Gordon’s M2: Iteration Cycle

After beginning HPDE during an Apple track day at Thunderhill East, Gordon Mak found a new outlet for his workplace frustrations and his analytical habits.

The Golf R he got his start with proved to be impractical, and practicality being a criteria he’s used to pick his collection of track cars, it didn’t last too long. The Golf’s nannies intervened too much to get closely acquainted with, as the instructor sitting alongside Gordon mentioned several times.

That instructor also encouraged Gordon to look in the right direction, squeeze the throttle with caution, and soften his steering inputs as much as possible. That coach did Gordon an enormous favor that day by instilling good habits in a firm yet friendly fashion. On his drive home, he had a moment to ponder the afternoon’s teachings. Gordon recognized that his new hobby would require two things: a communicative car and the right skillset needed to exploit its full potential.

By the next spring, Gordon was presented with a chance to buy a first-gen BRZ for invoice. The rawness and urgency of a lightweight, balanced car had him hooked, and the first big spin at The Andretti Hairpin had him shook. “Oversteer was a new concept to me,” he said.

Rather than remain intimidated, he tried to suss out his shortcomings then and there. In analyzing his onboard footage following that track day, Gordon could clearly see how ill-equipped he was to deal with the situation. “I just froze; my hands didn’t move at all,” he admitted. 

While some told him it wasn’t the prudent thing to do at that stage, Gordon took a leap and bought an even tail-happier car in the middle of the pandemic. The price was right, and the on-tap torque from a twin-scroll turbo motor and short wheelbase made the GR Supra a lively, exhilarating car with which he could develop his car control skills.

From then on, he committed to the invaluable skid experience of Drift SF, where he could hold long slides, connect corners, and spin without any consequence. “It was sanctioned parking lot hoonery — low credit score activity — that helped me make my first big steps as a driver. By the second event, it all clicked for me,” he said.

“I have to thank Joe McGuigan for teaching me how to slide the car with confidence. Once you move past the pit-in-stomach feeling of losing traction and the belief that you’ll be unable to respond, you can get a lot done. Without all the drift practice, I wouldn’t have felt confident enough to keep pushing,” he explained. 

As fun as it was, the Supra lacked the directness of the GT86. When the dealership he bought the Supra from offered to buy it back for the same price he paid a year prior, he didn’t hesitate. Without waiting, he replaced it with a GR86 and ran eighteen successful events over the next eighteen months.  

The unfiltered driving experience he’d missed so much during his Supra ownership had returned, but not without some adjustment. “After I switched to the GR86, I found myself - for a few events, initially - making unnecessary steering corrections because I had built up so much muscle memory from the Supra always going sideways. It took me a surprisingly long time to get over it, he explained. But even after altering his technique, there was one potential issue he couldn’t get his mind off of. “The ever-present possibility of losing an engine made it difficult to enjoy the car.”

Finding a suitable replacement was simpler at this stage, since Gordon had determined precisely what he was looking for in a track car. He wanted something dependable enough to run full sessions at Thunderhill in the middle of July, something that had adequate performance out of the box, and something which would carry a spare set of wheels and a couple suitcases if needed. Essentially, it had to be mostly turnkey and, if necessary, require only minimal modification. 

Two drivers helped motivate his decision to buy a new M2. First, Randy Pobst’s hot laps in a particular stock car at Laguna, when compared to the PBs set by amateurs in heavily-modded examples of the same model, helped Gordon recognize how big a factor driving skill truly was.

Jackie Ding, the other pro responsible for his decision, had demonstrated what the new M2 was capable of in mostly stock form. While he was worried he might have another Supra experience ahead of him, he took the gamble and sold his GR86 for a brand new M2 in Zandvoort Blue.

Since he recognized the value of seat time, he had less interest in modifying the car heavily than some of his peers. “I’m less concerned with lap times now,” he began. “I’d rather have a few modifications to help me feel calm and confident in the car, but I don’t really have a mod-itch to scratch. I’m more interested in the activities which help me improve as a driver, both on and off the track. If I have an itch to scratch, it’s an itch for self-improvement.”

That said, there’s still some room to make a heavyset grand tourer more at-home on the track, and if he can make a modification or two that will save him in consumable costs, why not? With Millway front camber plates, CSG CP pads, SRF brake fluid, and a square set of Apex VS5-RS wheels measuring 19x10”, he had all he needed to run track days comfortably while keeping his tire bill reasonable. 

The two issues with the car, besides its unignorable mass, are that it’s slightly under-tired and the ZF8 gearbox leaves a little to be desired. “I went a little too conservative with my wheel choice, possibly. It’s even tail-happier than before; I can drift the car in fourth and fifth gear now!” he laughed. 

Some of that is due to the ZF8’s short gearing and the way it shifts somewhat harshly. “It’s easy to spin and lock the wheels on even a slightly damp track.” It’s a lairy sort of car that’s constantly on the verge of oversteer, but at least slide correction is no longer a foreign concept — it’s now something he does without thinking.

Gordon still has some plans for the M2 in the future, but as it’s been happy to run coolly on the hottest days, transport him to and from the track in comfort, and make his track days a little less stressful that the rest’s, he’s content with it as it currently sits. His heart still pulls him towards something lighter and more visceral, but the M2 is about as good a streetable track toy gets. 

And that practical package makes it easier to pursue his main aim, which is to interact with the track community, get enough seat time, and hone his craft as a driver. The fact that the M2 is well insulated helps him hear his coach’s feedback from the driver seat is an added bonus. 

“If you really listen to your instructor, you will improve. I try to remain open minded, test the suggestions coaches and friends give me, and analyze the results. If I can get into an iteration cycle with whomever I’m working with, I’m confident I can find an effective solution to any problem pretty quickly,” he added.

