Signed up for HPDE at CMP 5/1-2... a few questions

#1

I’ve finally got around to signing up for HPDE. Reading through the regs I have a couple of questions. On the front page of the HPDE section it states “… cars that have been modified (seats, roll bars, belts, etc) must conform to the preparation rules listed in the rulebook.” I’ve stripped the interior, put in a roll cage and seats. Do I need to put in all the other stuff such as kill switch and fire extinguisher before I can use it for an HPDE?

Where is a good place to get folding tow hooks? I have the one that came with the car that sticks out ready to bite ankles and shins. I’ve seen them online for about $100, but that seems a bit steep. Also, can the tow hooks be used to secure the car to the d-rings in the trailer for transportation to the track?

I need to secure the battery in some fashion. It’s not immediately obvious to me how to do this. I’m guessing there must be some commercially available strap that affixes to the car, but I can’t find one.

Thanks!

Andy

#2

I think you’ll be ok without the kill switch, fire supression, etc. Just make sure you have same type of belts/seats for passenger and driver.

Use straps instead of tow hooks, much cheaper and readily available. This is what you’ll see on majority of the cars. I wouldn’t use tow hooks for tie downs, plenty of other ways to strap the car down.

I use a piece of metal bent to go around the battery, drill couple of holes on each end and bolt it down to the car.

#3

ukrbmw wrote:

[quote]I think you’ll be ok without the kill switch, fire supression, etc. Just make sure you have same type of belts/seats for passenger and driver.
[/quote]

I have similar seats and belts. Both seats are FIA certified.

Where do you find straps? I’ve looked online but can’t find anything. Should I use the suspension to tie the car down in the trailer?

{quote]
I use a piece of metal bent to go around the battery, drill couple of holes on each end and bolt it down to the car.
[/quote]

I’ll see what I can manufacture. I’m still pretty new to all this so my fabrication skills are pretty basic… pretty crappy actually, but I’m learning!

Thanks!

Andy

#4

Bimmerworld http://store.bimmerworld.com/motorsport-tow-strap-p294.aspx

[quote]I’ll see what I can manufacture. I’m still pretty new to all this so my fabrication skills are pretty basic… pretty crappy actually, but I’m learning!
[/quote]
Go to Home Depot/Ace/Menard’s…

Buy a threaded stick/rod and matching nuts and washers - x6…

Buy a piece of flat “stock” or um, a 1 inch wide flat piece of steel…

Drill 2 holes either side of the battery through the floor of the car.

Push the threaded sticks/rods through the holes you just drilled either side of the battery.

Thread 1 nut +washer on inside and 1 nut +washer outside holding the rods in place so they can’t fall out under the car.

Drill 2 holes in the flat stock steel, slide it over battery and use the 2 other nuts and washers to fix the battery into place.

Cut the excess steel off the top and bottom of the rods.

To make the car waterproof, you can add to the washers under the car a very thin rubber washer between the washer and the car, this should act as a water barrier and keep water out of the battery well. I also cover the exposed threads with anti-seize grease/lube to stop it from rusting… Or use bathroom caulking, but it’s uglier.

#5

Front http://www.ioportracing.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=TOW

Rear http://www.factory3performance.com/shop/shopexd.asp?id=239

#6

greensha wrote:

[quote]"… cars that have been modified (seats, roll bars, belts, etc) must conform to the preparation rules listed in the rulebook." [/quote]All this is referring to is that you must have a seat mounted in such a way that it adheres to the CCR directions on proper racing seat mounting.

Your seat belts must adhere to the rules and best practices regarding seat belt mounting - the Schroth site has some super directions on mounting seat belts and the way they can best be run to avoid fraying the material and positioning the belts so that they actually perform the job they were designed to do.

This also include seat back bracing and roll bar padding.

What it does not include is stripping of interiors, fire extinguishers, HANS-type devices, Window Nets, Side nets, removable steering wheels or ignition cut off switches.

HPDE also does not concern itself with SFI expiration or personal fire suits or the passenger gear - it can be legally an OEM belt and OEM seat - but that’s really unfair for your instructor/passenger.

#7

kgobey wrote:

That looks like the kind of thing I am looking for. I guess I will have to figure out how to take the bumper off!

Thanks, seems easy enough! I have a go this weekend.

winduck wrote:

Which part of the frame do these bolt to? I’m just getting started, so I know next to nothing at the moment. Something that might take your average SpecE30’er 20 minutes could take me all day! For example, it took me the best part of three days to replace the timing belt. I think I could do it in a couple of hours now though.

Thanks,

Andy!

