Autocrossing

[we_call_him_doher]

Hey all,

I was thinking about getting active with my BMW CCA chapter by starting autocrossing. Does anyone autocross in their E34? Is it worth going out and buying a helmet to do? There was a mini-autocross at the Street Survival course I went to this weekend (which by the way is a great learning experience), and I had a blast, so now I kinda want to try out the real thing.

Any comments would be appreciated.

[ericcamaro]

I dont have any good info for you sorry. All I know is that the Porsche guys are the ones to talk to about this stuff, there always autocrossing. I would like to get into this aswell with my E34 but dont know if Its the best car for the job. Im thinking maybe a z3 with the 2.8 with light mods would be an excellent track car. even bettter if its a hard top.

[Alexlind123]

An e30 would make a good autocross car i think.

[we_call_him_doher]

Well unfortunately I'm in high school, so for right now the E34 is my one and only :) . I know it wouldn't be as nimble as an E30 or Z3, but I think it would still be fun to autocross in an E34....right?

[repenttokyo]

It would be a lot of fun, I do a fair bit of aggressive rally driving in my e34 and it holds up well.

[Alexlind123]

Well unfortunately I'm in high school, so for right now the E34 is my one and only :) . I know it wouldn't be as nimble as an E30 or Z3, but I think it would still be fun to autocross in an E34....right?

Do you have stock suspension?

[Anton CH.]

I autocross my car fairly often. Its fun and super addicting. I just went once to see whats it like. Now I AutoX in 2 different clubs))

In reality what will determine your times is you the driver more than the car. In the end your car will limit how fast you can go but it takes a long time to get there. I've seen a pro driver get better times than some impressive cars with a dead stock e34 535.

[we_call_him_doher]

Thanks guys.

No I have a stock suspension, but the P.O. did replace the shocks and springs with OEM parts, so it is a "new" stock suspension. From what I'm reading it sounds like it will be a good time, so I think I will go ahead and do it. Anyone know of a good place to purchase a helmet cheap in the DFW area?

[DanDombrowski]

I have autox my E34 before as well as done a few other events with it. You definitely won't be the fastest guy out there with such a large car, but it doesn't matter, because as everyone else will tell you its about making you a better driver.

As for the helment, I wouldn't worry about rushing out to buy a helmet for your first day - while most people love autox, you don't know if you're going to keep doing it, especially when you find out how much it destroys tires. The local clubs usually have plenty of loaners, and if you feel its something you're going to keep doing, then buy the helmet.

As for purchasing one, I just bought one from kneedraggers.com, a motorcycle website. A bunch of my friends are big into bikes, and suggested I try a few on in a local store to get the right size, then order online. The site I bought it from was the cheapest I could find that particular brand.

One other thing to consider is that while an open face helmet is okay for most autocrosses, to compete in a HPDE or "track day", you usually need a snell2000 or greater helmet. So if you think you may work your way up to track days, get the better helmet to begin with.

[Anton CH.]

Stock suspension is perfectly OK. Although upgraded parts definitely will make the experience more fun. The most important thing is that you have RWD vehicle and it will teach you the proper way to drive on the course.

You can pickup a cheap helmet on Ebay. I am actually using my motorcycle helmet. As long as it has a snell sticker, they are happy.


Thanks guys.

No I have a stock suspension, but the P.O. did replace the shocks and springs with OEM parts, so it is a "new" stock suspension. From what I'm reading it sounds like it will be a good time, so I think I will go ahead and do it. Anyone know of a good place to purchase a helmet cheap in the DFW area?

[Macv]

Well unfortunately I'm in high school, so for right now the E34 is my one and only

I was in the same boat as you, but because my e34 was my one and only, I saved a little and bought a sweet e30 (and cheap) for tracking. That way, if something goes wrong, I'm not left out a car.

I havn't tracked my e34 yet, but would like to sometime.

[AutoXr]

I've Autocrossed for 21 years, run a couple Autocross driving schools, and have 6 Nationals trophies, so I'm a little familiar with the past time. :)

Just go out and do it in whatever you have. The car is not important when you're just starting out. As many have said here, it's the driver that makes the difference, not the car. I required my 16 year old daughter to autocross for two years as soon as she got her liscence. Best thing I ever did. She is a confident and very compitent driver who can handle emergency situations that often leave other kids in big trouble. She knows what it's like to be out of control, to go too fast into a corner, how to threshold brake, how to handle oversteer slide situations, and a car being a littel out of shape is not new to her. This is often the cause of many bad acxcidents...kids not understanding or knowing what to do when they get a little out of shape.

Anyway, I'll get off my littel soapbox now. As for the E34's, I've taken my 525iT out on course for fun on occasion. While it's heavy and fairly soft, I was actually impressed with the car overall. It would make a fun autocrosser that you could learn a lot in. Just ask lots of questions and listen to what the experienced people tell you...have fun!