Track forum general chit chat.

Even after 6 years of ownership improving and tracking the car, I think it’s one of the best dual duty car available in that price range. It has everything, involved feeling, sound, can be relatively fast even in streetable trim.

Considered gutting it a some point to make it more nimble but I think would enjoy the car less. Even gutted it would still be heavy.

Also considering a fully built e36 s54 lately. That would be faster and more fun on track for the same money or less, but doesn’t have the same character as the e92.

P1zzaboy wrote

Also considering a fully built e36 s54 lately. That would be faster and more fun on track for the same money or less, but doesn’t have the same character as the e92.

I would not count on an S54 E36 to be faster than an E92... I run a 1 series with E92 running gear so even with E36 fitment (skinny) wheels and tires my car is substantially faster than any S54 E36 I've come across, even ones with several hundred pound advantages.

That said, The E36 (especially with an S54) certainly has it's charms.

amg6975 wrote

I would not count on an S54 E36 to be faster than an E92... I run a 1 series with E92 running gear so even with E36 fitment (skinny) wheels and tires my car is substantially faster than any S54 E36 I've come across, even ones with several hundred pound advantages.

That said, The E36 (especially with an S54) certainly has it's charms.

An S54 E36 should be as fast, or maybe slightly faster than an E92. Assuming similar prep and aero levels. You'd be looking at the same power to weight, but a chassis that's around ~500-800lbs lighter. Even on 'skinny' 255s on a stock body car, you have a similar contact patch size to weight ratio as an E92. If you run a wide body or flares, which many S54 E36s do, you have more contact patch for the weight than an E92.

S54 swapped e36 can easily be as fast as an e92. We have one running in GTS3 along with non swapped e46s, swapped S65 e46 and even a super gutted s52 e36 wide body on 315s. All fall into the 10:1 power to weight class.

edit: my e92 could be a bit faster by removing ballast to keep my car in GTS3 class. I could drop 200lbs but wouldnt fit in my class anymore (without a detune). I run on 315s with the widebody setup.

Cmassey3 wrote

What keeps y'all tracking this platform in 2024?

I've been bouncing around a few ideas for the next step for a more dedicated track car vs gutting my street M3.

I keep coming back to M cars since they're cheaper than Porsche, but the overall package is pretty well suited for track use, especially in terms of oil system durability in stock form when not running rcomps. Also the community and aftermarket is great.

Ive owned my M3 for about 8.5 years now and been tracking for 5. Its what I owned so its what I built haha. But its a great chassis for the cost to own/run. The next step up would cost a lot more money IMO. Its competitive in multiple classes with NASA, BMW, SCCA, etc.

If I were to do it again I would build the e92 over an e46 or e36 because I like the body style more and overall enjoy the car more. I would love a gt4 clubsport as my race car but thats 2-3x the money to buy compared to what I have into building my e92 race car.

tsk94 wrote

An S54 E36 should be as fast, or maybe slightly faster than an E92. Assuming similar prep and aero levels. You'd be looking at the same power to weight, but a chassis that's around ~500-800lbs lighter. Even on 'skinny' 255s on a stock body car, you have a similar contact patch size to weight ratio as an E92. If you run a wide body or flares, which many S54 E36s do, you have more contact patch for the weight than an E92.

500-800 lbs lighter? I don't think so. Not at the same prep level. Shouldn't be more than a couple hundred lbs. Dead even on weight (3200lbs) with my S65 1 series that's ~200-250 lbs lighter than a similar prep E92.

I have several very good track buds with S54 E36s that are about the same prep level (mild weight reduction, seats, harnesses) and run basically the same tire size and compound (200TW 245-255) that are probably better drivers than me that are seconds a lap slower.

Maybe full race build vs full race build the E36 catches up, or wide body E36, I dunno, that's my experience.

Find me an E9x running 45's at Buttonwillow. All the fastest BMWs on the west coast are S54 E36's. 2400lbs, 340whp, aero, good dampers... they're a weapon.

