E30 rally adventure

Well now that I bought the car I suppose I better start documenting the build. I am starting with an 85 325e. I plan to run up in the DC rally group and possibly the tarheel club as well.

As it sits I need to go through the front brakes, replace some sketchy looking fuel line, get some proper exhaust hangers, replace some belts, suspension, flush the fluids, and freshen up the shifter. May do a makeshift skid plate as well depending on time.

For the brakes I am thinking some cheapish rotors with hawk pads. Any ideas on what route to take with the shifter? It's like shifting with a spaghetti noodle. I assume there's probably a go to budget answer for this.

Basically I'm just going to go through consumables and make sure everything is going to stand up to some abuse. This group is much more knowledgable than me so please feel free to critique my ideas.

Pics coming soon

Yay rallycross!!! Possibly will see you at a few events between DC and tar heel! Good luck with the build

In reply to JtspellS:

I need to get a grm sticker for it so I can find everyone. Or just look for the blue e30 and the guy that has no idea what he's doing

Hawk pads are more than enough for rallyx, you could go lower if desired. Prioritize the skid, the oil pan is in a vulnerable spot. You'll likely get away without it at the next event (4/24) since it's at a grassy farm, but will definitely want one for the usual gravel lot.

What class were you thinking? PR and MR are competitive and a good group of people. No one really runs SR. You'll end up wanting to swap to an e36/e46 steering rack, so might as well start in MR. They're cheaply available in most junkyards.

Go read Josh's thread (irish44j) if you haven't yet. It'll take a while..

Welcome! We'll see you out there!

Make sure you have skid protection before going to VIR.
Trying to run in the tracks at VIR my skid plate was banging the ground on the drive thru at the last event I was at and I ended up having to keep one wheel in the middle of the tracks instead of down in them so I was not dragging the whole course.

Ok sounds like I definitely need to do the skid plate. I'll get on that next week.

bluej wrote: Hawk pads are more than enough for rallyx, you could go lower if desired. Prioritize the skid, the oil pan is in a vulnerable spot. You'll likely get away without it at the next event (4/24) since it's at a grassy farm, but will definitely want one for the usual gravel lot. What class were you thinking? PR and MR are competitive and a good group of people. No one really runs SR. You'll end up wanting to swap to an e36/e46 steering rack, so might as well start in MR. They're cheaply available in most junkyards. Go read Josh's thread (irish44j) if you haven't yet. It'll take a while.. Welcome! We'll see you out there!

I had been thinking of starting with SR just due to cost (and will certainly be SR this month due to time). I am reading the rules right now to see what exactly is allowed. May move to PR but I don't have the funds or skill for MR yet, although I may have a spare e36 m3 rack sitting here I am working my way through Irish's thread right now. Might take a few sleepless nights

It's more about who'll you'll be able to run with/against. Makes it more fun and also gives you more of a meter stick. On the other had, I guess it's pretty unlikely that SR would be in a different run group (usually an A and B) from both MR/PR, but it's possible.

After reading the rules I'll likely move up to PR after the first event. Nearly everything I had wanted to do to the car fits into the PR rules. Time is my limiting factor for the first event. I doubt I will be able to get everything sorted and make the necessary improvements in a few short weeks.

Just sign up for PR anyway for your first event if you plan to move there after that. You can start to get to know the people and get points in the class as well as a more direct comparison to the cars you will be up against.

Locally you will find the speeds are about the same between PR and MR the biggest difference is the guys in MR are missing their interior.

Finally managed to start working on the car. Mostly just went over the car trying to find all the little things the car would need before I start beating on it. Other than that no real progress. Replaced some of the nasty fuel line. Here's how she sits now

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I highly approve of the color.

The rain helps it. It's actually plasti dip but I'm going to leave it on. I'm afraid of what's underneath

moxnix wrote: Just sign up for PR anyway for your first event if you plan to move there after that. You can start to get to know the people and get points in the class as well as a more direct comparison to the cars you will be up against. Locally you will find the speeds are about the same between PR and MR the biggest difference is the guys in MR are missing their interior.

MR is for those of us who just don't want to need to ever check the rules to see "is this stupid little mod legal".

If you plan to modify the car over time, just start in MR and run the whole time there. That way you can do what you want, when you want, and see how each mod makes you faster against the same people.

Also, e36 steering rack is the single best mod you can do to the e30, Period. And it's not legal in PR I don't think. More reason to just start in MR and do that as your first mod.

