e30 autox car. v8 vs s52 vs m52 turbo

[papajetta]

thanks 4 the feedback guys,. i'll give the 2 door some thought. i think i might have not been sure of what i really wanted. what i really want is a weekend warrior which i can auto x and get better results than my e34, but i dont really want to get rid of my vert, its the perfect second car. Plus whatver i do to the vert i can transfer to a coupe in the future when i can. ( engine, suspension )
places i auto x verts are allowed,
lag isnt good for auto x but i have seen great results from low lag turbo setups. ex : evos, sti, mazda speed miata, mr2...
but i do recognize all motor is better, and the traction issues with e30.
i dont have the space to have 3 cars, and defintely dont want my second car to be a stripped down skeleton with 1 seat , a whole bunch of bars running across my face, sitting on r's permanently.

[Firestorm]

No prizes for whoever guesses my answer.

[Massive Lee]

Turbo engine = lag = Not good for autocross.

Just my 02 cents.

[Brew]

S50 is heavier. The 2.8 aluminum block is the only one that may be lighter than the M20.

Yes, but the guy who started the thread was asking us to compare a turbo m50/2 to a NA s50.

[rsafier]

Yeah if you want to lose weight LSx swap. you drop about 50#s from the M20

[asubimmer]

S50 is heavier. The 2.8 aluminum block is the only one that may be lighter than the M20.

the s50 is about 40lbs heavier than an m20

[whiltebeitel]

And I think for auto-x an S50/2 is the way to go- less weight, smoother power delivery.

S50 is heavier. The 2.8 aluminum block is the only one that may be lighter than the M20.

[redhatpat]

Keep in mind a lot of race tracks wont let a convertible run due to safety issues.

[Brew]

You're wasting your time trying to build a competitive auto-x car if you're starting with a convertible. Plus, you're limiting yourself if you ever want to take the car on a road course.

If I were you, I start off with the cleanest 2-door chassis I could find and focus on suspension and tires first. And I think for auto-x an S50/2 is the way to go- less weight, smoother power delivery. These cars have enough traction issues as-is.

[AlarmedBread]

Just my opinion guys. I do like autox, but if I was going to go all out and build a car like any of those, I'd be looking at getting into club racing. Much more fun way to waste your time and money imo. I actually did piss off one of the guys who is really into this last week, he bought the elise that won nationals or whatever, I was working with him and another guy and said basically the same thing track days > autox. He didn't appreciate that very much.

In this area, most of our event locations are smallish and theres usually tons of cars out so you only get a few short runs. Maybe I should make the trek to KC and see what it's like out there. FWIW, the reason why I complain about only getting a few runs is because its fun and I want to do more laps ;)

[Hick]

LOL. Sorry, e30 will not dominate STS. Civic SI's do.

Find Andy Bashem [sp?] on here. He runs STS locally and is DAMN fast!

[asubimmer]

I guess they have to be insane huge at that low of speeds to be effective

[Jean]

Yes, to the limit.

[asubimmer]

the wings and splitters on those e36's are just rediculous. Are those even class legal?

[Jean]

because it's fun and competitive.

Lapping days / HDPE's are more involved for sure, but you're not being timed. basically you're just going in circles (albeit really fast, fun circles), and the competition aspect is completely absent.

x2, unless you go into time trials and get a license hpde is not the place to go 10/10th. in Solo2 you can do that safely.

Tell these guys they are wasting their money and time for autocrossing ;)