Gordon’s story is one which demonstrates the value of analysis, and, necessarily, the importance of the human element. Rather than descending down the rabbit hole of buying parts to find speed (and justify the costs), he took a different path. He’s searched for the answer to his particular problems and found a repeatable process to keep him active, happy, and stimulated. That’s not something that can be found trawling the forums for an answer.

Joe’s M3: Proving His Potential

Photo credit: CaliPhoto

When building a track car, it’s almost always easier to take the paved path. Picking a platform that has been thoroughly developed, with available parts for every possible problem and associated forums filled with information help get the driver to the track without much wrenching.

Not that ease was the main reason Joe McGuigan decided to add an eighth car to his collection — he did that because his friends urged him to try the car he’d avoided for a while. They were tired of watching him struggle with his trailblazing passion projects. They said he’d be able to save himself time if he just joined the tribe and bought an E46 M3.

When Spencer Kimball decided to sell the E46 he’d built for his father, whose injuries prevented him from enjoying it, half of the greater NorCal track community flooded his inbox. Spencer had already proven he knew how to put a seriously quick M3 together, and this example checked just about every box a track car needs to. Plus, the price was impossible to argue with. It would make some track rat a very happy owner soon enough, but an iconoclast like Joe? Not likely.

He was well aware of the M3’s potential, but he never found it interesting enough to build one himself. He preferred the challenge of developing a less-loved car, and always found the E46 M3’s competence a bit boring. Too easy to drive quickly, too easy to build. Not enough of a challenge for a man trying to prove a point.

However, the long list of primo parts and the low, low price were too tough to ignore. Joe had to accept the “boring” car for the simple fact that he would no longer be able to handicap himself with a sub-par chassis. “I could show people how fast I really am,” he added. Rather than prove a point as a builder, he could prove himself as a driver.

He mulled it over for a few days before pulling the trigger. Picking it up on the way home was the easy part. Driving it back to his crowded driveway, it dawned on him how big a task he’d set for himself: “Now I’ve gotta put my money where my mouth is and build a really fast car,” he said.

Fortunately, the car was already well on its way towards perfection. Spencer had big plans for the build and sank a good amount of money into making it fast, reliable, and fun to drive. The short list includes:

• Shaftworks USA coilovers with 500/750-lb springs

• Custom Drexler-style 1.5-way differential

• 4.10 gears

• SPL arms

• Supersprint V1 header

• CSL intake

• HTE tune

• E90 GTS rear wing

• Bimmerworld diffuser

• Bimmerworld 3” exhaust

• PFC ZR45 BBK

• APEX Wheels 18x10" ET25 Forged VS-5RS

Those and a few minor mods were all Joe needed to set some competitive times. The first track day was a few days after pickup, so he only had time for an alignment and a fluid flush. Nevertheless, its first outing in his hands, a two-day event at Buttonwillow, was a success.

He found it fast and forgiving, with a linear power delivery and direct steering. Those qualities, plus a hint too much understeer, helped Joe get on top of the car in a session. By the end of the first day, he lapped Buttonwillow 13CW in 1:56.3 — on an old set of Toyo RRs, no less. The predictive timer showed an optimal lap a half-second faster which, funnily enough, is one tenth shy of his best-ever time at 13CW in his well-developed IS-F.

He’s already sussed out its shortcomings and drummed up a short list of solutions which he plans to implement soon. Being able to knock out problems quickly with the support of a vast market is one of the reasons going with a well-loved platform makes sense. “I plan to move pretty quickly with this build. Who knows? I might sell it next year,” he laughed.

The brakes are capable, but the pads might need to be changed as the initial bite wasn’t strong enough to give him much confidence. The spring rates are too low; the owner before Spencer had specced them for autocross. It’ll receive MCS two-ways, a TC Designs cage, reinforced swaybar brackets, and full Zebulon/Buildjournal aero in the next couple months.

But the bones are good, as they say, and it’s already fast enough to aim for some of the times set by friends and colleagues in the E46 scene. While he hasn’t given up on his IS-F, he’ll fixate on beating the established BMW benchmarks for the time being.

Andrew from Buildjournal has taken his E46 M3 just about as far as anyone on the West Coast has, and his car can turn a lap around 13CW in the 1:49s. “I’m sure its capable of something in the low 1:50s with weight reduction, a better setup, and full aero,” Joe declared. There’s no reason to doubt it.

The potential is obvious, the build is nearly finished, his connections are eager to help him, and all he’s had to suffer is a little boredom. The E46 might not pull at the heartstrings like some passion projects, but he can’t deny the potential that the project holds — and the fun he’s already had with it — has caused him to change his tune.

Alex's RUSH SR: Turning The Page

Alex Chang’s foray to North American track days with a track-prepped Z4M was fun, but it’s odd how, now, after trying a single-purpose open-topped racing car, he’s thinking about parting ways with it.

Alex’s upbringing in Brazil gave him a chance to get some karting miles underneath him before purchasing a Civic Si and running a few pricey lapping days at Sao Paulo’s Interlagos. That was a bit of a tease as the hobby was then out of reach financially, but his karting experience and the greater speeds of the bigger tracks had left an indelible mark on his young mind.

By the time he moved to Los Angeles, Alex had made a little more dough and started looking for another way to get his speed fix. Urged along by Sam Kim and Ed Kim, he decided to try the North American style of lapping days at one third the cost of the Brazilian alternative.

Inspired by his BMW-loving brethren, Alex bought an E92 M, but he couldn’t connect with it in the way he hoped he would. The desire for an unadulterated driving experience pushed Alex to purchase another front-engine production car from the same family, albeit one both smaller and lighter. With some luck, it would feel a little more like an extension of himself.

He didn’t hesitate to pick up his Z4M Coupe, which had plenty of promise. With the venerable S54 and a wheelbase ten inches shorter than the E92’s, the potential for an involving on-track experience was there, and for the first year, the rapid breakaway kept him entertained. “You must have quick hands to drive this car!”

And so the foundation was set. There wasn’t much hope for outright lap records in this car, but it scratched some of the itch and, if he could look past the steep price of aftermarket parts, was a solid car with moderate-to-low running costs.

Bigger brakes, tires, and eventually power mods helped generate some extra excitement on his monthly outings at the track, but the addition of aero had the opposite effect—the Z4 became too planted.

Without any nervousness to keep him on the edge of his seat, Alex decided to shelve the trackday hobby for a while; he’d just become a father and had more pressing concerns than getting his adrenaline fix. Getting to wake up in the middle of the night to a baby’s cries did that just fine.

But it’s hard to put the helmet down forever, and after his brief sabbatical, Alex sought out something else to give him a purer thrill. He toyed with the idea of a Radical SR8, but its reliability issues scared him off. Still, a short test in one helped him recognize that an open-top/single-seater sports racer was what truly appealed to him. After stumbling upon a Facebook advertisement for a new open-top car called a RUSH SR, he acted without much deliberation and put in an order with Jeff Schneider from Fresno Powersport.

The 1,100-pound sports racer has a tube frame construction, a GSX-1000 motor that revs to 11,800 rpm, easily removable bodywork, and a moderate amount of aerodynamic grip.

After stepping into the RUSH, Alex found himself in a wildly different environment. The car was bare, raw, and responsive in a way anything over 3,000 pounds can never be. Its attitude was so easy to adjust, which pushed him to focus on altering his driving inputs much more than he ever had with the BMWs. “I might’ve been relying on modifications to go faster before, but, to be fair, that might’ve been because I never really had another similarly-modified Z4 to measure myself against—and so my driving has never received as much attention as it does now.”

The driving experience was undeniably pure, and the operational costs more than justified the entry price. A set of Nankang AR-1s run him $700 a set, and they last him eight-ten track days; they begin to fall off after around twenty heat cycles. A set of brake pads and rotors run him $30 and $70, respectively. Reduced operational expenses and a sense of support from the surrounding community gave him a way to evolve quickly.

Not many vehicles make a Z4 look enormous.

More than the driving experience, it was the community of RUSH enthusiasts on the West Coast that made him feel he’d made the right step forward.

The tight-knit group is growing fast, though still relatively small. Nevertheless, their competitive nature and the mechanical parity of their cars has pushed them all to develop quite quickly as drivers. “I actually was never considering wheel-to-wheel, but the other guys were getting their competition licenses and encouraged me to join them. It’s like having a second family at the track.”

With the cars all being equal, it all comes down to who drives the best that day and regardless of who wins, they all celebrate. “If it wasn’t for the RUSH SR and its community, I would’ve quit”

They’re all glad Alex didn’t stuck with it. He’s just returned from events at Sonoma and Laguna Seca this last October, where out of a field of twenty-four RUSH cars from California, Texas, and Canada, he was a top-five contender both weekends. With a little more seat time and a little help from his new RUSH family, Alex might be a front-runner in the upcoming season.

What’s certain is that he won’t regret his decision to follow his gut.

Blake's M4: Friendly Firepower

Lead photo credit: @danielbooty

He could look past one letting go, but when the second EJ motor blew, Blake Titus’ honeymoon phase with his WRX officially ended. Though there was an opportunity to rebuild for the third time, Blake sensed a better platform might help him make an easier transition from autocrossing into track days. He was half-right. 

The Subaru’s successor, an S52-swapped E30, held some promise, and for a while, it seemed like he’d found a way to get his jollies with half the headaches. That wasn’t to last.

As it turned out, the S52’s head had cracked somewhere on the way to his first track day at Thunderhill West. After pulling his oil pan’s plug, a milkshake poured out, and Blake considered throwing in his helmet. 

Thankfully, there was another car sitting in Blake’s garage. His F82 M4 was far from track-ready, and the predicted running costs made him wince, but it was operational and still covered under warranty.

His first outing at Laguna was successful; a 1:42.10 is an encouraging time for a heavyset grand tourer with more torque than traction. Sure, it floundered around on stock springs, but that time in an intermediate’s hands proved beyond a doubt that the F82 platform had potential. He knew it wouldn’t be easy on his wallet, but out-of-the-box performance like that can make people do silly things.

Curious where he could start tweaking the car to find some more cornering speed, he got underneath it and studied the intricately arranged layers of structural stiffeners meant to help the big BMW belie its weight.

“You just have to look around and marvel at how much structural bracing there is. After a while, you start to ask yourself, ‘How could I improve upon this?’”

Thankfully, not much is needed to get this car ready for the racetrack. The first round of basic bolt-ons consisted of a staggered set of Apex EC7s wrapped in Toyo R888Rs, GLoc R18 and R10 pads, Castrol SRF fluid, and a set of Girodisc two-pieces—the factory rotors would warp after a few track days.

That simple setup served him well for the first year of tracking the car, but after he’d gotten properly acquainted with the M4, he sensed the weight wasn’t being managed as well as it should be. 

To hasten weight transfer and provide a little more body control, Blake picked a set of Swift Spec R springs measuring 5K and 13K front and rear, respectively. These were a grand compromise; they were chosen so that he could retain some semblance of comfort on his drives to and from the track. Mainly, they allowed him to keep using the factory EDC dampers.

“I’ve kept it full weight for now. I thinks it’s pretty easy to turn a nice dual-duty car into an uncomfortable POS,” Blake admitted. 

The rubber began to feel like the limiting factor after some time, so Blake bought a new set of tires that promised more consistency. The Nankang AR-1s delivered in that respect, and they helped him chop two seconds off most of his best times. 

