E46 M3 as a Track Car

[vanman1936]

Hi

So I have an MR2 Turbo that I solely track but need something that I can drive to the track that also has 4 seats and is fairly modern (my other car is a 911 and need something with a bit of space as a 2nd car that I can also track.....3 cars just too many).

Any thoughts on these for the above?

Cheers


Paul

[e36er]

Sounds just about perfect for your needs.

I'd recommend ARP rod bolts - it's the weakest part of the engine and it's not too expensive. They're very soft and have woeful brakes as standard. Even a full weight car with nothing but a set of APs with RS29s, a fairly decent coilovers with a more track orientated get setup makes them very entertaining and reliable on track.

[e36er]

Sounds just about perfect for your needs.

I'd recommend ARP rod bolts - it's the weakest part of the engine and it's not too expensive. They're very soft and have woeful brakes as standard. Even a full weight car with nothing but a set of APs with RS29s, a fairly decent coilovers with a more track orientated get setup makes them very entertaining and reliable on track.

[Lozrington]

Sounds like the E46 could be perfect and there are lots of tracked versions out there. I'd recommend getting yourself on http://forums.m3cutters.co.uk/forumdisplay.php?f=8 where you'll find lots of good advice. There is also a for sale section that's worth looking at...

[vanman1936]

Cheers guys. How much is a decent brake / suspension set up that you mentioned?

[Pachydermus]

vanman1936 said:

Cheers guys. How much is a decent brake / suspension set up that you mentioned?

Had APs put on to front/rear of mine 7 years ago now and it cost over £3K then. I think you're looking at around the same just to get the fronts done now. Defintely worth it though if you're going on track as the standard ones won't take much abuse.

[andyiley]

Alternatively, you could do what I did.

Bought pair of radial mount AP 4-pot front calipers from a Tuscan racer front £270 on the bay.

Bought a pair of radial mount 2 piston AP calipers from an Exige front £120 on the bay.

Did a few measurements & a drawing for a local engineering company 1 hour time.

4 x brackets manufactured by above company £40.

Job done!

[e36er]

vanman1936 said:

Cheers guys. How much is a decent brake / suspension set up that you mentioned?

Keep an eye on Ebay and various BMW forums, you'll eventually find a set of APs for £2k-£2.5k. I managed to get mine for £1800, sold them 2 years later for £2k.

Re coilovers, the 2 most important things for me would be a quality brand and the spring rate. I had AST 4100 which were lovely on the road, but just too soft for track. I had AST 5100 on a full-on race E46 M3 with proper race spec spring rates (912f, 550r) and they were awesome, although I wouldn't have wanted to drive too many road miles in it. Plenty of people fit BC Racing stuff, they're cheap and you can spec spring rates, although plenty of people have problems with them... It all depends on your budget really.

[RKi]

I'm always really impressed with the e46 m3 guys on track days. Some of them were real fast at Bedford last time. They all seem to run Michelin pilot sport cups.