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

[e30mclow]

Endeavored to dial in my 4 wheel alignment yesterday.
Having adjustable rear trailing arm tabs is great and all, but the local yokel alignment shops have no comprehension of anything outside of what the spec book says.

Dialed it all in pretty nicely as a compromise between street and Auto-X. When I get to an Auto-X day, I just have to knock the front camber plates in and I'm read to rock.

[e30mclow]

Just found some euro Bosch headlights, front grilles and rear license plate surround for a good deal.

[rturbo 930]

Really enjoying it now, but it is making me regret buying the 1JZ donor. Unless I go with a small turbo and slicks, it'd hardly be as quick as the ole m20 around a small course like this.

Not surprising, and it's why I mentioned it earlier in your thread. You're doing courses with a lot of quick turns, and lots of speeding up and slowing down. The long, heavy 1JZ is going to make your car faster in a straight line when you can wind it out, but not in the corners. Given that the E30 is front heavy to begin with, I don't think the JZ is a good choice, especially for what you're doing.

If you still want to do a swap, consider the lighter (but somewhat low on torque) Honda K24, which seems to be getting some attention at the moment, or do what another member is doing - a Ford Ecoboost swap. Should be lightweight, with LOADS of torque. Thread here: https://www.r3vlimited.com/board/sho...d.php?t=385769

And then there's the option of building up the M20, in which case, you'd get the benefit of a fantastic soundtrack to drive to.

[e30mclow]

Sunday's results are up. Some interesting cars involved, a real mix.

Absolutely crap video of one of my runs, but still shows some of the other cars milling about. It pains me seeing the car hop on the exit of the last left handed sweeper, I'd have probably cracked 40.9xx only for that.

When I pull up, you can see the #1 Corvette running. He is about 17-18 years old, and the car came on a trailer being pulled by his brand new Ford Raptor. Serious money, but he was a very nice guy and obviously a brilliant driver. You can also see the some of the Miatas (mx5s) with tire warmers on, incredibly well prepared cars for what are really really short bursts of "racing".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FII6AQbALRE

The Ford Ranger (pickup) listed was a spaceframed Ranger with a big block chevy and 335 wide tires on all 4 corners. I loved it.



The Porsche 914/6 was a thing of beauty (in front of me in the video). He was in my running group, positioned to start ahead of me. I had to get out of my car while waiting for my turn in the paddock, as the fumes from the car running so rich on race fuel was making me dizzy.

Really enjoying it now, but it is making me regret buying the 1JZ donor. Unless I go with a small turbo and slicks, it'd hardly be as quick as the ole m20 around a small course like this.

[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?