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Do it. You might be surprised how nimble a 5 series can be. I'm doing this years first autocross on the weekend in my 330i. I expect to roast the last of the terrible potenza REA50 runflats the PO put on.
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May 2, 2012 23:33
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First test day today, and it turns out the tires on my 330i didn't take long to eat it. Near the end of the day after about 10 runs total, I noticed the front passenger sidewall was cracked and bulging. Not sure if that happened today, but I throught I gave it a pretty good look while I was setting the pressure in the morning. Going to do a really early morning bleed of my e36 328is brakes in the morning for the competitive event. It'll be nice to get a direct comparison between the two cars on what should be a very similar course due to the setup constraints. I already prefer everything on the e36 except for the steering ratio/transmission so it should be interesting. El Gato posted:I'm not too crazy about the tires my car's PO put on either. Goodyear RSA's or something. If you're not familiar at all, the instruction day is probably the best way to start. I did my first one last year at a regional event so it was a little overwhelming. It didn't help that they made me the first car of the day. The school today was much better - I got seat time with a good instructor who eased me into going quick. Plus I got way more runs that I could get on a competition day. I didn't get any pictures of it, but in typical BMW fashion a z3 popped a coolant hose mid-run.
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May 6, 2012 02:28
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MiniFoo posted:Three things I learned today: If it makes you feel better, the FTD for the autoX I did today was set by a 97' neon. I was almost 5 seconds off in my 328, but I blame the 2 year old all season tires for some of that. Felt pretty good to beat an early model e36 with Rcomps and get a half second within an 06' M3. Despite the slower rack, smaller engine and worse tires I felt way more confident in my e36 compared to my e46. Mechanical throttle with linear resistance really helps control a tail happy car in a bumpy parking lot with off-camber corners and wierd asphalt joints. Hopefully my friend will upload his pictures soon. He got a great shot of some old man with a corvette annihililating the cone with the timing system reflector. Crustashio fucked around with this message at 03:23 on May 7, 2012 |
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May 7, 2012 03:20
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Brigdh posted:That stopbox looks terrible, and dangerous. If you brakes failed before the turn, you'd have about 30 feet until you hit what look to be spectators. We just had a huge thing in our region about making stops that are straight because when you have a sharp turn before the stop, people were going at, and often above their limits to get that last hundredth of a second off of their time and ended up punting two of our timing lights a good 40 feet. That actually happened to us on Sunday. They put a really tight corner before the stop box (or slow box, it wasn't even possible to come to a stop) and everyone was having trouble with it. FWD cars were understeering towards the timing cone and RWD cars were hanging their rear end out at it. In the end an old man with a Corvette who was getting loose all day hit the throttle mid-exit and spun out into the reflector. Luckily they keep spares and a lot of tape.
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May 9, 2012 11:36
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Sudden Infant Def Syndrome posted:The parking lot that that club runs in is tiny, oddly shaped and filled with poles, so they have to make convoluted and sometimes slightly dangerous courses just to keep the run times over 30 seconds. Ours is also limited by the length of the cord for the timing equipment, and none of the parking lots they can get access to are good. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=NxamjQBLZYA Someone's video from last weekend - the two big cones around 41s is the finish into the "slow" box. The one on the right is what the corvette spun into.
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May 10, 2012 23:22
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At the last slalom I watched a 70 year old man who has to walk with a cane drive a honda fit automatic as hard as anyone else the entire day. There really isn't an excuse for not doing it unless you have something that is disallowed.
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May 17, 2012 01:50
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Muffinpox posted:Call me Ken Gushi Nice catch. Few weeks ago an old civic hatchback lose the rear before a sweeper, he caught the drift and held it perfectly through 2 gates. I was working the corner so I just watched him slide around me, it was awesome. Is HDhero2 the standard camera to capture autoX stuff? I'd like to start recording slalom and lapping days this year, from inside the car.
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May 27, 2012 19:20
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Ziploc posted:I've done it on a friends helmet. It's a great angle. That I like. Should make do until I can construct a passenger headrest mount.
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May 27, 2012 20:32
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Seat Safety Switch posted:I order my tires from Tire Rack and have them shipped to the Montana Shipping Outlet warehouse to hold them until I can boogie down to the border and bring them across. It's not that bad of a drive from Southern Alberta and it saves a lot of money even after the gas & time (especially considering UPS charges bullshit brokerage fees). While I'm there I also get to read Ronald Reagan quotes and check out posters about how great Montana is. Even if you aren't near the border, tirerack is almost always cheaper with shipping + duty, which they tell you up front. My star specs were ~1350 from tirerack as opposed to 1450 from tiretrends or 1500 from 1010tires. I actually just put ventus V12s on my e36, I have one trackday on them and a bit of highway miles. They seem like decent jack of all trades tires. Highway noise is minimal and ride seems good. Track day was hard to judge as they literally had 50km on them when I got there. They didn't seem to mind being pushed but I wouldn't say they are spectacular.
