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      07-22-2018, 06:07 PM   #1
XutvJet
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Which axle needs the most help on the US-spec M235

For those that track their cars, especially ones on the OEM suspension, in your opinion, which axle needs the most help with respect to control? After owning the car for 2.5 years, it seems to be like the rear axle needs a bit more control, perhaps damping. The front end feels pretty good with the exception of the narrow 225 width tires.

By the way, I'm not concerned about the sway bars.
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      07-23-2018, 12:50 PM   #2
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Front axle NEEDS more camber, for track use, as you will be frustrated with the understeer and tire wear without it. Rear camber is adjustable so it's a "non issue". Aside from that and an LSD out back already installed, you should be fine. The obvious damping issues can only be resolved by being replaced, unfortunately...
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      11-16-2018, 02:03 PM   #3
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How hard is a front swaybar install? It was the go to mod for the E36/46/90
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      11-16-2018, 02:29 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Taskmaster View Post
How hard is a front swaybar install? It was the go to mod for the E36/46/90
Dinan's instructions for the installation of their Adjustable Anti-Roll Bar Set can be found here:

http://files.dinancars.com/webresour...4c6be45ecc.pdf

Dinan shows 5.7 hours to install both. Just guessing, but I imagine the front bar will take longer than the rear bar. It's just another guess, but I assume that estimate is for someone with all the necessary tools, some familiarity with the factory procedure for removing and installing the OEM bar, and the skill to follow the instructions. I'm a guy who checks none of those boxes, so YMMV!
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      11-16-2018, 02:53 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by XutvJet View Post
For those that track their cars, especially ones on the OEM suspension, in your opinion, which axle needs the most help with respect to control? After owning the car for 2.5 years, it seems to be like the rear axle needs a bit more control, perhaps damping. The front end feels pretty good with the exception of the narrow 225 width tires.

By the way, I'm not concerned about the sway bars.
Because I knew before I bought it that I'd be tracking my car, I went straight to the LSD, suspension, and everything else in my signature right after breaking the motor in. As a result, I can't answer your questions directly.

For sure your front-end won't feel pretty good on the track without some decent negative camber and some wider and track-capable rubber to go with it. Because I didn't want to realign the car before and after each event, I went with -1.9° up front. Partly that had to do with fitting a 255 into the fender opening, and the other consideration was getting a decent amount of non-track miles out of the MPSS'. The builder told me to expect 8K with that amount of negative camber.

I didn't care for how the front behaved on the track last season. It was predictable, but not particularly sharp. At 3800# two-up, however, turn-in-right-now sharpness is always going to be lacking. Nevertheless, I'm considering the H&R front bar, which the builder told me would be the next step if I wanted improved turn-in capabilities. The downside to that is increased NVH - how much of that is a matter of installing the bar to find out. I'm also considering more negative camber, and a step up in tire compound (likely Hoosier R7s in 265 R / 245 F). At the same time, I'm making sure I don't turn this from a street/track car into a track/street car - been there, done that, done with that.

Something else to consider: the brakes. Mine aren't up to what I'm doing with the car now, and I'm not leaning on it very hard at all. Unless I can have a brake duct kit built to feed air into the interior of the rotors, I don't see how this is going to be solved without going to a big-brake kit; even then, you still have to cool them or after enough laps the heat eventually makes its way into the fluid.

Sorry...kind of went OT there.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Dylan86 View Post
Front axle NEEDS more camber, for track use, as you will be frustrated with the understeer and tire wear without it. Rear camber is adjustable so it's a "non issue". Aside from that and an LSD out back already installed, you should be fine. The obvious damping issues can only be resolved by being replaced, unfortunately...
+1 All of it.
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      11-17-2018, 02:13 PM   #6
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As others said, definitely the front axle. Stock, there's very little grip up front and it's very easy to overdrive the car by pushing the front around. End result, the front tires barely last a couple of days.

Having a front camber solution is definitely the first thing to do for the track. After that, thrust arm monoballs really improved the front end turn in on street tires in my case.

Only then (coilovers, camber plates, monoballs) the rear started to break loose a little on my car. I'm guessing adding a diff at that point would make for a well-balanced setup on street tires (I went with wider R-comps instead and eventually the rear was super hard to control with an open diff).
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