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Followup question for the BMW crowd...

 

will 245/45/17's fit up front? I'm guessing they'll be ok height-wise, as 235/40/18's fit, but will they be ok width-wise without rubbing?

 

Thanks! 

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DS #313 | the rolling couch of doom | La-Z-Boy Racing

murph1379:

Followup question for the BMW crowd...

 

will 245/45/17's fit up front? I'm guessing they'll be ok height-wise, as 235/40/18's fit, but will they be ok width-wise without rubbing?

 

Thanks! 

I know a few people that have run them without issue.  AFAIK, you have a better chance of rubbing in the rear than the front.

 

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www.teamWTF.org
WDCR
AS C4 z51
ASP e46m3 "slower than an Evo" ;)

I know you can fit 245/40-18s in the front. 

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Matt Murray

I am perfectly capable of learning from my mistakes. I will surely learn a great deal today.

awesome, thanks for all your help guys. =]

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DS #313 | the rolling couch of doom | La-Z-Boy Racing

The car that GJ Dixon drove to the '05 win was on 245/45/17 V710s.

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John Vitamvas
Overweight, one-wheel drive tire-eater

John V:

The car that GJ Dixon drove to the '05 win was on 245/45/17 V710s.

Last year of competition on the Forbes surface.

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Matt Murray

I am perfectly capable of learning from my mistakes. I will surely learn a great deal today.

Does anyone know what wheels to use for the 330i w/ sport pack e90?  I'm having problems trying to find a set with the right offset and width (I hate staggered rims). 

ok, so I've figured out that I'm going with 245/45/17 V710's, and that I'm going to have to use them on the sport package wheels. (7.5" wide up front, 8.5" wide in rear)

 Next question is suspension. I was talking to a local BMW shop and they say koni doesn't make a double-adjustable for this car. Is that true? I've got a quote on the koni "yellow" sports in single-adjustable, are there other options? Should I look at something other than the sports? Are there double-adjustables available, and are they any good?

 Thanks,

 
Matt

 

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DS #313 | the rolling couch of doom | La-Z-Boy Racing

murph1379:

ok, so I've figured out that I'm going with 245/45/17 V710's, and that I'm going to have to use them on the sport package wheels. (7.5" wide up front, 8.5" wide in rear)

 Next question is suspension. I was talking to a local BMW shop and they say koni doesn't make a double-adjustable for this car. Is that true? I've got a quote on the koni "yellow" sports in single-adjustable, are there other options? Should I look at something other than the sports? Are there double-adjustables available, and are they any good?

 Thanks,

 
Matt

 

DA Konis are available through TC Kline. ( http://www.tcklineracing.com/ ) Yes they are good, although the rear shocks make a little bit of noise...make sure you tell them you are using them for stock class as I believe they have a special rear shock mount that you'll need (talk to Pete.)  You'll also want the largest front sway you can find.  IIRC, HR makes a 32mm.

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www.teamWTF.org
WDCR
AS C4 z51
ASP e46m3 "slower than an Evo" ;)

Any idea what alignment specs works well?

This is a great thread, exactly what I was looking for at bimmerforums.com and haven't gotten a response yet (http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=748727)...

32mm Front Sway Bar:  The H&R Sway Bar specced for a non-M3 E46 is 27mm in front...  The M3 E46 one is 30mm (I think?  I found the # and now recalling from memory).  So that would mean that I would have to order the sway bar for the M3-- question is:  does it fit my non-M3 car?  Second question, then, is with a thick bar like that, do I set it at full stiff?  Sounds like a pretty radical setup...

 As for the 330C/i Sports Package:  They were 17x7.5" front 17x8.5" rear and that's the biggest they came for 2001.  I can double check with my brochures from that year, but I'm pretty sure that is the size.  325C/i Sports Package were 17x8" all around, non-staggered.

 Keep the responses flowing...  :)

(I have a 2001 325Ci Sports Package, by the way.)

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Mike Choi | NYC, NY

07 Exige S (ASP) | FS: 86 MR2 (CSP) | 92 Celica GT4 | 01 325Ci (DS)

mike325ci:

(I have a 2001 325Ci Sports Package, by the way.)

So did you do the steering rack fix?

 We did it on mine, and it makes the wheel feel more like it's supposed to on the highway, though I'm not sure it makes much difference in autocross. If anything it's just harder to yank the wheel too far, which is good.
 

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DS #313 | the rolling couch of doom | La-Z-Boy Racing

I remember when that was such a big fuss over at the old E46 Roadfly forums back in 2001.  I was going to get the fix done then read about people who came back with more problems than before (alignment post-retrofit not done properly, etc.), having to go back again, etc.  So I thought, meh, I'll just leave it...

Now it's 2007.  Not sure if they will even do that now...  Maybe it is time to revisit this...  Also I remember the "sticky pedal" issue-- I had the dealer look at this, and they insisted that there was no TSB about it, and that the pedal was fine.  I swear, the pedal still is sticky and notchy to this day.  I am done arguing with clueless dealers and prefer not to interface with them if I don't need to.  Besides, I don't have much time these days, and my decision to run my all-stock (i.e. unmodified from 2001 when I bought the car stock) in D-"Stock" means I have some mods to do and that's enough time for me before the National Tour and Divisionals and all that jazz.

