For the past few years I have flogged only front wheel drive cars around during autocross events with relative success. By relative I mean I gradually improved and felt like I knew what I was doing.

My girlfriend wants to take her newly aquired supercharged E36 M3 to the next event for us both to drive. Now I've never driven a RWD car in an autocross, much less one with 310rwhp. Are there any bad habits from driving a FWD car that I need to get out of my head before this weekend? I dont want to fill her, nor my head with bad advice her first time out.

 

I would say the only thing to watch out for is being smooth with the gas. In FWD you can get away with mashing the gas but you have to be much more smooth in a RWD car, especially those with torque.

 

if the suspension is stock, or near stock... E36 BMWs are quite user friendly as far as driving goes, IMO. Just be careful with the go pedal.

Oh, and the notion that terminal understeer in a RWD car can be corrected by always mashing the gas..... completely wrong. You'll just push more. Same deal as FWD, lift, straighten wheel, turn in again.

 

Agreed! Roll the power on smoothly as you exit the corner, and you'll be amazed at what it can do. The E36 is spectacular in transitions; you can really toss it around, but make sure you slow down enough for longer turns (just like most cars).

 

That was really my only concern was bringing on the power too soon, especially since rarely do you have 'straightaways' in an autox course , so too much power would = both feet in fun.

The suspension is Dinan Stage II, which consists of upgraded springs, smaller front swaybar, larger 22mm rear swaybar, and koni yellows. It looks like its going to be a tad bit wet Sunday so I can just blame the water if I do bad ...

 

Which s/c? Got a link to a dynoplot?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Reid &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Which s/c? Got a link to a dynoplot? </TD></TR></TABLE>

Its the older Dinan kit they first released based of the PowerDyne supercharger (since rebuilt). The previous owner spit out the 310whp claim, and it doesnt seem so far fetched from dynoplots I've seen on bimmerforums.

The closest competent shop with a dyno and a wideband is 200 miles out, so that number hasn't been tested firsthand. But we plan on going this Saturday or next and get a baseline and install an Aquamist setup from ActiveAutowerks. All this really depends on the weather. I'll post back with dyno numbers and a complete mod list in this thread since it's on my 'Recent Topics' list.

 

if the rear end starts to get away, resist the urge to mash the gas and steer like you would in a front drive.
have a good time. that set-up is pritty potent in SM.
-spenc

 

I had autoxed numerous SE-Rs, a Celica, and a few other small FWD cars before I bought my E36 325i...

The first thing that stuck me at the first autox was... WHAT A PIG! I went flying into the first corner and threw it in like I did all year with the Sentra... and I got nothin'. It just plowed like a '39 Lamborghini... tractor.

It wasn't until the second autox that I realized how good this car was from corner entry on... YAHOO! As PseudoRealityX said, terminal understeer can't be fixed with the gas... but slow the car more than you think for corner entry and then hold for the rest. I'm constantly surprised how well the tail sticks when on the power coming out of the turn. Of course, I have ~160 whp...

I'm sure your girl's toy will be better than my stock grocery getter on corner entry but I'd guess the tendency is still there.

With a FWD car, it's all about managing two tires... the ones behind you just hold up the gas tank. On a RWD car, you have to concentrate on ALL of them. But once you realize that, it ain't that much different than FWD.

 

I've been driving a Camaro for a few years, mostly in SM. I also did HPDE's with it.

If already in the turn and it starts to oversteer, lifting will make it come around faster because the weight comes off the rear end and shifts forward. Just keep the throttle steady and countersteer. That does not mean add more throttle.

Understeer would require lifting and maybe a brake tap. Either or both will get the weight on the front and plant the tires to make the corner.

As stated, using the throttle like a lightswitch is not an option. And they can't be stuffed into the turn or they'll plow through that wall of cones.

Have fun, M3's can be driven very quickly.