Commander Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 At the weekend I picked up this little toy (the M3 that is, the Z is already my daily, and 10 points if you can guess what the black car is!?) 2004 E46 M3, SMG (I know, I know!...), partially stripped out, upgraded brakes (BMW 6 pots on huge CSL disks), BC BR coilovers, fibreglass boot, bucket seats, two other sets of wheels and tyres (it's on new R888s now, plus one set of slicks, plus another set of racing wets, all on 18s), a ridiculously loud exhaust. (offensively loud; the passenger / driver can't even shout over it at full chat), the rear sub-frame has already been done by BMW and the SMG pump, flywheel and clutch were all changed about 9 months ago along with the valve clearances being done. Oh, and it's already partially poly-bushed too, plus I've got a spare CSL-replica front bumber and some (not fitted) 5-point harnesses. I bought it off a guy on M3cutters, who also bought it off a guy on M3cutters. It's on about 110k miles but the service history is all there so I'm not worried about it, especially with the work that's already been done to it this year. Oh, and the paintwork is by no means great - a tiny bit of rust on a rear arch, and some pebble-dashing along the side from a gravel trap (or three!) All in, it cost me £8,750. So what's next? Aside from quietening the deafening exhaust (there's some kind of 'noisy valve' on it that's open; I need to close it to make it tolerable.) it doesn't really NEED much doing to it at the moment... it just needs driving. It drives really well, better than the Zed actually (which is stock, bar some HFCs & Milltek zorst) - not in terms of straight line performance, but the way it deals with lumps and bumps in the road, and the way it corners, is lovely. There are some things I need to do to it though; The seats (Cobra buckets) are a bit too narrow really and are not at all well positioned. The seat is on a slider but the angle and height of it is totally wrong, so that will need lowering and reclining a bit (the guy I bought it off was ~9 inches shorter than me). If changing the height / angle of the seats isn't enough, then I may very well be swapping them out for something a bit wider. (I'm just over 6ft 3 and weigh about 97kg, before you start with the fat jokes! :-p) The car doesn't have a cage fitted, so that also limits me to using the standard three-point seat belt from the factory. I'm umming and aaring about fitting a full / half / bolt-in / weld-in cage, but I've not made my mind up about that yet. I'm going to Abingdon in it on November 14th for a 'Limit Handling' day with Gary Marsh, which I'm quite looking forward to. I've already crashed cars at Donny (an Evo, off at Craners Curves, across the old hair pin and in to the tyres after the big gravel trap) and at the Nurburgring (a track-prep'd Suzuki Swift, under-steered off at the last corner) so having bought a hugely capable car, I'm going to invest in some driving training as I can't keep crashing cars... it's expensive and bad for my health! I'm not that bad a driver really, I just have trouble distinguishing between 99% committed and 101% committed! If anybody else can suggest some other track-driver training days, I'm all ears - pretty sure I won't turn in to Lewis Hamilton after just one day, sadly, so I'd like to do a few - money well spent I hope. Any body going on any track days this year? I was just looking at Hullavington Airfield as it's not that far away from me (and has lots of run off!) - anybody ever been? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMballistic Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 (edited) Sounds cool Commander and would love to hear that exhaust ~ just curious to how loud it can actually be. I'd definitely get a weld in cage if it's going to be a dedicated track car and a half cage would probably be more than good enough. Won't add too much weight either then. Edited October 13, 2014 by GMballistic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WINKJ Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 vw beetle... black car Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 Andy Walsh, Car Limits. Top bloke, he'll help you out. Let me guess, you got caught out by the camber change on the last left of Craners, which spat you out across the old hairpin? Nearly did that myself a few times on Saturday! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commander Posted October 13, 2014 Author Share Posted October 13, 2014 Sounds cool Commander and would love to hear that exhaust ~ just curious to how loud it can actually be. I'd definitely get a weld in cage if it's going to be a dedicated track car and a half cage would probably be more than good enough. Won't add too much weight either then. This was exactly my thinking about the cage. And I don't have to faff around ripping the dash out either. I'll see if I can get a recording of the zorst, but unless your speakers go up to 12, they won't be loud enough! vw beetle... black car pfff.... correct at the first guess! You're not allowed to play any more Andy Walsh, Car Limits. Top bloke, he'll help you out. Let me guess, you got caught out by the camber change on the last left of Craners, which spat you out across the old hairpin? Nearly did that myself a few times on Saturday! Andy Walsh - thanks Ekona, I'll look him up. Spot on about Donny, though it was complicated by a Scooby I was far too close to jamming on his anchors at a weird point (just as he was exiting the last left-hand curve), i left the track to the right, across the wet grass in my A048s, nearly t-boned him as he existed the old hair pin as I went across the track at 90degrees to it, then i proceeded to skip and spin across the gravel trap, hitting the tyre wall side on, just near the marshall's post, and writing the car off Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMballistic Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 Sounds cool Commander and would love to hear that exhaust ~ just curious to how loud it can actually be. I'd definitely get a weld in cage if it's going to be a dedicated track car and a half cage would probably be more than good enough. Won't add too much weight either then. This was exactly my thinking about the cage. And I don't have to faff around ripping the dash out either. I'll see if I can get a recording of the zorst, but unless your speakers go up to 12, they won't be loud enough! Funnily enough my speakers go up to 120% when on VLC player which isn't even a real percentage imo so they should be loud enough to handle it. Sounds like this is going to be an interesting track build. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brillomaster Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 Me, Will and Ken have been tracking an old 3 series for about a year and a half now - been all over the country with it. Started with an E36 328i, now we're on an E46 330ci (cant afford an M3!) in terms of handling balance, we find out cars understeer at the limit in the dry, so look at geometry of front wheels and tyre widths front and rear to try and get back to a neutral style. I imagine if you've bought a track car it will be running a square setup already, rather than the staggered setup it left the factory with. also when the back does let go in the wet, its quite easy to gather it up and correct it - certainly not snappy at the limit - although slicks will let go quicker and with less warning than road tyres! also, we've just been mounting the rear harnesses to the rear seatbelt mounting points... its a bit of an angle, but we've never had a problem with it... we cant afford to put a cage in it! as for hullavington, its ok, if you like terrorising cones. personally we've got bored of airfields now, and only do proper circuits. would recommend you make a visit to Bedford if you want to see what the cars like. only the area around the pits has anything to hit, the rest is like an airfield, but it has actual corners and kerbs to enjoy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commander Posted October 13, 2014 Author Share Posted October 13, 2014 Me, Will and Ken have been tracking an old 3 series for about a year and a half now - been all over the country with it. Started with an E36 328i, now we're on an E46 330ci (cant afford an M3!) in terms of handling balance, we find out cars understeer at the limit in the dry, so look at geometry of front wheels and tyre widths front and rear to try and get back to a neutral style. I imagine if you've bought a track car it will be running a square setup already, rather than the staggered setup it left the factory with. also when the back does let go in the wet, its quite easy to gather it up and correct it - certainly not snappy at the limit - although slicks will let go quicker and with less warning than road tyres! also, we've just been mounting the rear harnesses to the rear seatbelt mounting points... its a bit of an angle, but we've never had a problem with it... we cant afford to put a cage in it! as for hullavington, its ok, if you like terrorising cones. personally we've got bored of airfields now, and only do proper circuits. would recommend you make a visit to Bedford if you want to see what the cars like. only the area around the pits has anything to hit, the rest is like an airfield, but it has actual corners and kerbs to enjoy. Aah, glad I'm not the only one here on team BMW! I was originally looking at something a lot cheaper than an M3, but I won some money on the lottery and got a promotion at work, so I figure, why not? The previous owner said he tried a square setup and it wasn't for him - preferred having some understeer apparently(?!) - so I've got a staggered setup currently. Or at least the R888s are staggered, I didn't check the slicks / wets if I'm honest. I was warned off doing that with the 5-points - something about risk of collapsing the seat and/or over-stressing the anchor bolts because of the angles involved. Given my record for hitting things I thought I'd play it safe for now. It probably will get caged, but not until I've done at least a half a dozen days in it and I'm sure it's something I want to keep doing. To be honest, I can live with terrorising cones for a bit. I've done