They would fade fast, though no faster than any other tire he’d tried. Its heft was undeniable and, unfortunately, virtually unmovable. Most of the strippable weight sits around the rear axle, which shouldn’t be removed. Even in stock trim, the M4 needs more weight over the driven wheels; it always struggles to administer the S55’s power without wheelspin. 

In the name of improving traction, he decided to try to force the rear into the pavement with Bimmerworld’s GTMore wing. It made a considerable difference—he chopped his time at Buttonwillow 13CW by four seconds the first time out. However, the front hadn’t been balanced aerodynamically and the resulting understeer made it even easier to fry the fronts. Bimmerworld’s rep recommended he try a track-oriented set of shocks, so Blake bought a set of MCS two-ways and turned a few knobs.

Few things have helped settle the rear like Bimmerworld’s dry carbon GTMore wing.

He might not’ve known precisely what he was doing, but he was relieved to see the rep had Blake’s best interests in mind. The resulting compliance made a world of difference—particularly at the bumpier tracks he frequented. At Buttonwillow 13CW, Blake could drop his best time by nearly three seconds—a 1:55.8. Quite an improvement from a set of shocks adjusted and an educated guess. 

Credit: CaliPhotography

He figured that then would be as good as any time to throw a front splitter into the mix, so he tried cutting his own Alumalite piece and bolting it to his front, but it folded at the end of Thunderhill’s front straight. The replacement, Turner Motorsports’ MC2P splitter proved more resilient and effective, though it still cannot match the downforce generated at the hinteraxel. To find an agreeable balance, Blake had to reduce the wing’s angle of attack.

By this stage, Blake was pushing the car hard enough to test the powertrain’s thermal resilience. After one frustrating leak from the charge air cooler, he replaced the factory item with one of CSF’s, and swapped the standard heat exchanger with a Koyo unit. Since then, it hasn’t been fazed by August heat.

A square set of Yokohama A055 slicks mounted on narrower APEX VS5-RS wheels gave him the grip and neutrality he’d been seeking for some time, and with the elements cooperating, Blake went back to Buttonwillow and logged a 1:54.3—his best yet.

Blake’s still searching for a 52, but he feels that the M4 needs to diet or get its footwork finely tuned by a master before that’s possible. As mentioned earlier, pulling weight isn’t his idea of a good time, so he’s decided instead to buy the every one of Turner’s adjustable suspension arms as well as their differential bushings for perfected body control. If all goes to plan, he won’t have as much difficulty putting down the power—which he’s recently increased with a Bootmode BM3 CS tune. As much.

While the F82 M4 doesn’t change direction like a true sports car can, it compensates with unbelievable power—enough to spin at seventy in a straight line. Where it’s at its best is in the longer, faster corners; the long wheelbase and accompanying stability make it easier to trust in these bends. At this point, it’ll just take a little bit of tweaking to make it a nimble thing in the sections where traction and rotation take precedence.

Credit: @ariesphoto7

If Blake’s experiences have taught him anything at this point, it’s that “the torque is always trying to kill you, so you have to be very quick with your hands and be confident in your skills; you have to drive with all the nannies off. MDM will kill your lap times and too many people rely on these systems. Then the first time they turn the traction control off they send the car to Copart.

The F82 is an amazing platform that still lacks in some of the aftermarket support that have made the E92, E46, and E36 such appealing track cars. Still, the potential is there to make the F82 a real contender once the rest of the world catch on. I can’t wait to see what other companies offer in the future to keep improving on the platform.” 

Edson's E46: Quarter-Million and Counting

He found his feet in the world of autocross, but a little bit of mockery from his track addict buddies made Edson Burgos ditch cone course carving and dive headfirst into road racing.

Edson remembers the moment fondly. “I got a ride around Sonoma in a friend’s Civic Si. Yeah — that’s when my life started to go downhill.”

The S2000 that had brought him so much pleasure in autocross was a sensational first track toy, but Edson, being a bigger fella, found the Honda to be less than ideal for daily duty. Only one parking space at the time mandated he have dual-purpose machine, so he sold the S2000 and picked up a mint E46 M3 ZCP. The performance out of the box wasn’t bad, but Edson knew he wanted to go all in modifying his street-track car., and this one, as he put it, “was just too pretty to chop up.”

Wisely, he made a bit of money selling that gem and decided that he’d look for an example a little rough ‘round the edges so that when it came time to strip and slice, he could do it with a clean conscience.

One well-worn example popped up on his radar. The odometer had just ticked past the quarter-million mark, but the annoyingly low price of five racks was fair and Edson swooped it up in thirty-six hours.

The previous owner had taken some pretty innovative approaches to quieting the creaks and rattles present in a 250,000-mile M3, including expanding foam. The paint was patinaed harshly, so even at twenty-feet it showed its age. However, the motor sounded healthy, and that was enough motivation to begin replacing every OEM bolt, nut, and bushing on the ol’ girl.

Along with the underbody overhaul, Edson dropped nearly twice the price of the car on every E46 M3 owner’s big gripe: rod bearings, VANOS, and subframe reinforcement. These are a must-fix on most of M3s of this generation, though the later cars aren’t cursed with the same rod bearings as the earlier cars. However, after dealing with these three, the E46 is a workhorse willing and able to take the abuse.

He wanted the weight of the car to take a dive, so he tossed the rear carpet and seats, put an Autopower bolt-in half-cage in their place, and a Sparco Evo XL in the place of the plush factory driver’s seat. There’s no sense in holding onto heft when the sunroof-equipped car is already meant to be a track toy, and since he and his wife had a reliable daily at this point, he could make this car as extreme as necessary. Accepting that approach made it easier to drop another couple thousand on a CSL carbon trunk.

