So Hillclimb build Q's

[kvvikdrawmcgraw]

I drove up my friends mountain road, tight turns, thin roads and quick acceleration, and Im in love with these roads. Noticed my suspension wasn't as tight as Id like it to be, and my steering not as responsive. What can I do to combat this and have more fun on these roads? I was in my 87 325is with bavauto springs and bilstein shocks (not sure on rates, bought the car with them installed), camber plates front and rear (not sure the camber but the rear is way negative, not my intention). Think thats all i know when it comes to my suspension mods. Any mods i should look into or maintenance I should make sure to keep checked or even driving techniques on these roads would be great.

[einstein57]

When i think of hill climb i think of pike peak. You want just a canyon carver. I'd recommend selling your springs and jumping on those h&r races springs in the group buy. Then go from there.

[Jaxx_]

When i think of hill climb i think of pike peak. You want just a canyon carver. I'd recommend selling your springs and jumping on those h&r races springs in the group buy. Then go from there.

hill climb is not just pikes peak... there are hill climb events all over the US, and most of them are going to be on paved, super smooth roads that even formula cars can run on.

I suggest you go with a good shock/coil paring, and focus on getting the right swaybars for how you want the car to drive. After that, go with as much meat is possible on all 4 corners, and an aggressive alignment. I don't drive my e30 much on the street, but on the way back from autox yesterday we hit some twisty roads. I'll tell you this--setup a good track car that is nimble (autox) and it will perform fantastically on roads.

things to keep in mind are bump-steer, twitchiness, and tendency to oversteer. You need to be confident in the car when you are hitting off camber corners and compound curves.

[jlevie]

You have to decide what your goals are and what purpose the car has.

The best handling will come from high springs rates, double adjustable shocks properly tuned for those spring rates, and matching sways. Some of the rubber parts in the suspension need to be very high durometer poly, the CABS need oty Delrin, and the subframe and diff bushings need to be aluminum. The car's alignment will probably be all the camber you can get and zero front and rear toe. Oh yeah you want to be on r-comps or tires with a wear rating lower than 200 and race brake pads. Ride quality will be poor and you'll go through tires, rotors, and pads, very quickly. For safety and performance, completely strip the car (add lightness), add a cage, racing seats, and 6-point harnesses. A helmet, fire suit, and HANS would be a great idea, but that would probably attract unwanted attention from law enforcement. It won't be much of a street car, but it will a pretty effective "canyon carver".

A lesser configuration, that is barely "streetable" would be the Spec E30 suspension and very stiff replacements for the the OE "rubber bits". To make that work you still need a lot of camber and 200 or less tires. For brakes I'd use PFC 06 pads. Those pads will be dusty and somewhat noisy, but good brakes are possibly more important than good handling.

Going fast on twisty public roads is fun. But it puts you and anyone else on those roads at extreme risk. While more expensive, it is far safer for all concerned to limit that sort of activities to a race track.

[kvvikdrawmcgraw]

Canyon carver is definitely the word. Who would I talk to about spring rates, shocks, sways, and matching them all? I think I can figure it out for most other things. Already doing some weight reduction, have my heat gun ready for the tar. Noticed I was rolling around in my sport seats a bit, eventually a better seat will be great.

[Chruby99]

http://www.spectre341challenge.com/

Check this one out. It is in my neck of the woods. I am trying to get my iX up to snuff. I have driven my work truck up and down it many times. FUN. They also do a Ferrari event on this one.

[CrazyB]

You have to decide what your goals are and what purpose the car has.

The best handling will come from high springs rates, double adjustable shocks properly tuned for those spring rates, and matching sways. Some of the rubber parts in the suspension need to be very high durometer poly, the CABS need oty Delrin, and the subframe and diff bushings need to be aluminum. The car's alignment will probably be all the camber you can get and zero front and rear toe. Oh yeah you want to be on r-comps or tires with a wear rating lower than 200 and race brake pads. Ride quality will be poor and you'll go through tires, rotors, and pads, very quickly. For safety and performance, completely strip the car (add lightness), add a cage, racing seats, and 6-point harnesses. A helmet, fire suit, and HANS would be a great idea, but that would probably attract unwanted attention from law enforcement. It won't be much of a street car, but it will a pretty effective "canyon carver".

A lesser configuration, that is barely "streetable" would be the Spec E30 suspension and very stiff replacements for the the OE "rubber bits". To make that work you still need a lot of camber and 200 or less tires. For brakes I'd use PFC 06 pads. Those pads will be dusty and somewhat noisy, but good brakes are possibly more important than good handling.

Going fast on twisty public roads is fun. But it puts you and anyone else on those roads at extreme risk. While more expensive, it is far safer for all concerned to limit that sort of activities to a race track.

A setup that works pretty well for me is GC with double adjustable koni shocks.
15x8 wheels with hankook rs3 tires and some very aggressive pads and a big front sway bar and as much camber as you can get.
Also i have noticed a big improvement was going with race seat as it hold you snug and allows you to concentrate on driving without worrying on sliding around.

I just made the move to 17x9 with 255 RS3 tires but have not had a chance to test it yet.

[CrazyB]

Canyon carver is definitely the word. Who would I talk to about spring rates, shocks, sways, and matching them all? I think I can figure it out for most other things. Already doing some weight reduction, have my heat gun ready for the tar. Noticed I was rolling around in my sport seats a bit, eventually a better seat will be great.

I recommend you cal up GroundControl

[kvvikdrawmcgraw]

I'll shoot them an email. Id like to hear your opinion on the 17x9's when you give them a test

[CrazyB]

Well first opinion on 17x9 I have is they are a pain in the ass to fit, i have had to do a lot of clearancing and playing with caster and spacers to get the front to fit.

[einstein57]

hill climb is not just pikes peak... there are hill climb events all over the US, and most of them are going to be on paved, super smooth roads that even formula cars can run on.

I thought pikes peak was announced to be fully paved a couple years ago.

[blefevre]

I thought pikes peak was announced to be fully paved a couple years ago.

This is the first year that it is fully paved.

[Jaxx_]

a big front sway bar and as much camber as you can get.

for ALL the understeer?

[kvvikdrawmcgraw]

Age old question, springs or coilovers for this canyon carver? The only upside to coilovers adjustability right?

[einstein57]

The biggest upside to coilover is getting the spring rates you want. Otherwise your options are spec e30 springs or J stock springs.