03-07-2021, 05:50 PM | #1 |
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What is the “hot” track setup?
Looking at options for a 228i w 6 speed and sport mode. Not a race car. Looking for coil over or spring, or sway options. Thanks for any input.
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03-08-2021, 02:45 AM | #2 |
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Depends on how much you want to spend and how fast you want to go?
Plenty of people (and I lump myself in with this lot) have thrown camber plates, lowering springs, brake pads, Dot4 brake fluid, a square 255 width 200TW wheel/tire package, and a diff on the car and been really happy. Liquidpaper (Stock + H&R Springs) and dradernh (TC Kline reworked Konis) have the best build threads for the 'biggest improvement for least money' track builds. Emulating them will get you on track safely without going too deep. If you're going to beat the hell out of the car on track and lap times matter, several forum members - notably capt_and (Ohlins R&T, later MCS), msendit (KW V3's), and Dylan86 (KW Clubsport-3's) - have gone much further in their track builds. All of them use 2- or 3-way adjustable coilovers, limited slip differentials, and big brakes. The OG track build when the 2-er first came out was GSR Autosport's development of the 228i for the IMSA Pro-Am Challenge "Street Tuner" class (thread contains many broken links and images). Their build used KW Clubsport-2's and a Wavetrac LSD. I believe GSR folded prior to completing the homologation program and never actually ran in the series, but JDC-Miller Motorsports ran a 228i Street Tuner during the 2016 season (and they don't have a presence on the forum). In 2017 there was a major rules restructuring that led to Street Tuner being replaced by the global Touring Car (TCR) ruleset and the 228i ST was replaced by the factory-built m235iR and m240iR touring cars.
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17x9 APEX Arc8-R, 255/40/17 RE71RS, Vorshlag Plates, Swift Spec-R Springs, m-Performance Bumpstops, Dinan ShockWare, Paragon 2-piece rotors, Carbon lip, custom 3" alumalite splitter, GTS wing, FTP Intake and Charge pipe, BootMod3 Stage 1 OTS
Last edited by 230iZTR; 03-08-2021 at 02:53 AM.. |
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03-08-2021, 07:06 AM | #3 |
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Terrific information. Thanks for the effort.
Yes, not to deep is important. Really - just fun. This sounds interesting: “camber plates, lowering springs, brake pads, Dot4 brake fluid, a square 255 width 200TW” The springs would not be a match to the shock. Maybe not an issue. No sway bar change? Thanks again. |
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03-08-2021, 11:36 AM | #4 | |
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If you've got the luxury line or standard line suspensions (both are way too soft) or don't want to bother with trying to get the most out of the stock dampers, just go straight to Ohlins R&T's or KW ClubSports. The m-sport, sportline, and track package cars already have sway bars. They aren't the best or the biggest, but they're serviceable enough that changing them out right away isn't going to be as big a difference as camber plates, more front tire, or an LSD. If you've already got the suspension and diff out, you might as well do it while its easy. But its such a pain in the ass to swap them and isn't transformational by itself so most treat it as a nice-to-have rather than a must-do. I can't speak from experience, but I'd assume that sway bars probably make a bigger difference if you stick with a very soft spring like the OEM units.
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17x9 APEX Arc8-R, 255/40/17 RE71RS, Vorshlag Plates, Swift Spec-R Springs, m-Performance Bumpstops, Dinan ShockWare, Paragon 2-piece rotors, Carbon lip, custom 3" alumalite splitter, GTS wing, FTP Intake and Charge pipe, BootMod3 Stage 1 OTS
Last edited by 230iZTR; 03-08-2021 at 12:00 PM.. |
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03-08-2021, 07:39 PM | #5 |
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Make sure you get an LSD if you're serious about getting anything worthwhile out of a car like ours.
