anyone build a spec e30?

[Sebringjetta]

anyone build a spec e30? wondering whats involved.. cost? how the car drives? if the spec e30 series is a good series to get into?

want to get more competitive and have always looked at the spec miata series or the spec e30 series... my love is with bmw but wonder how it compares to the miata series...

if anyone has experience or input that would be great. thank you in advance

[ayao]

Originally Posted by Sebringjetta

anyone build a spec e30? wondering whats involved.. cost? how the car drives? if the spec e30 series is a good series to get into?

want to get more competitive and have always looked at the spec miata series or the spec e30 series... my love is with bmw but wonder how it compares to the miata series...

if anyone has experience or input that would be great. thank you in advance

Talk to Walter at Valley Motorwerks in Sac... IIRC he's one of the founding fathers of the series.

[Sebringjetta]

Originally Posted by ayao

Talk to Walter at Valley Motorwerks in Sac... IIRC he's one of the founding fathers of the series.

i will thank you sir

[will.c]

I've looked at those options not too long ago, and the following are my notes.

SE30:

• Still cheap but parts will soon go up in prices due to low supply.
• Lots of room for tall drivers and hauling stuff.
• Not as popular/competitive as SM, and is kinda dying out slowly.
• Decently reliable and decently easy to work on.
• Handles okay, but some bump steer issues.

SM:

• Cheaper and more widely available with parts. But if you wanna be top 10, then the premiums are very high. If you want to just have fun, cheap to own and run.
• Most popular and competitive spec.
• Need to be careful with fitment for tall/big drivers. Careful cage fabrication needed.
• No room to haul anything, so must have a trailer.
• Even more reliable and easier to work on.
• Handles great.

Both specs seem to have about the same lap times. I'd say the first hurdle is whether you fit in a Miata. You have to try sitting in a handful of built SM's to determine this.

[Triple M]

Currently building one myself, almost done with the engine build. Bought the car for $1000 (looked like a great deal when I bought it), but when we tore the engine apart, it was a complete mess. Can't race if motor can't even complete a warm up lap. I think Will. C makes a good point on his comparison. The cost is ever changing and is getting slightly more expensive as the series gain more popularity. If I were to do it all over again, I'd go with a track ready car that's alady available. Steve Stepanian who is an amazing BMWCCA instructor and a racer (He's on here at at times) is also a good source of information and advice. I'll be bugging him quite a bit once I'm done with my build. Drove the spec miata at skip barber, it's a little different with no top, and my helmet sticking out on top, had a blast. Also spec miata is already a saturated . Plus I'd like to have a roof over my head if I ever roll over, cage or no cage :-)

[PrimeBMW]

Originally Posted by Sebringjetta

anyone build a spec e30? wondering whats involved.. cost? how the car drives? if the spec e30 series is a good series to get into?

want to get more competitive and have always looked at the spec miata series or the spec e30 series... my love is with bmw but wonder how it compares to the miata series...

if anyone has experience or input that would be great. thank you in advance

Have you considered spec E46? This would be my top pick if I was looking at a spec class. Numbers should increase over time.

[Triple M]

Originally Posted by PrimeBMW

Have you considered spec E46? This would be my top pick if I was looking at a spec class. Numbers should increase over time.

+1
Also, lots of donor car available at better pricie.

[1MOREMOD]

Originally Posted by PrimeBMW

Have you considered spec E46? This would be my top pick if I was looking at a spec class. Numbers should increase over time.

I was just gonna mention that. Looks like this is getting going in our area.

[Sebringjetta]

Originally Posted by will.c

I've looked at those options not too long ago, and the following are my notes.

SE30:

• Still cheap but parts will soon go up in prices due to low supply.
• Lots of room for tall drivers and hauling stuff.
• Not as popular/competitive as SM, and is kinda dying out slowly.
• Decently reliable and decently easy to work on.
• Handles okay, but some bump steer issues.

SM:

• Cheaper and more widely available with parts. But if you wanna be top 10, then the premiums are very high. If you want to just have fun, cheap to own and run.
• Most popular and competitive spec.
• Need to be careful with fitment for tall/big drivers. Careful cage fabrication needed.
• No room to haul anything, so must have a trailer.
• Even more reliable and easier to work on.
• Handles great.

