New SCCA SM happenings...........

[xLibelle]

Holy SHIT, that is probably the best in-car autox vid i've ever seen!

[Fair!]

Holy @#*&!!! That's got to be a handfull to drive.

Actually, its TWO handfuls! :D Here's an in-car video: http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=r82qX2VjqZc

That's with the front swaybar "locked up". We've since remounted that and the car is much more planted in front - so much so its compressing the suspension and getting up on 2 wheels a lot. We've just put in AST4300s and new spring rates, but we've got to go up on the rates once again...

SM just scares me. I hate the class because I feel it's so unfair for some cars and is way to broad of a spectrum for some other cars. But I love to see some of the swaps.

I like StreetMod... a lot. A friend and I created an SMOD class back in 1992 and I ran it it at a regional club for several years. It was regularly our largest class for 4-5 years, by a LOT. We had 28 cars enter one day, with only 125 cars at the whole event (I remember because I won in a borrowed and then-new Roger Johnson owned S2000 that day!). It was just... huge. We all had street driven autocross cars that had some flaw that pushed us out of SP...

When Dennis Grant and Howard Duncan started taking about the SCCA having an SMOD class back in its infancy, me and some fellow SMOD racers joined the "e-mail list" (remember those?) and "helped" push DG into allowing some non-Hondas and other changes. Mostly we fought with him and showed him how wrong he was. Sometimes he even listened, ha! The rules were pretty jacked up for a number of years (the "DG Years") but later the class got full National status and more attendance, its still getting better. This latest round of weight break changes were all for the better!

HPT's slick surface really emphasizes AWD so they need to be handicapped a bit more. They just handicapped the XP class similarly. Its always going to be tough to put down BIG power on sealed asphalt with radial DOT based tires...

BTW Welcome Terry. You'll like it here I think. The E30 section at Bimmerforums is a joke, and this site gets more traffic than E30tech.com. Which is still pretty good....

Have to agree with you - pleasantly surprised. I have to watch what I post, as we're not "supporting vendors" yet, but several of our dealers are... does that count? :D

that (E36 LS1) is f*cking awesome - got any pics of the build up? for some reason I have a soft spot for LSx swaps into BMWs..

Hmm.... can I link to another forum's thread? Here goes: http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum...4#post12457714

That thread details the build-up of our "Beta" E36 LS1, which was used to verify production parts for our LS1 swap kit. Its a lot more polished then our ghetto Alpha car, for now. The Beta car just had a 1-piece roof panel welded in and was repainted, while it waits for a new clutch (the junkyard sourced transmission had a fried clutch). It should be on the dyno this week, and we're hoping for ~420 wh on this junkyard sourced LS1 motor (with an LS6 intake and a cam). The 7.0L motor that's being finished should make "a good bit more than that".


yes, the ridiculous wing is coming off, and its getting repainted white in the next 2 weeks!

http://www.cardomain.com/ride/3041266 - this is our "CarDomain" site for the Alpha car. We're trying to get some votes so we get an invite to the GRM "Ultimate Track Car Challenge". If you have a second, please login there and vote! :D

[Jean]

Yep I agree, LS1 powered XP car is sick. Seen one locally a few times, gives me funny feelings.

Sorry guys for beating a dead horse....

Go to youtube and search for SM Nationals......Watch that video. Daddio just simply wheeled that Evo much better than anyone else did.....All other Evo's were mixed in the results......Tunnel would have owned that class for a long time if he would have stuck around.

Post a link here :)

[nando]

Cool, I'd still love to see more BMWs in SMOD.

And if you get tired of that, there's always XP... where you can fix what ails the E30 rear suspension (and more!)


Our LS1 powered, 2500 pound, 400hp, XP classed E36...

that is fucking awesome - got any pics of the build up? for some reason I have a soft spot for LSx swaps into BMWs..

[DSP74]

Sorry guys for beating a dead horse....

