Experienced Track Junkies - A moment please?

[nando]

all you guys hating on turbos have no idea what you're talking about..

no N/A S50 could ever touch a boosted motor, properly built and tuned, in any category. But keep swapping in n/a M50 NV's for another 10whp. :roll:

[e304me]

I have never seen a turboed e30 outside of its natural habitat: non-running in a shitty apartment complex parking lot.

Go with the M/S50 varient. It's painless.

-Charlie

OMG that is too much...

[e304me]

24v, then turbo later on down the line!!!

[BimmerScreamer]

haven driven both s50 and 52 swap cars I have a total different look at a track car. I was going to turbo but now im certain an s50 is the way I want to go.

for the record my e46 m3 is dead even with both those cars

[87e30]

24v's are a much different driving experience than the m20. Drive one and make sure you like it. I'm sure that you'll love an s50 (I've never driven one) but I can tell you the power band of the m52 is much different than the m20. Way more power down low, and still more up top. (m20s are just as fun to wind out, in my opinion)

The down low tq is great for street driving, and it will pull hard on the track. I'm sure you'd love an s52.

[Bishop]

As in, do you feel your going the fastest times possible in the car YOU can achieve? or is there more to be done with tires, suspension and the driver?

Not at all. I know I can become a better driver, if I pull the fenders I can fit wider rubber (235/40/17 right now) and I know I need to learn more about tuning my coilovers. However, the car's mostly street driven right now, so I want to spruce it up down the road, add a BBK, and prosper?

I have never seen a turboed e30 outside of its natural habitat: non-running in a shitty apartment complex parking lot.

Go with the M/S50 varient. It's painless.

-Charlie

Sounds good.

I've got two good friends that did the same events in turbocharged E30's with completely different results--

One friend has a 2.7 turbocharged engine (Carr Industries, iirc) that was put together in '91 by Korman. It runs stock management plus a chip at 7-8 psi. He does 245 whp with equal torque. Feels like a fast E36 M3 as far as power delivery, very linear. He's been driving the car since '95 and tracking the car since '98 and it is still rock solid. Never had any issues.

The other friend attempted to copy the low-boost setup that the other guy had, but add a little bit of kick. His setup was great on the street, but he blew headgaskets right and left at the track. Smart guy too, not a kid. He's now got a 4.4 M62 and couldn't be happier.

Moral of the story (in my opinion)-- The turbocharged setup has serious potential to wreck a good time at the track. If you run low boost to keep it from blowing, you might as well have an S50 or S52 that can make the same power while still being dead reliable. Other than my one friend I don't know of hardly any guys who successfully complete weekends in turbocharged M20 cars. Oh yeah, and I'll also say that an S50/52 E30 with a good driver is a force to be reckoned with at the track--- very, very fast cars when driven properly.

Good example, thanks all

[rThor432]

I've got two good friends that did the same events in turbocharged E30's with completely different results--

One friend has a 2.7 turbocharged engine (Carr Industries, iirc) that was put together in '91 by Korman. It runs stock management plus a chip at 7-8 psi. He does 245 whp with equal torque. Feels like a fast E36 M3 as far as power delivery, very linear. He's been driving the car since '95 and tracking the car since '98 and it is still rock solid. Never had any issues.

The other friend attempted to copy the low-boost setup that the other guy had, but add a little bit of kick. His setup was great on the street, but he blew headgaskets right and left at the track. Smart guy too, not a kid. He's now got a 4.4 M62 and couldn't be happier.

Moral of the story (in my opinion)-- The turbocharged setup has serious potential to wreck a good time at the track. If you run low boost to keep it from blowing, you might as well have an S50 or S52 that can make the same power while still being dead reliable. Other than my one friend I don't know of hardly any guys who successfully complete weekends in turbocharged M20 cars. Oh yeah, and I'll also say that an S50/52 E30 with a good driver is a force to be reckoned with at the track--- very, very fast cars when driven properly.

[Charlie]

I have never seen a turboed e30 outside of its natural habitat: non-running in a shitty apartment complex parking lot.

Go with the M/S50 varient. It's painless.

-Charlie

[kishg]

How do you mean maximized Kish?

As in, do you feel your going the fastest times possible in the car YOU can achieve? or is there more to be done with tires, suspension and the driver?

[ColdAccord]

m20's aren't really a very efficient motor.

to be honest i feel my euro s50b30 isn't enough power, but doing trackdays on motorcycles jades your concept of speed.

I plan to sell my s50b30 over winter and go s54, and s/c it eventually\

edit: and I really recommend big brakes. when I drive my business partner's 4 lug s50e30 it feels seriously lacking in the brakes department (even though after a trackday in the 240z I almost went through the windsheild when i got home and drove my 4 lug touring).

[Bishop]

How do you mean maximized Kish?

[kishg]

don't bother with turbo if you actually want to drive the car on track instead of fixing it in the paddock :) have you maximized the potential of your m20 yet?

[Bishop]

Thanks guys, this enforces what I thought

[e30s50dan]

I've owned 13 porsches including 911 turbo and 944 turbo and while they were fun on the street they weren't on track. My 944 na car will out run both even with 150 bhp I am building an S50 track car now. Can't wait to get it on track this fall. NA baby!!!!

[speedblind]

Track days are always more fun when you're actually driving the car, which is probably why you use an E30 anyway. They're reliable, consistent and easy to drive. Turbocharging the car eliminates what's great about these cars, whereas an S50 amplifies it.

Alternately, you can sell the E30, add the money you'd spend on the S50 swap and just get an E36 M3. They're crazy cheap right now, and you get a better all around car for your effort.