^^ Awesome!
So … I sold my S4 and bought an e92 m3. Similar intentions to the above fellow. Picked up the car last Thursday:
http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/08/20/ab3e95d69183de6e46c7cf3b12d27574.jpg
Great car. The last cool BMW.
Thanks Saki, loving that na v8 sound.
Is it a 6MT? EDS suspension or regular? For suspension components, I highly recommend Ground Control coilovers and camber plates on a BMW. Dinan makes a lot of spherical components and links that will stiffen things up for track work. Performance Friction makes great race pads that I think work well on BMW OEM rotors, but can’t go wrong with Pagid RS29. There are some off the shelf brake ducting kits for the E92 but they will rob about 1" of ground clearance from you, so don’t slam the car 
BTW, I’ve been following an e90 track build thread and just put two and two together, same guy! Small world.
So I’ve abandoned my beloved 6MT and gone with DCT this time around. After a few test drives of friends cars I just feel like it is the right transmission for this car/platform. Less purist I know but I think it’s well matched to the car.
Then it’s a ZCP (Competition Pack) car meaning it has more aggressive EDC and an “active” sport EDC mode. I’m planning to add Ground Control camber plates (just spoke with them on the phone yesterday actually), and then transition to coilovers after I’m content I’ve experienced what the comp pack EDC has to offer.
For brakes, I’m going straight to a “small” front Stoptech BBK, 355mm 4-piston setup. This allows for easier wheel fitment, and eventually I will add the similar rear kit and be able to rotate pads front->rear as they wear down (same pad shapes). Performance Friction '08 pads are available in this pad shape also (my favorite pads). Good bite, low pad wear, low rotor wear, and easy to bed. Definitely grabbing a set.
Then I’ve purchased a lightly used set of 18" Apex wheels that come with Hankook RS-3’s and have some good life left on them.
All coming together. Will share my track impressions when I get to that point.
And thanks for the tips, well received!
The e92 is killer! I think you’ll love the DCT on track. My instructor kept going on how he wished he had the paddles on his evo 8 track car. I think it’s definitely preferred DCT track / 6MT street, in terms of enjoyment.
Spoke to a guy with an e92 (drove from toronto to mount tre blanc and then mid ohio for his “vacation” lol) who was able to fit an 18" apex wheel over his 380mm ST60 trophy calipers (I think they were ST60’s, but could have been 4 pots?).
This thread has answers to all of the questions I was going to ask him but ran out of time. The weight of 3235 is incredible, because my E90 N52 325i was 3250 with full interior. I believe he would need that wing to keep some weight over the drive wheels. Fortunately quattro keeps things pretty planted in my car, and I do believe my trunk spoiler helps eliminate lift at triple digit speeds (even if everyone on Audizine thinks air has no weight and transitively the atmosphere is a vacuum). I do need to get around to ordering a front air splitter, to create a high pressure zone in front of the car to complement the low pressure zone I’ve enhanced behind the trunk.
http://www.modbargains.com/DTM-Style-Carbon-Fiber-Front-Lip-B8-S4-A4-S-Line.htm
http://www.modbargains.com/images/Products/MISC/ModBargains-Audi-B8-S4-Carbon-Fiber-Front-Lip-3.JPG
Looking at that E90, he pulled about 350 pounds out of the OEM car.
Anyone care to guess what my interior weighs? Let’s assume:
- carpet
- headliner
- 4 interior door panels
- speakers
- amplifier
- radio/climate control/AC compressor
- curtain airbags
- sunroof and motors (replace with Lexan plastic blank)
- center console around shift boot
I’m in no rush to do this. If I could clear 180 pounds I’d consider it as this car sails past the point of no return like @drob23 before me.
The weight of that stripped E90 is impressive, no doubt. He also mentioned that removing his blower might take another 100 lbs off :o.
So research into the e9x m3 platform has really opened my eyes to aero also. Lots of track guys running big wings out back and swearing by them (sometimes a front splitter as well). Another approach folks have taken to add stability is to increase rear tire width and some have run as wide as 305 or 315 rear tires, monsters.