Not that he wanted to go for a full-aero build with big power and composite panels. This build was meant to remain simple and reliable, so only the necessary performance modifications were made—and made in one fell swoop. There aren’t many, but the few he did make are quality. JRZ RS Pros, DO88 radiator and oil cooler, and a Ground Control front swaybar.

Being that the motor is as well-used as it is, Edson thought it wise keep all power modifications to a minimum. To get a reliable 300 wheel from the S54, all it took was Build Journal B-Spec tune and Myers Competition’s header and single-exit exhaust. Say what you will about the last atmospheric M-grade straight-six, but with a few mods for power and reliability, it is a glutton for punishment, even at a quarter-million miles.

With these goodies, the M3 was sorted, dependable, dailiable, and fun. That is, until he tried braking past the three-marker at the Andretti Hairpin. Laguna’s known to be hard on brakes, and Edson learned this the hard way when his stock brakes failed. He managed to keep it out of the wall, but this 120-mph scare drove him to buy some big brakes the second he got home that night.

Up front, he did not skimp. AP 5000Rs stuffed with Winmax W5s are perhaps some the best big-brake combinations for the car. At the rear, he opted for a set of the old school Porsche 996 Brembo “Big Reds” and fitted some of Hawk’s DTC-30 pads for a stable rear under deceleration.

Since Edson had his hands full adapting to the torquier motor, he appreciated the M3’s composed, predictable behavior under braking. “i had to be a lot more careful with the power; it was too easy to overdrive. Everything else was easier. Six years in the S2000 taught me a lot. I wouldn’t be as comfortable in the E46 if it weren’t for my previous car.”

He’s put in some impressive times in the meantime. He can lap Sonoma in the 1:49s and Laguna Seca in the 1:40s. For a 3,300-pound car (with driver and fuel) with stock bushings and no aero, that’s pretty dang quick.

“It took me a year to adjust to the platform, but I’m super comfy now. Without all that time in the S2000, I wouldn’t have adapted as quickly, but I’m here. That car was nervous—not that this one isn’t, but I don’t think I’d be able to catch the faster slides if I didn’t spend so much time spinning out in an S2000.”

Dustin's Supercharged M3: A Lesson in Applied Economics

He wasn’t intimidated at the prospect of buying and tracking an E46 M3, but Dustin Furseth felt some pressure to build one in a way that would allow him to balance his checkbook. That’s a normal concern, but with a baby on the way, he couldn’t afford to get in over his head.

But with the car’s reputation and its strong aftermarket support, as well as his knack for finding a little sponsorship here and there, he turned this basic road car into a approachable, reassuring, and still-somehow-comfortable track toy in only a few years. It also makes 500 and change.

For the first few seasons of track work, Dustin was known to leave a child’s car seat by his parking spot at the track; sometimes he’d drop his boy off at daycare before putting in four or five sessions. He wanted to make the best use of his time, clearly. For that reason, after adding MCS one-ways and Ground Control arms, he hired a coach for several weekends and refined his driving style.

His approach was an intelligent one. After one impressed coach suggested he try a more competitive form of motorsport. Dustin finally had the confidence to step up, and after a friend recommended Global Time Attack, Dustin entered his modest M3 in Street Class.

In time attack, he found a sparring partner in Karl Taht, whose S2000 was, on average, a hair faster at technical tracks. Dustin’s M3 usually had the upper hand at faster tracks, but the two were trading tenths regularly and pushed to get the most from themselves and their cars.

Not interested in mega power or hiring someone to fabricate piping, Dustin picked this easily-installed kit.

When Karl decided to turbocharge his F20C, he inadvertently dropped the gauntlet. Dustin responded by modifying his S54 with a trick head and some big Shrick cams, but it was no longer a reliable motor. After a year and a half, it popped.

When it came time to rebuild, he considered another attempt at a highly-strung engine, or, as his friend had, he could try forced induction. A little research convinced him he could bring power up by 200 and still save some money over another strung-out S54 if he could bring himself to boost a stock engine.

With an ESS G540 supercharger kit, he had to upgrade the clutch to a Clutchmasters FX725, beef up the cooling system with a Mishimoto rad and oil cooler, and add a little ducting to ensure air flows through the right channels and isn’t recirculated at the backside of the radiator.

Now, the boosted S54 is a real powerhouse—legitimately GT3 RS-strong, distinctive, and resilient. Even though the blower makes a peak of 515 at the wheels, it doesn’t change the delivery or the driving experience that much from when the engine made 300 at the wheels.

The blower doesn’t really change the shape of the curve, it just elevates the curve a few hash marks higher on the dyno chart. It feels intuitive. What is most different about the new powerplant is that there is appreciable torque where there once was none. It’s not peakier than the engine was originally, it feels like there are a few more cubes available.

An RS Future splitter helps encourage a neutral balance at speed.

The power was easily transferred into propulsion before the blower, but the new grunt alters the way Dustin has to depress the pedal. With eight pounds of boost at his disposal, he can spin the wheels for a hundred feet after a second-gear chicane if he’s out to impress a passenger.

However, the car’s grip and poise means it still takes a lot of provocation to do so. In other words, car can still be leaned on mid-corner and generate strong drive off the corner, provided he’s not using the wrong gear.

There is the matter of gear selection. The hairpins which rewarded a second-gear exit now have to be taken in third; the power delays throttle application in sections where the car is traction-limited. Not everyone considers it, but if a bump in power means it takes longer to deploy it, is it worth the addition?

Going from a 275-square setup to widening the rears with 295s has made the car border on high-speed understeer.

The answer is yes. Even when it does light up the driven wheels, the rear remains planted. Maybe that’s the APR GT250 wing imparting some stability, but even in slow hairpins, the factory LSD does a stellar job.

