E30 325i track car preparation help needed

[HUX500]

I have just bought an E30 325i, 2 door, no sunroof, g reg, 124,000miles, mostly BMW service history, solid body, good mechanicals (£650). And want to turn it into a track day toy (v.excited), I will be driving to and from track but apart from that it will stay in a garage.. Bearing in mind it is the credit crunch, what are your views on what I must fit:

1. Racing seat yes/no?
2. 6 point harness y/n?
3. roll cage y/n?
4. Uprated air filter y/n?
5. New suspension y/n?
6. new brake pads, on standard discs (EBC yellow?) y/n?
7. change engine mounts y/n?
8. new clutch y/n?
9. increase cooling by ducts to front brakes y/n?
10. racing steering wheel y/n?

I don't want to be the fastest person on the track, just reliable and safe, for the least cost. I would really appreciate your replies.

best

D

[teabagger]

an lsd from a sport model is a good mod.
i had engine mounts let go on track
strip it out

[HUX500]

cheers teabagger,

I was going to strip it out. And I agree an LSD is a good mod, but quite expensive?.

If you only had £1,000 - £1,500 to spend on upgrades what would they be?

best

D

[BoxheadTim]

I'd remove the bits you really don't need (like the backseat if it's a track-only car), give it a good service (don't forget new brake fluid!) and take it on a track.

You'll find out very quickly what needs addressing first.

[HUX500]

cheers boxheadtim,

Agreed i will trip everything out that is not needed.

so you don't think roll cage/race seat/harness is advisble on a trackday?

[edh]

My thoughts below - sort out the suspension & brakes first & if you have any money left, cage & harness might be a good idea, although personally i never liked driving a caged car on the roads. It's also worth making sure you have some decent tyres. After that, save your cash to fix the stuff that breaks You should have loads of fun in a car like that

HUX500 said:

I have just bought an E30 325i, 2 door, no sunroof, g reg, 124,000miles, mostly BMW service history, solid body, good mechanicals (£650). And want to turn it into a track day toy (v.excited), I will be driving to and from track but apart from that it will stay in a garage.. Bearing in mind it is the credit crunch, what are your views on what I must fit:

1. Racing seat yes/no? YES - maybe just with std 3-point belt
2. 6 point harness y/n? NO - not yet
3. roll cage y/n? NO - not yet
4. Uprated air filter y/n? NO
5. New suspension y/n? YES - originals probably knackered, good opportunity to firm things up. (Bilstein maybe? + good geo setup)
6. new brake pads, on standard discs (EBC yellow?) y/n? YES (not EBC's though, how about Mintex?)
7. change engine mounts y/n? ? - Change them when you need to - if they are shot, change them now.
8. new clutch y/n? - see 7.
9. increase cooling by ducts to front brakes y/n? YES - very cheap mod, well worth it if you have stickier rubber.
10. racing steering wheel y/n? NO - or get a cheap s/h one on ebay

I don't want to be the fastest person on the track, just reliable and safe, for the least cost. I would really appreciate your replies.

best

D

[HUX500]

edh,

thanks for the reply, jus the sort of thing i was after.

I a tempted to fit ferodo DS2500 pads. Also just spoken to 'circuit days' who seemed vey helpful and said they could change tyres and brakes on site during a track day.

Why do you no like to drive wih roll cage on road? Visibility, banging head?

best

D

[agent006]

1. Racing seat yes
2. 6 point harness y
3. roll cage y
4. Uprated air filter n
5. New suspension y
6. new brake pads, on standard discs (EBC yellow?) y
7. change engine mounts n
8. new clutch if it needs it
9. increase cooling by ducts to front brakes if they overheat
10. racing steering wheel if you want one

[HUX500]

cheers agent006,

but which first - suspension or roll cage?

[swtmerce]

You'd have to do suspension first since, after stripping it out, the car will be riding very high which will obviously make the handling interesting.

[edh]

HUX500 said:

edh,

thanks for the reply, jus the sort of thing i was after.