By comparison, my E92 makes 400whp, weighs 3030lbs + me and has almost zero front aero, but runs 1:49's at the same track. Figure a proper front splitter will get the car into the 48's on 200tw, and a set of new slicks might do the trick to hit 47's? More testing will tell. okusa has the best chance of smashing the E9x record as far as power to weight and aero go but it's certainly cheaper and easier to get an E36 to Sub-50 than it is an E9x M.

amg6975 wrote

500-800 lbs lighter? I don't think so. Not at the same prep level. Shouldn't be more than a couple hundred lbs. Dead even on weight (3200lbs) with my S65 1 series that's ~200-250 lbs lighter than a similar prep E92.

I have several very good track buds with S54 E36s that are about the same prep level (mild weight reduction, seats, harnesses) and run basically the same tire size and compound (200TW 245-255) that are probably better drivers than me that are seconds a lap slower.

Maybe full race build vs full race build the E36 catches up, or wide body E36, I dunno, that's my experience.

I can see where my post might cause some confusion. I meant even prep level, in terms of mods - comparable suspension, aero, etc. Not necessarily a similar prep level in terms of running in the same class (such as TT/ST3).
Prepped for the same class, the weight difference will be a bit less, as you mentioned.

I've owned and tracked both.

Most S54's make what, 320-330whp? An S54 swapped E36 is generally 2400-2600lbs (race car).
S65's generally do 375-390whp on average. And a prepped race car is usually ~3100-3200lbs.
Give or take on the weight for both.
So slightly better power to weight, and significantly lighter. On the same tires, I'm pretty confident the E36 will be faster around a lap than an E92 - similar to what berns showed above (different tires in his example).

I'll leave it there though, getting off topic

Didn’t Steve at EAS sub-50 in his S54 E36 with factory aero at buttonwillow? I haven’t seen many (any) E9x M3s with factory aero do the same. E36s feel like tin cans though. E9x (and id argue E46) still reigns king for dual-duty.

Anyone doing Buttonwillow this weekend in the rain? I’ll likely be there Sunday.

mikerunt wrote

Anyone doing Buttonwillow this weekend in the rain? I’ll likely be there Sunday.

I'll be there

jmeenach wrote

I'll be there

Right on!

May have to swap off the rain tires for the AM, might be try early. We’ll see.

mikerunt wrote

Right on!

May have to swap off the rain tires for the AM, might be try early. We’ll see.

Nice meeting you yesterday! While it wasn't the ideal day, it was still fun to get out for a few morning sessions before the rain really settled in. I'll have to come back ASAP to finally(hopefully) run Sub2!

jmeenach wrote

Nice meeting you yesterday! While it wasn't the ideal day, it was still fun to get out for a few morning sessions before the rain really settled in. I'll have to come back ASAP to finally(hopefully) run Sub2!

Absolutely!

Wanted to be cool like my E90 gang brethren dogbone , lemanszcpm3, and okusa (Gabe, Josh, and Owen), so I followed their madness journey and bought some CF Doors.

Having experience with purchasing all my suspension kinematics from MK-Rennsporttechnik, I decided to opt for Mario's (the owner of MK) CF Door package for my E90 — Project Sky.

These doors will be full CF in construction, have Porsche-sourced GT3 door pulls, and polycarbonate windows with motorsport sliders for the front doors windows.

One cool thing to note is that on the E90 rear doors, there is no split quarter window, it's all 1 large rear window, which I think is more attractive. In addition, there are also no screws holding the windows in place, which I feel creates a more factory-esque look.

I also opted for the motorsport mirrors in full CF construction with the air inlet ducts. My car is running no AC, so these will be somewhat beneficial, save weight, and in my opinion look cool and unique.

Everything will take about 6 weeks to build, and likely another 2 weeks to arrive.

Enjoy the pictures:


















I'm excited because my Voltex spoiler will likely arrive at the same time...yes there are more functional wings, but this one is most visually appealing to me.

