Elevate's E30 Evolution

[Lof8]

Alright, I finally had a chance to get a lil dirty and get these new pieces in. Things went together pretty well. Here are a couple of pictures to show the grinding needed on the calipers to fit the TRM C1 wheels:



My main reason for switching brake setups was for increased pad life. On a shared track day, My Dad and I could go through more than an entire set of new front pads on the Massive Street Kit. That was unacceptable. These pads have a LOT more meat.


And heres a finished shot. The wheel studs are from Kaliboy (R3V member) and Motorsport Hardware. http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=206133 It's a very nice product he supplies, the best stud kit I've installed so far.

[F34R]

Love the parts spread!

[fronton]

I scrolled though the thread and didn't see any info on the high beam intake. Did you make it, and if so, with what? Any better pics of it?

[bmwguy325is]

Any idea if this is an lighter than the stock setup?

[dude8383]

Lookin good man. Can't wait to hear some reviews on those calipers!

[MR 325]

Looks good! It must hurt just a little to take a grinder to a Wilwood caliper. ;)

[325ix]

What springs rates and lengths did you go with? I love the tall rear mounts, such a cool piece.

[dude8383]

Looks good! It must hurt just a little to take a grinder to a Wilwood caliper. ;)

A brand new one no less haha!

[Lof8]

A few candid shots from a recent autox





The first real test of the GC suspension and new brakes is happening on Saturday at the first Sebring DE of this year. Just got the car back from alignment and corner balance. Current total weight is 2630 lbs. not bad.

[Lof8]

Time for some reviews:

Massive Sport Kit: These things kick serious ass. I had the street kit for a few years and the braking power was great. They would just eat through a set of pads in about 3 hours of track time. With the sport kit, the braking power and consistency is improved slightly, but the huge improvement is pad life. After 3.5 hours of track time, the pads have 2/3-3/4 of the pad material remaining. This makes me smile. I was seeing temps on the rotors of only 280 degrees afer a track session. I felt like I was wrenching everything out of the street kit that it could possibly give. This sport kit is not being so highly taxed.

Ground Control Coilovers: I did not see a huge improvement here. In fact, my first session out, I spun off track for the first time ever. I had the rear shocks set to full firm and I don't think the suspension was squatting enough in the rear to get a full contact patch. I adjusted the rear shocks to full soft and adjusted the tire pressure slightly. By the end of the day, I had the car handling at least as well as it used to on the Bilsteins and IE3 springs. I may try disconnecting the rear sway to see how it reacts.

I think this is less of a knock on the GCs and more of a testament to how well the Bilstein/IE3 combo works. I had cut off about a whole coil from the IE3s and was using some IE camber plates. The car handled great - extremely neutral. I held off on coilovers for several years because they were so good.

Hopefully, with some further tweaking, I can get more improvement from the coilover setup.

[aablown]

any updates?

Just realized I have a short vid and some pics from our DE at sebring a cpl years ago. Cant believe its been that long!

Did you send your struts in to GC for welding? This is what i plan on doing with mine.

[Lof8]

any updates?

Just realized I have a short vid and some pics from our DE at sebring a cpl years ago. Cant believe its been that long!

Did you send your struts in to GC for welding? This is what i plan on doing with mine.

Nothing new since the coils and brakes. I've just been driving and enjoying the car. I brought a couple new buddies out to the April Sebring day and they are hooked! Theres another Sebring DE on May 11.

Post up your vids!

GC had a set of core struts on their shelf, so I had them do the modifications and just sent them my struts after I received the new ones and pulled mine off the car - less down time.

[kingston]

Lof8,

Do you feel like you're getting the Coilovers dialed in any more? What spring rates are you running on them? Thanks!

[Lof8]

The spring rates are pretty beefy. I believe its 650 fronts and 750 rear. My first session out, I had the konis on full firm all around. I spun, for the first time ever. I found that the rear likes to squat on corner exits. I found a lot of improvement by setting the rear shocks to full soft. My air pressures were off on that session too, but I put most of the blame on the rear stiffness.

I've been very consistent with the current setup. I had thought that setting it up for maximum stiffness in all regards would be the best, but the car likes to sit down exiting the corners.

If I had more time to BS with the car between driving weeekends, I might try softer rear springs or maybe adjust the rear sway softer. For the last 2 DEs, I've used the same settings with no complaints, though. (front konis full firm, rears full soft)

When I purchased the setup, I wanted to make the car as rigid as possible, but to be honest, thats not really what it likes.

[kingston]

Lof8,

Thanks for the info! Are you running 15x7 or 15x8 wheels?

It's funny...my car is sort of a twin of yours. `88 325 Schwarz sedan with a 24V engine and TRMs. Coilovers with Konis, etc... I'm on 550/650s, though...