After my initial street/track upgrade (https://www.2addicts.com/forums/show....php?t=1532418), and after I'd driven the car a handful of laps, I asked TC Kline what I could do to tighten-up the car exiting turns like the Keyhole at Mid-Ohio. The Keyhole is a slightly downhill, slightly off-camber, moderate-grip turn leading onto the fastest section of the course. It's a place where an additional mile or two an hour at track-out pays a significant dividend during the subsequent 15 seconds of straight. That section has quite a bit to do with lap times on what is otherwise very much a handling track, a circumstance at which our very heavy cars do not excel. That's our basic reality check as 2 Series owners. TC knew that I'd run fully-built race cars in time trials and understood what I was asking for. He said that the H&R front sway bar was the next step to take. Mind you, TC knows what stock BMW suspensions need for track work. He knows it because he buys the cars from a local dealer, puts his suspensions on them, and then takes them to Mid-Ohio for testing and tuning. I've owned a number of street/track and race BMWs and am confident in saying that he has terrific street/track setups for drivers like us. Back to the sway bar issue: I bought the H&R front sway bar (https://www.ecstuning.com/b-h-and-r-...it/70878-2~hr/); this is my installed cost breakdown (I don't wrench): H&R 28mm Front Sway Bar w/2 Holes of Adjustment: $$399.33 shipped Labor: $385.00 Tax on Labor: $54.90 (I live in a state that charges tax on labor) Total: $839.23 Installed If you're wondering why the labor was so high, changing front sway bars on modern cars frequently takes a lot of time. In my opinion, when upgrading our cars to meaningfully increase handling performance, this is another example of how the law of diminishing returns sets in fairly early. Bottom Line / TLDR: skip the sway bar unless you're racing or running with NASA or another hard-core time trial club and are looking for every last tenth of a second. Or, you simply want to get the most out of your car with an upgrade that doesn't significantly degrade your DD/street-driving experience.
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2017 M240i: 23.8K, 28.9 mpg, MT, Sunroof Delete, 3,432#, EB, Leather, Driving Assistance Package, Heated Front Seats | Sold: E12 530i, E24 M635CSi, E39 520i, E30 325is, E36 M3 (2)
TC Kline Coilovers; H&R Front Bar; Wavetrac; Al Subframe Bushings; 18X9/9˝ ARC-8s; 255/35-18 PS4S (4); Dinan Elite V2 & CAI; MPerf Orange BBK; Schroth Quick Fit Pro; GTechniq Crystal Serum Ultra Ceramic; Suntek PPF Last edited by dradernh; 03-08-2021 at 08:05 PM.. |
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03-08-2021, 09:11 PM | #6 | |
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In the costs thread, you had your running costs at roughly $800 / track-hour. $400 in labor is ... half an hour of track time. Or one (1) track tire. Or repainting half a body panel after a ding in a parking lot. On a car that's so heavy on consumables usage, that's next to nothing for the improved handling. (Though to be fair, I'd be surprised if a bigger front swaybar only generated a better-balanced car overall. I'm sure it solved that particular corner problem. But I've ran my car in a very similar config to yours for quite a while, and its defining handling characteristic over several tracks was corner entry understeer, to the point of really needing the brakes to get it turned. A bigger front bar is the opposite direction of how I'd try to balance it.) Last edited by msendit; 03-09-2021 at 03:50 AM.. |
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03-09-2021, 08:38 PM | #8 | |
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For example, as an alternative, more negative camber would have given me as much improvement and likely a fair amount more. As little as I drive the car, the increased tire wear from the additional camber wouldn't have been a consideration. (I'm happy to put fresh rubber on at the drop of a hat.) I heard TC tell another street/track driver who said he only drove 1K per year on the street to go full-out on negative camber; I should probably consider that, even though I'm not going to the track anymore. Even with my street/track camber setup, I'm totally in love with how the car responds when I ask it to drive around roadway surface imperfections or dive down to the apex of a street or highway turn when sightlines permit that to be done safely. My overall judgement is basically a bang-for-the-buck view. Did the sway bar help? Yes, it did. However, for my use case it made less of a difference than I expected. I understand that another driver might come to a different conclusion. As far as the cost goes...well, our hobby is what it is. Now, if I had it to do over again, would I still install the sway bar? Yes, of course I would. To your point regarding understeer: I continue to consider our cars' weights to be their most significant limiting factor. We can add as much power as we choose to, and that will help us on the straights, but when compared to lighter cars, wrestling our cars around turns will always be a test of patience. With your lighter race car, I imagine that you can discuss this with greater insight than I can. My most satisfying experience in this regard was a car running a pit-out weight of 2,893#. The Miata guys weren't impressed.