This staggered setup promotes a little understeer, but it’s a minimal amount of push and it’s really only noticeable in faster corners if he’s hasty putting the power down. Yes, there is an iron lump up front, but the big motor doesn’t make itself noticeable unless the throttle’s stabbed mid-corner. Line things up after a committed flick into the corner, then power out with encouraging neutrality.

For all this fun, he’s had to pay another fee on top of the supercharger’s purchase price. The oil breather, after enduring high revs, would mist onto the belts, which would underdrive the water pump and overheat the engine. After a quick fix involving a rag and some hair ties, the engine hasn’t given him any other headaches.

“The brakes have been a great addition. When I put something on my car that I believe in, I try to explain it to people as best as I can.”

The added strain on the brakes from a middleweight with serious power made it necessary to go for a big brake kit. However, he wasn’t keen on spending the money needed to buy the AP Racing kit he had his eyes on, so he found an affordable alternative.

Underneath his Apex VS-5RS, he opted for PB brakes front and rear. The fronts use eight-piston calipers and 380mm rotors, and the rears use six-piston calipers with 356mm rotors. Complete with the motorsport-grade bobbins, knockback springs, and floating rotors, the kit has proven itself track-worthy. The calipers are finished in a subtle shade of silver that blends in beautifully, too.

By milling down used pads bought from endurance teams, he’s saved himself money and time. The rotors rarely need replacing, the pads last thirty-odd sessions, and even with the old Mk20 ABS, the car inspired a lot of confidence in the braking zones. Higher speeds and ~3,000 pounds put some real strain on the binders, but the PBs have handled that well.

And despite all that focus and performance, it’s still very much the sleek machine Dustin bought seven years ago. Yes, the wing and RSFuture splitter, and N15 vents leave nobody doubting its role as a track toy, but Dustin’s insistence on leather-wrapped Recaro Pole Position NGs and the retention of most of the interior prove he’s after a little more than speed alone.

It doesn’t come as a surprise that Dustin is an architect—he has to weigh aesthetics and functionality as part of his job. The soft shape of the car, the silver and carbon-black scheme, and the simple execution make it a stunner that you can sit and drink in for minutes, even if it doesn’t call your name from across the paddock.

In other words, it’s a complete car—and not many cars built on a careful budget are truly complete. Dustin did his homework, though, and even with a full plate, he got where he wanted to be quickly. Stay in school, kids.

Modifications

• EE G540 Supercharger Kit

• Rogue Engineering section 1 and 2

• Agency Power section 3

• Epic Motorsports tune

• Naturally Agitated Stage3 VANOS (ported for higher oil pressure)

• SAP delete

• Electric fan conversion

• Turner power pulleys

• Sachs clutch

• Mason pedal box

• APR GT250 wing

• CSL carbon roof

• CSL trunk

• CSL diffuser

• Hard Motorsports splitter, upper canards , and carbon door cards

• MCS 1-way coilovers

• Apex VS-5RS 18x10”

• PB BBK with 8-piston 380mm fronts and 6-piston 356mm rears

• Hawk DTC30 pads

• Sparco Seat

• Schroth harnesses

• Custom 4-point cage
  
  
  
  
  

Elie's E46 M3: Not Too Much, Not Too Little

For Elie Mansour, the E46 M3 is one of the most driver-friendly machines he’s ever driven—and he’s driven just about every trackday staple.

In 2003, Elie started tracking in the States with a fourth-generation Camaro, but to him, a man who grew up watching smaller vehicles hillclimbing in his native Lebanon, the Camaro seemed somewhat cumbersome.

“Everybody was driving the Subarus and Evos, S2000s, and a handful of E36s then.” His natural affinity for the capable E36 led him to buying one of his own, but its lack of power and regular maintenance left him wanting a little more. “For about six months, I considered swapping an S54 into my car, then my friend let me drive his E46 M3, and it just felt so much sturdier. When I factored in all the associated costs of swapping the new motor into the old car, I realized that I’d be better off buying an E46.”

Photo credit: Brett Smrz

Wisely, he avoided building one from the ground up. The Imola Red ‘02 he procured already had been partially stripped and fitted with an Autopower cage, big Brembo GT 355 brakes with Cobalt bads, and a set of Ground Control coilovers. As a precaution, he removed some of the failure points. Simple and effective, this platform needed nothing more than a set of solid mounts and bushings before Elie logged fifty events his first year with it.

Building Upon a Brilliant Foundation

Despite the running costs and the growing appetite for better parts, this busy first year didn’t tax him too much. The reliability of the car was astounding; changing the pads every dozen days and the oil about half as often. Then there was the ease of operation. “The E46 is one of the most driver-friendly cars I’ve ever owned; it has great headroom, great visibility, ergonomics, and it’s easier to drive than any other car at this performance level.”

Relatively simple operation, a moderate amount of weight, more that adequate power, a reasonably comfortably size, and—assuming one buys a good example—a manageable price. In so many ways, the E46 M3 is the ultimate Goldilocks car: not too much, but not too little.

Perhaps all this versatility came with one setback: weight. Being reasonably large and somewhat plush, the weight became more and more of an obvious hindrance the harder he pushed. Removing the sound deadening and carpet, then replacing the standard Getrag six-speed with a ZF five-speed allowed him to bring the weight down to 2,825 pounds.

It only followed that he would sharpen the chassis with whatever means readily available. After adding Ground Control swaybars, he sought out a set of revalved shocks to suit the lightened chassis. A knowledgeable friend practically gave him a set of used Motons that’d been collecting dust in a shop, but further inspection revealed the fronts were damaged beyond repair. At that stage, his friend admitted that he used JRZ parts to rebuild the other Motons he’d been given.

They shared a laugh, then took the expedient solution: using a set of JRZ RS Pro two-ways to replace the faulty fronts. With a little tweaking, he found the two brands to complement each other. “The two work well together, and the JRZs are so much easier to service than the Motons. It’s an unusual mix, but it was a no-brainer for us.”

