Looking for an E46 M3 Track Day Car

[Dan-Fresh]

Hi all

I’m considering the above, I’ve had various m3’s before and have pretty much convinced myself to buy one as a track day car.
2 friends have the same car and have told me to try and buy one that’s already been track prepared.
My question is, what are the big costs to converting one, so I can try and find one with thise bits already done.
I’d guess brakes, clutch and engine work but would appreciate any owners knowledge?
Thanks in advance.

[NIgt3]

Hi, I've got one myself and this is the 2nd one I've built. It really depends on how far you want to go, but in my opinion the necessity's are, coilovers £2000+, brakes front and rear £2500, and other bits of suspension arms and bushes about £1000. For me if the base car is in good condition to start with the above will get you going quite well, but I'd say you'll end up spending a lot more! At the minute I've spent 26k on bits alone not inc labour or the car, but there is some stuff in there that you don't really need. Without doubt the cheapest way of doing it is waiting for a track car to come up for sale, even if maybe it's not your perfect spec there'll be a lot of stuff you'd keep on it anyway.

[Dan-Fresh]

Cheers for the info, what would you say are the best brakes and suspension for the m3?

[NIgt3]

Brakes = AP's or Alcon, ( my 1st one had alcons this one has ap's)
Suspension = anything's better than standard for a track car, my 1st one had Nitron 3ways, this one has ohlins road & track, both very good and for me I'm not a suspension guru so the ohlins are easier to setup, if I'd to do it again I'd prob go for intrax with their arc system.

[NAS90]

I'm not a fan of buying someone else's track hack, I find most of them are being sold for a reason and often because they are past their best. I've built a few now and with some care it need not be overly expensive; too many people spend a fortune making their track cars look great and have big BHP dyno figures without a chassis set up (or the driving skills) to handle it, but if all you are looking for is a fast and rewarding track toy you don't need bling and chassis set up will make more difference than an extra 50bhp.

For me the conversion priorities are safety and chassis set up, hence

1. Bolt in Cage, preferably full, but rear only works & include the rear suspension turret brace (Safety Devices)
2. Decent seat and 6 point harness
3. Brake upgrade & race brake fluid
4. Suspension upgrade to adjustable coil overs & get a good alignment set up.
5. Decent track focused tyres

Can be done on an E46 for around £6K; i wouldn't touch the engine and gearbox initially, extra power is useless until both driver and the chassis set up can make use of it. There are decent manual/ coupe base cars around for as little as £6,500 so such a project is relatively affordable.