Strict budget, slow restoration. *Now with moar budget*

[Wh33lhop]

Those 205/50 r888's look like a pretty good match for an 8. Not over or under stretched just nice and square. How do you like them as a dd/autocross tire? I'm trying to decide between them and the rival for my next set.

Rivals would be better for autox for two main reasons.

One, the R888 is primarily a track tire. That means it's sticky but it's meant to operate at higher temps (see Hoosier A6 vs. R6).

Two, the American compound R888 ("GG" compound) is 100 treadwear. That means it's not considered a street tire by SCCA rules and you will be thrown in a class with slicks.

If you want to track, they are great because you can sometimes find the 205s for cheap (my last two sets of 205s have been bought for $400-500 shipped brand new though they retail for >$600). They do fit better on an 8" wheel but you can slap em on a 7 just fine. I hear RA1s are the better tire but I keep finding deals on R888s.

For DD, they are fine, they just don't last long, will heat cycle out faster and they have some noticeable tread hum over most surfaces.

How 'bout dem waffles, cool guy?

waffleswaffleswaffleswaffles.

[tinkerputzer]

Rivals would be better for autox for two main reasons.

One, the R888 is primarily a track tire. That means it's sticky but it's meant to operate at higher temps (see Hoosier A6 vs. R6).

Two, the American compound R888 ("GG" compound) is 100 treadwear. That means it's not considered a street tire by SCCA rules and you will be thrown in a class with slicks.

If you want to track, they are great because you can sometimes find the 205s for cheap (my last two sets of 205s have been bought for $400-500 shipped brand new though they retail for >$600). They do fit better on an 8" wheel but you can slap em on a 7 just fine. I hear RA1s are the better tire but I keep finding deals on R888s.

For DD, they are fine, they just don't last long, will heat cycle out faster and they have some noticeable tread hum over most surfaces.

I didn't know that about the r888 needing more heat. That's good to know. I'm getting the same impression of the v710's i've been autocrossing on. They work great on 85* summer afternoons, always needing at least one run to get up to temp, but at the last event (55* day) they just didn't seem to stay hot enough. I'm strongly considering ditching them for some rivals.

I'm planning on getting the akg 12mm subframe riser bushings, but am on the fence about getting the toe and camber adjusters. I'm constantly see people saying they get bumped out of adjustment. Would you say they're more hassle then they're worth? Or are they necessary in addition the riser bushings to get a good rear alignment?

[JCarp90]

Bored at work so I read your thread. Fucking awesome.

I like your hobag.

[Wh33lhop]

I didn't know that about the r888 needing more heat. That's good to know. I'm getting the same impression of the v710's i've been autocrossing on. They work great on 85* summer afternoons, always needing at least one run to get up to temp, but at the last event (55* day) they just didn't seem to stay hot enough. I'm strongly considering ditching them for some rivals.

I'm planning on getting the akg 12mm subframe riser bushings, but am on the fence about getting the toe and camber adjusters. I'm constantly see people saying they get bumped out of adjustment. Would you say they're more hassle then they're worth? Or are they necessary in addition the riser bushings to get a good rear alignment?

V710 is primarily an autocross tire from my understanding, so its temperature window should be condusive to such.

Honestly I would advise against an adjustable subframe with risers. I am planning on swapping mine back out for a stock one soon because 1) they fucking slip, and 2) they fucking suck to adjust with the risers. I have some posi-lock style adjusters which should help the slipping issue if I'm not happy with the alignment with a stock subframe. In theory, the risers give you back about a half degree of camber at any given ride height. However you will raise the rear of the car if you keep the same ride height adjustment, so that's something to think about if you're at the edge of adjustment or if you don't have adjustable ride height. Toe gain seems to be exponential in the rear, so risers should help considerably with that. I'll report back when I have the stock subframe on the car.

[Wh33lhop]

Some good info for the theoretical camber and toe curves in the rear (source)




AKG risers (and most others) are 12mm or a half inch. That equates to around a half degree of camber and thereabouts 40% of your toe reduced at the average E30 ride height.

[tinkerputzer]

Sucks your having so many problems with them! I'm glad to get an honest opinion from someone who doesn't baby their car. Going to just do the akg riser bushings then. Hopefully it works out for both of us.

That website with the camber and toe curves is quite a resource!

I've heard that about the v710's too. I'm going to stick with them to see how they do after the sub-frame is raised.

[Lof8]

V710 is primarily an autocross tire from my understanding, so its temperature window should be condusive to such.

Honestly I would advise against an adjustable subframe with risers. I am planning on swapping mine back out for a stock one soon because 1) they fucking slip, and 2) they fucking suck to adjust with the risers. I have some posi-lock style adjusters which should help the slipping issue if I'm not happy with the alignment with a stock subframe. In theory, the risers give you back about a half degree of camber at any given ride height. However you will raise the rear of the car if you keep the same ride height adjustment, so that's something to think about if you're at the edge of adjustment or if you don't have adjustable ride height. Toe gain seems to be exponential in the rear, so risers should help considerably with that. I'll report back when I have the stock subframe on the car.

