E46 M3 - daily-ish track-ish
Discussion
That's a relief! My mechanic reports that this one's a good-un, obviously doesn't mean nothing's going to crop up in future but it's in good condition and currently needs nothing doing to it. Phew.
Some brake porn, feeble little single piston calipers have had a *slight* upgrade, the new CSL discs are only marginally larger than the originals:
A bit snug under the 18" wheels but a 13mm spacer gives decent clearance.
Some brake porn, feeble little single piston calipers have had a *slight* upgrade, the new CSL discs are only marginally larger than the originals:
A bit snug under the 18" wheels but a 13mm spacer gives decent clearance.
Done a bit of work on the M3 since my last update. First I bedded in the track pads - bit different to bedding in normal pads, none of this "drive gently for a few hundred miles" guff here.
25 four to five second firm applications of the brakes to bring the temperature progressively up, "Pads smoking during the cool-down is not a cause for concern."
Was actually quite good fun, if a bit smelly. Hopefully the pads are correctly cured now and they'll stand up to track abuse, will find out on Friday!
I'd been having my usual "tall guy, long body, short legs" issues with headroom when wearing a helmet and after searching around for a solution the cheapest way seemed to be to replace the electric adjust M3 seats with a manual set from a lower spec car. I found a complete E46 coupe interior for £100 from a local breaker and set about cleaning the fairly manky seats. After a wash followed by a couple of passes with a steam cleaner they were acceptable so having dried them out this happened yesterday:
After a good hoover, and the recovery of £3.54 in change from down the side of the seat, I put the "new" seats in. They don't look anywhere near as nice, but I actually prefer them to sit in. The M3 seats feel just a bit over-padded to me, and you certainly can't accuse these of that!
But, did they actually work? Well, yes, to a point. The change in headroom is marginal at best, no more than a couple of cm, but even little changes can make all the difference. I'm still not 100% happy with the track driving position but it's much better than it was and I feel like I'll be comfortable driving the car. I'd still like the steering wheel to come a bit closer to me but if it's an issue that's something that can be sorted out.
It'll be interesting to see how I feel after the first track day, will I be happy with the car or will I be wanting to take it further towards being a track day toy than a daily driver? There are options out there which work on track and keep a civilised road ride too, for example Ohlins Road and Track coilovers would match the brief but oooooof..... there's a price tag!
Whatever I do I'd want to be easily reversible. A lesson I learned from my previous track cars was it's much cheaper to buy a ready-done car, so when selling it's much better to return the base car to OEM spec and sell the upgrades separately.
Anyway, this is all getting very ahead of reality, got my first M3 track day at Combe on Friday. Hopefully fun times ahead
25 four to five second firm applications of the brakes to bring the temperature progressively up, "Pads smoking during the cool-down is not a cause for concern."
Was actually quite good fun, if a bit smelly. Hopefully the pads are correctly cured now and they'll stand up to track abuse, will find out on Friday!
I'd been having my usual "tall guy, long body, short legs" issues with headroom when wearing a helmet and after searching around for a solution the cheapest way seemed to be to replace the electric adjust M3 seats with a manual set from a lower spec car. I found a complete E46 coupe interior for £100 from a local breaker and set about cleaning the fairly manky seats. After a wash followed by a couple of passes with a steam cleaner they were acceptable so having dried them out this happened yesterday:
After a good hoover, and the recovery of £3.54 in change from down the side of the seat, I put the "new" seats in. They don't look anywhere near as nice, but I actually prefer them to sit in. The M3 seats feel just a bit over-padded to me, and you certainly can't accuse these of that!
But, did they actually work? Well, yes, to a point. The change in headroom is marginal at best, no more than a couple of cm, but even little changes can make all the difference. I'm still not 100% happy with the track driving position but it's much better than it was and I feel like I'll be comfortable driving the car. I'd still like the steering wheel to come a bit closer to me but if it's an issue that's something that can be sorted out.
It'll be interesting to see how I feel after the first track day, will I be happy with the car or will I be wanting to take it further towards being a track day toy than a daily driver? There are options out there which work on track and keep a civilised road ride too, for example Ohlins Road and Track coilovers would match the brief but oooooof..... there's a price tag!
Whatever I do I'd want to be easily reversible. A lesson I learned from my previous track cars was it's much cheaper to buy a ready-done car, so when selling it's much better to return the base car to OEM spec and sell the upgrades separately.
Anyway, this is all getting very ahead of reality, got my first M3 track day at Combe on Friday. Hopefully fun times ahead
That's in-progress too, regular gym sessions etc - at the moment the easiest way to take weight out of my cars is to put another driver in 
First M3 trackday done, and I've got to say I finally "get" the M3 thing. Always liked them, always wanted to try one, was very much enjoying owning one, but still couldn't quite put my finger on why they got so much adulation.