With the footwork seriously improved, the slapped on a set of Pirelli DH crubs and began impressing the bystanders. His aggressive, tail-out driving style honed through years of messing around on gravel roads had to be tamed somewhat to go faster, but at least he was never limited by a lack of car control.

With the car handling well, he turned his attention to the powerplant. The S54 is, with the right sort of maintenance, a fairly robust motor that might get a little too much negative press. That said, it needs some uncorking before its sonorous scream can be fully appreciated. Along with an AFe intake, an eBay header, a Bimmerworld exhaust, and a BSpec tune, the motor made a healthy 323 horsepower at the rear wheels.

While the motor is stout, tracking can elevate temperatures to a worrying level. The iron block’s chances of overheating diminished greatly after he added a Bimmerworld motorsports thermostat and oil diverter, a CSF radiator, and a custom built electric fan, he’s been able to keep the iron block cool, even on sweltering summer days. “Don’t forget: a high viscosity oil is a must. During the summer months, I change the oil—usually 10W60—every three or four track days.”

With the motor fortified and the suspension sorted, the car was as dependable as any thoroughly thrashed track tool, really, and Elie prioritized seat time over all. Nearing his hundredth track day, he’d pushed the M3 to about as far as anyone was capable, and the few shortcomings in the car started to make themselves apparent.

Ready for a new challenge and a little more stability at speed, he decided to call on Trackspec Motorsports, who were then sponsoring him, and ask for a contribution in the form of a modest aero package.

The takeaway here was that he hadn’t simply reached for the biggest wing prematurely. He and Trackspeck went through a series of different combinations before settling on the G-Stream wing and their tegrid-constructed splitter, which was chosen for its durability. The result was, well, just watch the footage below to see the car in action:

Even Monkeys Fall From Trees

And then, perhaps as some sort of divine/cosmic payback for 180,000 miles of faultless operation, the motor coughed its last breath. He tucked the car away to the back corner of his garage and helped a few friends build their E46s with his two decades of knowledge,

It still sits in the corner, but another S54—again built for reliability—is almost finished. When the motor is implanted in its new home, he’ll address the two remaining flaws he’s noticed. “The OEM LSD acts like an open differential now; trying to get any traction out of Buttonwillow’s Turn 2 is futile.”

Besides that, it needs a few more safety modifications to move into the next realm of competition: NASA ST4. Trackspec Motorsports will likely prototype the cage, and along with a fire system, full window nets, and a restrictor to meet class restrictions, he should be ready for wheel-to-wheel. He’s got the car control and the courage, so the transition shouldn’t be too difficult.

Peter Phung's Widebody M3: Wide and Wonderful

Search YouTube for Hans Stuck Jr. romping around the Nurburgring in his M3 GTR. The widebody, V8-swapped E46 in that famous clip was as gorgeous as it was quick. Peter Phung hadn’t actually seen that video until I mentioned it to him a few days ago, but several years back, he’d found another image of that car that encouraged him to try building his own version of what some see as the ultimate E46.

Immediately after picking up the car, complete with moonroof and a six-speed, he handed it off to someone else like a negligent father. He wanted to attach the DTM Fiberwerkz widebody kit sitting in the corner of his garage, and so he entrusted one shop he knew little about with the task.

It became a pretty significant job since black paint wasn’t exactly doing it for him—mainly because he’d already pictured the ultimate iteration of this car as one with a white base. This M3 was meant to be an homage to the original GTR, which is doused in white with the M-tricolor striping. He handed it off to the professionals and waited eagerly for a pretty car to come back to him.

Peter posing beside his sister Florenza with the car wearing a simpler livery.

Once back in his hands, he was mostly impressed. The paint looked great, but the bodywork was terrible; he noticed cracked fenders and excessive fiberglass reinforcement pretty soon after. Oh well—it was meant to be a track weapon, so he moved on and started addressing the shortcomings of the stock suspension. The first round of mods consisted of Turner swaybars, and TC Klein coilovers, Brembo big brakes, and a set of Bimmerworld brake ducts.

Besides the stripped cabin and the lightweight Recaro buckets, the diet consisted of a few things: aluminum door panels, two fixed Recaros, a DTM Fiberwerkz hood, an RKP carbon roof, a removed rear deck.

Interestingly, the extra tire and width came at a serious cost to any track-dedicated car. Though made from fiberglass, the bodykit added another 200 pounds to the tally. Even after gutting the interior and taking other weight saving measures, the car still weighs in at a slightly doughy 3,100 pounds.

TC Design installed a gorgeous half-cage and made the necessary subframe reinforcement problems, then Auto Logic replaced the rod bearings with WPC coated rod bearings and refreshed the VANOS with the Beisan kit. After that, Auto Logic cleaned the combustion chamber, performed a five-angle valve job and administered the Epic tune. If the car had been given to the wrong people initially, he made sure that everyone else who touched his dream M3 were top-tier.

The one persistent gremlin that plagued them, an overheating issue, was traced to the A/C condenser. Once they chucked that in the trash, the car ran cool in the scorching summer temperatures. Powerful, tractable, and reliable—the S54 with a little work is something special.

Along with a custom fitted Borla cat-back and long tube headers, the naturally aspirated package pumps out roughly 360 horsepower—more than enough power for a heftier E46 M3.

Peter’s thinking was that if the extra weight offset its above-average power output, the wider footprint would have to compensate. To make the most from this, he deicided that he needed a better suspension system, upgraded to a full 2 way adjustable MCS pro suspension, added a set of spacers, and fitted Titan 7 wheels measuring 18 x 10.5”. Peter then added camber plates, a stiffer front sway bar and rear traction arms from Ground Control. Even with the stock differential, the combination of massive tires and a soft rear makes the BMW sticky, predictable, and easy to lean on.