But thanks for the reminder about these issues.  Maybe I'll look into them after this season is over...

Cheers!

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Mike Choi | NYC, NY

07 Exige S (ASP) | FS: 86 MR2 (CSP) | 92 Celica GT4 | 01 325Ci (DS)

Yes, I've certainly done what seems like an awful lot of work for a "stock" car... shocks, front swaybar, steering rack, brake pads, not to mention the tires!

 
(don't worry, I understand the leniency in the "stock" rules, no need to start that conversation again...)




 

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DS #313 | the rolling couch of doom | La-Z-Boy Racing

I would not run a huge front bar on a 330.  I spend a lot of time in a ZHP last year, and while we needed more bar than stock there was certainly a limit.  We actually added a softer setting to a H&R bar for balance.  Basically the car was so stable with a front bar we could wick the rear shocks, run a lot of pressure and even some toe-out in the rear--and had to make the car do anything resembling a balance.  The more bar we tried, the worse it got balance wise, tire wear wise and with no real tangilble improvement in transitional ability (it was very good to start with). 

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Sam Strano
Owner--Strano Performance Parts
800-729-1831

01 FS Z28:

I would not run a huge front bar on a 330.  I spend a lot of time in a ZHP last year, and while we needed more bar than stock there was certainly a limit.  We actually added a softer setting to a H&R bar for balance.  Basically the car was so stable with a front bar we could wick the rear shocks, run a lot of pressure and even some toe-out in the rear--and had to make the car do anything resembling a balance.  The more bar we tried, the worse it got balance wise, tire wear wise and with no real tangilble improvement in transitional ability (it was very good to start with). 

 Sam,

 Could you elaborate on your ZHP setup: specific alignment settings, tire size/type and target pressures?  I'm running a 2003 ZHP with the H&R (Turner) front bar set to full stiff, front camber max'd (can only get about -1.2 degrees), zero toe, and in the rear toe is 1/16" per side.  Rear camber is set at -1.75 degrees.  I'm using SSR GT2 wheels in stock sizes of course with just a tad more offset than stock (front 8" is 42mm vs 47mm stock, rear 8.5" is 44mm vs 50mm stock).  In interests of availability (had them off another car used for track events) and durability (drive to events) coupled with teaching my daughter how to autox, we ran 265/35-18 Dunlop SSR tires for a while, and now we are running 245/35-18 A6 tires (and changing at events of course).

Also, I'm looking for input on driving on A6s.  I've only gotten back into autox in the past two years having spent much time track driving, so my "recent" experience (first R-comp experience dates back to Goodyear Gatorback VR "S" tires) on R-comp tires are with Dunlop SSR, Pirelli Corsa, and Nitto NT-01.  The A6, in contrast, seems to corner at higher slip angles than these others.  Most likely its peak tractive force is higher, but the slope of that curve vs slip angle seems less.  At first I thought I was over-driving the tires, but backing off only yielded much lower times.  When I really got them to "slither" as Tim Aro calls it, I got my best times at the last event.  So the larger slip angles (compared to these other R-comps) coupled with a much less forgiving (and silent) tractive force curve peak, makes these tires very difficult to drive compared to the others I mentioned (for me that is ).

Any thoughts you or others may have related to the A6 (and especially how they compare against the V710) in addition to ZHP setup thoughts would be appreciated.  FWIW, I think I will have "just enough" room to fit 285/30-18 A6s on this car, so that is a possibility for the next set (am getting an old one to test fit soon).

Chuck

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2001 BMW M5
2003 BMW 330i ZHP 6MT
2006 BMW 330i ZSP 6MT
2001 Audi S4 sport 6MT
1996 Volvo 850R wagon

I'll save Sammy the reply.

I have 245 18" A6s all around. I run low forties for the pressures (I put more in front). Overall, the A6s regardless of vehicle, work well. I always want to try a 285 in the rear. As to the bar and alignments, what Sam posted is about what I did at Nationals last year. Fastest BMW in D Stock (FWIW). Wish I had your wheels.

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Matt Murray

I am perfectly capable of learning from my mistakes. I will surely learn a great deal today.

Which reminds me.... If anyone is interested--a customer has some stuff for sale from his ZHP. 

 H&R front bar with an added extension for a softer position.  I believe 2 sets of SSR GT2 wheels that have been machined to make them legal offset (which I oversaw personally).  Contact me if interested.  Setup advice comes with parts!!!! 

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Sam Strano
Owner--Strano Performance Parts
800-729-1831

Anyone ever run wider tires in FRONT?  like 245/40 in front with 225/45 in rear?  If the car inherently understeers, then wouldn't this help the balance? 

gar7777:

Anyone ever run wider tires in FRONT?  like 245/40 in front with 225/45 in rear?  If the car inherently understeers, then wouldn't this help the balance? 

 See above discussion.  Almost everyone is running the same size tires front and rear, and yes it greatly helps the balance although it still wants to understeer of course.  I'll have some experience this weekend with new BFG R1s in 265/35-18 size all around.

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2001 BMW M5
2003 BMW 330i ZHP 6MT
2006 BMW 330i ZSP 6MT
2001 Audi S4 sport 6MT
1996 Volvo 850R wagon