Yesterday I drove to the track in a very comfortable, refined, quick and relatively unobtrusive road car. Then I drove round the track all day in a really fun car that despite it's weight was more than at home on a circuit. Then I drove home, in that same comfortable, refined package that I'd had on the way to the track.
It really can do it all. Long trip you want to do in comfort? M3. Going out for a fun drive on the road? M3. Hooning round a track? M3. If it was an estate it would genuinely be the only car I'd ever need.
I was expecting to come away from the first trackday with a list of changes I want to do, but to be honest it felt great. I'd like to make some geo changes to give the front end a bit more bite but generally the stock suspension held up really well. I was expecting it to be a bit overwhelmed given I was running AR-1 track tyres but although there was obviously some body roll it was fine.
The SMG 'box worked incredibly well on track too, with the CSL downshift rev-matching software on it even a clot like me struggled to unsettle the car during braking.
All in all, I'm happy
Yesterday I drove to the track in a very comfortable, refined, quick and relatively unobtrusive road car. Then I drove round the track all day in a really fun car that despite it's weight was more than at home on a circuit. Then I drove home, in that same comfortable, refined package that I'd had on the way to the track.
It really can do it all. Long trip you want to do in comfort? M3. Going out for a fun drive on the road? M3. Hooning round a track? M3. If it was an estate it would genuinely be the only car I'd ever need.
I was expecting to come away from the first trackday with a list of changes I want to do, but to be honest it felt great. I'd like to make some geo changes to give the front end a bit more bite but generally the stock suspension held up really well. I was expecting it to be a bit overwhelmed given I was running AR-1 track tyres but although there was obviously some body roll it was fine.
The SMG 'box worked incredibly well on track too, with the CSL downshift rev-matching software on it even a clot like me struggled to unsettle the car during braking.
All in all, I'm happy
For the weight they are pretty good on track eh?
Mine's near enough stock as you know and TBH it's superb. The package as a whole works really well. It could do the long distance cruises and show people up on track!
The CSL software transformed my 'box. S5 Manual is alot quicker! Even S4 Auto on track is something. Yup, I am not the best of drivers! That said I was far from the slowest car when I had a 172 Clio some maybe I am being harsh....
Mine's near enough stock as you know and TBH it's superb. The package as a whole works really well. It could do the long distance cruises and show people up on track!
The CSL software transformed my 'box. S5 Manual is alot quicker! Even S4 Auto on track is something. Yup, I am not the best of drivers! That said I was far from the slowest car when I had a 172 Clio some maybe I am being harsh....
Edited by SebringMan on Monday 15th May 18:56
Certainly are! The weight makes the biggest difference in corner entry, having to manage the understeer there as much as I do in the M3 is new to me, but apart from that it's got a really nice balance to it.
Just booked Rockingham for the 11th, never been there before so should be fun.
Just booked Rockingham for the 11th, never been there before so should be fun.
Haven’t updated for ages, very little has changed.
Did the Rockingham track day and was once again really surprised by the amount of understeer - in the tighter, more technical part of the track I just couldn’t get the nose turned in as I wanted. A bit of tuition showed the problem was actually the driver - I was way too used to driving small, relatively light FWD hatches that you grab by the scruff of the neck and chuck into the corner.
Once I started to use the weight transfer to my advantage instead of fighting it the feel of the car was completely transformed and I had a great day.
Since then the M3 has been used to commute one day a week and for a few weekend blasts. The BBK was definitely a great investment, the brakes are so positive and easy to modulate too that they’re a pleasure to use and the stopping power is huge.
I’ve got what will probably be the final TD of the year booked at Bedford in a few weeks time so it will be interesting to see how that works out now that I’ve got a handle on the car and am going to a track I know well.
There are no plans for any further mods. I’m happy with the car as it currently is so the next work will be an oil service and the MoT early in 2018 and then probably put the car on the market and move on to something else - variety is the spice of life
Did the Rockingham track day and was once again really surprised by the amount of understeer - in the tighter, more technical part of the track I just couldn’t get the nose turned in as I wanted. A bit of tuition showed the problem was actually the driver - I was way too used to driving small, relatively light FWD hatches that you grab by the scruff of the neck and chuck into the corner.
Once I started to use the weight transfer to my advantage instead of fighting it the feel of the car was completely transformed and I had a great day.
Since then the M3 has been used to commute one day a week and for a few weekend blasts. The BBK was definitely a great investment, the brakes are so positive and easy to modulate too that they’re a pleasure to use and the stopping power is huge.
I’ve got what will probably be the final TD of the year booked at Bedford in a few weeks time so it will be interesting to see how that works out now that I’ve got a handle on the car and am going to a track I know well.
There are no plans for any further mods. I’m happy with the car as it currently is so the next work will be an oil service and the MoT early in 2018 and then probably put the car on the market and move on to something else - variety is the spice of life
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