A Good Chassis, and a Divisive Engine. The American M3.
Discussion
CHAOS REIGNS!
Thought it was worth writing a thread about this ongoing adventure.
So, here's how it all started. An immaculate E46 M3 in the best colour; imola red. Manual, just as god would want and with nigh on every option ticked:



First thing was first. Some grippy Federal 595 RSRs, Black grilles, Depo indicators, to modernize the look a touch, and Schirmer spec KW V3s. I actually bought the dampers about a year before I bought the car haha!



Then I decided I needed some CSL bits...

I then I finally decided on the wheels I needed to get the look I want and the lightness/strength for track work. 18x10J et25 Enkei NT03s in conjunction with 265/35s all round for ludicrous turn in and grip.


Once these were on it was time for proper geo and full corner waiting with my fat ass in the seat and a full tank...

Not bad.
I really splurged on the OEM boot but the fitment on other parts I've seen is pretty poor and the added lift reduction is probably something I'll need.



So that's basically how it sat around a year ago. I then got the following bits to go on. Geoff Steel carbon wings, Yellow 8 pot monoblock Ksports with Pagid RS29s and PF discs, Stud conversion and pretty bolts and 20mm rear spacers(More camber when new GS arms go on):





The car went in with Craig at Dynotorque for a decent chassis refresh/upgrade! Everything was going great and the car felt sweet as a nut.
Bits included:
Replace all bushes with Powerflex poly gear.
Repair and strengthen diff mounting points on the chassis.
Fit 2 new driveshafts and ABS sensors.
Re-bush gear shifter.
Fit CSL steering rack and tie rods and fit new castor bushes to bottom arms.
Replace front and rear brake hardlines.
Remove and rebuild/revalve dampers.
Vibratecnic engine mounts.
Alloy camber arms.
Then the proper test:

Ultimately the plan was always to strip and cage it, do proper aero and fit a V8. E9x V8 with FI or a LS I didn't know. I love the car but it does need more power ultimately. I want to be able to chase 458s and GT3s without too much bother. It's a lofty goal obviously, but I'd rather aim high and fail than settle for the boring.
So here's how it sat after that bout of work and a little jaunt into Wales...




Some inspiration I got sent somewhere along the way:


Then I went to the Nurburgring.


Here is my lap video.
Obviously I would have liked to go quicker in trip 1 but I am happy being into mid 9s. Starting to put together more and more of the track and hopefully will click next time.
Damp conditions and lack of knowledge were incredibly intimidating. I think I did go faster on a lap afterwards but not filmed so ignore.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_AnA-04HDo
Saw some insane other bits and pieces out there. Got merked by a Gumpert out of the karrousel one lap which was awesome.






Also got to do a bunch of laps with this fella in a Schirmer E92. 7s all day long. Overtaking literally everything. Bonkers bonkers cars. Guy daily drives a Speciale and said this is different league.

Then I did a few more track days in the UK and this happened...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U77AR_don4U
A rod got upset and decided it wanted to see the world hahaha.




This was chasing a 458 challenge for about 5 laps. So at least it was an amazing way to go!
I also added seats, harnesses and a nice wheel for the last track day.

But then since it blew up I went fully mental and ordered the following parts...








So, that's all sat at the insanely talented Craig's waiting to go in. And that brings us to today...

She's gone to join all of her new parts and become a ridiculous, phenomenal Frankenstein of a car... Stay tuned! I tried to keep it as brief as possible, but realise this is quite long, haha!
You can also check out some of Craig's work here:
http://www.speedhunters.com/2015/03/faster-than-a-...
That was his daily. Hahaha.
And the latest project, which is sure to divide opinion. A 997 with a turbo LS3:
https://www.facebook.com/DynoTorque/videos/9615428...
Hahaha I love cars
Thought it was worth writing a thread about this ongoing adventure.
So, here's how it all started. An immaculate E46 M3 in the best colour; imola red. Manual, just as god would want and with nigh on every option ticked:



First thing was first. Some grippy Federal 595 RSRs, Black grilles, Depo indicators, to modernize the look a touch, and Schirmer spec KW V3s. I actually bought the dampers about a year before I bought the car haha!



