Independent1

Thinking about getting a 1987-1991 BMW 325is (E30) to use as an HPDE car and to drive on the street. I have heard a lot a good things about them, and that they are relatively inexpensive (<$5K).

Is this a good idea?


Does anybody know of good sources of info on these cars and where to buy them? (Been to a couple of bimmer sites and the NASA forums).

Thanks

Bill Dearborn

The first thing you should do is join BMWCCA. You can do it on line. As part of the membership you will be assigned to local chapter where you can get information to help you make a decision. You will also get a monthly subscription to one of the better auto mags available although it is dedicated to BMWs. There is a fairly extensive Cars for Sale section in the magazine. Be warned, BMW enthusiasts are a lot more race minded than Corvette enthusiasts. They like to mod their cars extensively and there are a fair number of them that have track only cars. You can also get involved in Club Racing and go wheel to wheel racing.

http://www.bmwcca.org/

Bill

95jersey

Been with BMW CCA since 2001, all of the above it true. You can find some great cars that are proffessional modded for racing/HPDE. They, like PCA do BMW club racing, so lot's of club cars out there. This is also an option I have been thinking of.

A great car is the E-36. This is something else I have considered. They are fast, reliable, and decently priced.

BrianCunningham

What's wrong with a Vette?

I'd rather have a C4 over a car that uses bolts to hold it's wheels on!

Not to meantion a strut front suspension and rear suspension that's actually less sophisticated than a C4's.

carnut101

I have an 87 for a dedicated track car. I don't see your point, BrianCunningham. I looked into C4 corvettes when I was looking for a track car. The cheapest C4s that I found that weren't rusted and that didnt have the dreaded 4+3 were around 7 grand. You can get an e30 bmw for 800 bucks. Say what you want about the suspension, but it works. They're light cars. And when something breaks on the track, I'm glad that I have less sophistication to deal with. Wheel studs are CHEAP for these cars, so saying that you wouldnt want a car that uses bolts to hold its wheels on is a moot point. Consumables are cheap, too. The car is really easy to work on with simple tools.

I can keep going on and on. The point is, I think it's the most bang for the buck you can get, other than a Miata. More fun than a Miata, too. Like I said, I looked into C4s, and many other cars, for a track car. There's a reason I went with the E30.

larryfs

I run the BMW club circuit with Bill. great club, except the track time is limited, at least the chapter we run with.

The guys seem to love their cars. some of them hard core. many are saftey minded, as you can tell by the equipment they run.

I never drove a BMW, but some of them, especially the talented drivers can run circles around my C4. Some models can out pull me on the straights. The little mini's can certainly keep up in the turns.

I wouldn't hesitate to run a BMW at the track.

BrianCunningham

Have you looked lately? the prices on C4's have gone down quite a bit.

If you want less sophisticated suspension and something that's cheap to fix get an F-body.

I'm glad you changed over to studs.

MattW_VA

I got to ride shotgun in one at Hyperfest last year as an instructor and it was a *blast*! I think the guy said he had M3 goodies underneath, it was like a go kart!

kentz06

Here in the Pacific Northwest the E30 325i is being run as a spec class call Pro-3. Lately the Pro-3 class has been larger (20+ cars) than the Spec Miata class. I will be racing one for the first time end of the month.

Nothing wrong racing a Vette, but it sure is fun competing in a large field of spec cars!

Dean

carnut101

It's been a year since I've looked. I still highly doubt you can find a C4 for less than a grand without having massive issues. You might find an earlier year C4 for relatively little money, but then you have to deal with Optispark and a bad transmission.

With an F-body, you still have a heavier car. Heavier = more money spent on consumables. After 2 track days during which I pushed the car very hard, the front pads were barely worn (no visible difference at all). There were visible stress cracks on the rotors when I got the car. Despite all the abuse, they haven't gotten any bigger. I don't see what you have against this car. It's cheap, it's tough, and it's fun. No better recipe for a budget track toy.

Independent1

Thanks everyone for the info.

It's greatly appreciated.

I'll look into the local BMW clubs. Should be plenty of them where I am.

Anything I should look for in particular?