The set I just picked up is 275/275 though I may switch to 275/285 or 275/295 depending on tire availability. The wheels I bought are staggered, similar to OEM, but wider. I went with 10" fronts and 10.5" rears.
A front engined RWD car will have issues with throttle induced oversteer. So the need for aero makes more sense. Much more of a problem for the BMW guys than us. Only way I’ve had the tail out while on power was going full WOT with substantial steering input directly after some heavy braking.
I also don’t feel like trailing throttle oversteer is a problem with this car. I don’t feel the car oversteer much if I lift mid-corner, almost feels like it pushes more.
Thanks Drob, glad to hear the support! And I tend to agree that I would still enjoy the 6MT more for a spirited weekend run, just a bit more track focused at the moment.
So I am waffling on whether or not to squeeze a 380mm kit in but I think I would rather save the extra spend and put it towards a rear kit later. Also, no PFC '08’s in the ST60 pad shape. Yes, I like them that much!
Glad to see you thinking massive weight reduction again. And I figured you were already past that point, may as well keep going if so.
It’s your alignment that is preventing this
This car can be setup to have a lot of trailing throttle oversteer. It can be pretty loose if you wanted.
I agree though, with a more conservative or street/track compromise alignment, you won’t run into this situation.
Boro - to be 100% clear, what is the setting that provides TTO? Is it setting a bias for more front camber than rear camber? Like -3.0 in front and -1.9 in back.
Camber yes, but even more important is toe. The amount of toe out up front and amount of toe in for the back (less is better for more TTO). Honestly it is the totality of the alignment settings… But if u are in quiring on what makes the most effect, it will be toe.
Toe out on the front is going to make the car change direction much quicker, but also give the front end more mid corner bite–less understeer. Less toe in for the rear will make the tail more ready to step out and rotate in a TTO situation. But u still want some toe in for the back to make the car stable on the power. IMO if u set a car up for TTO as I have, then u need to find a way to make the car stable to balance out the overseer. So I have elected to set my car up to be loose when off the gas but stable when on the gas. This setup makes the car rotate early on corner entry so u can hit the throttle sooner to exit the corner and carry more speed out of it. The heavy weight of the car kinda helps in this situation cause there is more inertia for the rotation, but u have awd to stabilize the rotation when u get back hard on the gas. U have to commit with every corner with such a setup though. Cause u need to be on the power to keep the car stable… Which for some folks is not intuitive. But it is the fastest style for an awd car imo.
You’re a treasure, boro. Since I’m not yet retired living on a condo on a racetrack, I’d never have enough time to trial-and-error my way to the results you help me achieve. I like to get it right the first time, which is why I overshare a bit on Internet forums.
My current setup is 1/16 total toe-out front and 1/16 total toe-in rear. If I zero out the rear toe I’ll get the TTO. Now, I’m not sure I want TTO but it’s good to know how I can get there. I might to 1/32 total toe-in rear next time to ease my way there. I presume this would also create a four wheel drift tendency with the throttle on?
The 034 guys are nuts and run 1/16 toe-out in the rear! I’ve had a few oh shit moments driving behind their 600 HP TT-RS.
Have ya’ll seen the recent Smoking Tire 034 TT-RS one take? Pretty cool. I think Lazlo was riding shotgun. I’m totally addicted to watching the “one takes” BTW, lot of learning about car culture and different platforms in a short window. The recent $10k e36 m3 track car was a good one too.
Hoping to see West do a one take soon, would be epic!
I don’t think Matt Pharoh would fit in a Recaro Spa seat
Thanks west. I would advise against 0 toe if you are running factory rubber components in the back. There is too much slop in the rubber bushings, and you need some amount of toe to tension the bushings under load so that the car tracks predictably. Go 0 if you are all spherical with solid subframe mounts to the chassis, yes. Otherwise, I would suggest not to–especially with your rear spring. Gotta look at the whole picture. Small changes first. Try more toe out up front and yes, 1/32 toe in rear would be fine. Iirc I am 5/8 toe out in the front.