E46 M3 - The entire build from stock to Nurburgring.

[Dave Hedgehog]

fantastic car and top skillz

[sagarich]

Absolutely fantastic read, great write up OP.

[Dr G]

I thoroughly enjoyed 'wasting' my last hour reading that

Oh well, tis only Friday

[n90acc]

Been eagerly awaiting updates to this project since following it on the Track Culture forum.

I just think it's such a fantastic approach to the development of the car. The work on the weight loss and chassis is brilliant and it goes to show what can be achieved before the POWWAAAHHH! is addressed.

Those guys at Spires seem to be somewhat genius...I particularly love the rudimentary cardboard aero testing, goes to show how effective it can be.

Keep up the good work, hope for some more development over the winter.

[Mark B]

alclark said:

Who's that ugly bugger?

Lovely car, great read, I'm starting to consider swapping the Elise for an M3 so it's threads like this that inspire me further..

[deuchars]

Brilliant thread, keep the updates coming!

[Too Late]

Wow, best way to spend my lunch...

Fantastic read. If you dont mind me asking, what was the purchase costs of the M3 and the cost to get to where you are now?

Thanks
N

[0836whimper]

Excellent post - one of the best I've read for ages.

Although a little bit scary how the bug took over !

[JungleGus]

Ah - obsession...great thread!

[Trtj]

I haven't even finished reading your posts yet but I had to stop and say...wow! Best m3 post I have seen in so long. I like how you've concentrated on solely the dynamics and haven't touched the engine or power. I have not had my m3 long and you are 100% right for most of us mere mortals that ample speed is there. Learning to drive and tweaking the dynamics is exactly what I'd do first. Great post.

Few questions though, in your current setup...
1. How the hell do you get any travel on the fronts without them hitting the arches?! They look very close, and I dont think the e46 front geom allows for a tight radius of movement in compression, so surely you must be scuffing the arches?
2. I would have gone for a different colour given the opportunity to respray
3. Can you explain a bit more about the rear brace added to the subframe mounting points? Have you left the mounts in the floor or removed them completely and bolted the sub frame to the tubular brace?

Ta

Edited by Trtj on Friday 29th November 14:50

[DanielJames]

Loved reading this, thanks for taking the time to post it.

[alclark]

Trtj said:

I haven't even finished reading your posts yet but I had to stop and say...wow! Best m3 post I have seen in so long. I like how you've concentrated on solely the dynamics and haven't touched the engine or power. I have not had my m3 long and you are 100% right for most of us mere mortals that ample speed is there. Learning to drive and tweaking the dynamics is exactly what I'd do first. Great post

Few questions though, in your current setup...
1. How the hell do you get any travel on the fronts without them hitting the arches?! They look very close, and I dont think the e46 front geom allows for a tight radius of movement in compression, so surely you must be scuffing the arches?
2. I would have gone for a different colour given the opportunity to respray
3. Can you explain a bit more about the rear brace added to the subframe mounting points? Have you left the mounts in the floor or removed them completely and bolted the sub frame to the tubular brace?

Ta

Edited by Trtj on Friday 29th November 14:50

Thankyou, happy to answer.

1 - A lot people ask that! The Nitrons go a long way to stopping the compression bottoming out without allowing a certain amount of give. It's just well calculated. The wheels do physically enter the arches and don't rub (even flat through the Fuchsrore and as fast as possible round Karussel). At low speeds at near full lock I get a tiny bit of rubbing on the face of the tyre on the front bumper due to the caster. I've also removed part of the arch liners to aid airflow out the vents and in turn that offers a good amount of clearance. The rears have not been modified at all, and can just run that low as they are now full coilover rather than shock and spring.

2 - Me too, but I only had to respray the front and inside. Colour didn't bother me too much as long as it went fast!

