e30mclow's e30 #14 - Now 1.5jz + 6 Speed

[e30mclow]

I genuinely lol'd when I picked these up.


Light roll in the rear, nothing done up front just some camber. Lots of room.

Just had 2 days FULL of autocross, with 16-18 runs on Saturday + 5 today.
Grip was amazing vs what I had previously (not surprising).

Ended up fully disconnecting the rear ARB as I was lifting the inside wheel in certain corners.

Should have some action shots later.

[2mAn]

I run 16x7 with 225/45/16 I love it, not too chunky, not rubber band thin. Correct size for an E30. win win win

Those look a little chunkier and sticker... but I also dont plan on having 400bhp so its likely necessary

[e30mclow]

I'm trying to preemptively prepare for fitting these Friday night, before getting up at 5AM on Saturday and driving 2HRs to a track day.

Wheels arrive Friday afternoon, so it'll be a rushed trip to the tire shop then slap these on.

My plan is to raise the car 25mm all around tonight.

I rolled the rear arches a little last night, basically taking the area from the 12 o' clock position down to the front of the arch back to sit where the rear half sits from factory (anyone that has done this will know what I'm talking about).
If needs be, I'll have to run a little more rear camber, as the last thing I want is rubbing.

I'll likely need to run max camber up front to avoid slapping the arches.

I don't know that these guys' suspension setups were, but these are the same widths/offsets/tire profiles:

This guy's rear arches are excessively pulled. I don't think it was entirely necessary to pull that much..


This is tiiight, but he is running low and doesn't appear to have any additional camber up front.




I'm thinking a moderate raise with a light roll in the rear should cover it.
The coilovers on hard with rear ARB on stiff should prevent things from rubbing.

Fingers crossed for success.

[ahrensNW]

I'm curious to see those mounted up

[e30mclow]

Meattttt for this weekend.

[e30mclow]

A mixed bag this weekend.



Exhaust popped off in 2 of my 6 runs. There are 2 slip joints where the 2 manifolds (3 branches a piece) meet the mid section. I reckon the heat of being pounded followed by resting for 10 minutes is causing it to work loose.
My driving was a lot better this time around, the in car footage showing little crisscrossing of hands, and everything was far more controlled.

The only complaint I have with the car (the exhaust is minor) are the tires. I badly need tires as the ones on it are ancient and I'm spinning the wheels in 2nd all around the track.
I've been avoiding buying ones for my current 16x7J wheels as I plan to bring my 16x9Js back from Ireland in July.

Is there a happy middle ground tire size? Something that'll be slightly fat on a 7" wheel, but partially stretched on a 9"? 225/45r16? Or maybe even a daring 225/50r16? The latter may look stupid on a 7".
I'll need to pull the trigger pretty lively, as there is a 2 day event on the 21st & 22nd - EDIT: Going for the fatty option of 225/50r16. They'll fit with the 7Js as the offsets are high enough to play with spacers. On the 9Js I'll likely need to raise the car and run more camber/pull the fenders, but it should look beefcake.

No real footage this time.

Here was the first lap, which was just a case of being able to drive the course after having been allowed walk it once in the morning (it is very hard to remember the turn/movements). That was obviously my slowest run, then my cameralady jumped in for the rest.

Edit - added high res video

https://youtu.be/wPhmhYTmDTg

I find the in car footage very valuable, as I can tell that my hand positioning is improved vs the first time out.
Same lap as above (you can tell I'm unimpressed at the end lol)

https://youtu.be/0ZmAIG8cxcA

Then this lap went south as I went in too hot and had to almost stop to avoid going off course/hitting cones. It then turned into a drift lap as my time wouldn't have been competitive anyway.

https://youtu.be/OOb6OEL7cWU

Still hit most of the clipping points while sideways though.

https://youtu.be/vSBldqucmV0

No cones hit all day and had some great feedback. Tires will make a huge difference.
Came 2nd in class vs a prepared Focus ST. He'd have still beaten me even if I was on slicks, as he was a hell of an operator having beaten 2 Focus RSs in the process.

[e30mclow]

If you want to go in the direction of autocross, I'm not sure the JZ is really the best way to go. I wouldn't be surprised if it added another 100lbs onto the front end.

If I was told that I could have 400hp in the morning but had to lug around and extra 100LBs, I'd be OK with that.

I'm not out to win anything, just to throw the car around and have fun.

Spending is on hold for a little while so I can get the S4 sorted out, so I'll likely start the swap in July/August.

[rturbo 930]

If you want to go in the direction of autocross, I'm not sure the JZ is really the best way to go. I wouldn't be surprised if it added another 100lbs onto the front end.

[e30mclow]

I'm officially in love with Auto-X!

My first outing (Sunday) went excellently and I was left grinning from ear to ear.
My little e30 beat many big dollar cars and my times were on the low end vs a lot of the field (maybe 60 or so cars).

I had a few people come up to me afterwards saying it was great to watch the e30 sliding everywhere.

Some photos:


























This was a spectator's car, but I'd have loved to have seen/heard it running


This was my last & quickest lap, which was the fastest Novice & Sports Modified RAW time.
The video is on the long side as the Cobra before me had a bit of a moment (you can hear it locking up it's wheels at the end of his lap).
The e30 action starts at around 2min 30sec

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZVTktCashA

My plan is to get a few events under my belt before jumping in and buying tires etc. Once the JZ is in the car will need as much tire as possible, so there's no point rushing out and buying ones for my 7J wide wheels.

[e30mclow]

Realistically, anything over 400hp is needless in an e30, so shooting for around that.

The engine currently has a cheapo Driftmotion turbo and stock injectors. I think a Borg Warner S360 or 362 would be plenty for a little car like this.

[wworm]

1-love that wheel
2-this is gonna be rad

What are your power goals? Any ideas on what kind of turbo you'll be running?

[e30mclow]

Picked up my donor car and got soaked in the process.






After some super sketchy loading/unloading antics, it is now sitting pretty in my driveway.



Got it running last night, so I should be ready to start tracing wires and getting the motor ready to be pulled in the coming weeks.

[e30mclow]

Signed up for my first ever Auto-X event today, which occurs on March 18th.
Really looking forward to it as it'll help me dial in all of the geometry.

The biggest risk is St. Patrick's Day on the 17th. I intend to exercise my right to alcohol like the fresh off the boat Irishman I am. This may directly affect lap times/the g-force capabilities of my body.

Really stumbling on what to do with my brakes once the 1J is in.
To be honest, I'm freaked out by booster-less setups, but have never driven a booster delete car.

How do you booster-less guy find driving on the street with unassisted brakes?

[e30mclow]

The ole girl is about to have a change of heart.
1JZ swap coming up!

[e30mclow]

Went and test drove a big turbo 1jz donor car yesterday.
Could be the greatest and worst automotive decision I’ve made in a long time.

99% sure I’ll be going 1JZ here pretty soon.

Also wet sanded the car back and polished it, since my respray budget is likely gone.