Say the letters "PTG," and any E36 fan will immediately have a mental image. Prototype Technology Group campaigned their BMW-contracted E36 M3 program to great success in the mid-late 1990s. The GT3 class cars featured distinct bodywork, impressive development, and legendary drivers (Bill Auberlen and Boris Said, amongst others). It's...
What is an OEM-style shifter? On most manual transmission BMWs, the shifter linkage consists of a sub-assembly that includes it's own "carrier", selector rod, and shift lever. In addition, there are some bushings and shims involved to keep things tight. The pivot "cup" and shims are made of hard plastics,...
Last week I took part in a conference call about the future of R3VLimited. For those that aren't familiar, R3VLimited is one of the oldest and largest E30 forums left on the internet. As with most forums, it has been dying a slow death, and I for one hate to...
SpecE30 is dead. Long live SpecE30. Alright, so not completely dead, yet. But it's headed that way. Let's discuss why. Availability For the better part of two decades, donor cars were $500-1,000. Not anymore. Clapped out rollers can command $2,500+. Decent running cars seem to start at $4,...
As detailed in my recent post about Tire Parity in NASA Racing, there are new rules for NASA's power to weight racing classes (ST and TT) intended to create better parity between the bevy of tire choices. Thankfully these new rules are not based on manufacturer's claimed treadwear or sizing...
Over the years, my track experience has mostly been relegated to the E30 chassis; up until recently, the only other platforms I had driven hard were an E36 on track and a GR WRX at autocross. While the E36 featured some very notable improvements in suspension design and chassis dynamics...
In-car video is an important tool for any type of on-track driving. Reviewing video footage can help you learn from your mistakes, see where you are leaving time on the table, solicit feedback from coaches and other drivers, and serve as a record for any incidents that occur on the...
At the end of the 2021 season, I was considering moving my #74 E30 down from TT5 to TT6, in the hopes of making the car more competitive. My car never fit into TT5 very well: it has always kind of lingered between classes 5 and 6, which at the...
Say the letters "PTG," and any E36 fan will immediately have a mental image. Prototype Technology Group campaigned their BMW-contracted E36 M3 program to great success in the mid-late 1990s. The GT3 class cars featured distinct bodywork, impressive development, and legendary drivers (Bill Auberlen and Boris Said, amongst others). It's...
Friday nights at the track are the best. The whole weekend lies in front of you. Nervousness and excitement mix. The anticipation is high. Your friends are arriving at the track. Friends you haven't seen since the last event 6 weeks ago. The trash talk begins. Everyone has new stuff...
When I started building my #74 E30 back in 2016, I had some preconceived notions about driver & cockpit ergonomics. However, this was my first build focused solely on track use, and I still had a lot to learn. Early in the build, I did my best to set up the...
As an early teenager that was very much looking forward to getting my driver's license and my first car, I was super in to the JDM scene. This was in the early 2000s, so while it was definitely peak The Fast and the Furious days, that isn't what inspired me....
