Building a e30 for the 24 hours of Lemons

[TXBDan]

We're also building an '86 325e car. www.doriftodogs.com

We're also looking for a front camber solution. We'll share if we find one if you will :P I don't think there's enough room on the top of the towers for slotting.

I think 4.10s would be WAY too short for this motor. Honestly, this baby stock has a great amount of grunt and goes through the gears quite nicely. i'd consider a 3.73 at that max, and i'd be fine w/ running it how it is.

[155///MPH]

Brakes are safety items.......

[bam2002]

Yep it was an oversight, with the halo we can still get grinding wheels and remove the tracks etc. If not we will jsut weld it closed.

For the lemons race, i feel its more about dependability.. the 20 lbs wont be a huge deal. I could be wrong..


AND going back to the Brakes.. So does any one know of a brake pad sponsor for use with the stock brakes?

[LTDScott]

New photos are up.. We got the cage done..

http://www.keeperofcars.com/lemons/cage/index.html

Wow, looks like you left your sunroof in?

[ecniv]

Looks good. Ours will be ready soon as well.

[bam2002]

New photos are up.. We got the cage done..

http://www.keeperofcars.com/lemons/cage/index.html

[LTDScott]

Yeah that's the one we competed in :). That car wasnt racing, it was a camera car that was being a douch and running into people.

If it's any consolation, we were pitted a few stalls from them (I was with Saabs Gone Wild) and their car was in the pits a lot longer than it was on the track.

[sumyungguy]

Why would they hit you for laps with nice wheels and brakes? They're free. A team showed up at the last Altamont race in an E36 BMW with pimp brakes and wheels and got docked a bunch of laps, but that was because the car was clearly not $500.

And I agree fully regarding the brakes. Huge brakes simply aren't needed. Get some good stock rotors, good pads, good fluid, and call it a day. One of the teams running a Honda Civic has been on the same set of pads/rotors through 3 races.

Yeah that's the one we competed in :). That car wasnt racing, it was a camera car that was being a douch and running into people.

[LTDScott]

If you show up with nice expensive brakes and wheels, they hit you with some laps.


Honestly, none of that is necessary in these races, unless its on a big wide open track. We didn't touch our braking system, and never experienced any brake fade or pedal feel issues, Hawk HPS pads, stock rotors, and some super blue. We brought all that was necessary to bleed brakes and change pads but it never came off the trailer. In our case there was nearly 90 cars on a 1 mile long road course so there was what you can call traffic, in my two 1 1/2 hour stints I got maybe 10 hot laps that I could go 100%. Its truly a different animal.

Why would they hit you for laps with nice wheels and brakes? They're free. A team showed up at the last Altamont race in an E36 BMW with pimp brakes and wheels and got docked a bunch of laps, but that was because the car was clearly not $500.

And I agree fully regarding the brakes. Huge brakes simply aren't needed. Get some good stock rotors, good pads, good fluid, and call it a day. One of the teams running a Honda Civic has been on the same set of pads/rotors through 3 races.

[sumyungguy]

Lee,

I might have missed this. are brakes a safety item so they can be modded an unlimited amount?

If you show up with nice expensive brakes and wheels, they hit you with some laps.

According to Bam2002, wheels and brakes are safety items, and therefore not counting in the $500 enveloppe.

If a regular e30 has to bleed 6 times in 24 hours (10 minutes each time), change pads 4 times (15 minutes each time). Both services only will be a loss of over two hours... Imagine doing 24 hours on the same set of pads and rotors, without bleeding. Right there, you gained 2 hours against the other e30s.

Honestly, none of that is necessary in these races, unless its on a big wide open track. We didn't touch our braking system, and never experienced any brake fade or pedal feel issues, Hawk HPS pads, stock rotors, and some super blue. We brought all that was necessary to bleed brakes and change pads but it never came off the trailer. In our case there was nearly 90 cars on a 1 mile long road course so there was what you can call traffic, in my two 1 1/2 hour stints I got maybe 10 hot laps that I could go 100%. Its truly a different animal.

[Massive Lee]

Lee,

I might have missed this. are brakes a safety item so they can be modded an unlimited amount?

According to Bam2002, wheels and brakes are safety items, and therefore not counting in the $500 enveloppe.

If a regular e30 has to bleed 6 times in 24 hours (10 minutes each time), change pads 4 times (15 minutes each time). Both services only will be a loss of over two hours... Imagine doing 24 hours on the same set of pads and rotors, without bleeding. Right there, you gained 2 hours against the other e30s.

[PaintPro21]

Lee,

I might have missed this. are brakes a safety item so they can be modded an unlimited amount?

[Stu]

My own e30 M3 came stock with a 4.10 and it feels right as the engine revs happily up 7300 RPM. I even installed a 4.27 for more "kick" out of corners. On a regular 325, the lower 6800 RPM rev band doesn't feel as nice with a 4.10 as the engine start falling at 6000. I can't imagine that same diff with an engine that starts falling at 3250 RPM. You'll feel just like a big diesel tractor puller, except they have 12 gears...

I agree. I posted 3.73 above but I think Lee has the right idea with 3.25/3.46 as the upper limit.

[LTDScott]

Sweet, I'm on ecniv's team and will be running the Altamont and hopefully Vegas Lemons races. I was a driver on another team at the two Altamont races last year.

As some others said, big ass brakes really aren't needed, but bring spares. We plan to bring spares of just about everything. We decided to just run the stock bottlecaps for economical and availability reasons. With decent tires they should be plenty adequate.

I'm not sure what the SC track is like, but Altamont has a lot of sharp turns and hairpins where steep gearing works well. Top speed at that track is about 65-70.

I actually found this thread looking for cheap ways to gain front camber, so it'll be interesting to see what solutions are found.

[Massive Lee]

My own e30 M3 came stock with a 4.10 and it feels right as the engine revs happily up 7300 RPM. I even installed a 4.27 for more "kick" out of corners. On a regular 325, the lower 6800 RPM rev band doesn't feel as nice with a 4.10 as the engine start falling at 6000. I can't imagine that same diff with an engine that starts falling at 3250 RPM. You'll feel just like a big diesel tractor puller, except they have 12 gears...