Autocrossers: 328i or early VW?

Yup those.

I believe one of Terry's employee's won Nationals this year or trophied, don't remember exactly.

But they should be able to provide you an excellent baseline suspension setup. As well as Jay from Ground Control.

Yeah, cost of tires is a point against the BMW. Could be cheaper to pick a class you've never run a VW in and set up a "new" car for it. But I'm a fan of RWD for my motorsport endeavors (or AWD for off pavement), so I'd be inclined to play with the Bimmer.

Our 1996 328i GRM Challenge car competed in a bunch of autoxs in STX last fall and was usually beaten by the regulars in their RX8s. But for only being a $1k challenge car/non LSD chassis it is a blast to drive

Jim, welcome back! I often wondered how you were doing etc.

Funny we were probably living in a parallel universe as I too have had my 328i for 4 years and about 50k miles sitting at 152k miles on it.

Can't speak for the autox classes but as far as wrenching is concerned I think the car will keep you busy as-is.

Subframe reinforcement and new bushings

RTABs

New LCAs

Better rear control arms

Shock tower mount reinforcement front and rear

And at that mileage a cooling system overhaul and possible clutch and driveshaft replacement.

In reply to RussellH:

Hey, man. Good to see you around. I miss that old Jetta. Did you know I won H Stock in it one season? Out of a field of one. :)

I did the cooling system when the fan exploded and took out my radiator and hoses. Wound up with a new engine in that deal too. :/ Clutch came later.

I read the rulebook today. STX sounds kinda...not for me. Lots of money for a car that wouldn't be that sexy. Maybe I'll run the 328 in stock a few times, just to see what it's like. I like the idea of an e36 Challenge car, but I don't think I could justify a FMV that would qualify.

Actually, for all my bitching about SM earlier in the thread, I'm thinking I might give it another try. I didn't know about SMF, and it might suit me better than an ST or SP car. Not as formulaic. If I really commit to developing the blue Rabbit, it could be fun.

Thanks for all the input, guys, and it's good to "see" you all again.

One other thing, though. I used to run race tires in stock class, but the rulebook says they're not legal. Was I cheating, or is that a new change?

Maybe... depends on what you ran. DOT R-comps are legal (Hossier A6 or Kumho 710 for example), which are basically race tires (slicks).

Lot's of ST-class tire choices for the BMW... not so many for a VW...

LOL that's funny that you won H Stock in that Jetta, no wait, it's funny that you autox'd it! :D

I guess you don't have it anymore? Do you still have the Caddy? I noticed your site carhole.com disappeared too last I checked.

Anyways...good to have you back - c ya around.

In reply to RussellH:

Nah, I had too many cars and stupidly sold it to some kid. I really liked the tweed interior. It was like autocrossing grandpa's car, but with race tires. That suspension was so beat! It would sometimes lift BOTH inside wheels.

Sold the Caddy too, before I moved from Phoenix. I missed it so much, I just bought another one. I let carhole.com lapse, and some jerks snatched it up to try to sell. They even blocked archive.org from serving the old pages, so the website only exists on my computer now.

Non-M e36 is great in STX - e36 M3 is a spork at a gunfight in STU.

My M3 does, however win at track days, and for your 10 hours in the blistering sun you get about 86 more minutes of driving time than the typical autocross...

I think I'm too chickenE36 M3 for the track. If I wasn't, I'd buy an ITB Rabbit or Golf.

Your VW is awesome

Email me if you want to buy one of my MK1 ITB cars. I'm currently trying to free up some space.

angusmf wrote:

Get 265 Yoks

Those Advan Neova 18" psycho tires on Tirerack? I forgot tires cost money. Going from running Azenis and cast-off race tires to $336 rubber bands never occured to me.

The Advan's are good tires but others are just as good for less money. Check out the Dunlop Star Spec Z1 (my favorite), the Kuhmo Ecsta XS, the Hankook RS-3, or the Bridgestone Potenza RE-11. The old RT-615 Azenis aren't terrible either just an old design, a new version is coming out shortly.

I don't think the 265's will fit anyways without some fender modifications on an E36 chassis. Rolling the inside lip is legal in STX but flaring it out any is not.

I'm partial to BMW's but do whatever you think will be the most fun that doesn't put you in a class that's impossible to be competitive in.

328 in STX would (is) be my choice.

just slap some nice used racing tires on there like hoosier a6's from www.johnbtires.com

canoe