Introduction and question

[jlevie]

Eventually I'm sure I'll need to replace most of those parts you listed, but as it sits currently the car should pass tech inspection with no problems. The fact that I'll be running regular street tires for a while helps a lot too. As you know you can only generate so much corning force with street tire.

Not to take this too far off topic but what do you feel is the weakest link with these cars? From the research I've done it seems a lot of guys are installing crank scrapers to help with oiling issues. I have to assume they're running R-comps on high banked tracks though.

That parts list wasn't made with a view to passing tech inspection, but rather is for safety and performance.

You don't need r-comps to encounter oil starvation. It can occur in left hand sweepers taken at speed even on street tires. The oil climbs the right side of the engine and starves the pump. High banks tend to reduce the chances of oil starvation because of the g force and angle of the car provided by the bank.

I'd say the weakest point in the car is the fuel system and specifically the fuel pump and tank configuration. A lot of cars have fuel starvation issues as the tank gets below half full.

[hpde30]

I would look into all the chassis reinforcements you could possibly do. Sway bar, front subframe, rear strut mount, along with other chassis bracing. The sheetmetal is prone to fatigue cracks on any older car that is driven hard.

good point. I've read on the e36 you need to run a brace under the car to keep something structural from tearing, I forget what part it was though. is there a problem like that on the E30? Any places to avoid when it comes to getting braces? I'm sure ebay is hit or miss... I wouldn't mind supporting vendors that support the board of their quality is there. Any recommendations?

That parts list wasn't made with a view to passing tech inspection, but rather is for safety and performance.

You don't need r-comps to encounter oil starvation. It can occur in left hand sweepers taken at speed even on street tires. The oil climbs the right side of the engine and starves the pump. High banks tend to reduce the chances of oil starvation because of the g force and angle of the car provided by the bank.

I'd say the weakest point in the car is the fuel system and specifically the fuel pump and tank configuration. A lot of cars have fuel starvation issues as the tank gets below half full.

I understand your concerns for safety and appreicate the advice. I am the chief of tech for the SCCA in my region and I wouldn't run anything on the track unless it was in good mechanical condition. the performance part I'm not as worried about at the moment... I'll work out those bugs along the way. :)

Very good to know about the fuel system. I was hoping with the low power of the E30 I could run an entire day without filling up my tank.

what kind of fuel consumption are people seeing in a stock powered car for a 20-30min session on the road course?

[jlevie]

good point. I've read on the e36 you need to run a brace under the car to keep something structural from tearing, I forget what part it was though. is there a problem like that on the E30? Any places to avoid when it comes to getting braces? I'm sure ebay is hit or miss... I wouldn't mind supporting vendors that support the board of their quality is there. Any recommendations?

The only brace that I think is worth having is a front strut tower brace. The Sparco is reasonably priced and one of the strongest available. While there might be some small gain from increasing the stiffness, I think the bigger gain is in lessening the chances of moving the shock towers in an off or minor wall/barrier incident.

I understand your concerns for safety and appreicate the advice. I am the chief of tech for the SCCA in my region and I wouldn't run anything on the track unless it was in good mechanical condition. the performance part I'm not as worried about at the moment... I'll work out those bugs along the way. :)

Very good to know about the fuel system. I was hoping with the low power of the E30 I could run an entire day without filling up my tank.

what kind of fuel consumption are people seeing in a stock powered car for a 20-30min session on the road course?

Consumption depends on the track and how much of the time the engine will be at full throttle and high in rpm band. I figure on as much as 1gal/5min in race conditions.

See http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=157887 for one solution to the fuel system problem. I can run the tank down to just a few gallons before starvation in a corner starts to be a problem.

[Sagaris]

good point. I've read on the e36 you need to run a brace under the car to keep something structural from tearing, I forget what part it was though. is there a problem like that on the E30? Any places to avoid when it comes to getting braces?

I remember reading about some of the E36 non-M cars having rear subframe mount tearing/cracking, something that can happen on any car, but in my limited experience with E30's I have not come across problems with rear subframe mounting points tearing out. If you check AKG motorsports site they have some nice detailed reinforcement installation pictures which show an example of the engine mount tearing through the front subframe (for which they make reinforcements). Rear sway bar mounts (when upgrading sway bars) appear to be the most common problems as well as the strut towers cracking. A strut brace can help the latter.

I have an Ireland Engineering front upper strut tower brace. I absolutely love it. It is the same overall design as the sparco bar and a very good price.

Mason Engineering has a lot of chassis bracing that you wont find at most other vendors, most of which I think I would build myself rather than buying however they are pretty neat.

The only thing I would say to avoid with braces is to not run a rollcage of any sort in a street driven car. Only run a cage in a car in which you always have a helmet on when driving it. Smashing your melon on a rollcage is never a good thing.