 |
|
Ok I am in the process of purchasing an '88 325 and noticed in the rules that the SU class will go away in 2007. Will that mean that the model I am getting will be competing against the higher 168 HP cars or the 134 Hp cars or what?
Thanks for any help and look forward to more posts as this website and forums is one of the reasons I have decided to try the spec 30 class.
Bahh I think I found the answer…it will all become one class so every E30 will be in the same class next year correct?
Bahh I think I found the answer…it will all become one class so every E30 will be in the same class next year correct?
Sort of….no one will campaign etas (“e�) cars, so get yourself an “i� car and you will be good to go – ofcourse for offical world of what will be in the rules wait for admin (Carter Hunt) to chime in. Ohh, and welcome to the group.
Igor
Does that mean I cannot run it or I just would be a little behind in the HP department and would be recomended that I get an I model to keep up?
You can still race it with NASA, but it will not meet the Spec E30 rules. If it’s a good price for a straight body and good car, then go ahead and get it with plans to do a motor swap to an i motor down the road. They are pretty easy to do.
If the car is so-so, then I would keep looking for an i (or is) car to use as a starting point.
Good luck and keep us up to date
I don’t think it is just going to one class, the SU class is going to stop. The eta car would not be legal for SO but I don’t think anyone will make a big deal out of it. Find an i car. After I got mine I found two more for less money. There is an is in Cinci that is running for $900. search craigslist.
Michael O.
We’ve had other cars that were not quite legal, race in "E30 Fun" here in the Mid Atlantic. That way, they can race but don’t affect the Spec E30 results - Toyo Bucks, etc. They do affect the overall results but no one really cares about that.
If the car is a good car and you want to build it, go ahead. But it won’t be legal for Spec E30 in '07 and I’ll bet that it won’t take long for you to get tired of seeing the other cars drive past you on the straights. You will want to do an engine swap eventually.
Personally, I would look for an i car from the start. It’s tough to walk away from a deal but in the long-run, you’ll be happier.
Let us know what you decide.
Carter
Well I have decided to go ahead and purchase this car it is a great price I am getting it for and I am getting it from someone who is a BMW tech. I am also in the process of finding (may have found one) an i engine for a future swap. I am basically going to use this one for the HPDE track time and little by little work this car into a Spec 30 class.
As I am brand new into this and have no racing experience anyway this is probably a better learning curve for me 
I am 100% sure I will be posting here with questions often and REALLY appreciate all the great advice and info that has been given thus far.
Thanks,
Mark
Well I have decided to go ahead and purchase this car it is a great price I am getting it for and I am getting it from someone who is a BMW tech. I am also in the process of finding (may have found one) an i engine for a future swap. I am basically going to use this one for the HPDE track time and little by little work this car into a Spec 30 class.
As I am brand new into this and have no racing experience anyway this is probably a better learning curve for me
I am 100% sure I will be posting here with questions often and REALLY appreciate all the great advice and info that has been given thus far.
Thanks,
Mark
Use the eta car and maybe do the suspension, but don’t put a cage in it or anything not removeable. When you have progressed through HPDE with it and are ready to go racing, remove the goodies and find/buy an "i" car to swap everything onto. It will be much easier (and probably cheaper) than trying to do a swap over.
Hmm that is not a bad idea at all and kind of what I was going with as a plan as well. I will engine swap only if I am unable to find a good 325i or 325is by the time I am ready to go and really I should be able to. But it also depends on how cheap I can get an i engine for and all that as well.
At this point I want to get going on the track and get the learning curve started and go from there. The original price of this car is well worth the investment and it will be a great starter track car as well.
How good is "good"? It would almost have to be free for it to be a great deal because, as you said, you are using a BMW shop to do all of the work. This will be a few thousand in labor on the suspension components and prep that you will have to pay for again to move it over. Just the engine work alone doesn’t justify the cost.
Donor 325 - $500 (that’s what I consider "a great deal"
Used Engine - $500
Engine swap Labor - $600
You already have at least $1600 in converting a 325 to a 325i. Forget the swapping of stuff, you’ll have spent more in the long run when you could have just continued searching around.
I looked around for about 3 weeks and last week I picked up a pretty clean 325is for $1100. Very solid, tight car with 163K on it. Has a rub in the fender and the front spoiler is gone but is mechanically excellent.
Keep looking until you find the right car.