new sprint car & testing
Discussion
I started doing sprint events this year in an old 316 BMW and because I wanted something a bit quicker I just bought an e30 325i. The car is pretty much ready to go having already been prepped by a previous owner and I just spent the weekend moving the seat and getting myself comfortable, as well as changing fluids and giving the engine a thorough service.
My first time out in the car will be when I go testing at Brands on Tuesday and I just wanted some advice What base lines should I start with when it comes to basics like tyre pressures etc? Should I soften dampers off and gradually stiffen things up once I actually get a feel for how the car handles? Or am I just spend the fist time out getting a feel for the car as it is? I would have asked the previous owner for advice but sadly he died earlier this year.
Any help and/or advice would be much appreciated.
This is my car prior to my buying it and it being caged etc. I also plan to add lightness, with poly windows etc and fit an M3 splitter and Evo rear wing, but is there anything else I could/should be doing?
The current spec;
OMP cage
Powerflex purple poly bushes all round.
E30 m3 eccentric front lollipop bushes.
E36 steering rack (no power steering) and solid steering guibo.
3.91 LSD
Miltek exhaust.
Chipped ECU
Gaz gold coilovers.
Adjustable front top mounts and rose jointed rears.
My first time out in the car will be when I go testing at Brands on Tuesday and I just wanted some advice What base lines should I start with when it comes to basics like tyre pressures etc? Should I soften dampers off and gradually stiffen things up once I actually get a feel for how the car handles? Or am I just spend the fist time out getting a feel for the car as it is? I would have asked the previous owner for advice but sadly he died earlier this year.
Any help and/or advice would be much appreciated.
This is my car prior to my buying it and it being caged etc. I also plan to add lightness, with poly windows etc and fit an M3 splitter and Evo rear wing, but is there anything else I could/should be doing?
The current spec;
OMP cage
Powerflex purple poly bushes all round.
E30 m3 eccentric front lollipop bushes.
E36 steering rack (no power steering) and solid steering guibo.
3.91 LSD
Miltek exhaust.
Chipped ECU
Gaz gold coilovers.
Adjustable front top mounts and rose jointed rears.
Edited by e21Mark on Monday 5th December 10:39
Looks good Mark.
Myself and Ben (who sprinted the Purple E36 M3 last year) tested my E30 320 on a trackday at Brands Hatch on Saturday for the first time, Good fun and in the dry seamed to handle and grip very well.
In the wet morning runs Paddock was very very slippery, we were all told to go easy I rather underestimated quite how slippery it was and managed my first trackday spin through paddock on about my 2nd or 3rd lap. Think I just clipped the curb on the apex and was quite surprised how quickly the back came round. Despite being a very minor spin it really didn't seam to amuse the organisers even the sound meter guy decided it was his job to be a bit of a prick about it.
bit of footage from the end of the day here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0Unf5twcIo
Myself and Ben (who sprinted the Purple E36 M3 last year) tested my E30 320 on a trackday at Brands Hatch on Saturday for the first time, Good fun and in the dry seamed to handle and grip very well.
In the wet morning runs Paddock was very very slippery, we were all told to go easy I rather underestimated quite how slippery it was and managed my first trackday spin through paddock on about my 2nd or 3rd lap. Think I just clipped the curb on the apex and was quite surprised how quickly the back came round. Despite being a very minor spin it really didn't seam to amuse the organisers even the sound meter guy decided it was his job to be a bit of a prick about it.
bit of footage from the end of the day here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0Unf5twcIo
I saw in another thread you'd bought an e30. In fact, I may even upgrade my license and do some of the same races.
I went off at Paddock in my e21 and got the whole ''this is a trackday not qualifying for the BTCC'' lecture. Everyone makes mistakes was my own personal take on it.
I'm testing tomorrow so it will be interesting to see how much quicker the e30 is than my e21. There's another track-day on Friday 9th too.
I went off at Paddock in my e21 and got the whole ''this is a trackday not qualifying for the BTCC'' lecture. Everyone makes mistakes was my own personal take on it.
I'm testing tomorrow so it will be interesting to see how much quicker the e30 is than my e21. There's another track-day on Friday 9th too.
Oh well, the pressure to win my class will be non existent up against cars like that. Just me against the clock then. 