Then I decided I needed some CSL bits...

I then I finally decided on the wheels I needed to get the look I want and the lightness/strength for track work. 18x10J et25 Enkei NT03s in conjunction with 265/35s all round for ludicrous turn in and grip.


Once these were on it was time for proper geo and full corner waiting with my fat ass in the seat and a full tank...

Not bad.
I really splurged on the OEM boot but the fitment on other parts I've seen is pretty poor and the added lift reduction is probably something I'll need.



So that's basically how it sat around a year ago. I then got the following bits to go on. Geoff Steel carbon wings, Yellow 8 pot monoblock Ksports with Pagid RS29s and PF discs, Stud conversion and pretty bolts and 20mm rear spacers(More camber when new GS arms go on):





The car went in with Craig at Dynotorque for a decent chassis refresh/upgrade! Everything was going great and the car felt sweet as a nut.
Bits included:
Replace all bushes with Powerflex poly gear.
Repair and strengthen diff mounting points on the chassis.
Fit 2 new driveshafts and ABS sensors.
Re-bush gear shifter.
Fit CSL steering rack and tie rods and fit new castor bushes to bottom arms.
Replace front and rear brake hardlines.
Remove and rebuild/revalve dampers.
Vibratecnic engine mounts.
Alloy camber arms.
Then the proper test:

Ultimately the plan was always to strip and cage it, do proper aero and fit a V8. E9x V8 with FI or a LS I didn't know. I love the car but it does need more power ultimately. I want to be able to chase 458s and GT3s without too much bother. It's a lofty goal obviously, but I'd rather aim high and fail than settle for the boring.
So here's how it sat after that bout of work and a little jaunt into Wales...




Some inspiration I got sent somewhere along the way:


Then I went to the Nurburgring.


Here is my lap video.
Obviously I would have liked to go quicker in trip 1 but I am happy being into mid 9s. Starting to put together more and more of the track and hopefully will click next time.
Damp conditions and lack of knowledge were incredibly intimidating. I think I did go faster on a lap afterwards but not filmed so ignore.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_AnA-04HDo
Saw some insane other bits and pieces out there. Got merked by a Gumpert out of the karrousel one lap which was awesome.






Also got to do a bunch of laps with this fella in a Schirmer E92. 7s all day long. Overtaking literally everything. Bonkers bonkers cars. Guy daily drives a Speciale and said this is different league.

Then I did a few more track days in the UK and this happened...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U77AR_don4U
A rod got upset and decided it wanted to see the world hahaha.




This was chasing a 458 challenge for about 5 laps. So at least it was an amazing way to go!
I also added seats, harnesses and a nice wheel for the last track day.

But then since it blew up I went fully mental and ordered the following parts...








So, that's all sat at the insanely talented Craig's waiting to go in. And that brings us to today...

She's gone to join all of her new parts and become a ridiculous, phenomenal Frankenstein of a car... Stay tuned! I tried to keep it as brief as possible, but realise this is quite long, haha!
You can also check out some of Craig's work here:
http://www.speedhunters.com/2015/03/faster-than-a-...
That was his daily. Hahaha.
And the latest project, which is sure to divide opinion. A 997 with a turbo LS3:
https://www.facebook.com/DynoTorque/videos/9615428...
Hahaha I love cars

stewjohnst said:
Do my eyes decieve me or is that a gold Mk2 Cavalier / Ascona behind the KTM in the photos above?
You've not been to the Ring then? 
I went many many times back in the pre-TG days, and invariably one of the quickest cars on any day would be a shonky-looking, locally-registered old GM product from the 80s or 90s
frankenstein12 said:
So buy a nice car and ruin it.. class
Why not buy one that needed tlc and turn that into a track car?
...oh great. Another boring person on their high horse telling other people what to do with their cars...Why not buy one that needed tlc and turn that into a track car?
His money, his car, and his vision. With this attitude everyone would be rolling around in factory standard boring cars.... Some people have no vision...
Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff