Hi guys,
I’m new to the board and thinking of returning to this hobby after about 10yrs… and 9 months;) . I was doing (what is now called) HPDE with NASA and ASRA in the Phx area with a couple different LT1 Camaro’s when “Bugs” expired. Before that a little dirt track and a lot of sprint and enduro karting. I did real well in karting, my only claim to fame in NASA was winning one of their “enduros”. At the cost of a (another) ring and pinion, front pads, and set of R1’s. I did win a nifty T-shirt! But I digress -
My interest has peaked again after talking to my wife’s “IT-Guy” at the company Christmas party. I guess he is an HPDE instructor who had been running his very tuned GTO 5.7L for a while and had just switched to a spankin’ new Mazda SPEED3. I figured it would be okay if I took the wife’s InfinityM out for a spin one weekend just to get acquainted with the whole HPDE 1-4 thing. But unfortunately while I was planning a very good reason why she needed to cruise the malls all weekend in my Titan, she learned at work, IT-Guy slapped the NASCAR turn 4 wall at PIR with his shinny new FWD. Daaamn it. So that pretty much put the skids on takin’ Mom’s shoe-shopper to the track. Would have been perfect too, her Yokohama’s are right down to the wear bars. Any way -
So then I’m looking for a “starter car” for some HPDE first, and maybe comp later. Porsche is too $$$. RX7 is too loud/no pistons. Mustang is too redneck. Miata …girly.
Bingo! An old BMW 325 would be perfect. And I could convince the wife (while it’s still street legal) it would make a great 3rd car to haul the kids to practice/lessons/games/yoga …whatever. Just incase our 2 brand new cars broke at the same time and the dealers didn’t have any loaner cars because they were recalled and the rental cars were snapped up by Japanese business men in town for an extended conference on automotive recalls …She went for it:blink: So the point is -
I’d like to buy something to get me through the first year or so of the HPDE 4 levels of humiliation, stroking the instructors ego so he’ll sign off your log book. Yuk! What happened to the good ol’ days of Open Street A - Go fast and don’t hit anything or Open Street B - Stay out of the way of Open Street A and don’t hit anything?
I know this is a Spec e30 forum and the goal is to build the e30 class and I would like nothing more than to jump in and build an e30 car to race in comp as soon as possible. But with time and money considerations and the fact that there is no e30 class going in the Phx area right now and the local BMW club appears to be more interested in cookouts and car shows. If I did build a car right now I would just get tossed in with the closed wheel race group to get beat up and worn out before I would ever get to a Spec e30 event. You guys here seem pretty sharp and friendly. I’m looking for an honest opinion of what I should purchase. I’ve got about $4000 seed money. With that I should be able to get a real nice e30 for HPDE. But for that price I have also found that I can get an early e36, or a 5 series, some very sharp 318is or a Ti or a 2002. I’ve even found a couple old 633 csi. Should I stay strictly with a Spec e30 eligible car and keep it that way (heavy and stock) in the slim hopes of one day in the not too near future, racing in Spec e30. Or get the most bang for the buck now? What’s the performance difference between a e30 and an early e36? A 5 series too heavy? The Ti’s look very “toss-able” can the 4cyl cars be made to perform for a reasonable price? Should you wear black leather gloves and dark sun glasses when driving a 633? Any ideas you guys can come up with would be helpful. Or at least entertaining. Thanks, sorry for rambling.
Eric.
Noobie could use a little advice...
Granted, I’m biased (we all are), but it’s pretty hard to beat how fun an e30 325i is to throw around. Even stock, they are damn entertaining. In race trim, I can easily out-run my previous, nearly stock e36 M3. Or maybe I can just drive a little better now. :dry:
I do know you’ll learn a lot about driving well in an e30. My M3 had so much power it covered up lots of my crappy driving. It’s fun how small, relatively light, and nimble an e30 is compared to some of the other BMW’s you mention. The e30 is also easy to work on.
Sasha
Man, I’m tired after reading that. 
First off, I can tell you right now you want to narrow your search to e30s and e36s only–don’t consider the 5ers or anything older than an e30. I think you get a better bang for the buck with the e30, just because the cost of the car should be less, which means you can buy more go fast parts. You can make a pretty decent track e36 out of $4k though, so it’s mostly personal preference.
Also consider what cars you see at your local events. Lots of e30s? Get one of those b/c it will be easier to compare to other drivers. Lots of e36s racing? If you think you’ll make it that far, get an e36.
Hi Eric,
You are in the prime region to find a great no-rust e30 to start building a Spec E30.
I would also say only consider an e30 or e36. The e36 will likely be more expensive than an e30. The good thing about e30’s and NASA is that they can run in spec e30, PT or GTS so there will always be a place for you to race when you’re ready.
cheers,
bruce
+3 E30 or E36. You’re on the Spec E30 board so I’d say E30 :P. The E36 will be faster, and a little less tossable. Both have their merits. If I only had $4000 I’d probably start with the E30 though. Also you should think down the road and decide now what type of racing you want to do and what is available. There is not a big Spec E30 precence in your region but maybe you will help get it going. Good luck and welcome back.
First let me say… I love the way you think. too bad you’re not in the SE.
if you’ve spent any time searching the board, you’ve seen that we have our issues. But don’t let our bickering steer you away from our little series. Spec E30 has some of the best racing. Follow any of the races and you’ll see lots of finishes from the front of the pack to the rear of the pack that finish within 100th of a second each other. Despite our different backgrounds… you’ll be hard pressed to find a better group of guys (and gal). There’s not a single spec e30 racer that I wouldn’t put down what I’m doing to help out… and I feel like they all feel the same way.
As for the nuts and bolt of the spec e30’s… I’ve seen cars get pretty balled up and are still able to drive—all be it, limping and hobbling… these cars are as tough as they come. They are bullet proof—as many have been heard to say
They are also easy to work on. I don’t know s#!t about cars… and I do 90% of the maintenance on my car
what the E30 lacks in power they more than make up in the trill of close wheel to wheel racing. Just search YouTube for “e30 race” and you’ll see for your self.
Go E30… I’m glad I did