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2017 M240i: 23.8K, 28.9 mpg, MT, Sunroof Delete, 3,432#, EB, Leather, Driving Assistance Package, Heated Front Seats | Sold: E12 530i, E24 M635CSi, E39 520i, E30 325is, E36 M3 (2)
TC Kline Coilovers; H&R Front Bar; Wavetrac; Al Subframe Bushings; 18X9/9˝ ARC-8s; 255/35-18 PS4S (4); Dinan Elite V2 & CAI; MPerf Orange BBK; Schroth Quick Fit Pro; GTechniq Crystal Serum Ultra Ceramic; Suntek PPF |
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03-12-2021, 05:12 PM | #9 |
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Yeah. I've got a set of 17x9et42's Apex Arc8-R's and 5mm spacers in front with square 255/40/17 RE71R's for track duty; and I daily on 18x9et45 SSR's and 12mm spacers in front with the (for now) stock staggered MPSS's. Probably going to squared 245/40/18 or 255/35/18 MPS4S this summer.
I've got 2.5-deg camber from the Vorshlag plates in front and 2-deg using stock adjustment range in the rear. The front inner fender lip is rolled for max clearance. Its a real tight fit with 255's. Unfortunately you have to add camber to fit the wider wheels. If you're not ready to add camber just yet, several users have been successful with 17x8et40-ish and 235's. You definitely want the camber though. This car eats tires alive if you don't.
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17x9 APEX Arc8-R, 255/40/17 RE71RS, Vorshlag Plates, Swift Spec-R Springs, m-Performance Bumpstops, Dinan ShockWare, Paragon 2-piece rotors, Carbon lip, custom 3" alumalite splitter, GTS wing, FTP Intake and Charge pipe, BootMod3 Stage 1 OTS
Last edited by 230iZTR; 03-12-2021 at 05:18 PM.. |
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03-13-2021, 08:42 AM | #10 |
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Great thread. Helpful.
What springs? H and R or....? Which camber plates? Adjustable or fixed? There is a point of diminishing returns. This part is IMPORTANT - does the car require oiling modifications to the engine for track duty?? Cheers! Last edited by Jamesjedi; 03-13-2021 at 08:58 AM.. |
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03-13-2021, 06:18 PM | #12 |
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I have Millway camber plates; nothing bad to say about them.
My set-up is stock suspension w/ 245/35 square but not a big fan of the tires for track use since they're street tires of course. Want to move to 255/35 square, eyeing a set of 18x9 +39 Sparcos on Tire Rack for $175/each and 255/35 Nexen Sur4G for $100/each... I should be able to use this with -2.5 front/-2 rear yeah? Assuming 10-15mm spacers in front.
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03-14-2021, 07:56 AM | #14 |
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For a limited slip differential installed by a shop, you can generally plan on around $2500-3000 USD.
I'd recommend installing stiffer differential bushings at the same time. ECS shows examples here: https://www.ecstuning.com/BMW-F22-22.../Differential/.
