Ice Racing set-up and driving tips?

[nando]

don't even worry about it - it's not going to matter very much what you drive, or even what tires you have as long as they are snows. I recently went to an ice "race" with my blizzaks on, and it was so slick nobody was really moving very fast (not even the '08 wrx on snows).

the e30 that showed up on RS2s was pretty hilarious to watch though. :p

here's a really boring video of it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpX769yGwwQ

I really could have pushed harder, but I was fighting my urge to keep the car under control.. how often do you get to legally drive on an skid pad covered in 1" of ice?

[kishg]

damn i wish i could take my ix out on the ice... have fun and let us know how you do.

[Fidhle007]

Yeah, my ideal would be an IX with fresh studded snows but I'm running what I have and at least I'll be in class C with other RWD studless snow-tired cars. I took out my rear sway today, the bushing mounts were toast and it wasn't doing much anyway. I also added a little bit of negative camber (a degree or so I think, IE mounts don't have marks) and on the icy drive home the car felt great. I figure my goal is to have fun and plan ahead for next year when I will hopefully have something AWD....

[Emre]

I think I'm going to have to trust my instincts on this one as it seems the majority of people are from warmer climes on this board.

Well, I lived in Canada for many years and I used to run in the Boston Chapter Ice Racing series years back. So I guess I can help you out.

First of all, I should say that I used to run an E30 325iX and then a Lancer Evolution VIII. I've never run a RWD E30 on ice. So take this with a grain of salt.

Generally, you want the suspension as soft as possible. Disconnect your swaybars of you can (especially at the rear). Run narrow tires on 14" rims. Screw tires will obviously give you the best traction by far. However, screws will put you into a very competitive class.

Your next best bet would be studded snows. Be aware that the guys running studded snows generally do NOT drive around on them on the street. They keep them for ice racing only. That way the studs stay nice and sharp.

Personally, I would not bother running the car with regular (non-studded) snows. There is practically ZERO grip out on the ice. Even with one of my AWD cars there was hardly ant traction at all with regular snows. Keep in mind you'll be running on sheer ice that's got a light dusting of snow on the surface. Before long that turns into sheer ice with a thin layer of water on top. In other words, slicker than grease. RWD without studded tires would be kind of frustrating.

[wookiefarmer]

I drove my 325i 4dr on the packed snow last week, @ a large parking lot. My car has HR sport springs and BLIZZACKS (no studs) otherwise stock. We set up a course and the car was amazingly fun, and easy to controll. my advise is to be very smooth with your imputs, nad you can correct with the throttle and the steering wheel equally.. Most of all have fun you'll be in a safe area.... good luck! I'm jelous!

[e34john]

I wish we can have that here. I've only driven in freezing temps a few times so not much experience. I take out the 4x4 F150 if theres an 8th inch of rain.

You should get some video of your run, its always awesome to see cars on ice.

[Fidhle007]

http://www.trunkmonkey.com/Scrapbook...CA_Ice_Racing/

[Fidhle007]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1N6z2kpF9w

[Fidhle007]

Yeah, no way in hell I would go wheel to wheel on ice in this car...

Thanks for the tips guys, I think I've gotten a few ideas for setup now! I think I'm just bring my tools and tweak as needed but I imagine I'll be too busy watching everyone else and shooting the shit with the other drivers to really worry about setup.

[SchnellerVert]

Boston chapter does autoX on the ice, no side by side racing.

[devonjordan]

Is it actually a race, or an autocross. Ur car is effed if its a race. Shame, its so nice too.

[e30s52]

it does matter you have more on the ground to slide then. if you have skinny tires then you have less to slide on and can hit those small patches for traction.

[1991 318is]

Wide tries in snow ?!

Have you never seen rally, you need Skinny tires, not wide tires.

Snow?
On an E30 ice racing it probably makes little to no difference anyway. Just soften the car up as much as you can. It's not AWD and you're not going to power your way through anything.
I read a little about ice racing and the studded classes dig it up a bit and put a layer of lose stuff on the surface. It sounds similar to dirt track racing in a way.
BLIZZACKS FTW

[SchnellerVert]

Drive smoothly and avoid snowbanks.

[Brew]

Cool deal, that seemed like the case, glad to hear it! Will you be out there at all?

Nah, my car is down for the winter.