Balancing performance and safety without ruining street manners

Photography Credit: Tradd's Photos

If you’ve been around this community for any length of time, you’ve certainly heard the sentiment: Cars these days are fast. Maybe faster than ever, and not just the swoopy track specials that manufacturers crank out at an alarming rate.

Even the ham-’n’-eggers like our BMW 435i–a car that sits no higher than third …

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That's too cool that it fits so well.

Aside from the laborious nature of the repairs J.G. has made so far, the 435i (and related cars) seem like super capable and moderately affordable (in this day and age) platforms.

I mean, I guess that was BMW's whole plan, right?

Colin Wood said:

That's too cool that it fits so well.

Aside from the laborious nature of the repairs J.G. has made so far, the 435i (and related cars) seem like super capable and moderately affordable (in this day and age) platforms.

I mean, I guess that was BMW's whole plan, right?

Be creative, live a fun life and don't be a shiny happy person.

Yeah of all my recent project this has definitely been the one that has had the best balance between track fun and street reality. The great brakes help a lot in that department, but the thing really is genuinely fine as a daily driver. The roll bar has a few squeaks in various temperatures where it contacts the soft headliner, but it's not something you even notice after a couple minutes.

It does make me nervous about future mods, beacuse it's just so livable right now. Would coil-overs destroy it? A mechanical LSD? Poly bushings? Which one of these things pushes it over the edge into full trailer queen territory? Or is it just flat good enough to survive more mods as a usable and enjoyable conveyance?

Off topic question

Where can get we some of those GRM Stickers in that size?

Largest we saw were 6" ones on the site.

Thanks

Off topic question

Where can get we some of those GRM Stickers in that size?

Largest we saw were 6" ones on the site.

Thanks

RacingComputers said:

Off topic question

Where can get we some of those GRM Stickers in that size?

Largest we saw were 6" ones on the site.

Thanks

We run those ourselves off of a plotter. That way we can custom size them to our use case. I'm not sure what our current sticker supplier is capable of as far as large format stuff, but I'l get with our merch person as soon as she's back from Monterey.

Coilovers, well specified and adjusted, won't destroy it. I can't see how a mechanical LSD would either unless it's crazy aggressive.

Poly bushings will destroy it.

I am being very careful with the mods on my Foxbody Mustang. I bought as a Time Trial and Autocross car but I still want to go for a drive in it and not hate it.

In reply to JG Pasterjak :

Thanks

I ordered the 6" Ones last night.

Appreciate the update.

Regards

In reply to Tom1200 :

Tom1200

We are at that point with the 2005 Mustang

We went with the Steeda Spehrical Joint in the Rear Upper Control arm and Ploy in the loweres.

Rear End is right at the edge of TOO Much.

Need a few more miles to decide if we need to rethink

As Keith Mentioned, it may be too much.

Good luck

In reply to JG Pasterjak :

Coilovers can be fine. Poly bushings, in my experience, make it much, much worse as a daily, especially if you are in an urban environment with lots of seams, manhole covers, etc etc

Driving my heavily prepped 944 10 blocks to the courthouse was an eye-opener.

Can the car be driven on the street with the bar in? I always thought a bar without helmet, fixed seat and a harness was a no-no. Would proper bar padding make that better?

Pvandien1 said:

Can the car be driven on the street with the bar in? I always thought a bar without helmet, fixed seat and a harness was a no-no. Would proper bar padding make that better?

The bar is far enough behind the seat where it's not a contact risk. typically the stock seat goes back in after a track weekend, so the race set is only used on the street for the occasional trip from the track to the gas station or lunch. I did do a trip to the FIRM in the race seat once because all our trailers were otherwise occupied. I certainly wouldn't recommend it as a habit due to safety concerns, but it was fairly tolerable.

I feel like installing a fixed bar is where you cross the line from pretending its a street car anymore. The bar looks great, but it is a point of inflection on the slippery slope to race car.  On the up side if you have a lot of dry cleaning to pick up, you now have the perfect car for it.

I don't see how a padded roll bar is really any worse than a B-pillar or a roof in a pre side airbag car.   

Just want to stop in and say that that lead photograph is amazingly well done.

P3PPY said:

Just want to stop in and say that that lead photograph is amazingly well done.

Yeah. Tradd Slayton of Tradd's photos. Guy kills it every time.

Just my $00.02 on poly bushings. I thought, nah, couldn't be that bad. It was and then some.

Keith Tanner said:

Coilovers, well specified and adjusted, won't destroy it. I can't see how a mechanical LSD would either unless it's crazy aggressive.

Poly bushings will destroy it.

I came in to say the exact same thing. 

Poly bushings and/or drivetrain mounts will absolutely ruin the DD-ability of a car.