I a tempted to fit ferodo DS2500 pads. Also just spoken to 'circuit days' who seemed vey helpful and said they could change tyres and brakes on site during a track day.

Why do you no like to drive wih roll cage on road? Visibility, banging head?

best

D

DS2500 are OK IMO, I just have a preference for Mintex (or Perfomance Friction if you have some spare cash )

I feel more exposed driving a caged car on the road - it certainly brings hard points much closer to your head, so increases the chance of banging your head in a crash. Having said that, I spent 5 or 6 years driving caged trackday cars to & from circuits, so it obviously didn't worry me too much

[BoxheadTim]

HUX500 said:

cheers boxheadtim,

Agreed i will trip everything out that is not needed.

so you don't think roll cage/race seat/harness is advisble on a trackday?

Well, I'm sticking a proper rollbar into my current MX5 trackday/fast road car, but I don't think they're essential straight away.

Turning your car into a trackday car will be an ongoing undertaking IMHO so I would start with the obvious (ie, stripping it) and then take it onto the track so you can identify those areas that'll need attention straight away. Once you know that, you can formulate a proper plan of attack.

[james28]

agent006 said:

1. Racing seat yes
2. 6 point harness y
3. roll cage y
4. Uprated air filter n
5. New suspension y
6. new brake pads, on standard discs (EBC yellow?) y
7. change engine mounts n
8. new clutch if it needs it
9. increase cooling by ducts to front brakes if they overheat
10. racing steering wheel if you want one

as he said but get some good quality tyres plus fresh oil and filter

[chris7676]

I would always say new suspension (shocks at least) and start with that - for ANY older car, not to mention that you can get adjustable/harder setup being suitable for the track.

[dan101smith]

My order of preference:

1. strip it
2. braided brake lines/uprated fluid/decent pads (Ferrodo DS2500 or 3000, or Pagid)
3. bucket seat
4. replace bushes
5. uprate suspension

That's all you really need to do for your first trackday.

THEN:

1. decent track tyres (second hand slicks)
2. have a look for a LSD, and if possible find a shorter ratio to make it quicker
3. harness
4. cage, if you really want to

[HUX500]

thanks guys.

I think I am going to do:

1. Strip out.
2. Racing Seat.
3. Racing steering wheel (they look cool!)
4. Suspension

And then go from there.

How often do you guys change oil, after each track day? Or after every two /three?

[HUX500]

with upgraded brakes of course..

[iguana]

With my track e30 oil/filter changed when got it, then changed after 1st track day, & it would stay clean for a good while, but changed after each 2- 3 track days- it saw no road use.

OMP cage cheap & easy for e30- & ebc yellows with stock discs, braided lines good fluid, backing plates off & cooling ducts & never got fade- bleed every couple of track days, keep yr eye on wheel bearings for 1st few track days in mine I had to replace 'em all, so may as well put new ones in to begin with.

Dont skimp on suspension, most fast road stuff is just not hard enough.

Little gem she was too.

Edited by iguana on Friday 23 January 15:12

[Brummmie]

Brake Pads, you cant go wrong with Carbone Lorraine for dedicated track use.
I have em in mine and the performance as soon as fitted was dramatic.

[teabagger]

HUX500 said:

cheers teabagger,

I was going to strip it out. And I agree an LSD is a good mod, but quite expensive?.

If you only had £1,000 - £1,500 to spend on upgrades what would they be?

best

D

i think you can get an lsd for around £150 to £200 on ebay. i think the sports had a 3.91 ratio diff. its no fun trying to accelerate out of tight turns only for your inside wheel to spin up all the time.
as suggested, take the splashgaurds off the discs and fit some ducts or tube to direct cold air to them. ebc yellow stuff pads will be up to this job if the car is stripped.
its all about keeping costs down in the early stages, just to see how much time and effort yoy really want to put into trackdays. if you get hooked, spend alittle extra on your car as you go.
you need to have a reliable car first. spend some money on the boring service items first.