Go to youtube and search for SM Nationals......Watch that video. Daddio just simply wheeled that Evo much better than anyone else did.....All other Evo's were mixed in the results......Tunnel would have owned that class for a long time if he would have stuck around.

[DSP74]

I'd have to get some solid weight numbers but the best bet yet, for a E30 SM engine just might be a swapped in S14 with F/I......Built, and Cammed S14's N/A have gotten close to 300whp!!

[joshh]

Cool, I'd still love to see more BMWs in SMOD.

And if you get tired of that, there's always XP... where you can fix what ails the E30 rear suspension (and more!)


Our LS1 powered, 2500 pound, 400hp, XP classed E36...

Holy @#*&!!! That's got to be a handfull to drive.


SM just scares me. I hate the class because I feel it's so unfair for some cars and is way to broad of a spectrum for some other cars.
But I love to see some of the swaps.

[DSP74]

BTW Welcome Terry. You'll like it here I think. The E30 section at Bimmerforums is a joke, and this site gets more traffic than E30tech.com. Which is still pretty good....

[DSP74]

Maybe I can talk Strano into taking for a spin at a couple Tours......That'd be a couple years out though.....


Yeah I kind of have that idea in my head too. An XP build.....As much as F/I can build HP it just isn't going to help make V8 torque........My old S/P car would pull the LS1's off line like crazy and I miss that. A S/P LS1 aint' no slouch either.

[Jean]

That's pretty much what I've been told from a seasoned SM guy. I wish I could start all over and build a car for DSP, but since there is no back/up date allowed between the various e30s I am stuck with SM because of my rear brakes/lsd swap... the plus side is SM here has more cars than DSP.

[Fair!]

to late.:o

The thought of a 350hp car that only weighs 2400lbs just sounds to damn fun for me......So we are going to give it a shot.......

I thought I'd have the car autoxing this summer but decided I need to buy a house first, do some work in the garage, and get ready to thrash on the car all winter......And still have a stock-ish engine. In SM................But I'll be gathering parts for that too......:blowup:

Cool, I'd still love to see more BMWs in SMOD.

And if you get tired of that, there's always XP... where you can fix what ails the E30 rear suspension (and more!)


Our LS1 powered, 2500 pound, 400hp, XP classed E36...

[ed94r]

If you're married to the idea that it'll work (SM E30), build it and develop it and see what happens.

I have to agree with you that a 350bhp 2400lb doorslammer would be fun. If not the tip-top competitive Solo car, it would be a beast on track days.

Good Luck!

[DSP74]

to late.:o

The thought of a 350hp car that only weighs 2400lbs just sounds to damn fun for me......So we are going to give it a shot.......

I thought I'd have the car autoxing this summer but decided I need to buy a house first, do some work in the garage, and get ready to thrash on the car all winter......And still have a stock-ish engine. In SM................But I'll be gathering parts for that too......:blowup:

[Fair!]

The rear is the limiting factor for the E30 chassis, aaaand there's nothing you can do about it.

It's just the basic architecture that you have to work with...the bones. You can't do much with the E30 "bones". The toe curves, the camber curves. If you have driven an E36, or even better an E46 then you know what I'm talking about. E30+bump=spin. E36+bump=was there reeeealy a bump there???

It may be OK in DSP as Alex and Tom and others have shown, but against the big buk SM crowd it really is a back-marker.

I would build an E30 for DSP before I build one for SM.

Ed

Have to agree with Ed here. The limiting factor on the E30 in Street Mod is the rear suspension, which you can't legally fix in the SMOD rules. And with the low grip of HPT its gonna be hard to beat the AWD cars, even if they are heavier.



DSP might be the better route, as you can still make a lighter DSP legal E30 than the E36. (the E36 is still fairly dominant) Spring it high enough and don't let the rear suspension move and you might make it work in DSP. :D

[xLibelle]

by no means stop because its an uphill battle with the e30 at nationals... i agree with you, it may be possible with the weight advantage and being a proven race car.