Lets talk E36 vs E46 for a track car
Discussion
I acquired a fairly well specced E36 328i track car earlier this year and despite having it on track for a matter of hours and then the diff falling out of the car, i thought the chassis was absolutely fantastic. The question I have is, would there really be a huge benefit in moving into the E46 M3 platform over the E36 platform for a pure track car?
My thinking is I have a decent E36 shell in a good colour (boston green) with a lot of nice bits on it (full LTW kit, M3 hubs, brakes, a full cage, reinforced subframe, coilovers etc.), but I cant make my mind up whether to just stick with the E36 chassis and spend all of my money on that. I was thinking if I were to do it, Id want to do it properly (S54, KWs/Nitrons, AP5000R etc.), but im just looking for people who have built both and would recommend one over the other and if its really worth the hassle of moving into the 46 chassis with the S54 already in it but starting from ground zero.
Obviously when going to a 46 i'd have the unknown of potentially buying something where the subframe could rip out of the car and not to mention the other pitfalls that 46 M3s can have with them.
I dont want to be that guy but I see 36s going nearly as fast as 46s on the ring, and whilst I would mainly be staying in the UK for my track time, it still makes me wonder if theres any real benefit of a properly built 46 M3 over a properly built E36.
So i put it to you guys, what do you think? would I be stupid to start over in a 46? Or is the 36 chassis good enough to warrant me spending thousands to make it a proper tool?
My thinking is I have a decent E36 shell in a good colour (boston green) with a lot of nice bits on it (full LTW kit, M3 hubs, brakes, a full cage, reinforced subframe, coilovers etc.), but I cant make my mind up whether to just stick with the E36 chassis and spend all of my money on that. I was thinking if I were to do it, Id want to do it properly (S54, KWs/Nitrons, AP5000R etc.), but im just looking for people who have built both and would recommend one over the other and if its really worth the hassle of moving into the 46 chassis with the S54 already in it but starting from ground zero.
Obviously when going to a 46 i'd have the unknown of potentially buying something where the subframe could rip out of the car and not to mention the other pitfalls that 46 M3s can have with them.
I dont want to be that guy but I see 36s going nearly as fast as 46s on the ring, and whilst I would mainly be staying in the UK for my track time, it still makes me wonder if theres any real benefit of a properly built 46 M3 over a properly built E36.
So i put it to you guys, what do you think? would I be stupid to start over in a 46? Or is the 36 chassis good enough to warrant me spending thousands to make it a proper tool?
I have a 36 M3 and have raced a 36 328 so I’m biased but………….
The biggest/only pace restriction on a 36 is tyre size as far as I can see. Pretty much everything else has been developed for the 36 in terms of powertrain, suspension etc. But if you want big widths the 46 accommodates better.
Possibly the 36 can be modified but I am not sure, possibly it doesn’t actually need the same width to do the same pace.
But 36s are still racing competitively against current machinery and 46s in power/weight classes, there’s not much else from the 90s that is.
The biggest/only pace restriction on a 36 is tyre size as far as I can see. Pretty much everything else has been developed for the 36 in terms of powertrain, suspension etc. But if you want big widths the 46 accommodates better.
Possibly the 36 can be modified but I am not sure, possibly it doesn’t actually need the same width to do the same pace.
But 36s are still racing competitively against current machinery and 46s in power/weight classes, there’s not much else from the 90s that is.
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