Here's a picture of the spoiler on a local E90's car...super aggressive looking:

reidetailing wrote

I also opted for the motorsport mirrors in full CF construction with the air inlet ducts. My car is running no AC, so these will be somewhat beneficial, save weight, and in my opinion look cool and unique.

hot dog feeding hole

bigjae1976 wrote

I know I was trying to process what the hell was happening. Confusion mostly...is the truck really spinning off?

god level marshalling

Cmassey3 wrote

What keeps y'all tracking this platform in 2024?

I've been bouncing around a few ideas for the next step for a more dedicated track car vs gutting my street M3.

I keep coming back to M cars since they're cheaper than Porsche, but the overall package is pretty well suited for track use, especially in terms of oil system durability in stock form when not running rcomps. Also the community and aftermarket is great.

It's still my street car after 14 years and 143,000 miles, so it is occasionally also my track car

The reason it is still my street car after 14 years is nobody ever made a better car before or since, cost no object, and nobody ever will

What is the general consensus on gauges/meters in here?

It seems most people just track and run until they get a warning on the dash or their DCT stops shifting well, or else mix in a cool down lap once in a while.

I am on the fence about trying one of those P3 OBD2 vent gauges. It seems like other than oil pressure it has all the stuff I would need or want to keep an eye on while on track, but they seem kind of uncommon on the forum outside of supercharged guys (probably because it can be used as a boost gauge). I figure being able to have the coolant temp read out on the gauge and oil temp on the cluster should be enough to just see if anything is really spiking. I think it can also display IAT/AFR/Voltage and a few other parameters. Seems like it has a shift light function and can clear codes as well.

If anyone has experience with one I would love to hear your thoughts on it, and for those that run no gauges, any particular reason you have elected not to?

iamtrashman wrote

What is the general consensus on gauges/meters in here?

It seems most people just track and run until they get a warning on the dash or their DCT stops shifting well, or else mix in a cool down lap once in a while.

I am on the fence about trying one of those P3 OBD2 vent gauges. It seems like other than oil pressure it has all the stuff I would need or want to keep an eye on while on track, but they seem kind of uncommon on the forum outside of supercharged guys (probably because it can be used as a boost gauge). I figure being able to have the coolant temp read out on the gauge and oil temp on the cluster should be enough to just see if anything is really spiking. I think it can also display IAT/AFR/Voltage and a few other parameters. Seems like it has a shift light function and can clear codes as well.

If anyone has experience with one I would love to hear your thoughts on it, and for those that run no gauges, any particular reason you have elected not to?

I run an AIM Solo ii DL wired via canbus. I normally have two of the displays as DCT temp and OIL temp when racing so I can keep an eye on them.

I actually did not even consider that Solo DL's could display readouts like that. I thought that they just logged data for review after the session/race, but that would explain why so few people in here run gauges, as Solo DL's seem very common in here. It makes total sense, considering how it works. I had just never thought to put the two ideas together.

If anyone has any input on the P3 gauge though, I am still curious about it. I dont know that I track enough at this point to justify a DL, and they are kind of bulky. The vent gauge seems fairly unobtrusive.

iamtrashman wrote

What is the general consensus on gauges/meters in here?

It seems most people just track and run until they get a warning on the dash or their DCT stops shifting well, or else mix in a cool down lap once in a while.

I am on the fence about trying one of those P3 OBD2 vent gauges. It seems like other than oil pressure it has all the stuff I would need or want to keep an eye on while on track, but they seem kind of uncommon on the forum outside of supercharged guys (probably because it can be used as a boost gauge). I figure being able to have the coolant temp read out on the gauge and oil temp on the cluster should be enough to just see if anything is really spiking. I think it can also display IAT/AFR/Voltage and a few other parameters. Seems like it has a shift light function and can clear codes as well.

If anyone has experience with one I would love to hear your thoughts on it, and for those that run no gauges, any particular reason you have elected not to?

I have a P3 with the boost gauge. I have CAN pulling all other data into an AIM dash including oil pressure. This was mostly just useful for monitoring boost.

I’d be happy to sell it for $300 including the vent housing if you’re interested. Shoot me a pm.

Otherwise, if you fancy spending time on track get an AIM solo 2DL.