To 5 lug or not.

[future rs]

So I have a 5 lug conversion. complete and on a car in working order.

The new car which will eventually become a track/autoX car is currently 4 lug.

What is everyones take on the 5 lug for track purposes? I would rather run 16" wheels which limits me with the M3 front brakes.

What are good compromises in brakes if I where to stay 4 lug? Is there something comparable to the e36 M3 that wont brake the bank? (I don't need a full brembo GT kit) I have run wilwood on my old impreza track car with OK success.

Is the 5 lug worth it? Or should I sell the setup and invest elsewhere. (I am a big fan of a balanced car.) I have a decent suspension setup minus a good sway bar combo.

[tttoon]

What setup is it? If you have e36 fronts I would not run them on track because they will limit your caster. There are big brake kits available for 4 lug, most notably massive. I run one of his race kits up front and my brakes are really amazing. So the only real argument would be wheel choice, not track purpose.

[mrcheezle19]

Even though I don't track my car yet I have one of massives kits and my car stops on a dime. Like tttoon said it just limits wheel choice.

[jeffmn8]

More details need. What motor(power level) is in the car? What rear 5 lug setup? There are many many e30's that run the stock brake setup without any issues. The problem comes when you start increasing power.

My first track day with my car after swapping the motor, I had fade issues. I ended up going through half a set of brand new PFC06's. Given I didn't have ducting or anything on the stock setup.

After doing the z3m 5 lug swap, the difference is almost unbelievable. Running 35 minute hard sessions, I don't have even the slightest hint of fade and the brakes are very balanced. The only problem is the more expensive pads and wheels/tires! But since most of my friends run e36s on track it's much easier to find or borrow spare parts.

So I have a 5 lug conversion. complete and on a car in working order.

The new car which will eventually become a track/autoX car is currently 4 lug.

What is everyones take on the 5 lug for track purposes? I would rather run 16" wheels which limits me with the M3 front brakes.

What are good compromises in brakes if I where to stay 4 lug? Is there something comparable to the e36 M3 that wont brake the bank? (I don't need a full brembo GT kit) I have run wilwood on my old impreza track car with OK success.

Is the 5 lug worth it? Or should I sell the setup and invest elsewhere. (I am a big fan of a balanced car.) I have a decent suspension setup minus a good sway bar combo.

[CoreyZ]

I wouldn't recommend going 5 lug without having a way to properly balance the brakes - going Z3M is the right way to do it. Matching e36 M fronts with 318ti rears for example results in horrible brake balance. Stock e30 piston sizes are 43mm front 33mm rear, IIRC. e36 M3 is 60mm front 40mm rear. A brake bias valve is, AFAIK, only for fine tuning and should not be used to correct for such a large difference in piston size.

You can get away with stock brakes pretty well with proper pad choice and cooling.

What are you running power wise?

[future rs]

The car is currently stock M20 but will have a turbo setup come next spring/summer.

It is e36 M3 fronts with 318ti rears. I disagree with it being extremely unbalanced. It is more front bias but not to the extreme by any means.

I appreciate the input guys.

[jeffmn8]

The car is currently stock M20 but will have a turbo setup come next spring/summer.

It is e36 M3 fronts with 318ti rears. I disagree with it being extremely unbalanced. It is more front bias but not to the extreme by any means.

I appreciate the input guys.

The ti rear will still be noticeably slower (and hotter). Plus you can't put a bias adjuster on the fronts or at least you shouldn't...

On another note, there's a reason you don't see many turbo BMWs on track. Reliability is the way to go unless you have deep pockets for a sound track turbo setup.

[future rs]

The ti rear will still be noticeably slower (and hotter). Plus you can't put a bias adjuster on the fronts or at least you shouldn't...

On another note, there's a reason you don't see many turbo BMWs on track. Reliability is the way to go unless you have deep pockets for a sound track turbo setup.

Looks like i will be going 4 lug :)

And i appreciate the advice on the turbo build. I luckily have a spare motor and transmission which I will be building this winter specifically for a turbo application. The car will be run on MS. My last track car was a turbo application and It did very well. Maybe my luck will continue :D

[makard]

4 lug!!

[R3Z3N]

The car is currently stock M20 but will have a turbo setup come next spring/summer.

It is e36 M3 fronts with 318ti rears. I disagree with it being extremely unbalanced. It is more front bias but not to the extreme by any means.

I appreciate the input guys.

Massives 318ti rear BBK removes the bias problem.

[bmnut2002]

4 lug!!

Mike, any wheel bearing issues going 4 lug?

[makard]

None. Been racing both 4 & 5 lug, with 10" wide front wheels and 12" wide rears for several years. No more issues with 4 vs 5 to speak of. We've even compounded the load by running 1" wheel spacers. As long as the hub centric fits are proper, even the spacers are no problem with 4 lug. We're running BBKs from Massive on both Mod class race cars and VERY pleased!

[bmnut2002]

None. Been racing both 4 & 5 lug, with 10" wide front wheels and 12" wide rears for several years. No more issues with 4 vs 5 to speak of. We've even compounded the load by running 1" wheel spacers. As long as the hub centric fits are proper, even the spacers are no problem with 4 lug. We're running BBKs from Massive on both Mod class race cars and VERY pleased!

Thanks Mike. Wheel bearings have been the one thing I have been worried about on the car!