e36 M3 or 325i/328i (saloon or coupe) for track use?

[Stig]

Hi all,

I've decided that I 'need' another track toy and, being one who finds stripping cars to bits and rebuilding them for track use appealing, am considering the pro's/cons of either buying an e36 M3 or a more 'standard' car for conversion (somewhat inspired by Bennyc's 325i conversion)?

Whilst the standard cars offer potential benefit from an upfront cost and a 'no so thrashed probably/possibly' perspective (and a 4 door would be practical too ), the M3 would need less doing to be competent on track.

Either way, the car needs to remain road legal.

Heart says M3 - head says standard car?

Oh finally, if anyone's got a decent, fiarly unmolested M3 up for sale (doesn't have to be pretty inside or out, but needs to be mechanically sound) then I'm all ears

Opinions please gents?

[dan101smith]

Hmmm, actually whether you go for an M3 or a 325i they'll both need a similar amount of work to make them properly track-worthy. Standard suspension and brakes won't cope well with heavy track use, so you'll be replacing those. Seats aren't great either.

Really the difference is how quick you want to be, and how much you have to spend now.

Personally I'd go for an M3 and slowly upgrade it over time (unless you can stomach the cost of a one-hit upgrade).

[BountyHunter]

theres a few factors to consider, not the least of which is that it depends what your budget is (and thats running budget as well as buying)

i. 328 is a lot lighter than M3 - so the power to weight difference isnt as big as you might think.
ii. M52 has easy gains by fitting M50 inlet manifold
iii. blow an M3 engine and its BIG ££££ to replace it - M52 is less than half the price and more common
iv. M3 has better brakes as standard.
v. M3 is quicker
vi. 328 is a lot cheaper
vii. any E36 would need suspension upgrade for track

i havent got an M3 for sale - but if you decide on 328 i do have this http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/sales/717016.htm

Edited by BountyHunter on Friday 26th September 18:09

[mat205125]

Non evo M3. A couple horses down (but not as much as book bhp will have you believe), but much more reliable for track use ... Evo is a little more fragile.

[iguana]

Stig said:

Oh finally, if anyone's got a decent, fiarly unmolested M3 up for sale (doesn't have to be pretty inside or out, but needs to be mechanically sound) then I'm all ears

Opinions please gents?

Ah might just have exactly what you are after

94 3.0 M3 125k f/s/h tons spent all the weakpoints sorted, faultless on 2500mile euro trip inc a track day at Monza. If it might tickle your fancy I can mail you full spec

[mpwr343bhp]

A couple of years ago EVO mag did a "What Track Car" feature, and they had various things like Radicals, westfields, VX220 among other things, and they also had a E36 M3, but the car they tested (to be comparable to the other track designed cars as hey put it) had had over 10K spent on it over the cost of the vehicle, so they were basically saying the standard cars great for the road, and everyday use, but would need so suspension, brake upgrades and the like for a track car to compete with a Radical.

(Just some info to add to this post, not suggesting a M3 doesnt make a good track car i love them)

Edited by mpwr343bhp on Thursday 2nd October 23:56

[kusee pee]

I've been both routes. I started with a 325i E36 which I tracked for a fair while and modified as I went. I now have an E36 M3 Evo saloon which I'm doing the same with. Both are great - the 325i was much cheaper to start with which was the main bonus but the M3 is soooooooo much faster and more fun. If you can afford the M3 it offers much more potential in the long run.

[Stig]

Thanks for the replies all - not entirely sure it's helped my quandry, but useful nonetheless.

Like all things, it really boils down to money I s'pose. From that perspective, buying a cheap 325/328 and spending a few 00's on suspension/brakes sounds very compelling.

[Adom]

you'd probably have to fit a diff onto a 325/328 tho - m3 will already have one.

[breezy]

BountyHunter said:

i. 328 is a lot lighter than M3 - so the power to weight difference isnt as big as you might think.

Any idea how heavy the 328i is from the factory?

Standard Evo is ~1520kgs, less 20 or so if you can find one with aluminium doors IIRC - I'd be surprised if there was a massive difference.

[breezy]

Stig said:

Hi all,

I've decided that I 'need' another track toy and, being one who finds stripping cars to bits and rebuilding them for track use appealing, am considering the pro's/cons of either buying an e36 M3 or a more 'standard' car for conversion (somewhat inspired by Bennyc's 325i conversion)?

Whilst the standard cars offer potential benefit from an upfront cost and a 'no so thrashed probably/possibly' perspective (and a 4 door would be practical too ), the M3 would need less doing to be competent on track.

Either way, the car needs to remain road legal.

Heart says M3 - head says standard car?

Oh finally, if anyone's got a decent, fiarly unmolested M3 up for sale (doesn't have to be pretty inside or out, but needs to be mechanically sound) then I'm all ears

Opinions please gents?

M3 all the way. Buy an early 3.0 car for peanuts (£3k?) and strip it out. Don't be afraid of mileage if the drivetrain is healthy.

With a little weight loss an E36 M3 will actually be quite capable out of the box. Don't forget the party piece of the e36 M3 is the engine and you won't get that on a lesser model. You won't get an LSD either unless you are prepared to do a lot of shopping around...