Bedford, Donny and the 'ring as a driver and been a passenger at Brands as well. The undulation and camber changes make for some great driving, but I want to build up slowly before I even start thinking about paddock hill bend in the wet! I've got this Gary Marsh day coming up, might do a day with Andy Walsh as well... Some drive training and some seat time spent at nice flat / lots of run off places like Abingdon, Hullavington, Bedford, etc.. will hopefully see me feeling more confident in the car when it (or I) are close to the limits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brillomaster Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 oh definitely, if i had the money an E46 M3 would be my ideal track car i think, fair play to you for going for it! in terms of handling balance, just have to drive it and see how you get on - we were finding that we could turn in and clip apexes just fine, but then when it comes to getting on the power again, the front just starts washing wide, which is frustrating and not what you want from a RWD car! but we have made precisely zero dynamic mods to the 330ci so far (only been on two trackdays with it, the old E36 managed 12). i imagine if its set up as a track car it will probably be plenty grippy enough. our plan in the not to distant future is 245/35/18 Federal 595 RS-Rs front and rear, and then get the alignment sorted for zero front toe. fair enough staying on airfields - although avoid Keevil as its only got 4 corners, no challenge at all. Snetterton is a good starter circuit as well, good amount of run off. Cadwell and Brands, maybe wait until you have more experience! Castle combe is down south as well, again good track for learning, we had great fun there in our E36 on our second ever trackday, taking the first corner flat at around 90mph! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WINKJ Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 First guess... Nailed it! Where's my 10 points sir!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commander Posted October 13, 2014 Author Share Posted October 13, 2014 **10 man-points to WINKJ** Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brillomaster Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 man-points? he correctly identified a VW Beetle, one of the girliest cars there has ever been. hand them back! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMballistic Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 man-points? he correctly identified a VW Beetle, one of the girliest cars there has ever been. hand them back! That's pretty true actually, ...where else do you see a car with a dedicated flower holder. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jdm owner Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 My mate has just bought a m3 cabby on a 04 plate 345bhp, can't believe a 3.2 is quicker than the zed.. Tbh feel like selling up and going over the dark side ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commander Posted October 13, 2014 Author Share Posted October 13, 2014 I'm hoping the 650+ bhp of my two cars outweighs the Beetle's flower power (though it's a great little, easy car to drive I must admit!) M3's a nice car, but I think the running costs are a bit higher than the Z, and if you want something decent, it'll cost decent HR money... I've always fancied one and from the little driving I've done so far, it's a more mature car of the two - nicer cab, less road noise, handles well, etc... It does look boring next to the Z tho! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zeezeebaba Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 Just sold mine, how's the rear subframe look? Most have had reinforcement done but worth checking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will370z Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 Good luck with it, bet the M3 will be good fun. You should join Andy, ken and I for some fun on track. I may steer clear for a few laps though because of the history and all that, wouldn't fancy you pranging our new Beemer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarnie Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 My mate has just bought a m3 cabby on a 04 plate 345bhp, can't believe a 3.2 is quicker than the zed.. Tbh feel like selling up and going over the dark side ? I have an M3 Vert for sale soon ha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarnie Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 Just sold mine, how's the rear subframe look? Most have had reinforcement done but worth checking. From the third line of the very first post; "the rear sub-frame has already been done by BMW " Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zeezeebaba Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 (edited) Just sold mine, how's the rear subframe look? Most have had reinforcement done but worth checking. From the third line of the very first post; "the rear sub-frame has already been done by BMW " Apologies yes I saw that, my question was "how does it look". Just because it's been done it doesn't mean it's in good order, some repairs are