Got to know my E46 a little better. (Autocross)

So I autocrossed for the first time. Had a lot of fun and really got to learn my car more. Very humbling experience. I was very very happy with the way my car behaved on the course except I did have to deal with some understeer at times.

I'm sure I can thank the staggered stock setup for that! I kept coolant temps in check consistently throughout the day, all went perfect. Highest I went was 96c while sitting in line w/ the a/c on. pretty much stayed at 90-93c the whole time. I was also very happy with the brakes.

Went on back to back to back runs and everything went very nicely. I think next time I want to have a little less body roll (rear convertible swaybar) and light wheels w/ RS-3s. These street tires aren't so grippy out here but I learned a lot from sliding around..

Here are a few pics:

How did you stack up

where and how much also?

Originally Posted by 325inthe510

How did you stack up

I did OK considering it was my first time?. Miatas on sticky race tires were doing 38s. My fastest was 41.5 and i consistently did about 43 flat.

Originally Posted by eclipsor

where and how much also?

california speedway fontana. $80 ($75 sign up early)

Originally Posted by E46Mango

I did OK considering it was my first time?. Miatas on sticky race tires were doing 38s. My fastest was 41.5 and i consistently did about 43 flat.



california speedway fontana. $80 ($75 sign up early)

Having raced Miatas for years, I can say that they can corner to the point of making your neck sore (no kidding)! Their light weight is easy on even the stickiest of race tires too, which is a bonus. Mazda actually made a coupe version as a test (genuine roof, not just a drop on hard top). I cant imagine how much better that car would have cornered with the additional structural stiffness. But they decided very few people would want a Miata with a permenant roof, other than racers, which was probably the right call.
Too bad the Z3 member matched their level of performance. That was a major lost opportunity on BMW's part. It is strange how two cars that look so similar on paper could end up so different.
Sorry, but I still have a soft spot for Miatas! If they had made a NA version with a small V6 and about 100 more HP, I probably would never have bought a BMW.

Originally Posted by MJLavelle

Having raced Miatas for years, I can say that they can corner to the point of making your neck sore (no kidding)! Their light weight is easy on even the stickiest of race tires too, which is a bonus. Mazda actually made a coupe version as a test (genuine roof, not just a drop on hard top). I cant imagine how much better that car would have cornered with the additional structural stiffness. But they decided very few people would want a Miata with a permenant roof, other than racers, which was probably the right call.
Too bad the Z3 member matched their level of performance. That was a major lost opportunity on BMW's part. It is strange how two cars that look so similar on paper could end up so different.
Sorry, but I still have a soft spot for Miatas! If they had made a NA version with a small V6 and about 100 more HP, I probably would never have bought a BMW.

Yeah I kind of thought of the idea of wanting to get one... but then it would have to be exclusively a track toy and it seems everyone at autocross has them for the sake of getting fast lap times--the same times as everyone else. It was funny, every single miata got the exact same time every time. Makes me wonder if they're just too easy to drive fast due to being so small and light? Not challenging???

Originally Posted by E46Mango

Nah no harm done Right, i'm currently toe in -.10 all the way around (since I do highway driving) but i might set dial it down or zero it out next time. I believe knocking the pins out is good for half a degree of camber (according to tis)

I'm ordering all four corners for the wheel bearings. Including all new hardware; axle nuts, dust caps inner and outer, snap rings

Gotcha. 0.5º isn't much. Your toe is already pretty minimal, so you'll probably be fine.

Good luck with the bearings.

Originally Posted by E46Mango

Yeah I kind of thought of the idea of wanting to get one... but then it would have to be exclusively a track toy and it seems everyone at autocross has them for the sake of getting fast lap times--the same times as everyone else. It was funny, every single miata got the exact same time every time. Makes me wonder if they're just too easy to drive fast due to being so small and light? Not challenging???

They're very maneuverable. But with such a short wheel base, they can be less stable and more finicky to drive than something like a 3 series. It all depends on how they're set up though. I see some Miata guys swapping ends any time they make a mistake. You have to almost be trying to loose control of a BMW out there.

I keep up with most of the NA Miata's. Some of the FI ones are real fast though. There are a few at my local club that are pushing out some nice power. They're lighter, smaller, more maneuverable, and faster than a 3-series. There's just no way to match their times. Though, the satisfaction of having a refined, pleasurable daily driver like a 330i, that's also very capable out there without any modifications whatsoever...that's worth its weight in gold, IMO. It's all about enjoying the car and learning. There will always be someone faster. Having fun and improving as a driver is

Cool, I've been thinking about getting into autocross too. How many runs did you do?

Originally Posted by 325inthe510

Cool, I've been thinking about getting into autocross too. How many runs did you do?

I probably did like 15-20 runs?? it was unlimited in this case. well worth the money

Originally Posted by E46Mango

I probably did like 15-20 runs?? it was unlimited in this case. well worth the money

Daaamn that's not bad at all.

Some places you get like 5 runs, and hours just waiting around

nice i'd like to do this, my car blows though

yeah thats what i hear. it was a lot of fun. at the longest.. waiting in line 3 minutes. runs are pretty quick!

Nice pictures. That's double the price of the autocrosses I've been to in Atlanta and Clemson!


Edit: Didn't see how many runs you got. Sounds like fun.

Looks like you could run a couple more PSI,

.

Originally Posted by new//M3fan

Looks like you could run a couple more PSI,
.

this. first half of the day run 5-7 PSI higher than normal.
check your wear (should be at the tip of the little arrow) and adjust accordingly.
it's cool you had a good time. what other cars were in your class?
it might be easier to stay competitive if you ran with bmwcca. sometimes general autocrosses have beasts in every class which makes it very hard to be competitive.

Originally Posted by peytonracer4

this. first half of the day run 5-7 PSI higher than normal.
check your wear (should be at the tip of the little arrow) and adjust accordingly.
it's cool you had a good time. what other cars were in your class?
it might be easier to stay competitive if you ran with bmwcca. sometimes general autocrosses have beasts in every class which makes it very hard to be competitive.

Yep, Riding on the sidewall introduces understeer or oversteer depending on the axle the tires are under inflated at.

Awesome. Tons of fun, isn't it? Great to hear you had a good time and took something away from the experience.

That's an *expensive* autoX. But to get that many runs and that little downtime, i'd pay that for sure. Too much downtime and not enough runs at the clubs around here.

haha what is all the tape for?

Originally Posted by ZHPinthe103

haha what is all the tape for?

Because race car bro. How else will people know he just drove flat out

Nice! Looks like fun...

I keep trying to convince my friends that this would be 10 times more fun than hammering on the gas pedal and running 12s/13s at the dragstrip. Not many people seem to be as excited at the thought of auto-x as myself..which is unfortunate.