"Farber, Jonathan" ASKS

OK, two driving schools under my belt, I'm addicted... and starting to chew up my MXX3's a bit. I'm signed up for four more driving schools this summer. Time to get some track tires...?

Called up Tire Rack and they offered me the following deal:

BFG R1 235/45 $142
Heat Cycling $15
17" Wheel $209

The total package price comes to $1,535 with tires mounted, balanced, heat cycled, and shipped. I don't remember the type of wheel they offered me, but they had a bunch in that price range.

Questions for the track experts on the digest:

1. Can I do significantly better price-wise than this?

ANSWER: Probably not but see next answer.

B) Will I hurt performance if I go with same-size tires all around (BFG R1's aren't available in the two sizes needed to fit stock '97 M3 wheels)?

ANSWER:For the best dollar/performance I would suggest that you consider the Yokohama A032R tire vs. The R1s. Based upon my experience they will be slightly less sticky with your stock suspension but will last a lot longer ie . 2-3 times longer. They come with 7/32s tread depth and a tread pattern that allows for some water dispersion such that they can be used to drive to the track also. Having the same size front and rear tires will decrease the understeering tendency somewhat. As to the Heat Treating, as of last Oktoberfest, both Yokohama and BFG stated that a Heat Cycle needed to be done on the car and not the way Tire Rack was doing it at that time. I suggest that you call TEAM TA at 1-800-RACEBFG and Jim Waggoner of Yokohama at 1-800-423-4544 Ext 7309 for the latest on this. Another "Advantage" of the Yokos and other Symetrical Sidewall tires is that they can be remounted to have the worn edge mounted on the other side of the wheel to squeeze a little more life out of them. THIS WILL CAUSE SOME FLUKY HANDLING initially until a new wear pattern emerges.

c) How much should I plan on spending for a good jack?

ANSWER: I have used a small hydraulic jack sold by "RALLY" for a couple years. It costs about $39 and comes in a plastic case.

Hope this helps, YMMV

Bob