Intro and some prep questions

#1

hi,

i’ve been lurking here for a while and figured i would start asking some preliminary questions as i start preparing to build the car for spec e30. i have a '91 325i that is my dedicated track car at the moment. i do still drive it to tracks but will be looking at trailers over the winter. i’ll be starting to prep the car for spec e30 in the off season and would like some pointers. Currently the car is specc’d as follows:

  • 1991 325i with 81k on the motor
  • Mark’D chip + 19# injectors - need to swap stock chip and 14# injectors back in
  • Suspension is Ground Control with 450/650 ERS springs and Koni SA - will need to swap to spec e30 suspension
  • I have treehouse lollipops, i gather these are not legal? are e30 m3 cabs allowed?
  • my sways are stock right now due to the higher spring rates i’m running, what’s the best sway kit? I’m thinking ST?
  • camber plates, I have GC ones right now, legal or do i need to swap?
  • Sparco strut brace - no change needed there
  • Hawk HT-10 all around on Centric blanks. works well so far.
  • AKG 75D diff, rtab and subframe bushings? allowed?
  • 4.10 diff, will swap 3.73 back in
  • sparco evo2 seats/safequip 5 pt harnesses - no issues there im thinking.
  • autopower rear cage. anyone in the NE or MA who can recommend a good place to get a full cage installed?
  • stock exhaust - will need spec exhaust.

that’s all i can think of for now… any input is appreciated.

tks,

-kish

here’s a pic of the car [file name=wgi_flying_thru_bustop.jpg size=84169]http://spece30.com/media/kunena/attachments/legacy/files/wgi_flying_thru_bustop.jpg[/file]

#2

M3 cabs are fine - but you might look at delrin
GC camber plates OK - we have them
ST bars are nice - we have them
AKG bushings OK for all
Look at the bronze bushings for ATE calipers-Bimmerworld
Ditch the stock fan - use stock electric or get aftermarket (search forum for details)
Good cage person in Norfolk is Dave Ellingsworth. Can provide number if you are interested. Sean Curran or Jon Allen probably have a name in the NE.
Best of luck,
Ed

#3

tks ed. good tips on the fan and brass bushings. i think my car has girling front calipers? ok to switch to ate i’m thinking. didn’t see anything in the regs forbidding it. any recommendations on fan, spal? question about power steering? how many of you are getting rid of it?

#4

Most of us have deleted the power steering, but there are a few hold outs. Personal preferance, however, I like the feel better without it.

Regarding the fan, search previous posts. Here is one
http://spece30.com/component/option,com_kunena/Itemid,86/func,view/id,8684/catid,5/

Ed

#5

edavidson wrote:

[quote]Most of us have deleted the power steering, but there are a few hold outs. Personal preferance, however, I like the feel better without it.

Regarding the fan, search previous posts. Here is one
http://spece30.com/component/option,com_kunena/Itemid,86/func,view/id,8684/catid,5/

Ed[/quote]

Might want to keep the Girlings. I’ve never heard an unkind word said of them. I found their pads a little easier to change.

#6

tks. i still have a/c in the car so that will get pulled over the winter and probably PS with it. good time to delete the mech fan, replace waterpump and probably do the timing belt while i’m in there.

#7

yeah, unbolt the top and swing the caliper out… is the ate different? need to research ate vs girling a bit more i guess…

#8

Ranger (Scott) makes a good point. We have Girlings on one car in the front. They are nice. I believe all of the rears are ATE.
Ed

#9

Keep the Grilings.

You may want to check the GC Camber plates. I have them too, but I think they make 2 versions for E30s - a SpecE30 plate and another that is not legal. The legal one has spece30 in the part number.

Watch your term “I saw nothing in the rules forbiding it” - remember you have to read the rules backwards - with the thought “where in the rules does it say I can do it” - if it doesn’t say you can - you can’t. The brake issue should not be a problem, as some cars came with Girling, some with ATE, and who is to say what your car came with. I too considered switching out the Girlings, as I am a pro with the ATEs from my other BMWs, but they could be the superior part in this application.

Good luck - sounds like you have a solid plan!

#10

If your camber plates are ground control height adjustable coil overs, you will need the camber plates that fit stock diameter springs.

The springs you currently have up front are a much smaller diameter than stock and H&R Race springs require a stock sized hat for the top, hence the issues with getting camber out of these cars, if you chassis is still relatively straight.

#11

tks, yes i have the plates that came with my GC coilover kit and now that i think about it, they won’t work anyways. so switch out to GC spec e30 plates or are there better alternatives?

#12

tks. will re-read rules (backwards too :))

#13

Take a look at the Carr industries ones. I have the Ground Control ones - but the Carr ones look good. Vorshlag has plates - and very good ones, but they aren’t legal in our series. Ireland makes some - mixed reviews on them. My rule is that I try to frequent our sponsors first - as long as they have what I’m looking for.

Good luck!

#14

ok. updating the thread as i plan to do a bunch of work on the car over the winter. few more questions. i searched but the search here seems a bit wierd… :slight_smile:

  1. any tips on pulling the a/c? evacuate, disconnect compressor? did most of you pull the lines out too? how about the evap in the dash? planning on leaving the heater core in. do i need to loop any lines?
  2. i’m assuming akg motor/trans mounts are fine?
  3. how many of you run cranks scrapers vs accusump? pros/cons of each?
  4. fire system, any recommendations? i’m thinking of the ESS 2.3 Liter Racing System
#15

Crankscraper is cheaper and it might add a hp by stopping the oil cloud hurricane that surrounds the whirling crank. Accusump adds weight. But if I had a nice custom motor, that accusump might look like a pretty good idea.

#16

agree on the performance aspect of the scraper but not sure how much it helps in that aspect. as for cost, teflon crank scraper isn’t cheap and the install seems to be a bear.

#17

The crank scraper is a pain to install if the engine is in the car, not tough if the engine is out.

For sure, the scraper solves the left hand problem. Both Infineon and Thunderhill have 180 degree high G left hand turns and the oil pressure would drop to zero 2/3 of the way around. Now, I never lose pressure with the scraper in place.

#18

highflyer wrote:

[quote]The crank scraper is a pain to install if the engine is in the car, not tough if the engine is out.

For sure, the scraper solves the left hand problem. Both Infineon and Thunderhill have 180 degree high G left hand turns and the oil pressure would drop to zero 2/3 of the way around. Now, I never lose pressure with the scraper in place.[/quote]

that’s good to know. engine is in the car. not planning to take it out presently.

#19

The scraper isn’t terribly hard to install with the motor in the car. IMHO the best way is to buy or borrow the harbor freight engine support cradle, then you can support the engine from above.

Then, you can remove the front subframe after partially disassembling the front suspension and at least you have clear access to the pan. I can provide the specifics of how we’ve approached the work if anyone’s interested.

On a lift is of course the most civilized, but even if you just put the front end on jackstands and use a hoist or cherry picker to support the motor the principle is still good.

#20

re: removing the a/c

Pull all the stuff in the engine bay. You may find you have to cut the lines that attach to the condenser in front of the radiator as they tend to seize. I removed the lines that run into the car as they weren’t hard to pull. I re-used the rubber plug grommet thingamajig, just wrapped duct tape around it to see the holes where the hoses went through it. Hasn’t leaked. I left the under-dash unit in as I didn’t feel it was worth the effort to remove for the mediocre weight savings, and most of these cars wind up needing ballast anyway. If your system works, you should be able to sell the compressor online.