Getting my car ready for next season...

[rwh11385]

WHOA WHOA WHOA Mario! That post is crazy talk to anyone who hasn't been out there before.


but it's very true and good advice. So Scott, read and listen to it.

[Bimmerfanatik]

WHOA WHOA WHOA Mario! That post is crazy talk to anyone who hasn't been out there before.


but it's very true and good advice. So Scott, read and listen to it.

Thanks for the advice - it's all coming together now ;)

[DanGillan]

ill sell ya my cage and harness if you need it. PM me

[Bimmerfanatik]

This whole thread is about not putting things on the car I don't need, but upgrading things that I do need. Why would I want your harness or cage lol? Do I need it, or is the stock seatbelt fine?

[TIATO]

This whole thread is about not putting things on the car I don't need, but upgrading things that I do need. Why would I want your harness or cage lol? Do I need it, or is the stock seatbelt fine?

Save your money, for now. Your first few times out you should in no way exceed your or the cars limits. If you do, you will be in big trouble quick and possibly out a car. Also you dont want to spend the money only to find out that track driving is "Not for you". That said, stock belts are more than adequate.

The HARDEST thing to check at the track gate is your ego. In many cases the drivers that DONT leave their ego at the gate are the ones that smack up their car. Its those guys that think that the car is responsible for their driving skills. Drivers that do stupid things, cause an incident and generally are responsible for costing others valuable track time, become unpopular very quickly.

Check your ego, forget everything you think you know about high performance driving, drive within your limits, eyes and ears open amd more importantly keep an open mind. Track driving is like learning to drive all over again. Be afraid and intimidated - that will keep your ego in check and velocities down.

Once you have the skills to drive up to the cars capabilities and you have decided you want to continue doing this, then its time to consider a rollbar.

[madjurgen]

Get a CGLock so you dont have to drive with one hand on the steering wheel and the other on the door handle.

[DanGillan]

exactly. run some kind of harness, i dont know how people dont. i did one autoX without a harness and my legs hurt from bracing myself against the door and center console. i'd run some sort of harness wether it be one for a cage or one that ties to the rear belt mounting points.

[rwh11385]

i was fine with a leather sport seat. if you have cloth, run though. and a cglock to top it off would be a great investment.

then again, an aftermarket reclinable would do a good job too, but you ought not to be running a harness without roll protection, and doing all that for your first time out is laughable.

[jht3]

i bought my car a year ago and i completed my first two driving schools this past year, march and july.

my car is stock except for springs (eibach), shocks (bilstein sport), sway bars (eibach), chip, and oil pan baffle (previous owner installed the eibach stuff). the oil pan baffle is 100% necessary on my s14. new control arms, changed all fluids, and all rubber bushings and mounts are intact, plus new toyo t1's. handles damn good for a mostly stock car, even my instructors commented on how good it felt

i broke down at the track both times even though i spent lots of time and money trying to rid my car of its demons. this sucked more than anything. i think it was a combo of a bad fuel pump, sketchy AFM, and ignition rotor. i can't stress enough that your car should be mechanically sound. my problems only surfaced on the track so i had no way of knowing they existed.

i had a blast and learned alot. i am very happy with my car as is. next upgrade will be a strut bar and to hook up my brake ducts to the backing plates. a bolt-in cage and r-comps might be added to the list if i improve to the B group (became a C student during my 2nd school)

[rwh11385]

yeah, i'm pretty confident now in my car as majority of shit has been replaced recently. But before I was nervous as hell I was going to run into problems when I was out there. You break down in your 2nd session, and you can kiss your $$ goodbye.

next upgrade will be a strut bar and to hook up my brake ducts to the backing plates. a bolt-in cage and r-comps might be added to the list if i improve to the B group (became a C student during my 2nd school)

that's the way to do it. progress one piece at a time, and slowly. no need to do one and build a full blown racecar for the second. [even if you progress to B, think about sticking on street tires, that's the strong advice of everyone about the subject on bimmerforums.]

[rwh11385]

things I can think of off the top of my head to consider:

timing belt
radiator/heater hoses: dont want those failing on track (mine have all been replaced)
motor mounts (do replace, they are a weak point of e30s on track)
tranny mounts if ones are old (bimmerworld upgraded ones are nice)
cap & rotor (mine are fresh)
check plug wires (don't necessarily have to replace if they're fine)
check air filter
replace fuel filter
have a spare AFM handy
check for vacuum leaks
replace rotors/get decent pads
bleed brakes really well (and ATE super blue is a good fluid)
check/replace control arms
check/replace tie rods
check/replace CABs
check/replace subframe/RTABs
check wheel bearings
make sure battery is secure
make sure seats are secure
make sure throttle is freely able to move


basically the better maintained and tech'ed car you have, the less likely you will break down or experience problems.


also, a good reason not to worry about modding is a lot of people who do, aren't spending the $ to fully and properly maintain their cars. they skimp $ on maintence to mod, which only will make problems.

go to the most stringent and anal-retentive mechanic to get you tech inspection. he is most likely to pick out any problem spots.

[nando]

something you can do to make the stock seatbelt more effective:
1.) move your seat as far forward as you can possibly stand (I have mine 1 notch from full forward). this also gives you better control of the steering wheel and shifter.
2.) pretension your seatbelt by yanking on it (it will lock) until you can just barely get it into the receiver.

by doing these two things I don't have to worry much about sliding around in my leather sport seats. don't really want or need a harness in my mostly street car, either..

[jht3]

also, a good reason not to worry about modding is a lot of people who do, aren't spending the $ to fully and properly maintain their cars. they skimp $ on maintence to mod, which only will make problems.

i couldn't say it better myself

these cars are getting old. the list of things i replaced this past year after buying it are as follows:
AFM
plugs
wires
cap
rotor
ignition coil
chip (old one sucked)
coolant temp sensor
flywheel sensors
main relay
fuel pump relay
main fuel pump
in-tank fuel pump
fuel filter
fuel pressure regulator
cleaned injectors
fixed vacuum leaks
radiator cap (wasn't holding pressure)
all fluids (brake, diff, etc)

some of these weren't necessary, but i was chasing the hesitation issue and they got replaced or tested with known working parts

the few "mods" ive done are:
lighted //m shift knob (didnt even have a knob)
brake ducts and backing plates (never hooked the hoses up though)
bilstein shocks to replace the tokico crappy ones

[rwh11385]

you should be able to rest your wrists over the wheel with your shoulders in the seat. as nando mentioned, it gives you better control of the wheel and your arms won't grow as tired. they'll teach you this hopefully as one of the first lessons.

and yes, locking the seatbelt does wonders. (and cglock just makes this easier and faster to accomplish). i find it easy to lock the belt a couple inches away from the reciever, then putting it in, as opposed to leaning the seat back, locking the belt while in the reciever, then leaning forward.

[jht3]

camber plates
shocks valved to the spring rates you're using. this is VERY important

i would stop there

but if you need to replace a worn bushing, remember that you need to replace the subframe and diff bushings with the same material. polyurethane is the obvious upgrade, but i would go with a solid plastic bushing for the non-compliance factor. for the trailing arms, might as well get the adjustable kit so you can dial in the rear.

as for the belts, i've not had a problem with the stock belt and my stock seat (m3). sure i have to brace myself on the dead pedal and such, but it's not been a huge problem.