New to E30 and track events.

[sonej4]

I am fairly new to E30s, and have a few questions for those that have been at this for some time. I have done a few searches, and can't find the source of the information(either through not knowing how or recovery from surgery/pain meds)

Trailer or drive it? I know there are advantages to both, but I just wanted to hear from people that have done both. I know there are some trailers that are single axel that would work, but is it worth taking a chance with a single axle?

I am currently running 205/50/15 tires, b/c that's what the PO had on the car. What size can I run w/o rolling the fenders?

Brakes. Are the factory brakes enough with stock power or a little over? With hawk blues and good fluid.

Exhaust. Is there an advantage to running headers on the m20? Are there sound level requirements at track events? Small Magnaflow race muffler currently.

Suspension. The car currently has billie sports with H&R race springs, and some aftermarket sways. The rear has adjustable end links.
What is a good track suspension setup?
-3 to -3.5 neg camber in the front
-2 to -2.5 neg camber rear
.02 toe out front
-.2 toe in rear

I have completed some much needed maint on the car and would like to make sure it is ready before any track time. I think the one other major thing left are the subframe bushings and diff mount.

First off I would like to say thanks too all of the helpful DIYs I have already used. I am happy with the car so far, but they can always be better.

[kishg]

if you are a beginner, driving to and from is fine. I drove to/from events for 3 years before i started trailering and that's because i have a race car that is no longer street legal by any means.

Tires : stick to the ones you have if they are in good shape.
Brakes : Stock is fine with a stock motor
Exhaust : Again keep stock unless it's a rusty pile waiting to fall off - in which case look into the spec e30 exhaust. Do you need to pass emissions in GA?
Suspension : Seems you already have a Spec E30 suspension on it, the settings you describe seem like a good baseline.

At this point I would concentrate on keeping your car safe and reliable and then just focus on seat time, seat time, seat time.. modding the car can come later, learn to drive it to it's full potential as is before modding.

Oh, and welcome to the addiction :)

[sonej4]

if you are a beginner, driving to and from is fine. I drove to/from events for 3 years before i started trailering and that's because i have a race car that is no longer street legal by any means.

Tires : stick to the ones you have if they are in good shape.
Brakes : Stock is fine with a stock motor
Exhaust : Again keep stock unless it's a rusty pile waiting to fall off - in which case look into the spec e30 exhaust. Do you need to pass emissions in GA?
Suspension : Seems you already have a Spec E30 suspension on it, the settings you describe seem like a good baseline.

At this point I would concentrate on keeping your car safe and reliable and then just focus on seat time, seat time, seat time.. modding the car can come later, learn to drive it to it's full potential as is before modding.

Oh, and welcome to the addiction :)

Thanks for the info, and I always welcome advice. The car is still street legal/it has tags.

Ga does have emissions, but not in my county. It has a working custom/inexpensive exhaust. Manifolds to the downpipes, to a 2 to 2.5 combiner, then 2.5 back to a Magnaflow race muffler.

Now I just need to heal after surgery and get to some events. Thanks again for your advice.

[Emre]

Trailer or drive it? I know there are advantages to both, but I just wanted to hear from people that have done both.

Drive it.

is it worth taking a chance with a single axle?

No.

I am currently running 205/50/15 tires, b/c that's what the PO had on the car. What size can I run w/o rolling the fenders?

225/50-R15 and 225/45-R15 will fit fine on a typical 15x7" ET25 wheel. You may need just a tiny bit of inner lip rolling on the rear, depending on how low the car is and how much negative camber you're running.

Brakes. Are the factory brakes enough with stock power or a little over?

Yes. Maybe add some ducting.

Exhaust. Is there an advantage to running headers on the m20?

No. Unless you're also running big cams and have done the associated head work, it's just for show.

Are there sound level requirements at track events?

Yes. These days most tracks have sound limits in the low 90dB range.

[jlevie]

Trailer or drive it? I know there are advantages to both, but I just wanted to hear from people that have done both. I know there are some trailers that are single axel that would work, but is it worth taking a chance with a single axle?

