race cars.
I've never seen any serious E36 track car on a staggered setup, now I think about it, including lots of ex-race cars.
McSam said:
Another firm vote for square here. My car is very neutral like this, and can easily be adjusted with geometry and, if you chose, ARBs but I haven't felt the need for that yet.
I've never seen any serious E36 track car on a staggered setup, now I think about it, including lots of ex-race cars.
What size/offset are you running?I've never seen any serious E36 track car on a staggered setup, now I think about it, including lots of ex-race cars.
Currently 225/50R16. The consensus seems to be that E36s are at their best on 17s, but I have a small mountain of 16" wheels and limited budget, so using what I have and getting cheap tyres is the way for me! I use Style 30s, which are ET46. They're fine at the rear but need a 15mm spacer at the front to clear my coilovers.
It sounds by your questions that you have not done too many track days. I would probable stay clear of slicks. Firstly it will put a lot of load on your suspension, bushes and top mounts and secondly you will not get the best out of them.
I would suggest building up to them. Get your car sorted out suspension, bushes etc and start with regular tyres. Car will be nice and progressive and you will learn with lower grip what works and what does not work both in terms of car set up and driving style. Then move to a track day compund such as toyo r888. These have mind bending levels of grip in comparison to a road tyre. Then if you feel the need slicks.
I would also stick with a square set up again like has been suggested with the lightest wheel and most aggressive offset possible to give you the widest track without touching arches. Unless you have something really powerful your front tyres will take a beating and so having identical wheels and offsets allows you to swap tyres front to back and rotate tyres thus getting more life out of expensive tyres. Having a fair amount of negative camber at the front helps as this will not only aid grip, but will give more even ryre wear.
Hope this helps
I would suggest building up to them. Get your car sorted out suspension, bushes etc and start with regular tyres. Car will be nice and progressive and you will learn with lower grip what works and what does not work both in terms of car set up and driving style. Then move to a track day compund such as toyo r888. These have mind bending levels of grip in comparison to a road tyre. Then if you feel the need slicks.
I would also stick with a square set up again like has been suggested with the lightest wheel and most aggressive offset possible to give you the widest track without touching arches. Unless you have something really powerful your front tyres will take a beating and so having identical wheels and offsets allows you to swap tyres front to back and rotate tyres thus getting more life out of expensive tyres. Having a fair amount of negative camber at the front helps as this will not only aid grip, but will give more even ryre wear.
Hope this helps
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