But like Shawn said, they're about the same speeds for the top few cars in both PR and MR so in terms of competition it probably doesn't matter much.

irish44j wrote:

moxnix wrote: Just sign up for PR anyway for your first event if you plan to move there after that. You can start to get to know the people and get points in the class as well as a more direct comparison to the cars you will be up against. Locally you will find the speeds are about the same between PR and MR the biggest difference is the guys in MR are missing their interior.

MR is for those of us who just don't want to need to ever check the rules to see "is this stupid little mod legal". If you plan to modify the car over time, just start in MR and run the whole time there. That way you can do what you want, when you want, and see how each mod makes you faster against the same people. Also, e36 steering rack is the single best mod you can do to the e30, Period. And it's not legal in PR I don't think. More reason to just start in MR and do that as your first mod. But like Shawn said, they're about the same speeds for the top few cars in both PR and MR so in terms of competition it probably doesn't matter much.

I have a pretty bad habit of letting scope creep get to me. Right now I have a fiat 124 stripped to the body...it started with fixing an ignition switch. I really want to avoid that happening with this car. After reading the rules it seems like PR will allow me to do the mods I want to do and stop me from getting carried away. With that said I wouldn't be surprised if that all changes after a few events. Right now my goal is to get out there and have fun and learn a new skill. Can't Wait!

fiesta54 wrote:

irish44j wrote: MR is for those of us who just don't want to need to ever check the rules to see "is this stupid little mod legal". If you plan to modify the car over time, just start in MR and run the whole time there. That way you can do what you want, when you want, and see how each mod makes you faster against the same people. Also, e36 steering rack is the single best mod you can do to the e30, Period. And it's not legal in PR I don't think. More reason to just start in MR and do that as your first mod. But like Shawn said, they're about the same speeds for the top few cars in both PR and MR so in terms of competition it probably doesn't matter much.

I have a pretty bad habit of letting scope creep get to me. Right now I have a fiat 124 stripped to the body...it started with fixing an ignition switch. I really want to avoid that happening with this car. After reading the rules it seems like PR will allow me to do the mods I want to do and stop me from getting carried away. With that said I wouldn't be surprised if that all changes after a few events. Right now my goal is to get out there and have fun and learn a new skill. Can't Wait!

That is my reason for sticking with PR. If I was in MR I would end up with to many crazy ideas of what to do to my car. I need an external control on my modification habit since my internal one does not work well enough.

LS Swap the RX-7? Turbo the daily miata? NO NO NO must follow rules!!!!
Sorry voices in my head start to take over late at night.

moxnix wrote:

fiesta54 wrote:

irish44j wrote: MR is for those of us who just don't want to need to ever check the rules to see "is this stupid little mod legal". If you plan to modify the car over time, just start in MR and run the whole time there. That way you can do what you want, when you want, and see how each mod makes you faster against the same people. Also, e36 steering rack is the single best mod you can do to the e30, Period. And it's not legal in PR I don't think. More reason to just start in MR and do that as your first mod. But like Shawn said, they're about the same speeds for the top few cars in both PR and MR so in terms of competition it probably doesn't matter much.

I have a pretty bad habit of letting scope creep get to me. Right now I have a fiat 124 stripped to the body...it started with fixing an ignition switch. I really want to avoid that happening with this car. After reading the rules it seems like PR will allow me to do the mods I want to do and stop me from getting carried away. With that said I wouldn't be surprised if that all changes after a few events. Right now my goal is to get out there and have fun and learn a new skill. Can't Wait!

That is my reason for sticking with PR. If I was in MR I would end up with to many crazy ideas of what to do to my car. I need an external control on my modification habit since my internal one does not work well enough. LS Swap the RX-7? Turbo the daily miata? NO NO NO must follow rules!!!! Sorry voices in my head start to take over late at night.

my external control on race car mods is called my mortgage lol

Well after two weeks I finally got a chance to work on the car. My immediate goal is to do the timing belt and tensioner and front rotors and pads since I have a warped rotor. Should be easy right?

Unfortunately it never is. Finally got all the parts in and got the car up on jack stands. I work long hours so it's usually dark when I am working on the car (outside). I'm saving the timing belt for the daylight but the brakes should be easy in the dark. Well apparently the PO snapped of the set screw so we will try that again in the morning. (Maybe that's why it felt warped? ) On the plus side it looks like everything was just done. Pads look near new as do the rubber brake lines.