what will break?!

[hendrik]

In your experience, what have you broken on track day with your e30? I am planning on doing two track days within a short period of time between and want to make sure I have a backup of parts in case... Thanks.

[Stu]

On M20 cars in particular you have to be careful with worn motor mounts because they have a tendency to allow the fan blade to cut the lower radiator hose. That is something that will end your trackday very quickly and can easily be prevented.

[Bavarian3]

Just blew up my brothers S50 motor.... but that was bound to happen.

CA ball joints are known to have gone bad. Some say its the brand. Some say it is the over tightening of the bolt.

The E30 is old. I would do a complete check of suspension bolts, tranny/shifter bolts, and make sure there are no pieces that are worn.

I usually bring, rotors, brakes, tires, wheels, a couple spare bolts, and if you have a trailer that is a plus.

[E30_fiend]

^^^^^^

On the early cars yes. They solved that problem on the later models.

But I have heard from many guys that the CSB and guibo sometimes failed them. Bring an extra one of each. And obviously some tools to repair them. Also, tranny mounts. Urethane fixes the motor and tranny mount problems. There's a little more vibration but its a price to pay for safety.


E30_Fiend

[Stu]

Just blew up my brothers S50 motor.... but that was bound to happen.

CA ball joints are known to have gone bad. Some say its the brand. Some say it is the over tightening of the bolt.

The E30 is old. I would do a complete check of suspension bolts, tranny/shifter bolts, and make sure there are no pieces that are worn.

I usually bring, rotors, brakes, tires, wheels, a couple spare bolts, and if you have a trailer that is a plus.

What happened Mike?

+1 on Control arms, if ball joints fail...they fail in a 100+ braking zone

[hendrik]

^^^^^^

On the early cars yes. They solved that problem on the later models.

But I have heard from many guys that the CSB and guibo sometimes failed them. Bring an extra one of each. And obviously some tools to repair them. Also, tranny mounts. Urethane fixes the motor and tranny mount problems. There's a little more vibration but its a price to pay for safety.


E30_Fiend

Pardon my slight tardedness... what is CSB? I know the guibo but not CSB.

[hendrik]

it is the central sleeve bearing? I take it.. through some search..

[Jand3rson]

it is the central sleeve bearing? I take it.. through some search..

Center support bearing.

[Jparkr]

I let Crivellone barrow my red car for a track day while i was a corner worker and he blew out a motor mount.

[jlevie]

If the car is in good mechanical condition, I would not expect anything to break. But if the car hasn't been gone through from stem to stern and common wear parts replaced, anything could happen. To me the pro-active replacements would include (at a minimum):

1) Timing belt, water pump, radiator, expansion tank and all hoses
2) Fan & PS belt
3) Motor, transmission, & differential mounts
4) Control arms, tie-rods, and LCAB's
5) RTAB's and sub-frame bushings
6) Shocks, upper shock mounts, sway bar bushings & links

[Massive Lee]

01- e30 motor mounts are indeed pretty weak. Many will install e28 motor mounts.
02- e30 control arms have a bad habit of snapping at the outer balljoint after a couple of seasons. It is recommended by BMWCCA to change them as a preventive measure.
03- Rocker arms are also known to be weak on motors spending a lot of time near the red zone.
04- Use a front stress bar, or you risk to see cracks around the shock towers after a couple of days.
05- Overfill the oil pan by half a quart to avoid oil starvation in long sweeper. Especially left hand turns.
06- Bring extra brake fluid to bleed your brakes at least once per day.

[z31maniac]

There's a little more vibration but its a price to pay for safety.


E30_Fiend

Well I just got my AKG 75D motor and tranny mounts in today.

I'd definitely say there is more than a small increase in NVH. When I replace the carpet, I'll definitely be putting down a layer of quality sound deadening material.

[DCColegrove]

If it's a "short track" take extra brakes with you I mean the whole shooting match. (add coolers if rules allow).

Brace your struts and rear shock towers (reinforce the rear shock towers if rules allow)
(the uni-body breaks... your screwed).

Lower control arms (don't go cheap).

Shift linkages and supports, trans and engine mounts, exhaust hangars.

And don't forget 100 Mile an Hour Tape (duct tape) and bailing wire.

[Emre]

I am planning on doing two track days within a short period of time between and want to make sure I have a backup of parts in case...

It really depends on two factors:

How well-maintained the car is to start with. Cars that are in top shape generally don't break on the track. Cars with 15-year-old control arms, leaking steering racks, corroded radiators, cracked/dry belts & hoses, loose wheel bearings, worn bushings, and whining rear diffs tend to break under the stress of track use.

How experienced you are on the track. Guys running relatively stock cars on street tires in the slower run-groups tend to have very few problems. I ran my E30 totally stock (except for H&R Sport springs and Bilstein Sport dampers) for maybe 2-3 seasons on street tires. Never broke a thing. Never had to give the car a second thought. As I got faster and started pushing the car harder, the wear and tear on the car increased dramatically. Once I upgraded to a full race suspension and R-comps, things started breaking at an alarming rate.

In your experience, what have you broken on track day with your e30?

When my car was relatively stock, I never broke anything. Never ended a track weekend early. After my engine swap and race suspension, I've run into quite a few mechanical troubles at the track. Here they are in order...

1. Split a rad hose and sprung a leak in a rad
2. Broke a rocker arm
3. Lost a rear wheel bearing that had been replaced the previous summer
4. Broke a half-shaft
5. Developed severe bearing wear in my stock (small-case) 4.10 LSD
6. Blew a freshly-rebuilt engine due to oil starvation
7. Lost an engine mount that had been replaced the previous summer
8. Tore apart my brand-new E46 M3 Cabrio rear shock mounts
9. Pulled a rear swaybar link out of the trailing arm

I think that's it. Obviously, problem #6 was the worst for me. Again, all these problems happened as both the driver and the E30 got faster on the track. With a slow driver and a slow E30 there's nothing to worry about!

[JRKOUPE]

It really depends on two factors:

How well-maintained the car is to start with. Cars that are in top shape generally don't break on the track. Cars with 15-year-old control arms, leaking steering racks, corroded radiators, cracked/dry belts & hoses, loose wheel bearings, worn bushings, and whining rear diffs tend to break under the stress of track use.

How experienced you are on the track. Guys running relatively stock cars on street tires in the slower run-groups tend to have very few problems. I ran my E30 totally stock (except for H&R Sport springs and Bilstein Sport dampers) for maybe 2-3 seasons on street tires. Never broke a thing. Never had to give the car a second thought. As I got faster and started pushing the car harder, the wear and tear on the car increased dramatically. Once I upgraded to a full race suspension and R-comps, things started breaking at an alarming rate.

When my car was relatively stock, I never broke anything. Never ended a track weekend early. After my engine swap and race suspension, I've run into quite a few mechanical troubles at the track. Here they are in order...

1. Split a rad hose and sprung a leak in a rad
2. Broke a rocker arm
3. Lost a rear wheel bearing that had been replaced the previous summer
4. Broke a half-shaft
5. Developed severe bearing wear in my stock (small-case) 4.10 LSD
6. Blew a freshly-rebuilt engine due to oil starvation
7. Lost an engine mount that had been replaced the previous summer
8. Tore apart my brand-new E46 M3 Cabrio rear shock mounts
9. Pulled a rear swaybar link out of the trailing arm

I think that's it. Obviously, problem #6 was the worst for me. Again, all these problems happened as both the driver and the E30 got faster on the track. With a slow driver and a slow E30 there's nothing to worry about!

Was the oil starve issue a lt hander issue?....