Both specs seem to have about the same lap times. I'd say the first hurdle is whether you fit in a Miata. You have to try sitting in a handful of built SM's to determine this.

everytime i run into the SM guys at the track they always have nothing but pos things to say about the class. also car are cheap... i also saw the new spec e46 class... that looks like a newer version of the spec e30 class that might be an option as well

[Sebringjetta]

Originally Posted by Triple M

Currently building one myself, almost done with the engine build. Bought the car for $1000 (looked like a great deal when I bought it), but when we tore the engine apart, it was a complete mess. Can't race if motor can't even complete a warm up lap. I think Will. C makes a good point on his comparison. The cost is ever changing and is getting slightly more expensive as the series gain more popularity. If I were to do it all over again, I'd go with a track ready car that's alady available. Steve Stepanian who is an amazing BMWCCA instructor and a racer (He's on here at at times) is also a good source of information and advice. I'll be bugging him quite a bit once I'm done with my build. Drove the spec miata at skip barber, it's a little different with no top, and my helmet sticking out on top, had a blast. Also spec miata is already a saturated . Plus I'd like to have a roof over my head if I ever roll over, cage or no cage :-)

good points.. some of the e30's out there look harsh.. can only imagine whats hidden like you said after i get it home

[Sebringjetta]

Originally Posted by PrimeBMW

Have you considered spec E46? This would be my top pick if I was looking at a spec class. Numbers should increase over time.

Originally Posted by Triple M

+1
Also, lots of donor car available at better pricie.

Originally Posted by 1MOREMOD

I was just gonna mention that. Looks like this is getting going in our area.

i have been reading alot over the last day or so about that class. the only hard part is finding one thats not an AUTO. the MANUALS seem to be harder to find.. im thinking this would be the bes route or SM.

[1MOREMOD]

Originally Posted by Sebringjetta

i have been reading alot over the last day or so about that class. the only hard part is finding one thats not an AUTO. the MANUALS seem to be harder to find.. im thinking this would be the bes route or SM.

Manuals are hard to find. Can't be too picky about all the specifics of the car as I found. My guess is bare minimum you want manual and no sunroof but don't know what's allowed in this class, does my car qualify as spec?

[Sebringjetta]

Originally Posted by 1MOREMOD

Manuals are hard to find. Can't be too picky about all the specifics of the car as I found. My guess is bare minimum you want manual and no sunroof but don't know what's allowed in this class, does my car qualify as spec?

lmao i doubt it... they are out there but not many.. guess patience is the name of the game ... unfortunately i dont have any..


hey by the way i would shoot you a txt but my phone has been broke for over week and BEST BUY is taking their time sending me a new one

[RickyBobby]

Spec e30 is very much alive and well in NorCal. But I would have to agree that if starting from scratch spec e46 is the way to go.

[WarrantyTracker]

I've never worked on a Miata. But speaking from experience, I seriously doubt there could be anything easier to wrench on yourself than an E30 325i or is. Good stock motors can be had for $500-$600. If you need to rebuild every other season, they can rebuilt by somebody with no skills (like me) and $250 worth of machine shop time. The trannys are tough as nails and the diffs as well. All suspension upgrades and bushing replacements are a DIY affair too.

I don't know what it's like on the west coast, but if I got into SpecE30 here (and I'm not gonna), I wouldn't plan on winning any podiums. People like Mike Skeen can show up, seriously.

[bigjae1976]

Just stick with SpecE30 or SM.

SpecE46 as in 330? With the M54B30? That engine is not very reliable. First, you need to spend $400 on an oil pump where the nut doesn't back off if you rev it above 6500rpm. Then you might be OK if you don't toss a rod out the side.

OK, M54B30s are cheap. Just find another and toss it in. Only problem is they are notorious for overheating. So couple of things working against you. 1. M54B30s are becoming more scarce due to the fact that so many overheated. 2. You have to be very careful you don't buy one that was overheated. The aluminum block won't hold the head bolts very well so it will lift and eventually just pull out.

I'd be more of a fan if the spec car was a 325.