only done by the injection of resin in the cavities aka BMW and some dealers are far from competent . These sometimes don't hold and I would hate to think the stresses of track work could lead the OP into trouble. Edited October 13, 2014 by Zeezeebaba Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjt Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 If you are unable to put the full harnesses in for now, I would say that a CG Lock is definitely worth a try, especially given its price. I personally thought it made a massive difference compared to the standard seatbelt in terms of holding you in place, obviously nothing is going to be as good as proper harnesses though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commander Posted October 14, 2014 Author Share Posted October 14, 2014 Just sold mine, how's the rear subframe look? Most have had reinforcement done but worth checking. From the third line of the very first post; "the rear sub-frame has already been done by BMW " Apologies yes I saw that, my question was "how does it look". Just because it's been done it doesn't mean it's in good order, some repairs are only done by the injection of resin in the cavities aka BMW and some dealers are far from competent . These sometimes don't hold and I would hate to think the stresses of track work could lead the OP into trouble. Thanks for the concern, but it was a full-on drop everything off, chop it out and start again job by BMW, and it wasn't all that long ago... Got a certificate and everything! Had a quick look to double check and it all seems fine. If you are unable to put the full harnesses in for now, I would say that a CG Lock is definitely worth a try, especially given its price. I personally thought it made a massive difference compared to the standard seatbelt in terms of holding you in place, obviously nothing is going to be as good as proper harnesses though! To be honest, the buckets are so narrow that I could probably drive it around a track quite comfortably without any seat belt on at all! I think I'll give the CG Lock a miss and just save up a few pennies for a half-cage and some nice 3" harnesses... and maybe some wider seats! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commander Posted October 17, 2014 Author Share Posted October 17, 2014 Took the car for another drive last night, actually it's only the second time I've driven it, just as a bit of a shake down and to see what's what... interesting drive! Bad things; - Outside air temp gauge is bust, keeps flashing betweeen -40 and +50. Seems a common problem on the E46 range and I've got a new one on order for about £6. - TPMS alarm went off. TPMS is based on the ABS sensors and the tyre pressures (and sizes!) are all ok. Hopefully it isn't a bust ABS sensor. I've now found out what the reset procedure is so I'll try clearing it first and see what happens. If it's an ABS Sensor problem (though there are no ABS alarms on the dash) I'll need to do some research so I can find out which sensor it is. - The throw of the head lights is really short, so I need to work out how to adjust slightly Good things; - I managed to lower the seating position without getting my spanners out. It's got buckets so when I went to just take the padded seat out, I found the previous (much shorter than me) owner had packed a bunch of towels under there to boost up his seating position. Towels now removed, seat fully back, and steering wheel adjusted and it's a lot better, but I still need to get my tools out as it's not perfect yet. The seat is also off-centre which is a bit annoying. - It really does handle well! - The noisy zorst I mentioned in a previous post is because it's a 'Rogue Engineering Cross Pipe'. I tried recording it on my iPhone but it's too loud so it's all distorted. I'll wrap it in some socks or something and try again when I'm out in it next. To do; - Fix outside air temp - Identify TPMS problem, and fix - Check brakes, oil, water, etc and change / top-up as needs be - Adjust seat - Quieten the zorst - Enjoy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMballistic Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 Sounds good Commander ~ just had a look online at that exhaust system. Does yours have the EVC valve I wonder? As an added feature, we've incorporated an external "dump" at the end of the X-pipe for total user controllable sound. The optional EVC valve allows the user to control the exhaust sound from stock (completely closed) to racebike loud (completely open) from within the inside of the vehicle. The user has the option of any variable position (partially open), controlling the exhaust volume and flow. It takes less than 3 seconds to fully open to fully closed. You can see in the video below that the open & close control is hidden near this owners cup holder. Source: http://www.rogueengineering.com/rogue/E46M3/XPIPE.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commander Posted October 17, 2014 Author Share Posted October 17, 2014 No electronic valve on mine sadly! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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