[MSPORTWORLD]

I just got back from Auto-x test and tune today and I noticed pretty much everyone had DOT slicks on their cars. By the way my car was understeering in most of the turns I decided to put my quest for 400whp on hold and am now considering how to best improve my time.

Currently I have General UHPs staggered 235/265 which is a poor combo seeing as the tires aren't that good in the first place. I have some 159s sitting in my garage with the RFTs on which I can take off and put on some DOT slicks 255/40-17? I also have some H&R sport springs sitting in my garage waiting to be put on my base shocks which I know is not the best match but I plan on replacing the shocks later with some Koni's anyway.

My 2 options are:
1. Upgrade to M3 susp tension rod/control arms + my HR Sports + alignment
2. Put slicks on my 159s + HR Sports + alignment

Thanks for your help any other helpful suggestions would be appreciated.

[leftcoastman]

Might I suggest you try to adjust your driving style?

While your 235/265 stagger probably doesn't help your imbalance issues, I know of a 335i driver with STOCK everything down to the RFTs and he's generally as fast or faster than guys on R-comps.

The tension struts will probably give you a tiny bit more negative camber, so that may help a tiny bit, but I think you'll do much better by adjusting your driving style.

Try entering the turns slower, trail braking to help rotate the car and not get on full throttle until the car is relatively straight. The low speed turns you experience in Autox (and they're all slow) makes the car very prone to understeer. The 335i will plow on corner entry if you come in too hot and will plow on exit if you get on the power too early.

I had a student plow through a 30mph corner on TRACK and swear up and down he needed to spend $5k on parts to prevent understeer. Having already driven a stock 335i on track, I took his car, trail braked through that turn and flew through it much faster with no more than a hint of understeer. I'm hoping I saved that dude some money.

Originally Posted by hkyplaynazn

I just got back from Auto-x test and tune today and I noticed pretty much everyone had DOT slicks on their cars. By the way my car was understeering in most of the turns I decided to put my quest for 400whp on hold and am now considering how to best improve my time.

Currently I have General UHPs staggered 235/265 which is a poor combo seeing as the tires aren't that good in the first place. I have some 159s sitting in my garage with the RFTs on which I can take off and put on some DOT slicks 255/40-17? I also have some H&R sport springs sitting in my garage waiting to be put on my base shocks which I know is not the best match but I plan on replacing the shocks later with some Koni's anyway.

My 2 options are:
1. Upgrade to M3 susp tension rod/control arms + my HR Sports + alignment
2. Put slicks on my 159s + HR Sports + alignment

Thanks for your help any other helpful suggestions would be appreciated.

[TSM330i]

Does your car have an LSD? It's expensive, but it'll definitely help you to rotate the car. With an open diff, it'll just spin the inside wheel and not allow you to properly rotate the car. I'm going to do an LSD very soon on my car to help balance the car in turns.
Go with your first option above and put shocks on right away. You should be much better off. Grip is a major factor in going fast around the course. Full c/o's will allow you to adjust the car between under/over steer better though.

[nicknaz]

Originally Posted by AW325xi

Does your car have an LSD? It's expensive, but it'll definitely help you to rotate the car. With an open diff, it'll just spin the inside wheel and not allow you to properly rotate the car. I'm going to do an LSD very soon on my car to help balance the car in turns.
Go with your first option above and put shocks on right away. You should be much better off. Grip is a major factor in going fast around the course. Full c/o's will allow you to adjust the car between under/over steer better though.

not sure what the OP's prior experience level is but I would personally spend at least a full autoX season on the stock suspension with street tires to get a good baseline before making any adjustments to the car setup.

also not sure what the OP's goals are (ie win vs learn) but last time i checked solo ii rules i believe adding LSD would put the car into a prepared or modified class, which is pretty rough without spending a ton of $$$$. its probably more cost effective to do changes that still keep the car legal for stock class

[BRO]

Camber PLates! -2 to -3 degrees will help your understeer and save your tire shoulders. Ground-Control will have soft ones in a couple of weeks for our cars. Soft so you don't rattle yourself to death in your daily driver