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Danw8986

The Track Car Bible

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i thought it would be a good idea to start a thread for all those getting into track cars as i know allot you us zoners are at the moment. i wasnt sure were to put this so mods feel free to move to a more suitable place.

the idea is to give people an idea of what to look for in a track car eg what cars are good and cheap any specific spec on a vehicle making it more suitable ect, costs of owning, what mods can be done to achieve more power and better handling, tips and advice on preparing a track car, any tips for the track and advice on specific circuits and annything else you petrol heads can think of.

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You looking at getting a track car Dan? M3 transplant into the loon? ;)

Guessing this'll be moved to the track car section :P Not that I've got a good track record of posting threads in the right section :P

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325's FTW!

LOL.

Although there is not a great deal you can do to extract more power, lap times get CONSIDERABLY faster with the right equipment.

Based on my experiences so far i would say that these are all weel worth what they cost.

Cheap colies or even cheaper stiffer springs.

Uprated ARB's - have made a massive amount of difference.

If its an E36 an X brace.

Uprated pads/ discs/ M3 hub conversion.

All those put together have given me absolutely zero more power, however the car gives you so much more confidence on the track that the lap times just keep getting quicker.

ETA: decent tyres!

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the plan is a e36 325 sport with lsd completely strip it and sell off all the bits hopefully making enough money back to get some brake hoses and bucket seats ready for the first day. after this day see how the car feels and what needs to be done the car is going to be a joint toy between me scrimja and 2 other friends of ours and going to be on a budget

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As marty says.....

I don't think power is the solution, it will certainly help, but concentrating more on the handling and stopping has proven itself to be the best way forward.

At Cadwell Pk.... our three were very close, there were parts of the course where each car had its own advantages.

Tyres as well proved a big factor, Marty was running cut wet slicks which were extremely sticky, couple that with stiffer coilies, did make a difference.

Both mine and Simon's cars are running standard setup at the moment but that said... they weren't off the pace at all.

It will be interesting to see the difference on a faster circuit with more straights

excellent thread ....keep the feedback coming

Mike :lol:

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weve had a slight change of plan and are going to try find a e34 530 and put a little bit of our own magic into it from a few bits lying around in the garage but im going to tease you all and make you wait till the first track day when shes done

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Sounds good mate, i have me an E34 525 and she goes very well and is actually a propper laugh to drive.

One thing to bear in mind though is that they are not really track cars so bargain parts are few and far between. For example if you want to upgrade suspension the cheapest coilover kit is going to be around £400 and you will not find any second hand! Make sure you check the steering components as these are prone to failure, this is another £200+ and a good few hours of your time or around £400 fitted.

Anything else you need help with on the E34 let me know as i have some experience!

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Sounds good mate, i have me an E34 525 and she goes very well and is actually a propper laugh to drive.

One thing to bear in mind though is that they are not really track cars so bargain parts are few and far between. For example if you want to upgrade suspension the cheapest coilover kit is going to be around £400 and you will not find any second hand! Make sure you check the steering components as these are prone to failure, this is another £200+ and a good few hours of your time or around £400 fitted.

Anything else you need help with on the E34 let me know as i have some experience!

cheers simon whats it like round the track as we were a little worried about it feeling very heavey

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If im honest it doesnt feel too bad and mine is only the 2.5 so you have an extra bit of power to play with.

The main issue i would say is in the corners, whilst you can throw it into the corners and it will stick well it does roll a fair bit. I have lowered her by 50mm all round on spax supersort springs and dampers (not coilies). I think when i have more money i will replace all of the ARB's but again this is expensive to do, and also stick some strutts on the front and rear suspension mounts.

She would probably benefit from some height adjustable coilovers though as i would like to go lower then 50mm as there is much more room to go lower.

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If im honest it doesnt feel too bad and mine is only the 2.5 so you have an extra bit of power to play with.

The main issue i would say is in the corners, whilst you can throw it into the corners and it will stick well it does roll a fair bit. I have lowered her by 50mm all round on spax supersort springs and dampers (not coilies). I think when i have more money i will replace all of the ARB's but again this is expensive to do, and also stick some strutts on the front and rear suspension mounts.