I have an all stock rear subframe (minus poly bushings). I would never consider fucking with the adjustable stuff or risers. Camber and tire-wear are both spot-on for my car, which has been a track-rat-only for the last 3 years. I would consider the risers on a street-only car but I've heard too many nightmares on the adjusters slipping.

[Wh33lhop]

Okay I haven't updated in fucking forever. So here's a recap of what's been happening lately. Also, sorry for terrible image quality.



I did an autocross thing



(car had terrible brakes for this so I barely used them)

Also I borrowed a set of bcaps and plebeian tires so now it looks stockish




teehee


Doing rear wheel bearings and axles


Bearing out!


Fuck this thing


New bearing in


Bearings and new axles in


Cut the AST's bump stops since there wasn't enough compression travel


Got the E46 some wheels and tires since the E30 isn't ready to be tracked yet


At thunderhill being racecar-y


Me being wh33lhoppy (this is actual clean driving and no crazy slides, tires too expensive)


Back to E30
This thing needs brakes, and bad. These should help (PF11, I didn't get no street pads bitch)


ABS is also not working, scored some good condition sensors off a guy who did a 5 lug swap.. oh and there is other brake stuff


Here was my ABS relay... fuse link popped. Just soldered in a new one (read: small strand of wire) and that did the trick.


blahdy blah, changing the master cyl


old E32 735i master vs. new 325ix master. The E32 master has a bigger bore and more front bias. I'd like the pedal to sit lower for better heel-toe and better brake bias, plus I wanted a new part, so I grabbed an ix master.


Car up on stands getting fully bled


I fucking love pressure bleeders, does the hard work for you


This little guy is useful too


So far, a decent success. The ABS works now, probably for the first time in over 10 years. The brakes... well I think there is some air in the ABS unit because I've never been able to get them to feel as they should for years, even after many full system bleeds. So, next up is to bleed the system while cycling the ABS unit. Also, doing front wheel bearings as well as an alignment and 3-clutch diff. Then, the car may actually be fit(well, ish) for the track.

[lambo]

teehee

About dat lyfe eh?

[george graves]

I don't know why you guys are into keeping your abs. 90's Abs systems are for grandma's that don't know how to both stear and break. Now, something like a e46/x5/e39 vintage has true "save your butt" control....but for an e30? Meh!

[8380 Labs]

stear and break.

cosigned. :p

[325ix]

I don't know why you guys are into keeping your abs. 90's Abs systems are for grandma's that don't know how to both stear and break. Now, something like a e46/x5/e39 vintage has true "save your butt" control....but for an e30? Meh!

I've honestly never even braked hard enough to have my abs engage and i've been on the brakes pretty good more than once.

[Wh33lhop]

I don't know why you guys are into keeping your abs. 90's Abs systems are for grandma's that don't know how to both stear and break. Now, something like a e46/x5/e39 vintage has true "save your butt" control....but for an e30? Meh!

Whoa there Andretti. :p There are two good reasons for me to keep ABS:

1. Even 80s ABS works better than a groggy wh33lhop. I can threshold brake fine as long as I am alert, but if I'm not in the zone, well that's a different story, and frankly this is no different for anyone out there, as cool as you think you are. Shitty 80s ABS still returns much better stopping distances than a brake lockup.
2. I codrive a lot of fun cars and I want something to offer in return. I've heard the good ol' "I can threshold brake just fine" from a thousand people I let codrive my car, and every time, I leave the event with flat spotted expensive tires anyway.

I am curious how the ABS will work with the PFCs, ASTs and R888s as I haven't tried it yet and the tuning won't really be ideal. I may wind up just pulling the fuse for track days if it's bad.

I've honestly never even braked hard enough to have my abs engage and i've been on the brakes pretty good more than once.

Lol. I have. :p

[tinkerputzer]

Nice work! Function over form FTW!

I'd like the pedal to sit lower for better heel-toe

It's a personal preference thing but if your not happy with the pedal height after the ix mc you could fine tune the adjustment with the turnbuckle that connects the pedal to the booster. I adjusted mine recently to just above the gas pedal and can really get a good chunk of it without over braking. I had to add about a 1/4" worth of spacers between the pedal arm and the sensor so the brake lights work. There is a pre-existing hole already in the pedal just above where the sensor is that can be used to bolt a stack of spacers in. If your feeling wh33lhopish though you could just tape some washers to the pedal :)

[kronus]

Whoa there Andretti. :p There are two good reasons for me to keep ABS:

1. Even 80s ABS works better than a groggy wh33lhop. I can threshold brake fine as long as I am alert, but if I'm not in the zone, well that's a different story, and frankly this is no different for anyone out there, as cool as you think you are. Shitty 80s ABS still returns much better stopping distances than a brake lockup.

plus fuckin' plus. don't be a f34r.