vaio76109 said:
I see that your running RD sway bars, what are those? If you could choose again what swaybars would you choose? What springs would you choose? What shocks would you choose? Why get thicker sway bars?
Im having second thought on the springs and thinking of just doing sway bars, then spending the money not spent on sprig/shocks and get some S-03's or equivalent. What street tires would you choose? I priced some S-03's, 700 f-ing dollars, I wonder how much trade in I could get for the continentals? Would money be better spent on tires or springs/shocks. I say tires
So say I did sways and S-03's on the stock 17" rims, would i be on par with M3 handling, better, worse?
P.S.- I want the car to slighly oversteer(enuff to have fun), would u set the front sway stiff and rear soft, or is it vice versa?
Good tires are definitely a great upgrade. You can easily run with or pass E36 M3's at the track on S-03's, Kumho MX (cheaper) or Goodyear F1 GS-D3 (cheaper), even if they are modded (not hardcore though). I ran S-03's for 8 track days and loved every bit of the experience. Though, not as grippy as the R-Comps I am running right now, but a good tire intermediate. Definitely much better than the Conti's in terms of wet and dry grip.
Handling wise 330 will never feel like the E36 M3 unfortunately. The keyword is feel. M3 is way more raw and fun-oriented. E46 is a luxury sports car, not a purist sports car. You can outrun them, but the feel will be more isolated.
I still run stock suspension (aside from sways) simply because I like the stock height and it's fairly compliant on the track as well. I will upgrade next year most likely just to have more flexibility with settings for AutoX and track. Most likely a coil-over kit as it offers damping and height adjustments.
I have RD Sways and they were the best back when I got them. But now they do not sell them any longer, only the fake ones are left. UUC and H&R are the only ones available, besides Eibach. Sways will drastically reduce bodyroll and allow for tuning for understeer/oversteer a bit easier (you'll still need to adjust tire pressures and "pull" the struts to completely to eliminate understeer). Stiffest front will increase front grip. I'd put both front and rear to stiffest.
Now, if you are going to AutoX, two sway bars will put you into a Street Prepared class, where a lot more mods are allowed. If you are just doing it for fun, then no big deal. But once you get into the fun a bit more seriously, decide which class you want to belong to and base your upgrades on that.
I noticed that you don't have much track experience yet, so I suggest you start with the stock setup. Sways are OK though.
![[wave]](/images/smilies/icon_smile_wave.gif "Wave [wave]")
Brakes would be my priority for preparation for a track event. I would get a set of Axxis Ultimate pads and Ate Super Blue fluid to prevent fading. Don't buy race pads, as they won't work on the street or AutoX - not enough time to warm them up to proper operating temperatures.
If you weren't trading the Conti's I'd even run a couple events on them. They would lose traction at a lower speed, so it'll be easier to adjust for the car's behavior. Then you'll see for yourself what you'd like to upgrade and why. 90% of being fast is driver experience and ability, not mods. Mods come into play way later and only to the components that are needed to be upgraded based on your demands. Afterall, you are not making a race car. You'll be surprised how many "modded" cars that look like they should be smoking everything on the track often end up being the slowest cars on the course. Every instructor will tell you to do your first several track events in a stocker.
Just my $0.02. I've already been in your shoes before and had an eye-opening experience once I got into track driving deeper.
![[driving]](/images/smilies/icon_smile_driving.gif "Driving [driving]")
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The turn-in response is insane, but you will major tramlining issues as a trade off. It's free and you can do the procedure in 10 min tops. I'll teach you if you want.
![[:D]](/images/smilies/biggrin.png "Big Grin [:D]")
so far. I have been to 2 autocross events out here and found myself getting quicker on the second outing, even though I found out how to take off the traction control ![[rofl]](/images/smilies/icon_smile_rofl.gif "ROFL [rofl]"){kind=icon}
. It is really amazing when it comes down to drivers. Side question: What kind of psi are you guys running with the Pilot Sports? I ran them with a 37psi all around. and it looked pretty good.