New guy

[espguitarist]

Originally Posted by MOTOCROSS MAVERICK

Autocross hu? I have a friend who does autocross. What car do you race?

1995 BMW 325i. It's slow everywhere except turns, haha. It's fun though.

[MOTOCROSS MAVERICK]

Originally Posted by espguitarist

1995 BMW 325i. It's slow everywhere except turns, haha. It's fun though.

Awesome. You have it as a full race car? My buddy drives a 1998 540i stick shift BMW on autocross.

[espguitarist]

Nope, it's my daily driver. Catback exhaust, short shifter, clutch stop, Bilstein sport shocks and struts, H&R race springs, subframe cross brace, UUC polyurethane transmission mounts, UUC stainless steel clutch line, OEM strut reinforcement plates, E46 M3 rear shock mounts, and an automatic to manual transmission conversion are my only modifications currently. Sounds like a lot, but 90% of it is suspension.

I'll bet that 540i is quite a lot of car to handle. The E39s were big cars and that V8 seems like it would be way overpowered for an autocross. Do you know what he has done to it?

[MOTOCROSS MAVERICK]

Originally Posted by espguitarist

Nope, it's my daily driver. Catback exhaust, short shifter, clutch stop, Bilstein sport shocks and struts, H&R race springs, subframe cross brace, UUC polyurethane transmission mounts, UUC stainless steel clutch line, OEM strut reinforcement plates, E46 M3 rear shock mounts, and an automatic to manual transmission conversion are my only modifications currently. Sounds like a lot, but 90% of it is suspension.

I'll bet that 540i is quite a lot of car to handle. The E39s were big cars and that V8 seems like it would be way overpowered for an autocross. Do you know what he has done to it?

That does seem like a lot. Suspension is where it is at though. I bet your car handles on a dime!

Ya it is a large car for what he is doing, but i guess there is a class for it. Pretty much he has done everything to it. It is a full blown race car with a roll cage. It is street legal though and is a fast car though.

[espguitarist]

Originally Posted by MOTOCROSS MAVERICK

That does seem like a lot. Suspension is where it is at though. I bet your car handles on a dime!

Ya it is a large car for what he is doing, but i guess there is a class for it. Pretty much he has done everything to it. It is a full blown race car with a roll cage. It is street legal though and is a fast car though.

It does handle very well everywhere except the hairpins. This chassis has a tendency to push, so I get a lot of understeer. An LSD should help immensely, but I don't have the funds right now.

Really? Typically the biggest BMW you'll see on a racetrack is an M6, outside of that it's all 3s, 1s, and Zs. Got any pictures of it?

[espguitarist]

Hey, I need some advice on this bike. The details are in the thread I made in the classics forum, the link is in the OP.

[MOTOCROSS MAVERICK]

Originally Posted by espguitarist

It does handle very well everywhere except the hairpins. This chassis has a tendency to push, so I get a lot of understeer. An LSD should help immensely, but I don't have the funds right now.

Really? Typically the biggest BMW you'll see on a racetrack is an M6, outside of that it's all 3s, 1s, and Zs. Got any pictures of it?

I hear you on that! Racing is a high dollar sport!

Ya when he does race its against like 4 other cars. Not many with that big of car like you said. I have no picture of it, but I am sure I can find one on the internet.

[espguitarist]

Originally Posted by MOTOCROSS MAVERICK

I hear you on that! Racing is a high dollar sport!

Ya when he does race its against like 4 other cars. Not many with that big of car like you said. I have no picture of it, but I am sure I can find one on the internet.

Yes it is, even on a small scale.

Sounds to me like your friend is doing High Performance Driver's Events (HPDEs). Autocrosses typically only have one maybe two people on the course at one time, and it's in a huge parking lot with lots of cones. I can't imagine your friend would be wasting his time at an autocross with a fully blown 540 track car.

Made progress on the Chappy today. I got the wires put back into the handlebars (huge PITA) and I figured out where all of the wires go. The first time I took the headlight off (over a year ago) I didn't label the wires, so I had to spend about an hour this evening following every wire and figuring out how to hook it all back up properly.

Tomorrow I will be painting some of the front fork parts that got missed during the first round of paint, as well as the new (used) front shock to replace the one I ruined. Once they dry I will be able to put the front suspension on as well as the handlebars. Wiring should be done shortly after that. Then it's all engine work. Still need someone to tell me how to torque down the head.

[MOTOCROSS MAVERICK]

You may be right. I am not to sure, but I did find some pics of his car on his facebook.

Nice going on the chappy. It should look good when its done.

[espguitarist]

Yup, looks like he's on a track. Much more fun to do, but it's much more expensive. That's definitely not a '98 though. That's an E34, not an E39. The E34s ended production in 1995, so it could be an early model '96 at the latest. I love the BBS RKs in the first pic, excellent wheels.

Thanks! I'm happy with the progress. You wouldn't happen to know where I could find a service manual for the Chappy would you? I need a free one, haha.