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Thread: Need a bit of a direction on E30 track car build

  1. #1
    Join Date
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    Need a bit of a direction on E30 track car build

    Last year I got addicted to HPDE and I would like to continue this year and perhaps start to compete a bit. I've been using my BRZ. Even though it's a dedicated fun/summer car, I am still weary of crashing or damaging it. Last month I bought an E30 that I plan to use as track toy. I do not have the means to trailer it, so it will have to be driven to the track.

    How should I approach this build? Should I stick to spec E30 requirements or should I just build it up the way I see fit. My current plan is to overhaul the brakes and suspension. Otherwise, the car came with a chip and cat-back exhaust.

  2. #2
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    Always a good idea to build to a ruleset in case you want to sell it in the future.
    It's not speed that kills, it's the speed difference that does. Obviously you aren't going fast enough.

    Turning Benjamins into noise since 1997

    I read a list of the 100 things you MUST do before you die. Funny, "Yelling 'HELP'" didn't make the list!

  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by gobuffs View Post
    Always a good idea to build to a ruleset in case you want to sell it in the future.
    This. I built my e30 as a fun weekend and occasional track day car and when I decided I wanted to compete it had nowhere to play. Spec E30 is definitely the direction I would go if I was planning a build with a mostly blank canvas.
    97 M3 - SCCA TT Prepped
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    05 S2000 - Sold
    88 325is - S52 powered - Sold
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  4. #4
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    I tracked an e30 for 12 yrs....and drove to events.......


    i never built to any class....i did not care..i wanted to build a car to MY tastes.......and because it was done very well w/ top shelf parts it sold in like 2 days......sigh....




    feel free to ask away...or pm me.

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by jrkoupe View Post
    I tracked an e30 for 12 yrs....and drove to events.......


    i never built to any class....i did not care..i wanted to build a car to MY tastes.......and because it was done very well w/ top shelf parts it sold in like 2 days......sigh....




    feel free to ask away...or pm me.
    That's great, and I also enjoyed the heck out of my e30 that didn't fit into any class (still the most fun car I've ever driven), but the OP specifically said he's considering competing. If you think you might want to compete it's best to build in that direction to avoid having to undo and redo modifications. It's a pain and can end up being quite costly.
    97 M3 - SCCA TT Prepped
    17 F150 - Tow Pig
    05 S2000 - Sold
    88 325is - S52 powered - Sold
    95 M3 LTW Rep - Death by Altima

  6. #6
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    I dint c that point..........

  7. #7
    Join Date
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    I think it depends on how serious you are about competing, and which avenue you want to take. Spec e30 is fantastic over here in the Southeast, fields and big and the racing is incredible. However, to run up front and be competitive, your car needs to be pretty well-prepped, make good power, and you'll need to have fresh tires ready pretty much every weekend. Spec e30 is also basically a fixed class, so for someone with limited seat time, you aren't going to learn much about setup with non-adjustable shocks and no coilovers. These two things were the deal-killers for me, I've worked in motorsports/engineering for a bit now, and while being pretty experienced tuning setups based on feedback received from others, I had very little experience tuning from the drivers seat... And you don't get much of that in a SE30 car.

    From that point, I decided to build my car as a DE car, making sure my cage was compliant for any series but building the car towards what I thought would be an ideal e30 track car. Around that time, a buddy and I decided to partner up to build the car to eventually run in AER/WRL, all while doing as many DE's as I could afford along the way. We are now chasing a lap time goal (Continental Tire ST series) that we think will get us to the point of being reasonably competitive in these enduro races. My buddy is pretty close to our target lap time already, while I am still in the gaining seat time/confidence/experience stage, but it does make it easier to tune on the car based on his feedback while having some of my own.

    The car is pretty basic- S50/e46 m3 brakes/MCS 2-way/2400 lbs, but really fast. I blew up the S50 last time out at Road Atlanta, and am in the process of swapping in an M54. Pretty excited to lose the 75 lbs in the front, and gain the ability to stream data.
    '88 s54 e30, '00 m5

  8. #8
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    I feel like jcbe did....

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