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May 31, 2012 02:55
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Things I learned today: 1) A brabus smart car with Rcomps should not be allowed anywhere near autoX. Dude nearly rolled it on the long sweeper where I was working. At least 6" off the ground on the inside. 2) It is possible for someone to enter the stop box completely backwards, not destroy the timing equipment or hit any cones inside the box. Also got my first autoX experience with the Ventus V12s today. Overall I found them kind of numb - hard to tell when I was pushing too hard. I did play with the pressures a bit, and found that the fronts needed to be ~2psi lower than the rears to get rid of understeer. That will probably be my last time with the E36, I get star specs for my e46 this week. Crustashio fucked around with this message at 03:01 on Jun 4, 2012 |
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Jun 4, 2012 02:58
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The Locator posted:If this was an SCCA event, that car should not have been allowed to run at all. Canada. We switched to the scca rulebook here last year but I don't think all of the organizing clubs are really well versed in it yet. Yesterday they were telling us we can blow the rear stop box coned as those aren't a time penalty, but I always though overshooting the box was a DNF.
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Jun 4, 2012 10:29
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I don't like it when stop boxes are after a fast section. Yesterday it was after a quick slalom and a lot of people came dangerously close to destroying the timing equipment. One mustang with undersized tires spun out on the last set of cones and came backwards into the box. Amazingly he didn't hit a single cone. See this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YtTCz7QE1M Also, these showed up today:  Can't wait to try them out in 2 weeks.
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Jun 5, 2012 00:45
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kimbo305 posted:Our regional rallycross uses a hydraulic tube that you lay over the finish, like the ones the DOT uses to measure traffic. Much less finicky than lights when you're slinging rocks and dirt up. Aren't more autox orgs using this as well? Our rally cross uses a stopwatch 
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Jun 6, 2012 14:55
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Is there a set of brakepads that will work for autoX/light track days but still be not-terrible on the street? The pads on my ZHP are gone so I'm thinking of replacing all 4 corners with something a little better than OEM. I see that Hawk HPS and EBC yellowstuff are both decently priced. I've heard great things about Hawk HP Plus, but they're over 130 USD just for the fronts.
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Jun 18, 2012 03:29
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I just ordered HPS for all 4 corners since it was all I could find online (in canada) on short notice. Big 2-day autoX event the july 1st weekend, and it will be the formal debut of my ZHP. Missed 3 events this year thanks to tires and a starter issue.
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Jun 19, 2012 22:31
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TrueChaos posted:This is an excellent idea, definitely going to do that next event. How do I gauge how far up to put the tape? The other thing I found really helpful was focusing on it during ride alongs - it's easier to think about when I'm not doing anything else, and helped me realize just how much I can improve in that regard. I try to consciously look ahead during my runs, even if it might be affecting my times. Definitely noticing a change after a few events - I found myself anticipating sections of the course where I needed to prepare for a gate or two ahead. First few times out I was braking superlate for everything. Still weak on hairpins and slaloms where the cones start getting closer together near the end. I'll have to try that tape trick though. Also found a guy on facebook who's been taking pictures at our regionals:   Starting to wonder if I could get the sideskirt on my e36 to touch down.
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Jul 10, 2012 04:01
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Since there's no honda specific thread, I figured I'd ask here (and get the answers I care about): How do people like their S2000s? I'm having a seriously hard time finding a decent e36 m3 to use as a slalom/track car. There are a few S2000s for sale locally and from what I've seen they make great stock slalom cars. I will always have a 4 seater commuter car, so backseats and cargo don't matter to me, aside from being able to take a few tools and clothes to weekend events. I assume it's impossible to take a full set of wheels without a trailer. Crustashio fucked around with this message at 02:17 on Aug 6, 2012 |
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Aug 6, 2012 02:15
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Completely spaced on the fact that roadsters need a roll cage for track use. I don't really want to go down that road so I'll go back to looking for an M3. So loving hard to find one in eastern Canada that isn't junk.
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Aug 6, 2012 14:43
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bladesamurai posted:I went to an autocross school this past weekend (my first autocross event) and had a blast, and now I'm looking to get into it a bit more. The first thing I need to do is get a helmet, as I was borrowing someone else's helmet. I have a few motorcycle helmets but they both use the ECE 22.5 standard, whereas everything automotive requires SNELL. I'm leaning towards getting a specific SA2010 helmet as I believe that a M2010 helmet would only be allowed for autocross, not track days. I don't want to have to spend more money later when I could just get a dedicated car helmet now, but I have a few questions: Around here Snell M is fine for trackdays as long as it isn't a roofless or caged car. Check with whoever you want to run trackdays with. Full-face always seemed pointless in a car to me, but I ended up with one anyway because of a complete lack of M rated openface locally.