#8

greensha wrote:

[quote]ukrbmw wrote:

[quote]Use straps instead of tow hooks, much cheaper and readily available. This is what you’ll see on majority of the cars. I wouldn’t use tow hooks for tie downs, plenty of other ways to strap the car down.
[/quote]

Where do you find straps? I’ve looked online but can’t find anything. Should I use the suspension to tie the car down in the trailer?
[/quote]
There are a couple different questions going on here. Don’t confuse “tow straps” with “straps for towing”.

Tow straps - I don’t know if those are required for DE, but you will need them eventually anyway. I have the Bimmerworld straps. The rear one loops around the factory tow loop (right rear, under the bumper). On a plastic bumper car you have to slot the front bumper to stick the strap out. On a big bumper car I think access is easier.

The front bumper is removed by taking out two hex head bolts that are accessed from underneath. The bumper should slide off easily. If only reinstallation were that easy. I have never cussed at my race car as much as the time I tried to get the tow strap around the bumper shock, threaded through the slot, both bumper ends lined up with the fender-mounted brackets, AND lined up with the bumper shocks.

For “straps for towing” I tie my car down using ratcheting tie-downs attached to axle straps through rear wheels (won’t work on factory wheels though) and axle straps over the front control arms. DO NOT use the tow straps for tying the car to the trailer. I like Chuck’s Factory3 towing tie-downs that mount on the rear shock bolt when tying straight back, but not for crossing the rear straps (which I don’t do because if you lose one strap the other pulls the car sideways and gets loose anyway). YMMV, IMHO, etc.

#9

Get your car to the track one way or another, and then talk to the guys around you about how they strap their car to their trailer. Some of their solutions will appeal to you, some not.

Steve’s reference to the Factory3 rear tie-down solution is IMO the best rear solution. Like Steve I do not cross tie-down straps, but opinions vary on that.

#10

We carry both straight and 45-degree angled rear tie-down brackets, so if you want to cross rear straps and attach to the lower shock mount, the 45-er is the way to go. Personally, I tie straight back but to each his/her own.

#11

I just bought a set of the 45 degree angled rear tie downs. I was planning on crossing the rear straps with them. I’m still debating how I want to do the front though. Last time I used the hole in the frame on each side, but I would like something lower. I think I will get a set of axle straps and try the lower control arm this time. I just worry about bending control arms when tightening the ratcheting straps.

#12

I would be very careful using any part of the suspension in the tie down on the car. E30’s are known to have the rear trailing arms bent over time. With the tie down at the rear lower shock mount you are pulling on the trailing arm with the possiblity of getting some nasty toe out in the rear.

Michael

#13

i have tie down loops at the lower shock mount but don’t cross the straps so it’s less likely to bend anything, seems to work very well.

#14

Man now you guys are making me question crossing the straps. I always thought crossing them was better as it provided side load. I know that most of the videos I see on the dyno they cross the straps. Anyone know of any articles that talk to this?

#15

For strapping the car to the trailer, I use the factory tie down location in front. In the back I use the type of straps that are meant to wrap around rear axles of solid axle cars. I wrap them around the sub frame and pull them straight back. My car has never come loose. Straps are not crossed and do not pull on any weak part of the suspension. Both locations on the car, front and back, are quick and easy to get to.

#16

King Tut wrote:

I figure I am most likely to hit something or get hit in the fore-aft direction, not the side. So I have never really bought the cross-the-straps thing. My trailer has D rings directly behind each rear wheel and in line with the control arms in the front, so I determined* that straight, short straps provide the most secure, umm, securing. Crossing the straps seems to make sense when the tie-downs are located significantly inboard or outboard of the wheels. With our tires, it would take a very loose strap to let the car jostle sideways. I load the car against wheel stops in the front, so I’m not concerned about that direction.

Kona - Do you use the subframe or the trailing arms?

*in Ranger style, where I thought about it for a while and decided I was right.:wink: :laugh:

#17

[quote]Kona - Do you use the subframe or the trailing arms?
[/quote]

I use the subframe. I just reach in front of the rear wheel and wrap the strap arond the subframe. I dont even have to get under the car to hook them up.

#18

Steve D wrote:

[quote]
*in Ranger style, where I thought about it for a while and decided I was right.:wink: :laugh:[/quote]

Lol, good one. That often is the process.

OP: Do some searching in the BF.c track forum. There’s a number of old threads on this issue. Lots of folks prefer to cross their straps. You’ll see folks presenting their arguments. Me personally, I don’t like the idea that crossed straps could encourage a car to rotate on the trailer if one of the straps got a little loose.

Re. “my car has never come loose”. Well, then I guess it’s settled, eh?

#19

78kona wrote:

This is exactly what I do too. IMHO, it is the best and safest way to secure the car to the trailer. The way I see it, crossing the straps is just asking for something to come loose. This is the identical method of securing my E30 M3 when towing that to the track also.