She would probably benefit from some height adjustable coilovers though as i would like to go lower then 50mm as there is much more room to go lower.

cheers thats what i was worried about the body roll. the 3L engines comeing out just want to go for the 530 due to the bigger brakes , so when we get her a nice 3L up for grabs if you fancy a little more power.

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cheers thats what i was worried about the body roll. the 3L engines comeing out just want to go for the 530 due to the bigger brakes , so when we get her a nice 3L up for grabs if you fancy a little more power.

Err yep i most probably will be interested mate, depends on price etc and what funds i have available at the time.

Will be interested to see what goes in then - im guessing this is what you meant by a little bit of "magic" will be going in!

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Just done some research into this and im told that its probably not wrth the hassle to upgrade...and that im better off holding out for a e36 2.8 or e36 m3 3.2 which will give much more bang for my buck...

i thought all the mounts are the same on e34s therefore less effort.

wierd that youd get more power out of a e36 2.8 also

and that is what i meant by "magic" should be insane

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i thought all the mounts are the same on e34s therefore less effort.

wierd that youd get more power out of a e36 2.8 also

and that is what i meant by "magic" should be insane

Mounts are the same but boxes dont match up so its a bit of a pain.

plans have all changed again after doing some research i think were better of going with a e30 or e36 found a nice 316 whitch ill be going to see ether tonight or tomorow

Your talking of magic got me thinking and i now have a really bad urge to stick some M54b30 internal into the M50b25 engine with US Spec M3 Cams. From what i have read you can get around 240/250bhp with this setup and no need to worry about wiring looms or ecu's or anything complicated like that. Trouble is i need to find all the parts cheap, otherwise it makes more sense just to buy an E36 M3 engine and stick that in.

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plans have all changed again after doing some research i think were better of going with a e30 or e36 found a nice 316 whitch ill be going to see ether tonight or tomorow

Right no matter how hard I try to pursuade Dan and the other track day partners (lol) they seem convinced that an e39 engine to e30 swap is goin to be simple and cheap. Someone with more technical knowledge than myself please explain exactly how difficult an expensive this is going to be. Alternatively, explain to me how it's going to be really easy and cheap. :)

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right seeing as weve come across so many problems the car choice is up in the air again, the options are as follows

unfortunatly i have to give away the little bit of magic for this but i need the advice

E30 (m60 4.4 conversion)

pros -

amzing power to weight ratio

fun little project

something special at the end of it

cons -

could end up beeing expensive even though we already have the engine

wont be ready for about a year

E36 325 preaty stock

pros-

simple

cost effective

could always slam the m60 4.4 in at a later date with the same amount of work as the e30 conversion

cons-

same as everyone elses

probably wanty more power after a year or so

E34 (m60 4.4 convession) bolts straight in

pros-

easy job

good power

cost efective

cons-

body roll

parts less available and more expensive (ie coilies)

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If it were me id be going with the E36 option at this stage. The car will be setup and well balanced for the track until you get used to tracking a car (although might be worth looking for the 2.8 M52 engine). Also you will as mentioned before be able to pickup parts for next to nothing where the E34 is not widely used as a track car for obvious reasons and parts are expensive!

Once your bored of the E36 then as you say there are PLENTY of options to mod it, and not just down the route of a replacement engine! I have found plenty of useful info on swapping out internals and upgrading cams to give plenty more power.

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If it were me id be going with the E36 option at this stage. The car will be setup and well balanced for the track until you get used to tracking a car (although might be worth looking for the 2.8 M52 engine). Also you will as mentioned before be able to pickup parts for next to nothing where the E34 is not widely used as a track car for obvious reasons and parts are expensive!

Once your bored of the E36 then as you say there are PLENTY of options to mod it, and not just down the route of a replacement engine! I have found plenty of useful info on swapping out internals and upgrading cams to give plenty more power.

cheers simon i think this is whet were leaning towards. i would love the 328 but they seem to be rarer and alot more expensive

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Yeah i know what you mean - Marty picked an engine up for £250 incl loom, ECU and other goodies...

Still though plenty of work that can be done to the M50B25, might be working on a little stroker project of my own.

See HERE check out the links in the last post, they make for some very interesting reading.

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