Autocross in non-m5 e39?

[ryankalabalik]

hey guys im sord of a noob so sorry if im asking a stupid question but do you think you could autocross in an e39 and actually be good, because as far as i know they dont have an LSD except for the m5 of course

[AnotherGeezer]

Wrong car. The 3 series coupe is a much better candidate for Auto-X.

The 5-series would be a great contender in the Taxicab Olympics.

[Hivolt540]

I did it with my 540 shortly after i first got it, had alot of fun but didnt do well, lol. I thought the car was a bit heavy for the tight track. I wasnt used to driving it yet either though. My mechanic won a few novice class races in a newer 335 with some special tires. But whether you do well or not it is still fun once and a while. Some have put LSD in their cars. Once I get a few things ironed out I may go try the traction control easter egg at the autocross track to see if that helps.

[orthm]

You can autocross any car. Being competitive is another story. If you are just starting out, just go to as many events as you can and leave the car alone. Heck, a guy in our club brought a Ford Crown Vic one time.... Not sure were an E39 gets classed these days, but BMWs were always hosed in SCCA Solo2 classifications back when I was Auto-x ing on a regular basis so even in the hands of a good driver, it was a real fight to get a class win.

[Fiziks]

The experience you get on how your car handles 'at the edge' is worth autox'ing any car. Don't overcook it and try to beat out the miata's and e36 m3's, though.

[ryankalabalik]

i agree, i would definetly go autoxing in any car and im well aware that im not going to be competing with any miatas or m cars but i just wanted to know if i would be able to be competitive with cars that have lsds or just sporty cars in general. i kno the e39 was not meant to be a sports car but in my opinion it certainly drives like a sporty car. i just dont want to perform poorly because of a lack of a lsd.

[AnotherGeezer]

i just wanted to know if i would be able to be competitive with cars that have lsds or just sporty cars in general.

No. It's a heavy 4-door sedan. You can go to have fun, but prepare to be embarrassed if you're expecting to do well against cars much better suited for this type of activity.

[ryankalabalik]

Thank you, thats the answer i was looking for haha

[AnotherGeezer]

Now if you gut your ride, add a roll cage and go nuts with some stiff springs and sport struts/shocks, a serious strut bar, big sway bars, a limited slip diff spinning 18x9" wheels and sticky rubber along with a big brake kit...

You might have something.

[Cyrix2k]

The 540 does reasonably well. Not having a LSD is a pretty big disadvantage, but the class usually reflects that (which is the whole point of classing in the first place). IIRC, my 540 was classed above the 318, but the e36 m3 is classed above the 540. Also keep in mind there is the stock class and the versions of modified - your car could probably be reasonably competitive in stock, but to be competitive in modified will probably mean heavy mods. Go for it either way... it sounds like this will be your first auto-x so do it for fun.

:edit: for my local group, I'm S3 which includes

128i

E30 M3

3-Series 6-Cylinder Models (Not Otherwise Classed)

5-Series (8-Cyl & E60 535i)

M5 (Not Otherwise Classed)

E63/4 6-Series

MINI - Non-S Models
S4 is

800 / 3.0 CS Coupe

E21 323i

E30 eta

5-Series (Not Otherwise Classed)

E24 6-Series

8-Series

7-Series

4-Cylinder Models (Not Otherwise Classed)

http://www.nccbmwcca.org/content.php?138-Classes&

[silverE39]

Just go and have fun.

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g270/rxdesign/AutoX/AutoXJune2008312resize.jpg

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g270/rxdesign/AutoX/Aug5autox.jpg

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g270/rxdesign/AutoX/th_Oct21.jpg (http://s58.photobucket.com/albums/g270/rxdesign/AutoX/?action=view&current=Oct21.mp4)

[MontanaRob]

Do it! They are going to class you by size and mods anyway to make it competitive. I raced mine and won my class B for the season against very light 325's. It also depends on the course, how many twisties vs straight. Do it, do it.

[E39bmw]

Well it depends on how you drive the car. I took my 540i to a local track (really tight turns) and was only 2 sec behind a ferrari f430 and took down couple of e36s, turboed civic and couple of evos

[Cyrix2k]

I figured I'd throw my video up. It was my first auto-x run in the e39. Oh yeah, and I ripped the driver's side motor mount in two on the last run - that's why the exhaust came apart on that side.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-wMVoW-QGc

let's see if this posts correctly. Note I was in the "Tuner 3" class... probably should have been showroom 3. The +'s are time penalties for hitting cones. All my runs were clean, but I wasn't hugging the course nearly as tightly as I should have been. Also a big tip - don't slow down before the trap. I would have picked up some time there and it's free.
My times:
1997 BMW 540i Green 64.545 60.751 59.354 57.578

Other e39 times:
BMW 5-Series Tank (M5) Silver 54.208+3 54.074 53.814 53.210 53.210
2003 BMW 530i Silver 56.031 56.067+2 56.483 56.706+2 56.031

Note the M5 was in modified 3 and the 530 was in tuner 4. (yes, I was beat by the 530... but he had a lot more experience :p)

Full list http://www.nccbmwcca.org/usermedia/results/autocross/090613_fin.htm