Trackday for beginner

[Gman85]

Hi.
I currently own a BMW 330ci Msport (e46) unmodified, and am desperate to take it out on a track day.
I have heard many here says that it is not a very good car on the track due to its technicalities and being more designed for the road. It is my only car at the moment and used for all business and social use within my life, so I am a little concerned for its reliabiity and costs once thrashed on the track for a while.
Does anyone have any experience/advice on the above as am very keen to start up trackdays using this vehicle if it worked well on a track and does not break the bank?

[sniff diesel]

If it's your first few track days days then I wouldn't worry as you're unlikely to be driving it so hard you'll break it at first, especially in the wet as that puts less strain on tyres/brakes/bushes etc as cornering speeeds are lower.

Get out there and do a couple of novice days, then if you enjoy it take it from there. If you wanted there's a lot you could do to the E46 and still keep it a nice daily driver.

[john_p]

Track driving is seriously hard on tyres, especially fronts. 18" tyres are not cheap, so if they are already low you'll probably need a new pair by the time you come home. If you get the habit you might even want to look at a grotty set of wheels+tyres on ebay (~£200) - swap the tyres before you go off (or even take them with you, 4 wheels will fit in a coupe, just!).

Give the brakes lots of opportunity to cool down (e.g. drive slowly on an in-lap and try to avoid braking for a lap)

I recommend Bedford, lots of grass runoff and only one armco'd/gravel trap corner.

[Richard-G]

it really brings home after tracking a car how much the brakes suffer, i dont think (maybe i dont try hard enough) i had ever experienced brake fade in normal day to day driving, its quite 'interesting' that first time you step on a fluffy pillow that used to be your brake pedal :s

[Gman85]

Ok, Thanks guys. So worth giving it a go then, and other than the obvious wear and tear on brakes tyres etc, nobody knows of any typical engine faults that i'm likely to expect?

As sniff diesel mentioned, there are some good mods for the 330 e46. Anyone got any tips...?

[scz4]

Gman85 said:

Ok, Thanks guys. So worth giving it a go then, and other than the obvious wear and tear on brakes tyres etc, nobody knows of any typical engine faults that i'm likely to expect?

As sniff diesel mentioned, there are some good mods for the 330 e46. Anyone got any tips...?

Your engine will be fine. These are very strong engines. Mine was supercharged to 360+bhp with standard internals and I never had any problems. Some engines are upto 440bhp.

G

[Slurms]

You might want to think about a brake pad upgrade and maybe get the fluid upgraded.

Standard 330 road pads are not going to hold up well to a day on the track.

I've seen 330s with cooked brakes after only a couple of laps of bedford.

[B3Svert]

Took my Alpina B3S (based on 330ci) to Silverstone a few months back, it was my first track day in this car and I was quite impressed given the extra lard of all the dead cows and the rag top.

Taking into consideration the extra weight of my car, fact it's a switch-tronic box instead of normal manual so far less engine braking and you can understand why I was not doing more than 5 laps at a time (Silverstone South). Unless you have modified your brakes, we have the same setup so I would just recommend you upgrade the brake fluid and ensure your discs/pads are all up to scratch. As someone else has said, you won't be going fast enough for long enough to be bothered by anything that isn't brake/tyre related so just enjoy it.

Brake fade was very evident after 7 hot laps. No problems following the day, but then again my car is very well maintained

Obligatory photo of car being spanked on-track:

[ccgoose]

have i seen above car in harpenden recently?

[Gman85]

Ok, thanks again for the advice so far guys. So im thinking a re-map and induction kit to start off, as those supercharges are way out of my price range at the mo!! Your talking up to 10k to make a serious difference and surely for that cost your better off getting an M3..? I do feel like the induction kits abit of a boy racer image though aswell so perhaps just a panel filter...??

Im going to be bluntly honest now because Im a shameless begginer, is there anyone out there with an e46 330 that does the trackdays, and wouldnt mind giving me a demonstration? I live in the surrey area so am fairly central

[john_p]

IMHO, brakes/pads aside, don't spend a penny until you've paid for some track tuition. Otherwise, you'll wonder why you get overtaken in cars with half the power of the 330 and you won't find it as fun. Do a few days, see what needs replacing (probably front tyres) then see if you fancy a bit more power.

[klarky]

just get out on track and take it easy your first time, ive just done my first one in my z4 and really enjoyed it, but im buying an e30 320 for track day use. im not going to mod it until things need replaced, but it also means as i get more experience ill get a better idea of whats needed. only things ill worry about to start with and looking after brakes and tyres.

[Gman85]

You will have so much fun in the e30!! A few friends of mine own the 320 and 325 and claim they are probably one of the best bmws to drive on a track. They recently did the Nurburgring and fully recommend it. Looking to get some track tuition in either a porche or elise for my 25th birthday so will probably head for the track after that.

[Mark_J_W]

I've taken my 330 on the track a couple of times now (once was the Nurburgring). The only issue I have had with it is brake fade, as others have said.

I think if I ever get serious then I will look at getting a second car specifically for track use, however for a few times a year the 330 is quite good - just make sure the DSC is off though!

[RMac]

My opinion is that you would be far better off hiring a car between you and a friend for the day. Bookatrack hire out Caterhams that give you more enjoyment in one lap than the Beemer would in a full day.

I run a M3 CSL and it's a fantastic car but will never give you the feedback that a lightweight car will. If you are only going on track a few times a year it is worth serious consideration. You need to consider that if you are on track driving hard that you may fry a set of disks and pads and potentially rub the sidewalls off a set of tyres.

I did a day at the ring and two at Spa recently and that was the end of a set a disks and pads and took a massive chunk out of £1k of tyres, a car weighing 1500kg just isn't going to work on track.