It is feasible to drive to the track rather than towing. But when driving you run the risk of being stranded if the car breaks or you damage it at the track. If the car is in very good condition, the risks of a breakdown at the track when doing HPDE's is pretty low. The chances of an on-track incident depend one your skills, how aggressive you are, and other factors out of your control. Given a choice I'd trailer the car to the track, just in case. That also makes the logistics easier (tires, spares, gear, etc.).

I am currently running 205/50/15 tires, b/c that's what the PO had on the car. What size can I run w/o rolling the fenders?

As noted earlier, 225/45-15 will fit with wheels that have 25mm offset.

Brakes. Are the factory brakes enough with stock power or a little over? With hawk blues and good fluid.

The OE brake configuration is more than adequate for race tires when proper pads are used. The Hawk Blues are okay, but a better choice would be Hawk HT-10's or PFC 01 or 06 pads. Brake ducts for the front are a really good idea.

Exhaust. Is there an advantage to running headers on the m20? Are there sound level requirements at track events? Small Magnaflow race muffler currently.

Headers can improve the torque curve of the engine if the engine is correctly tuned. Many tracks do impose sound limits, but here in the SE you'll be okay with most any exhaust.

Suspension. The car currently has billie sports with H&R race springs, and some aftermarket sways. The rear has adjustable end links.
What is a good track suspension setup?

Camber and toe settings are driven by the tires you use. There is no single solution.

From the questions you posed, I have to suspect that you don't have prior track experience. If that is case, I highly recommend that you align the car to pretty much OE specs and run high performance street tires until your skill set improves. If that isn't the case, please accept my apology and throw a set of R-comps on and tell me what tires you are using and I can probably cite alignment specs.

[sonej4]

It is feasible to drive to the track rather than towing. But when driving you run the risk of being stranded if the car breaks or you damage it at the track. If the car is in very good condition, the risks of a breakdown at the track when doing HPDE's is pretty low. The chances of an on-track incident depend one your skills, how aggressive you are, and other factors out of your control. Given a choice I'd trailer the car to the track, just in case. That also makes the logistics easier (tires, spares, gear, etc.).

As noted earlier, 225/45-15 will fit with wheels that have 25mm offset.

The OE brake configuration is more than adequate for race tires when proper pads are used. The Hawk Blues are okay, but a better choice would be Hawk HT-10's or PFC 01 or 06 pads. Brake ducts for the front are a really good idea.

Headers can improve the torque curve of the engine if the engine is correctly tuned. Many tracks do impose sound limits, but here in the SE you'll be okay with most any exhaust.

Camber and toe settings are driven by the tires you use. There is no single solution.

From the questions you posed, I have to suspect that you don't have prior track experience. If that is case, I highly recommend that you align the car to pretty much OE specs and run high performance street tires until your skill set improves. If that isn't the case, please accept my apology and throw a set of R-comps on and tell me what tires you are using and I can probably cite alignment specs.

I do have the brake ducts, and ss lines. All of the stuff was already on the car when I purchased it.

No track experience in a car. I have done a school and some track time on a bike.(many years ago). I have some Kumho v710s, and for the street I bought some Falken 615ks. I have completed one autox in my other car and won the novice class by 3 seconds. I was only off the other times in the same class by ~1 second. I was going to do a few autox courses first to learn the car, and know autox and courses are different.

I do appreciate all of the info and just want to start off in the right way. All of the feedback is invaluable and appreciated.

[bmwpower]

Subscribed.
Interested in hearing any brake duct recommendations.

[sonej4]

Subscribed.
Interested in hearing any brake duct recommendations.

The ones that came with the car are from Turner. I just need to put the ducting back on with the plastic splash guard.

[etxxz]

forget brake ducts. Cut/Remove the dust shield off. That'll give it enough cooling for what you have.. NOW, personal experience, stock brakes did not hold up to Sebring on a stock motor back when i was starting to DE. Turns out it was my brake technique (dragging too much) that baked brakes. I do recommend atleast upgrade the brake fluid. Pads are cheap (ish) and hawk blues are very good. I use them with my s52.

