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Randy Walters' 89 325is Auto-Crosser


Randy Walters' 89 325is

Randy Walters is one of my good friends. He is also the best driver I have ever been in a racecar with. His auto-crossing skills are superb. Randy "cut his teeth" for over a decade auto-crossing and tracking an 86 VW GTI. He got to the point where there was very little left for him to learn with that car. Then one day he got a chance to co-drive my newly acquired 88 M3 at a San Diego CCA auto-x on the infamous West Lot at Qualcomm Stadium. According to Randy, that experience turned him around. He wanted RWD! Due to the high running costs of owning and E30 M3, Randy chose to purchase this very clean 89 E30 325is, which by most accounts can be made just about as fast.

Randy Walters' 89 325is - another shot

At this point Randy has to be considered an expert on all E30 chassis components. In a very short time he has replaced every single bushing and bearing on the underside of his 325is. Because he is very sensitive to the inputs he gets through the seat of his pants, Randy tends to notice every little thing that might be worn out on his suspension. The result is that he wants it to be perfect. And he has just about achieved that on this car. Other than the suspension being just about 100% brand new (wheel bearings, control arms, brakes, tie rods, etc...), he has also modified it within the SCCA DSP rules. This includes 22mm front and 14.5 mm rear anti-roll bars, Bilstein dampers, K-Mac camber plates and eccentric trailing arm bushings, 15"x7" Kosei K1 wheels with 225-50-15 Kuhmos. A recent addition is a Ground Control coil over setup with 450 lbs/in front and 600 lbs/in rear springs. The next modification will probably be a Conforti chip. The increased rev limiter should really help during auto-crossing. Looks like my short lived advantage is over - Randy is going to be smokin' me on course again!


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