There’s a constant through this build, and that’s that his entrusting the car with enough gifted people to make up for the few bad apples who got their greasy mitts on it way back when. Once he had the gifted guys at 101 Paintworks fix the widebody, he was finally satisfied with this ambitious build. Finally, the showpiece part, the amazing widebody, the thing that distinguishes this from all the other E46s, was fitted like it was supposed to be.

“It handles well, but I’d say it looks better than it performed than it did during the first phase. I did want it to look good—so at least I accomplished that goal,” he said with a chuckle. After going though five years of changes, upgrading to better performance parts and more than doubling his original budget, the car performs as good as it looks.

Dan Avon's E46 M3: A Study in Taking Things Slowly

One doesn’t need to have a big V8 or a turbo to go quickly at most of Northern California’s medium-speed tracks. They don’t necessarily need a featherweight, either. The E46 M3 sits somewhere between the two. Weighing in at 3,200 pounds and making a healthy 300-odd horsepower with moderate torque, it straddles the fence between momentum car and muscle car. With the right touch and a few chassis mods to help bring out this middlewight’s best attributes, namely its handling, it remains a hard car to beat. 

Dan Avon took a comprehensive approach to tuning his 2004 M3; engine power, grip, balance, and braking performance were all valued evenly throughout this build’s three or four stages. Most importantly, he’s learned how to gel with the car by fine-tuning its handling so that it complements his driving style. 

Its first iteration as a mildly modified road car was fun, though he felt the plush nature of the M3 was limiting its on-track performance. That didn’t concern him much as he was still driving it to work, to the grocery store, and through the canyons. The motor made ~285whp with a set of Status Group Tuning headers and a Dinan muffler, and with a full interior,  it weighed ~3,400 lbs with driver and a half-tank of gas. Despite those less than stellar figures, the broad powerband of the motor and the playfulness of the car were satisfying enough to overlook its shortcomings.

Except some. The factory suspension was not up to snuff, so he added TC Kline D/A coilovers, rear camber arms, and polyurethane trailing arm bushings. Even with these modifications, it was very much a street car. His growing fascination with developing the car and improving his lap times meant he’d stuff track wheels in the car before driving it to the track, but it was still doing double-duty. 

He started stripping the car slowly and systematically to help give it a feeling of agility. Being a plush car, it wasn’t hard to remove a couple hundred from the total. It then became clear that the Brembo brake kit wasn’t really as inspiring as he thought they’d be, plus the consumable costs were high, so he eventually swapped those for a set of PFC binders. 

With an AFe Stage II intake and a Epic Motorsports tune, he now had 300 horsepower at the rear wheels. Again, he made sure to address every area of performance through the various stages of modification, so even if the improvements seemed insignificant on paper, it felt more alert, competent, and encouraging. The M3 was always meant to be more than just the sum of its parts.

Weight reduction became more and more important to him as he learned to push harder, so after five years of worsening this car’s civility, Dan decided that the M3’s days as a street car were over. He chucked most of the carpet, door panels, and roof liner to get it down to a respectable 3,100 pounds with driver and a half-tank. 

Increasing his cornering speeds and just generally working the car harder revealed some of the limitations of the factory differential. When he installed the renowned OS Giken 1.5-way differential with aluminum bushings, he could generate much more propulsion off the corner, even if the rear was moving around slightly.  At the same time other areas of the rear suspension were addressed with various mono-ball bushings in place of the previous poly bushings.

Not that it was ever tailhappy. His setup was neutral to oversteery; an extremely satisfying and manageable balance that helped yield some great lap times. Still, he wanted to experiment with a little aerodynamic grip—even if that risked the near-ideal balance he’d achieved..

With a Bimmerworld rear wing and a homemade front splitter, the car had even more stick in the braking zones and the few high-speed corners at Thunderhill and Sonoma. The upside was that the lap times immediately fell by a couple seconds.

Unfortunately, that aero grip came at a price. The once playful car was suddenly arrested at the front end; a persistent mild understeer kept him from enjoying the car like he once did.

In an attempt to take some weight off the car, particularly off the front, and restore some of that neutral handling he once enjoyed,  he added Supersprint V1 headers and Section 1 midpipe, a Bimmerworld cat back race exhaust, a Ground Control hollow front sway bar, a rear-mounted Antigravity battery, and Bimmerworld carbon headlight blanks. These measures saved nearly 200 pounds in total, but the push was still plaguing him.  At least the car was significantly quicker.

Frustrated with the balance but happy to see this car evolve into a no-compromise track toy, he continued to stiffen and harshen. Why not?  He’d already decided to start trailering this dedicated track car, so he had no reservations about adding a rear half cage from TC Design, Turner Motorsport solid aluminum engine and transmission mounts, a set of MCS three-ways, and a Racetech 4119 halo-style bucket. 

Life has gotten in the way in the last year, but he’s still fascinated by the car—and hopes to return to regular lapping days in the near future. “I’ve always enjoyed tinkering and seeing what improved the car and what didn’t. I’ve used my AIM system to determine exactly where the tweaks paid off. I guess that’s what motivated me most of the way.” 

He’s still frustrated by the current balance, so he’s pondered two possible paths to follow once he gets back into the swing of things. Either he removes the aero and tries to optimize the mechanical grip of a lightweight car, or he finds the biggest, meanest cattle plow of a splitter he can find to give the front some much-needed aero grip. Either way, he’ll be measuring incremental improvements and sticking to his basic philosophy of addressing every aspect of performance and taking baby steps. Seeing how quickly this middleweight, mid-powered M3 navigates Northern California’s best tracks, it’s certain this steady, methodical tuning approach works.