E46 325ti Track Car

[JNIOW]

Hi all, I'm building a track day car from an E46 325ti. Does any one here track one, and what camber / toe settings do you use. It's most definitely not a daily driver but I will need to drive to the circuits so a little compromise is necessary. It has BC BR coilovers with adjustable camber plates if that helps. TIA 👍

[Sf_Manta]

This is what i run (lower setup) on a 330i touring that's seen tracktime.

Would give you a good baseline at least, as it dials out the under-steer and so far, I've found has good balance front to rear.

[JNIOW]

That's what I'm looking for, a 'used' baseline is a great help, thank you.

[FairGame]

Get some photos up and some information interested to see this. I love the little compacts.

[No ID]

As above would love to see some pictures and some info regarding the build, I have a compact myself and love them, such a underrated car....
the 325ti that is

[JNIOW]

Just for you two; I've been lucky enough (pre recession ) to have 3 911's that were tracked / raced a bit, first a cooking 911SC, followed by a 993 with sports chassis, then a replica 1974 911 3.0RS built for Alan Minshaw, founder of Demon Tweeks, by Autofarm. Managed to run this to 3rd place in 2005 at Brands Hatch, then the recession took all my toys......

Moving on 10 or so years, having had many BMW's pre and post recession, inc 3 M3's, 1 of which I still have, I managed to find a pre-facelift 325ti 5 speed in tidy condition for not much money to turn into an advertising hoarding and track car for my business. I wanted to do most of the work myself, and I'm lucky to have mid-rise ramps at work to make doing so easier. The car was advertised with coilovers already fitted, but it was quickly apparent that there are 'coilovers, and coilovers' So the plan was to replace the Jom show only coilover suspension to something more suitable, strip out lots of the interior, lightweight seats, harnesses, roll cage, track suitable tyres and see how we got on.....sorry for lot's of pics, and some being the wrong way up



These are of the car up on the ramp to start work.


First up was some new rubber. Been thinking of trying Nangkang's, but these wheels with AD008R tyres came up on Ebay, so that sorted out the tyre issue




This is the interior stripped out so far, which amounted to around 90kgs. Seat was replaced with a Sparco seat and harness (temporary fitment pending cage arrival) and from the back now looks like this



Next up was some more suitable replacement shocks and springs against the Jom kit already fitted. Luckily I have a garage next door who works a lot on fast Ford's, and he suggested BC Racing Coilovers, which seemed OK to me, so that was next.







This is the rear spring and shock suspension installed, markedly different to the Jom kit.



This is the front coilover, again much different to the Jom kit, plus braided brake lines, with SRF600 fluid. I've also fitted Porterfield Carbon Kevlar pads all round, which I had on the 911RS, which I found worked really well with stock discs, and ensured that car wasn't 'over braked'. Hoping the same applies to the 325 ?



Next up was replacement of the existing air intake and filter with a K&N induction kit. Although there was some confusion over the suitability of the Demon Tweeks supplied kit, and their customer support was found wanting K&N weren't much help either, but I managed to get it to fit in the end.

And that's where we are right now. Future changes include a roll cage, swop out passenger seat, maybe re-chip the ECU, 4 wheel alignment, some racy corporate livery, and then get out on track.

Edited by JNIOW on Monday 11th November 17:36

[CaptainMorgan]

Nice, I bought a 325ti for the same purpose, also come on some budget coilovers. I've done a few track days as it is and they certainly show to be the weak link, it'll be interesting to see how you get on with the BC kit as they're on my list. I need to dump some weight too. In general though they are fantastic little cars, mine has taken a bit of a hammering and is still doing well, everyone who's had a go in it loves it!

[MrC986]

^ here’s a picture of our 325ti at Anglesey earlier this year. Ours is a later 6 speed on which we’ve put coil-overs on, changed brake fluid/front pads for uprated ones, fully serviced it (& changed the expansion tank) & added Yoko AD08r tyres as well as removing the original front/rear seats for a pair of Cobra Suzakas (bolted straight to the original mounting points with specific side mounts) with 4 point harnesses & finally ditched the space saver wheel & cradle. We’ve also acquired a set of road wheels to get to/from the track as I’ve previously had a puncture on the way to a track which ruined the day. Our plan is to try & do 4-5 days a year & to share the costs, although the little car will get a bit more stick as a consequence

[Cheapstraightsix]

Did around 13 track days in a year with my old one.
Was pretty heavily modified with M3 parts towards the end.

[MrC986]

Cheapstraightsix said:

Did around 13 track days in a year with my old one.
Was pretty heavily modified with M3 parts towards the end.

That looks like it’s being driven in a “spirited” fashion

[JNIOW]

MrC986 said:

^ here’s a picture of our 325ti at Anglesey earlier this year. Ours is a later 6 speed on which we’ve put coil-overs on, changed brake fluid/front pads for uprated ones, fully serviced it (& changed the expansion tank) & added Yoko AD08r tyres as well as removing the original front/rear seats for a pair of Cobra Suzakas (bolted straight to the original mounting points with specific side mounts) with 4 point harnesses & finally ditched the space saver wheel & cradle. We’ve also acquired a set of road wheels to get to/from the track as I’ve previously had a puncture on the way to a track which ruined the day. Our plan is to try & do 4-5 days a year & to share the costs, although the little car will get a bit more stick as a consequence

How did you manage to fit the seats ? I have a Sparco with standard Sparco side mounts and runners, and had to buy an additional bracket as the original mounting points are not level, and even that had to be 'adjusted' ! Which obviously compromises headroom. Do you run with standard camber and toe settings ? Looking good though

[MrC986]

JNIOW said:

How did you manage to fit the seats ? I have a Sparco with standard Sparco side mounts and runners, and had to buy an additional bracket as the original mounting points are not level, and even that had to be 'adjusted' ! Which obviously compromises headroom. Do you run with standard camber and toe settings ? Looking good though

I’m not using runners, just Cobra side mounts straight onto the original floor points for a nice low position (with the ability to change the base cushion for some slight height adjustment) - using the correct side mounts, the seats are hard onto the transmission tunnel for a straight driving position. I can’t comment on the camber/toe settings as a track specialist set it up (it’s not that extreme apparently) though I’m quite happy with it - it’s certainly firm