Re: new member intro

[Doug Wright <dgwright@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

>> What is an e30 capable of with the right modifications? 
>
>E30s are great reliable and relatively inexpensive to DIY daily drivers.
>ETA engines are low rev and low friction designed in the time of the oil 
>crisis. They have the same torquey M20 engine with loads of low end 
>torque, but there is no practical way to overcome the need to shift at 
>4500 RPMs. They are not particularly suited for track/autoX use, but are 
>economical and well handling vehicles.

It does seem to have a narrow power band and doesn't pull very well at
lower rpms.

What is holding it back, other than the motor?  Suspension design?
What are the more common models to see at the track?  Actually, I
think Rally would be even more fun than AutoX, but I guess it's
probably not well suited to that either.


>> It's always seemed a little sluggish off the line, and the owner's 
>manual
>> says it only has 121 hp ... not much.  I'd love to do autocross sometime, 
>> but I'd at least like something that's fun to drive on the road.
>
>I'll bet anything that you have a LOT more time to gain from learning to 
>drive the car properly than from doing all the mods up to and including an 
>engine swap. 
>The single biggest band for the buck you can get on your new car is fixing 
>the nut behind the wheel. Join BMW CCA and sign up for your local 
>chapter's Driving School. Than do a season or two of autoXing. Relax about 
>being 10+ seconds behind FTD and concentrate on being compatible in your 
>class. 

I can handle it pretty well, but I'm sure I could learn alot from 
some professional instruction.  I learned to drive a stick in this
car like 12 years ago, but have spent most of the last 10 years
putting 200k+ miles on my Jeep which I now have a good idea of
it's limits on and off road.


>> It's just got some generic tires (195/65-R14) and factory alloys, so 
>> wheels and tires are up on the list.  I think I saw that 205/50-R15s 
>> will fit, but I'd might like to go even lower profile than that if 
>> possible.  What are the limits?
>
>_YOU_ are the limit.
>Forget the wheels/tires (that cost 2-4 DEs), chips (one DE), diff swaps 
>(two DEs) and other somewhat helpful or damaging 'mods'. 
>Concentrate on learning to drive your car until YOU can tell yourself 
>which part of it is holding you back.
>
>alex f

What's a DE?

Thanks,
Doug

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End of bmw-digest V9 #2354
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