I recently got a M3 to use all year around as a daily driver, so I'm thinking of turning my 2001 Type-R into a track car only. I'd just like some help from someone with more experience as to what I should focus on next.

I need to keep the car street legal, just because I don't have a trailer so I'll need to drive it to the track. My main question is, what should I focus on first? Suspension and tires, performance (intake, header/exhaust, cams and a tune?), brakes?

I would appreciate any hints and tips that anyone may have.

 

rules.
they will tell you side wall thickness, points, preffered welding processes of the cage, bolt in or weld in etc.

if you're just making it an HPDE class, just go as is

 

I don't plan on racing the car anytime soon, but I might go to some of the time attack series, so good point for checking out the rules.

I have already done quite a few HPDE's for the past couple years, so I'm pretty comfortable with the stock car. Right now I'm just looking into seeing what upgrades would be more important in a track car. First thing I'll do is gut out whatever stuff I don't need from it and install a cage, but after that I'm not quite sure what to work next.

For example, on some track I've been to have really tight corners which make my acceleration out of the corners really low just because of the lack of torque on our cars. Now, I'm not sure what exactly would help in such a case. Definetly some performance modifications would help, but I'm just wondering with a better suspension and tires, would I be able to carry more speed through the turns, and thus keep my RPM's higher which should give me a better drive out of the corner.

 

Yes that would help. Also maybe look for a shorter final drive say 4.7. A 4.9 might be a little harsh. Thats always a great place to start.

 

The 4.9FD is nice, and I'd personnally suggest using it if you are going to keep the stock gearset.

Since you already do HPDE's, a roll bar (not a cage for a street driven car), a proper seat, and harnesses would be my first suggestion. Then R comps, then suspension to fit your needs. You can do both at the same time, but your learning curve will be longer that way. A high spring rate suspension will work well for r comps, but not always great for street tires. Also get the alignment setup, play around with it, the car will react differently depending on what alignment settings you use.

OEM brakes with good pads and fluid are perfect for track use so I wouldn't bother with a big brake setup, etc. I would trim the dust shields on the front so you can remove them for track use while you switch pads.

As for performance parts, that goes back to the rulebook if you are doing organized competition. More mid range power can help, so I'd suggest tuning for it. You don't need to be making big power to A) be fast on road courses and B) (and most importantly) to have fun.

 

Using a lower gear. Sounds like you're not in the lowest gear possible without exceeding redline. When you are, you're way up in the revband, and you wouldn't feel a lack of acceleration (which you mistake for a lack of torque).

Remember, what our cars lack in torque, they gain back in gearing, due to their ability to rev higher while maintaining a flat torque curve. Read this article.

 

Thanks a lot for the replies everyone. Some very helpful hints, and it's pretty much the direction I was thinking of going in, so I'm glad I wasn't way off on that... now to start looking around for the parts.