Need advice on Solo I setup

["Christian Sorensen" <sorensen@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Call me crazy, but after testing the waters for a couple of events this year
I am itching to go Solo I racing in Y2K.

My ride is a 97 328i 'sport pkg' which I plan to prepare for "B Stock" class
according to the CASC Ontario Solo regs. Basically, the engine must remain
unmodified except for plugs, air filter element and the like, whilst exhaust
is free from the cat back. Wheels, tires and brakes are unrestricted, but I
can only replace the shocks and must retain the 'OE' alignment and ride
height settings.

I've been running Toyo RA1s on 15" steel 'winter' rims with Performance
Friction 90 pads and steel brake lines for driving schools but I figger this
setup is 'under-tired' for competition purposes.

As you might imagine, I've already received conflicting advice on what the
hot wheel/tire/brake setup for my car is.  One thought is to go with
245/45R16 on 16x8 wheels all around, taking care to get wheels that will
accommodate an upgrade to a Euro M3 2-piece floating rotor brake setup.
I've my eye on the SSR Integrals for this but I'm not sure they would fit
with a brake upgrade. For that matter, I'm not sure if my standard 16x7
sport wheels would fit.

An alternative is to go for 245/40R17 on 17x9 for rear plus 235/40R17 on
17x8 for the fronts, allowing enough room for an even larger brake upgrade.
The wheels I have my eyes on for this are the IFG R5 hot forged beauties.

With my current setup I've noticed that brake cooling is a definite problem
so I'm inclined to choose wheels that facilitate such cooling.   I'd also
like to provide air ducting to the front calipers: once the dust shields are
removed I'd need to have some kind of bracket fabricated to run hose from
the brake duct opening in the fenders.  I've noticed that TMS sells a set of
brake backing plates for the M3 that are meant to be used for this: would
this sort of thing fit my car with 16" rims?

For shocks I'm 'leaning' towards Bilstein Sports, the question is whether I
should get the standard setup or try to get them specially valved. Keep in
mind that my springs will be the stock 'sport' ones which I understand drop
the car 15mm in the front and 10mm in the rear. Since the ride height and
alignment must be within 'OE' specs this part could be tricky, but it seems
every one of my competitors will be on new Bilsteins as well.

For miscellaneous mods, there's getting a proper 5 or 6 point harness. Some
I've talked to advise against this without a roll bar, others insist that
the B-pillars on my sedan are plenty strong enough. I'm considering adding
the Hartge front lower lip spoiler and perhaps a rear trunk wing as well.
Also under consideration is an aftermarket exhaust with 3" tips, but will
this really make a difference without a chip upgrade??

My competition promises to be Prelude SR-Vs and Talon Tsi turbos, all driven
by reasonably experienced shoes.  To check out what I'm up against, visit
http://www.swbs.com/solo1.html

Any advice will be appreciated!   I'll also endeavour to report on which
mods I do choose and how I fare.



Christian Sorensen
VP Technical Services, Data Recovery Labs
sorensen@domain.elided

BMW 328i
BMW CC, CCA

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