Where do you usually shave some weight out of an M3?

[panic]

I'm new of the M3 territory...I'm waiting my new M3 coupe' for end jan. Where are the areas where is more commonly possible to shave some weight out of an M3? Who are the (lightweight) part builders with better reputation among the marque enthusiasts? Thanks for the infos and support/Giuseppe

[belleair302]

The obvious areas to look at are the interior...seats are heavy, also the wheels. Bodywork, ie bonnet and bootlid, and then it is upto how much you want to remove and how much you want to spend.

DMS can help with the engine
CA Automotive for carbon fibre bodywork and styling
AC Schnitzer for performance parts
Mov'it for brake upgrades

[panic]

Thanks, appreciate it

[MPowerMark]

just kick out the missus!

[Neil.D]

The carpet weighs a ton too...!

[panic]

MPowerMark said:

just kick out the missus!

...sorry, the what??

[phatgixer]

panic said:

I'm new of the M3 territory...I'm waiting my new M3 coupe' for end jan. Where are the areas where is more commonly possible to shave some weight out of an M3? Who are the (lightweight) part builders with better reputation among the marque enthusiasts? Thanks for the infos and support/Giuseppe

I'm giving up pies.

[autotrader]

is this a new m3? what are you planning on doing to it? in an e36 (1992-1999)the air con and all its bits weigh a staggaring 150 kilos...to give you an idea how much 150 kilos is you cant lift it

[900T-R]

Unless BMW's engineers have mistaken the E36 M3 for a stretched limo and kitted it out with two seprate air con systems for front and rear passengers, its air con bits will weigh closer to 25 kgs than 150 - a lot closer in fact...

[m12_nathan]

The e46 aircon is supposed to be about 10-15Kg, 25-30 if you include the whole heater matrix (Figures from a guy who built a couple of race cars based on CSLs). Not really worth it unless you want rid of the whole heating system which I can't imagine wanting to do on a road going car?

[rassi]

If you want a lightweight car, buy one. If you want an M3, buy an M3

[900T-R]

But maybe the OP wants a lightweight M3?

[rassi]

900T-R said:

But maybe the OP wants a lightweight M3?

Then buy a CSL

[panic]

rassi said:

900T-R said:

But maybe the OP wants a lightweight M3?

Then buy a CSL

The csl will probably be on sale just before the E92 turns into another model and anyway not before 2 or 3 years from now...I dont want something out of the world, i just want an M3 without the amenities (A/C, power leather seats, power windows, etcetc) and just the thrills

[m12_nathan]

CSL should be late 2008 or early 2009.

Mules already out testing, videos of it at the ring are floating about too.

[iguana]

autotrader said:

is this a new m3? what are you planning on doing to it? in an e36 (1992-1999)the air con and all its bits weigh a staggaring 150 kilos...to give you an idea how much 150 kilos is you cant lift it

For some reason I have circa 27kg in my head for all the e36 air con gubbins, I've no facts to back it up but sure one of the race bods told me that or I read it on the e36 forum?

Sure you can get a 150kg loss, but only by ditching the full interior inc soundproofing & changing to buckets, infact tad more than 150.

Article on Martyn Bells e36 M2 in an old CCC reckoned from the cars elictrical loom alone they lost 19kg!! blimey.

An e36m3 can be taken down from its Autocar weighed road trim weight of 1520kg (1/2 tank of juice) to 1200kg on a full diet, heck ive seen (quoted) figs of 1100 kgs for some racers that are not tied to minumum weights for their series quoted.

[dan101smith]

panic said:

rassi said:

900T-R said:

But maybe the OP wants a lightweight M3?

Then buy a CSL

The csl will probably be on sale just before the E92 turns into another model and anyway not before 2 or 3 years from now...I dont want something out of the world, i just want an M3 without the amenities (A/C, power leather seats, power windows, etcetc) and just the thrills

And without a decent resale value? Can't see something like that holding it's value against a non-stripped M3, or against a CSL.

[900T-R]

dan101smith said:

And without a decent resale value? Can't see something like that holding it's value against a non-stripped M3, or against a CSL.

Depends on whether BMW commands a 20K premium for the factory stripped version again, though.

[taffyracer]

iguana said:

autotrader said:

is this a new m3? what are you planning on doing to it? in an e36 (1992-1999)the air con and all its bits weigh a staggaring 150 kilos...to give you an idea how much 150 kilos is you cant lift it

Article on Martyn Bells e36 M2 in an old CCC reckoned from the cars elictrical loom alone they lost 19kg!! blimey.

An e36m3 can be taken down from its Autocar weighed road trim weight of 1520kg (1/2 tank of juice) to 1200kg on a full diet, heck ive seen (quoted) figs of 1100 kgs for some racers that are not tied to minumum weights for their series quoted.

There is loads to be lost, E36's can be taken as low as 1075 and the E46 to around 1120kgs if you do it right, but then we're talking big bucks and only for race use really

[panic]

taffyracer said:

iguana said:

autotrader said:

is this a new m3? what are you planning on doing to it? in an e36 (1992-1999)the air con and all its bits weigh a staggaring 150 kilos...to give you an idea how much 150 kilos is you cant lift it

Article on Martyn Bells e36 M2 in an old CCC reckoned from the cars elictrical loom alone they lost 19kg!! blimey.

An e36m3 can be taken down from its Autocar weighed road trim weight of 1520kg (1/2 tank of juice) to 1200kg on a full diet, heck ive seen (quoted) figs of 1100 kgs for some racers that are not tied to minumum weights for their series quoted.

There is loads to be lost, E36's can be taken as low as 1075 and the E46 to around 1120kgs if you do it right, but then we're talking big bucks and only for race use really

I'd really appreciate if any of you had some site with a good write up detailing what and where to shave weight...For your info i've shaved, up to now, more then 800lbs fm my C3 vette going from 3.600lbs down to 2.770lbs.
i'm a big fan of lightweight, unfortunately these new high tech M3's seem to be the heaviest of the series...