Drive it to events 100%. I drive my car from s.FL to GA a few times a year for two day events and back, 460mi each way! Once your car is extensively modified and official frankeninteined out, trailer it. For now, enjoy your comfy seats, AC, radio and comfi(ish) suspension.

seems like you've done your research and have a good starting base. Toe front and rear i would set for 0 though.

from there i'd say just track it and improve where you feel needed. You'll find its much more affordable to track as is. Just maintain the m20 and save modification money for event entries. Believe me! its a lot more fun to track than work on your car and think about how much fun you could be having at the track. GOOD LUCK maybe i'll see you in GA soon. I track with PCA all the time up there (i'm actually a pca member but shhhh don't tell anyone here)

[sonej4]

forget brake ducts. Cut/Remove the dust shield off. That'll give it enough cooling for what you have.. NOW, personal experience, stock brakes did not hold up to Sebring on a stock motor back when i was starting to DE. Turns out it was my brake technique (dragging too much) that baked brakes. I do recommend atleast upgrade the brake fluid. Pads are cheap (ish) and hawk blues are very good. I use them with my s52.

Drive it to events 100%. I drive my car from s.FL to GA a few times a year for two day events and back, 460mi each way! Once your car is extensively modified and official frankeninteined out, trailer it. For now, enjoy your comfy seats, AC, radio and comfi(ish) suspension.

seems like you've done your research and have a good starting base. Toe front and rear i would set for 0 though.

from there i'd say just track it and improve where you feel needed. You'll find its much more affordable to track as is. Just maintain the m20 and save modification money for event entries. Believe me! its a lot more fun to track than work on your car and think about how much fun you could be having at the track. GOOD LUCK maybe i'll see you in GA soon. I track with PCA all the time up there (i'm actually a pca member but shhhh don't tell anyone here)

Yeah no prob. I was going try and make Roebling Road, but have something else that weekend. Maybe I should share the current mods and a few pics.

-M20 stock-completed some maint(new timing belt/tensioner, new water pump, cam seal and o-ring, crank and intermediate seal, adjusted valves, new valve cover gasket, new plugs, electric fan conversion, and a general cleaning check of everything else)
-A/C has already been removed by PO
-Brakes-i rebuilt the calipers(Girling fronts) and put Axxis Ultimates for the street. SS lines, Super blue fluid, front brake ducts
Tires-Falken 516ks for the street, Advans and v710s for the track. The two extras came with the car. The car had 3 sets when I bought it, but one of the r comps was dry rotted
-Gauges-Water and oil temp, oil pressure, volts
-Corbeau Seats/harnesses
-Roll bar-Autopower race roll bar
-Suspension-Looks like the PO bought the NASA spec e30 suspension kit from Turner

http://www.turnermotorsport.com/html/detail.asp?PRODUCT_ID=SPECE30SK

Interior-stripped with the exception of the upper dash and heater. Had to replace the gas pedal and bought an extra brake switch.
-UUC short shifter/race shifter, I am not sure which one. Momo shift knob
-Momo steering wheel

I can't think of anything right now. If there is anything I need to make sure and check LMK. I know the rear subframe bushings and diff mount need to be checked.

[sonej4]

Many things have happened since my last post. I still have the e30, but was diagnosed with Leukemia a little over a year ago. I am now in remission, but still taking oral chemo. I havent made a track event yet and need to replace the rear subframe bushings first.

What is the best subframe bushings and diff mount for track only?

sorry for typos, from phone
E30, FA5

[jlevie]

For a track only car, AKG aluminum subframe and differential bushings.

[sonej4]

For a track only car, AKG aluminum subframe and differential bushings.

Best place to purchase? I had looked at the ones from Turner.

sorry for typos, from phone
E30, FA5

[Jean]

V710 aren't track tires, they are ideal for autocross use otherwise you risk them overheating on a track.,

[sonej4]

V710 aren't track tires, they are ideal for autocross use otherwise you risk them overheating on a track.,

Thanks. I was planning on running my street tires the first few times. Falken Azenis 615k

sorry for typos, from phone
E30, FA5