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Aug 8, 2012 00:01
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kimbo305 posted:You Canadian guys started calling it slalom -- is that a regional term? For ARMS (Atlantic canada), slalom is the correct term. Not sure about the rest of Canada. Until recently we didn't even use scca classing. I'm not a fan, it really splinters the classes out here too much.
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Aug 8, 2012 13:58
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TrueChaos posted:Canadian national championships. Ziploc and I were there, it was excellent. Videos: Nice vids. We had 2 local guys running - a white EVO IV that sounds like it's going to explode, and a black focus driven by an old guy. Apparently in 2014 the championships will be coming back to the maritimes, I'm excited for that. The only good video I got this year was from when my radiator decided to explode. Mounting in front of the intake seems to make my car sound much better than it does in real life. https://vimeo.com/47281929
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Sep 1, 2012 18:32
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The Locator posted:Your site is awesome, and makes me sad that we've got nothing like that to run on. Unfortunately, that's only a once per year event. The rent out the summerside airport in PEI for 3 days and run the course on the concrete apron. Most of the other events are run in parking lots, or an old airstrip. This is the parking lot we've had half the events on this year: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5a_uUwF9yDE
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Sep 1, 2012 21:11
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Run from today. My gopro batteries died so I only caught the run where I killed 2 cones. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsCtSq0do8Q Had the rear swaybar out and it handled quite badly. Oddly enough the rear end felt quite loose instead of making the car plow.
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Sep 17, 2012 01:52
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Second last event of the year, nice and drizzly. I kiss a cone somewhere and still almost beat my best run with the penalty. I really hate a run like that. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NmYj5oOsyo A working rear swaybar makes a HUGE difference. The car actually goes where I point it now. Also, is there anything funnier then someone new showing up in a "powerful" car (in this case a genesis 3.8), talking poo poo about how he's going to beat everything, and then posting the worst time of the day? I've never seen someone who has so little throttle control, it was just a toggle switch to him. He'd brake, coast through the corner and then when he got the car perfectly straight just mash the throttle. It was extra funny since he had a super loud exhaust that you could hear across both lots. Crustashio fucked around with this message at 02:54 on Oct 1, 2012 |
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Oct 1, 2012 01:18
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UN7xYrm4EkM Last event of the year, but easily the funnest. I was driving the new M3 I bought yesterday.
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Oct 8, 2012 01:53
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The Locator posted:Grats on the car. What year did you get? Thanks. It's a '99, silver non-lux coupe. Out of the box with original suspension it already out handled my 328 which has pretty much the entire suspension replaced. The only thing I noticed on the car was the understeer from the staggered tire setup. It didn't want to go through the transitions/lane changes very well. Already plan on getting a 17x8.5 lightweight square setup (ARC-8 or K4R) and moving up to r-comps.
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Oct 11, 2012 01:07
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The Locator posted:I have a '95. Great handling car (although mine is set up for STU and has a lot of suspension bits). I only planned on running 235s or 245s at most. The local competition isn't really very good class wise, with 20 to 30 cars per event. I'll be running SM but the work I'm planning to do would be less than even STU limits me too. Aside from replacing most of the bushings and cooling system, I'll probably only add a SSK, camber plates and some sort of mild suspension (GC coil over with koni yellows and 450/550 springs was recommended as a good starting point). Out of curiosity what have you done to your M3?
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Oct 11, 2012 13:46
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If it's only an occasional track day, why not swap pads the night before?The Locator posted:Car stuff post: Awesome, thanks. I'll have to think about needing the double adjustment, the GC kit is ~800 cheaper and I have heard good things about it. Crustashio fucked around with this message at 03:35 on Oct 15, 2012 |
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Oct 15, 2012 03:32
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Sockington posted:Remember when I beat a bunch of other Miatas and Mazdaspeeds with this run I will be forever amused by the computer voice announcing the times mattdizzleZ28 posted:I've got plenty of fun ideas, i'd love to cut in a shot on the hood as close to the driver as possible, facing right at me, which would block my view nicely but, whatever. The artsy stuff is cool, but I'd say put more emphasis on track shots. If I feel like loving with gopro mounts I usually try someting fun for my first 2 (of 4) runs, then switch it over to the view I've had in my last couple videos. Almost every time my fastest run is the last so it's good to see what I did right. I'd love to be consistent but I almost always trim off a huge chunk of time on the last run IF I don't waste it on cones. Crustashio fucked around with this message at 03:05 on Oct 17, 2012 |
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Oct 17, 2012 03:02
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They won't care as long as you aren't corded and the sidewalls aren't bubbling. ...I hope those aren't your street tires though.
