E92 M3 Track/Build Journal

[Grippinaround]

Hey what's up! Figured Id make one of these build journals since I never made one before and wanted to share my experience.

I bought my 2011 M3 back in 2019 with plans to just daily drive it and have some fun in the canyons on the weekends... we all know how that goes. Shortly after I paid a visit to Malek at MRF for him to do my rod bearings and install KW 2 way clubsports. I threw on some EC7s 18x10s and a gt4 lip and then was my first track day.

I headed out to Buttonwillow and man... I think I was hooked. I didn't even time my laps that day. (Because I didn't have a timer) I just went out and kinda sent it. Sure I clipped the dirt a few times and maybe went off track once but hey, its all part of it right? Throwing the car around the corners and really feeling the weight and car rotation was addicting.

After the first track day I wanted some a little more snug and cool so I picked up some Recaro Pole positions, an AIM solo to get some data and went to bw again a few weeks later. I believe that's when I heard about the elusive sub 2 time, and thought that would be a good benchmark.



A few more track days under my belt and I found some cheap exhaust off the forums followed by a pretty good deal on a PFC bbk and snatched it up. Went out to jmp for the install and got ready for the next couple track days.



The brakes felt much better than the stock ones. Could do more laps without any fade which was a huge plus to really build some confidence. The alpine tune felt like it made the car pull a bit quicker and reving to 8600 rpm never gets old. The whole day I was running upwards of 2 min, but I think my second to last session I was doing laps with a buddy of mine and managed to get a 1:59! Super stoked, and of course I wanted to go quicker.

Went to BW a few more times throughout 2020 and worked on some consistency. Had some solid 59s and even broke into the 58s which I was stoked for.

bye bye gt4 lip

1:58.7

Shortly after I picked up:
SPL front arm kit
traded for some Ts7s
295/30/18 A052s

Stopped by at Mrf for some solid subframe mounts and Chewerks for an alignment.

Next track day was the bimmer challenge event on 3.6.21. I had some fresh ao52s and was curious how much I could improve by. Not to mention I was excited to see how I stood against a ton of fast drivers. I ended up turning off my go pro instead of on for the lap but ended with a pb of 1:57.3. I did manage to get a 1:57.9 on video that was earlier in the day. Overall it was a solid session especially with the new a052s, but wasn’t the biggest fan of the 295 square set up. Not only did it take some work to have them fit but they still ending up rubbing against the inside liner under load. The front spl arms felt good, made the turn in feel more precise and stabilized the front end under braking.

1:57.9

I started with a light gut which was me just ripping out the backseats and rear door panels as well as the trunk liner. That quickly turned into me deciding to hit up TC design to get a half cage. At this point the car was dedicated for full time track use, and the occasional canyon run here and there. I was interested to see how the cage would affect the way the car felt. Not to sure if I felt much but I went out and got a pb of 1:56.5.

[fullyflaredd]

🏎️

[jmeenach]

Looking forward to watching this build progress.

Where in SoCal are you located? There are a lot of us that regularly hit the track together; always love meeting new e9x friends!

[Grippinaround]

I’m out in la, what about you?

[Scrippy]

I love that you were humble enough to show that first mishap vid. 99% don’t do that but it happens to everyone. You’re charging pretty good my friend but I’m a shitbox who goes to the track every 2 years. I’ll be watching ya now though. Be safe and have fun! 🤘🏼

[Scrippy]

What tire are you running? I see the square setup size but not type. Maybe I’m dorky?

[Grippinaround]

Originally Posted by Scrippy

What tire are you running? I see the square setup size but not type. Maybe I’m dorky?

Currently running 265/35/28 RT660s

[jmeenach]

Originally Posted by Grippinaround

I’m out in la, what about you?

Same, on the westside

[Grippinaround]

How the car sits at the moment:

Suspension/ Brakes/ Wheels

KW 2way Clubsports
SPL Full F&R
Falline Rear Trailing Arm
Hotchkis F&R Swaybar
Solid Subframe mounts MRF
PFC Z54 & Z45
PFC 11s
Spiegler Brake Lines
78mm MSI Studs
18x10 Titan TS7s
RT660s 265/35/18

Engine/ Exhaust

Rod Bearings by MRF
New Throttle Actuators
Macht Schnell Pulleys
Alpine DCT Tune
Haimus Plenum
Solid Diff, Trans, Engine Mounts
Slon DCT Pan
Do88 Cooling (Radiator, Oil, Dct)
AA HFC X Pipe
Megan Exhaust

Interior/ Exterior

TC Design Half Cage
Recaro Profi Spa
Antigravity Battery 24ah
Trackspec Hood Vents
Mporium Aluminium Undertray
Aim Solo 2

Buttonwillow 13CW: 1:56.5 (without some of the bits up top)

Haven't been out to bw since February and since then I have been doing a bit of weight reduction and trying to clean up the interior. But I'm really excited and eager to get back out! I have to do another alignment since I installed the AG Battery and shed a few lbs, interested to see where the car will be at.