3 - So the rear subframe and diff mount is now tied through that floor into the brace, preventing it from being able to tear itself away. That mount is also braced below the floor. The differential is still tied to the subframe as normal as this isn't a weak spot :-D
There are plates you can buy that do this, but this is more robust solution for a track car, it seems!

Edited by alclark on Friday 29th November 15:48

Edited by alclark on Friday 29th November 15:49

[alclark]

Too Late said:

Wow, best way to spend my lunch...

Fantastic read. If you dont mind me asking, what was the purchase costs of the M3 and the cost to get to where you are now?

Thanks
N

I do have the exact numbers somewhere, but I don't think you'd replicate it part for part new for less than £30,000 I guess.

[LaurasOtherHalf]

alclark said:

Too Late said:

Wow, best way to spend my lunch...

Fantastic read. If you dont mind me asking, what was the purchase costs of the M3 and the cost to get to where you are now?

Thanks
N

I do have the exact numbers somewhere, but I don't think you'd replicate it part for part new for less than £30,000 I guess.

but when you consider what £30k gets you in the grand scheme of things it's sort of a bargain! i mean, what else short of a full on M3 race car would get you either quicker or more importnatly, more fun?

brilliant

[Trtj]

alclark said:

Thankyou, happy to answer.

1 - A lot people ask that! The Nitrons go a long way to stopping the compression bottoming out without allowing a certain amount of give. It's just well calculated. The wheels do physically enter the arches and don't rub (even flat through the Fuchsrore and as fast as possible round Karussel). At low speeds at near full lock I get a tiny bit of rubbing on the face of the tyre on the front bumper due to the caster. I've also removed part of the arch liners to aid airflow out the vents and in turn that offers a good amount of clearance. The rears have not been modified at all, and can just run that low as they are now full coilover rather than shock and spring.

2 - Me too, but I only had to respray the front and inside. Colour didn't bother me too much as long as it went fast!

3 - So the rear subframe and diff mount is now tied through that floor into the brace, preventing it from being able to tear itself away. That mount is also braced below the floor. The differential is still tied to the subframe as normal as this isn't a weak spot :-D
There are plates you can buy that do this, but this is more robust solution for a track car, it seems!

Edited by alclark on Friday 29th November 15:48

Edited by alclark on Friday 29th November 15:49

Great stuff thanks! A part of me wishes i'd bought a higher mileage m3 that was a bit rough around the edges to turn into a track project. But I can't bring myself to start tearing apart my example. This only means I have to sell something else and buy another. Inspiring!

[anonymous-user]

Blimey! What a great read and an inspiring project done to a really high standard. Well done!

It seems silly to ask such a banal question with so much amazing stuff going on here, but when you moved the heater controls up after removing the satnav, did you need to buy any new brackets? Was it much hassle?

Thanks, and please keep us posted on the car.

[4pot]

Fantastic read and great to see the car evolve

[alclark]

Polynesian said:

Blimey! What a great read and an inspiring project done to a really high standard. Well done!

It seems silly to ask such a banal question with so much amazing stuff going on here, but when you moved the heater controls up after removing the satnav, did you need to buy any new brackets? Was it much hassle?

Thanks, and please keep us posted on the car.

Thank you! The heater controls just needed the right cage behind, I did a swap when I pulled the navigation with a standard car, so bolted straight in. The panel is the very same panel.

Trtj said:

Great stuff thanks! A part of me wishes i'd bought a higher mileage m3 that was a bit rough around the edges to turn into a track project. But I can't bring myself to start tearing apart my example. This only means I have to sell something else and buy another. Inspiring!

Ironically, you want to start with the best base possible. Unless it's a rare concours car, then it's a perfect base to start. Having a track car in great condition to start with is so much better, less worn out, will run harder longer etc. It's just that feeling of ruining a perfectly nice car you have to get over :-D

[krallicious]

Thought I recognised the car from some Circuit Days and DN events. Cheeky pax lap next year maybe?

[Blair357ci]

Sure I've seen this car somewhere...