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Oct 19, 2012 17:04
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G-Mach posted:My clubs last autocross of the season is this weekend and then after that is rally-x season until the ice forms. Our rally-x's are usually done with $300 beater cars, but sadly craigslist has been pretty barren of those lately. Ever consider getting people to pitch in? About the cheapest subaru you can get with a valid inspection sticker here is 1500 so I'm trying to convince friends to go in on it. Share the parts/labour then when summer comes try to resell it. It'd be so much easier if someone had a trailer though, our RallyX club pretty much couldn't give a poo poo what you drive as long as the frame is in decent shape.
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Oct 20, 2012 11:35
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Muffinpox posted:I went to a Boston BMWCCA event that bsamu told me about and met up with him there. I let another instructor drive my car to see what it could do, I had managed to get a 72.914 with some mistakes and thought the car could probably get into the 70s. That looked like some good driving, but what was the time?
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Oct 29, 2012 03:27
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Is there a ever a compelling argument to NOT use PAX for timing? Our region has a comically low amount of cars (30 is a GOOD event) so the SCCA classing pretty much means you run against yourself unless you bump up classes. Our new timing system now does PAX automatically but they still seem hesitant to adopt it, ever for a seperate PAX championship in addition to the class specific and overall points champions. I guess it bugs me more because nobody in the region runs STU or BSP, so next year I'll be running SM against much better cars and drivers. But I'd rather be in the bottom of a full class then get 13 points for being able to park my car in a stopbox.
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Nov 12, 2012 04:14
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saint gerald posted:Yup. I have one tomorrow. My first. In Charleston, WV, in the extremely unlikely event that there are other autocrossing goons around here. Yes. Jack it up pretty high, especially if you don't have stiff sidewalls. AutoX puts a lot of lateral load on your tires and you can end up riding on the sidewalls.
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Jan 19, 2013 19:10
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flier129 posted:I'm getting the itch! First event May 5th. I'm glad it's a little far away because my car is half apart right now and I still haven't ordered my suspension or tires/wheels. I'm excited though, 2nd year of autoX and I now have the car I wanted from the start. Winter's not so bad though, I can rallycross in my former autoX car and current daily driver: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OyZ-eIVceIw Crustashio fucked around with this message at 23:41 on Jan 21, 2013 |
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Jan 21, 2013 23:38
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Those bfg tires are 7/32 from the factory. They aren't ST legal until they make a rule change or add them as an exception, right?ExecuDork posted:Love the parking-brake-grab there. The parking brake was a moment of desperation, I forgot to clutch in and it ended up doing nothing. If I try to use power to rotate in the really slow turns it sends me into a spin. My winter tires are poo poo on both ice and gravel. I'm hoping we get at least one event where the snow sticks around all day. Crustashio fucked around with this message at 14:32 on Jan 24, 2013 |
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Jan 24, 2013 14:29
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Ziploc posted:In Canada: Jealous. This is what our local rallyX looked like this weekend:   Yeah, wasn't about to take out my daily in that. Eagerly awaiting the 1st event on may 5th.
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Mar 8, 2013 00:07
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Bumming Your Scene posted:I got an HJC CL-16. Good helmet for the price I've got the same. Great price for a Snell M and it works really well with my glasses for a closed face.
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Mar 19, 2013 16:30
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Thoughts, coming from an autoX newbie (only 1 year): Getting rid of rcomps in stock class is a good thing. It means if someone shows up in a newish car on good summer tires they have a place to go and not feel completely outclassed. This year I met quite a few people who decided not to come back because they have no one to compete against. Of course driver skill plays a huge factor for newbies, but if you have an experienced driver show them how fast their car can really be it helps keep interest up. Also, this was kinda glossed over: quote:The proposal includes changes to the allowances for tires, shocks, sway bars and wheels as well as new language to allow for camber adjustment and the disabling of traction and stability control. I know this is huge for BMWs, and possibly other manufacturers. I don't think there is any M or non-M car that can be competitive in slalom without camber changes. But being able to dial in lots of negative front camber can make BMWs quite competitive - If I recall correctly an e36 M3 took STU last year. Kinda makes me wish I hadn't already bought decent coilovers already. I decided to go for STU/BSP instead of stock because of the rcomps and inability to get good camber. But with camber plates, konis and a massive front swaybar I'd probably have just as much fun for 1/2 the price. Crustashio fucked around with this message at 23:13 on Mar 21, 2013 |
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Mar 21, 2013 22:42
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| # ¿ May 21, 2024 00:48 |
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I mounted a gopro right in front of the intake on my 328, it makes it sound like a much better car. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7riZ_mmWooU
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Apr 7, 2013 02:59
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