Last track day I had pretty fresh RT660s 265/35/18, (1 track day and a few canyon runs.) However, I couldn't break into the 1:56s which is what my pb was (fresh 295 a052s), and since then I installed solid diff and trans mounts as well as rear spl arms and hotchkis f&r swaybars. Maybe it was the tires which I never ran before, or maybe it was the new addition of parts, but the car felt pretty snappy, especially into sunrise and exit of sunset.

I had to be much more sensitive and smooth with the throttle application compared to before. The rear felt really stiff, much more than I as used to, so I think I have to adjust the rear sway bar and soften it up. Got my eyes set on bw in march with sdc, hopefully I can get this adjustment down. Ideally id like to dip down into the 1:54/53s before going aero, however enticing it may be.

[reidetailing]

Let's see some pics of the car!

[Grippinaround]

Got the garage for the next two weeks so I thought id use this time to take care of some goodies that I've been sitting on for a while. Going to shed a few more lbs by doing a idrive/ radio delete, and just overall try to clean up the messy wires hanging everywhere.

Are there any forums to thin out the wiring? At this point not exactly sure what I can keep and remove, and dont have the balls to just start cutting wires that doing plug into anything, although it seems that I can

[Grippinaround]

Originally Posted by reidetailing

Let's see some pics of the car!

Ill post some once I'm done with this project

[VicS5]

This was my project of last winter. I did just what you describe- any wire that dead ended I traced back and removed. Many were already unhooked on both ends as radio and most HVAC was already pulled. Depinned everything I could from junction box or fuse box. Some I cut off and shrink wrapped the individual wires.
I labeled and secured separately several “hot” wires for potential future use in powering accessories.

[Grippinaround]

Originally Posted by VicS5

This was my project of last winter. I did just what you describe- any wire that dead ended I traced back and removed. Many were already unhooked on both ends as radio and most HVAC was already pulled. Depinned everything I could from junction box or fuse box. Some I cut off and shrink wrapped the individual wires.
I labeled and secured separately several “hot” wires for potential future use in powering accessories.

Oh ya, that looks like fun. I guess there's no shortcut to it but to just go through it as meticulously as one can. This is kind of the point of where I'm at now. At this stage, is there anything else I can remove/ dont need?

[RalliartRsX]

Following as I will be doing a Idrive delete as well

Any idea on how you are going about the coding out the necessary modules and adding the proper VO??

Also, what did it weigh in it's current trim??

[donald]

really nice build.

I love the focus on non-aero aspects (suspension/power/brakes) and working on the driving instead. Good stuff!

[VicS5]

One small tip - I tracked the changes I made along the way, and occasionally hooked up the cluster and reconnected the junction box to start up the car to ensure it would start and there was not a Christmas tree of dash lights. I figured it would be easier to retrace 5 steps to troubleshoot than 50.

[Grippinaround]

Originally Posted by RalliartRsX

Following as I will be doing a Idrive delete as well

Any idea on how you are going about the coding out the necessary modules and adding the proper VO??

Also, what did it weigh in it's current trim??

Not sure on the coding at the moment. I plan on removing the radio/ ac/ idrive, so I just need to make sure the mdm button works and I also haven’t change the settings to that for a while.

[Grippinaround]

Originally Posted by donald

really nice build.

I love the focus on non-aero aspects (suspension/power/brakes) and working on the driving instead. Good stuff!

Thanks, still very tempted to throw a wing on!

[Grippinaround]

Originally Posted by VicS5

One small tip - I tracked the changes I made along the way, and occasionally hooked up the cluster and reconnected the junction box to start up the car to ensure it would start and there was not a Christmas tree of dash lights. I figured it would be easier to retrace 5 steps to troubleshoot than 50.

Very true, thanks for the tip