Dedicated Track Car?

[330ci]

Originally Posted by Easy E

Good one.....oh wait, I own a BMW, that's not funny anymore.


In all seriousness, I don't completely disagree. I just like my M2C.

First time I've heard this one.

Witty, funny, with a hint of truth. A breath of fresh air compared to the usual "insults"

E46 spec racing looks like a blast to me. Could buy a few good drive trains and half a dozen rollers to crash for $20k. (330s not m3s) Buy a few manual swap kits for $1,500/pc w/ 5 speeds, $2500ish for 6 speeds. Leaves plenty of room for fuel, tires, wheels, and whatever other odds and ends you might need. A stripped 330ci without safety gear, but bulletproofing the engine and putting in a lightweight flywheel/performance clutch kit, LSD from an m3, upgraded oil pump, water pump, increased volume radiator, purple tag steering rack, aluminum valve cover and refreshing the hoses can realistically be done for $10-15k if you buy drive train components used and refresh what's needed yourself. Obviously the time investment in tracking down parts and installing it is going to be the biggest factor there.

I was going to get into it until I realized how many hidden costs there were to racing and decided to stick with bikes for now. Nothing seems to be cheap about the hobby. FCP euros lifetime warranty policy seems like it would be useful for alot of the wear and tear parts though. Brake pads and rotors, even oil can be exchanged through their lifetime warranty, kinda crazy

[Polyesterpig]

[QUOTE=MrGoat;12601190]Ariel Atom.

Amen

[FiftyTwoEighty]

Yes…dedicated track cars are a blast. You will need a tow rig and trailer, at the bare minimum. I will say, it is a slippery slope, if you get bitten by the “bug” and start racing. Buy an exotic instead — it will be cheaper.

I daily a 6speed m5, which I will track, but I have a couple other cars for track duty.

I also run a spec e30 with NASA Proracing for sprint and endurance racing. Thinking about adding a spec e46 to run as well, because it’s cheaper than running a spec e30.

E30 parts and blocks are getting harder and harder to find, while e46 parts and blocks can be found in every pick and pull. $50,000 will get you fully built ex-class winning Spec e46. Its good to have a spare block on standby. I usually rebuild the block every season and swap a fresh head midway through.

Building always costs more, much, much more. Ask me how I know…I also have an e28m5 track toy, which I will also have at the track, during race weekends. This car, I built the engine to BMW M1 Procar numbers, modernized Group A suspension, and run a DTM e30m3 dogleg transmission. It will run 1:30s at Big Willow on street rubber.

Race weekends are about $3000 to $6000, depending on where we are racing and if there is a longer endurance race (3 hour or 6 hour) in addition to the sprint races. Service, parts, tires, registration, fuel for the racecars, fuel for the RV. Having an RV trackside is priceless. With a couple weekends a month, I budget about $6,000 to $8,000 for “stuff”. What I don’t spend, gets rolled over into my racing slush fund. Seriously, a payment on leased exotic is cheaper!

And a track thread is worthless without any videos.

Chasing down a 964 Turbo on slicks, with my m5 on PS4S street tires and a baby seat in the back:
https://youtu.be/rzwCjTi4B3U

Passing two spec Miatas, while being passed by a Prototype, going into Big Willow Turn 8, 3 wide, at 120 mph. Not sure why the Prototype slowed so much, when I tucked in behind him. I was like, GO, GO, GO, so could carry my speed on to the front straight.
https://youtube.com/shorts/NrAwaIg5KRk?feature=share

And having an 82 mph agricultural excursion (going off the track) at “Bus Stop” at Buttonwillow Raceway, during a 90 minute night stint, in the middle of an endurance race. Yes, all my lights were on, just need more and more lights. And yes, my dash lights went out too. The joy of endurance racing! It was that dark and we still got 2nd place ������.
https://youtu.be/gE_d9oRkqFQ