Well I tested at Brands today and managed to get a good few laps under my belt. It was really slippery in places. Especially going through Clearways where I had a couple of big oversteer moments. The first 2 sessions were just about racking up the miles and getting used to just how different the e30 feels compared to my old e21. The added grunt meant I was pulling nearly 120mph on the straight compared to 100 in the e21. The brakes didn't inspire the confidence of the Wilwood set-up I had before but they worked well enough. I had one moment when I lost the rear braking for Paddock Hill but caught it and kept my foot in. Apart from those moments everything ticked along nicely.
At lunchtime we brought the rear ride height up to a more sensible level and eased off the dampers. Whoever set up the suspension before had everything wound up as stiffly as possible and the rear was almost on the bumpstops. With a bit more compliance and raised 25mm things were a lot less twitchy.
Now I know that the car is as I'd hoped we can start sorting the suspension properly. The spring rates have been decided on and the rear needs an ARB fitting. The LSD could do with a service and uprating from 25% to 70. The windscreen cracked today so that needs replacing when we fit poly windows. I think a brake upgrade is on the cards too, even if its just better quality pads.
Anyway, it's a step forward in performance and handling and should be able to enter a few events next year confident that I can afford to keep the car running. Am back at Brands on Friday all being well.
Well I tested at Brands today and managed to get a good few laps under my belt. It was really slippery in places. Especially going through Clearways where I had a couple of big oversteer moments. The first 2 sessions were just about racking up the miles and getting used to just how different the e30 feels compared to my old e21. The added grunt meant I was pulling nearly 120mph on the straight compared to 100 in the e21. The brakes didn't inspire the confidence of the Wilwood set-up I had before but they worked well enough. I had one moment when I lost the rear braking for Paddock Hill but caught it and kept my foot in. Apart from those moments everything ticked along nicely.
At lunchtime we brought the rear ride height up to a more sensible level and eased off the dampers. Whoever set up the suspension before had everything wound up as stiffly as possible and the rear was almost on the bumpstops. With a bit more compliance and raised 25mm things were a lot less twitchy.
Now I know that the car is as I'd hoped we can start sorting the suspension properly. The spring rates have been decided on and the rear needs an ARB fitting. The LSD could do with a service and uprating from 25% to 70. The windscreen cracked today so that needs replacing when we fit poly windows. I think a brake upgrade is on the cards too, even if its just better quality pads.
Anyway, it's a step forward in performance and handling and should be able to enter a few events next year confident that I can afford to keep the car running. Am back at Brands on Friday all being well.
2 months on and I've made nearly all of the proposed changes to my car, renewed my licence and am now saving towards some entry fees!
We stripped off all the suspension and checked everything was as it should be, before changing the spring rates, going a bit harder up front and softer on the rear. The improvement could be felt straight away. We also fitted Wilwood 4 pots up front combined with some decent pads. Biggest change of all was the amount of lightness we added. In fact we lost an easy 40kgs and there's still a bit more to come with things like some lighter Raceline rims, race battery etc. Thanks to another PH'er I finally have a decent seat that can accommodate my ''generous proportions'' although I'm working on adding some lightness there too!
How I just have to wait for the weather to improve so that I can rack up some mileage on track. I was considering going to Brands on February 13th (weather permitting) but is it too cold? When we went back in early December it was just so slippery! Clearways was like ice and stayed that way all day. Maybe I would be better to wait till March? As my car is road legal I am currently driving it most days in order to just get used to how it feels, compared to what I have been used to.
Anyway, this is how it is now.
We stripped off all the suspension and checked everything was as it should be, before changing the spring rates, going a bit harder up front and softer on the rear. The improvement could be felt straight away. We also fitted Wilwood 4 pots up front combined with some decent pads. Biggest change of all was the amount of lightness we added. In fact we lost an easy 40kgs and there's still a bit more to come with things like some lighter Raceline rims, race battery etc. Thanks to another PH'er I finally have a decent seat that can accommodate my ''generous proportions'' although I'm working on adding some lightness there too!
How I just have to wait for the weather to improve so that I can rack up some mileage on track. I was considering going to Brands on February 13th (weather permitting) but is it too cold? When we went back in early December it was just so slippery! Clearways was like ice and stayed that way all day. Maybe I would be better to wait till March? As my car is road legal I am currently driving it most days in order to just get used to how it feels, compared to what I have been used to.
Anyway, this is how it is now.
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