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2017 M240i: 23.8K, 28.9 mpg, MT, Sunroof Delete, 3,432#, EB, Leather, Driving Assistance Package, Heated Front Seats | Sold: E12 530i, E24 M635CSi, E39 520i, E30 325is, E36 M3 (2)
TC Kline Coilovers; H&R Front Bar; Wavetrac; Al Subframe Bushings; 18X9/9˝ ARC-8s; 255/35-18 PS4S (4); Dinan Elite V2 & CAI; MPerf Orange BBK; Schroth Quick Fit Pro; GTechniq Crystal Serum Ultra Ceramic; Suntek PPF |
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03-14-2021, 12:53 PM | #15 |
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Guys looking for a deal on 18x9s, I just got a set of these from Tire Rack. 18x9 +45, $181 each
https://www.tirerack.com/wheels/Whee...r=Shadow+Sport Stock center caps fit. Rear fit great with -1.7 camber. Fronts are tight, I’m at -1.9 with M3 LCA & tension struts. |
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03-16-2021, 08:31 PM | #16 | |
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03-17-2021, 01:28 AM | #17 | |
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Update: in 2023, IPOS Motorsport released a retrofit kit to fit the m-performance diff into a 2.0T base car.
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17x9 APEX Arc8-R, 255/40/17 RE71RS, Vorshlag Plates, Swift Spec-R Springs, m-Performance Bumpstops, Dinan ShockWare, Paragon 2-piece rotors, Carbon lip, custom 3" alumalite splitter, GTS wing, FTP Intake and Charge pipe, BootMod3 Stage 1 OTS
Last edited by 230iZTR; 11-07-2023 at 01:43 PM.. |
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03-17-2021, 06:45 AM | #18 | ||
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I have Turner's aluminum subframe bushings on my M240i (https://www.ecstuning.com/b-turner-m...021450tms01~a/). ECS shows the kit also fits the 228i/230i. I don't have upgraded differential bushings and have no experience with them. I had the Turner bushings installed after 1,972 highway miles, so I didn't have much to compare them to in terms of ride comfort on the street. I don't have any complaints, though, and I drive on streets and roads of varying quality in the Midwest. Quote:
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2017 M240i: 23.8K, 28.9 mpg, MT, Sunroof Delete, 3,432#, EB, Leather, Driving Assistance Package, Heated Front Seats | Sold: E12 530i, E24 M635CSi, E39 520i, E30 325is, E36 M3 (2)
TC Kline Coilovers; H&R Front Bar; Wavetrac; Al Subframe Bushings; 18X9/9˝ ARC-8s; 255/35-18 PS4S (4); Dinan Elite V2 & CAI; MPerf Orange BBK; Schroth Quick Fit Pro; GTechniq Crystal Serum Ultra Ceramic; Suntek PPF |
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04-02-2021, 09:25 PM | #19 | |||
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I installed a MP LSD at the same time. About 1200 in Labor too. Don't forget to code out the ediff software. |
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07-19-2021, 06:35 PM | #20 |
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Update, I bought an M235i 2015 track edition. Sunroof delete six speed manual transmission and limited slip differential. I just ordered a square setup of 18x9 et 40. Will require camber plates to fit.
Bang for the buck is what I need. At a certain point you will not be any happier. At least I hope. Thoughts on springs; https://www.2addicts.com/forums/show....php?t=1840982 Are they an improvement over stock? Are the springs just cosmetic, do they unsettle the car? Last edited by Jamesjedi; 07-19-2021 at 06:48 PM.. |
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07-19-2021, 08:33 PM | #21 | |
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Seems like a solid setup. I'd also recommend track pads, high temp brake fluid, and a Schroth Quick Fit Pro harness. It helps tremendously to not be sliding around behind the wheel.
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Plus reducing the fender gap really does make a big aesthetic difference. If you've already got the suspension pulled off for the camber plates, you might as well do the springs at the same time.
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17x9 APEX Arc8-R, 255/40/17 RE71RS, Vorshlag Plates, Swift Spec-R Springs, m-Performance Bumpstops, Dinan ShockWare, Paragon 2-piece rotors, Carbon lip, custom 3" alumalite splitter, GTS wing, FTP Intake and Charge pipe, BootMod3 Stage 1 OTS
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