Hi All,
I am newly returned to the BMW fold! Previous BMWs were an Euro Spec (grey market) E24 M6 with a stroked 3.7l motor, and an E36 M3 in this great Daytona Violet!
My previous track car is a 2004 Porsche GT3 that is a fully setup track toy replete with Porsche Motorsports suspension (Mostly Porsche RSR & Grand-AM parts)
The license plates are really a joke, noting even remotely street-able on that car! For example, the complete pp /clutch / flywheel assembly weighed 15 lbs...
Now to chat a bit about my journey and my thoughts...
That is a hungry beast ($$$) to feed, and I decided to simplify my life a bit. I wanted to not need to tow to the track, I wanted to be able to drive the car on the street, I wanted just a lot less hassle in my life.
About a month ago, I started looking at options. I considered a C6 or C7 vette, M3, M4, some full out race cars - Ford Boss 351R or whatever it is called, and I kept coming back to the I want easy choices. The C7 goes like stink on the track, but I felt like I was in a video game. I get to drive and or sit in the right seats of a lot of cars on the track - I instruct for both BMW and PCA... So 2 weeks ago, I bought an M2 Comp in Ann Arbor MI. 1st annoying thing is the price. Folks are getting above MSRP for a used car... Oh Well. I considered the M2CS - but that really didn't seem worth it. The M3 & M4 looked good, but they came in even more portly than the M2C.
This car will be and continue to be a streetable track car. It will not even come close to the Porsche in anything other than the new car smell, the CPO warranty, and the age, that is the cost of simplifying my life, I need to deal with it. That said, before doing anything, the BMW is already a fun car. Thee are some boy-racer aspects to it, byt the engine, tranny, and suspension all feel great!
The Porsche comes in at ~3100 with driver, and gas, and sub 2:05's at the Glen and sub 2:45s at LCMT are not even close to being out of the question.
I worry about the electronics, brakes, cooling and the weight in general in that order. My last 3500lb track car was a Subaru STi, and there was very little I could do to get the heat out, and it was a track only car. I do need to say that the build quality of the BMW is just a little bit better!
I listed the electronics not because I think they are prone to problems, but rather that they are literally a part of the car, as opposed to something arbitrarily glued on, and intrusive. Everything else can be addressed up to a point.
I will detail my build and my thoughts. I also welcome questions and thoughts.
Thanks
Ray