In reply to docwyte:
Sooo... you have a M3 prepped for track use, but don't take it on the track as often as you would like and it's too harsh to drive on the street regularly but don't want to remove the track-oriented safety gear in case you do track it.
But if you replace it with a more street oriented car that can be tracked, it won't have all of that safety gear when you go to the track. Plus, you are talking about replacing the M3 with a car that is even faster on a track.
I'm confused. 
Ha! Never said I'd make any sense Ian. Your points are extremely valid and honestly probably what I should do, given that I already own the M3 and it's basically in 100% perfect shape. I'd have much more of an excuse if I didn't have the stock interior to put back in it, but its sitting in a pile in my basement right now, ready to go.
The speeds a 996 Turbo can hit on track definitely give me pause. Matter of fact, 7 years ago the speeds I was hitting on track with my supercharged E46 M3(140+ mph) were what started me down the path of a dedicated track car with all the safety equipment.
I'm going to track this Saturday, I guess my best course of action is to see how much fun I have. Then decide if I want to convert the car more into a stock-ish street car or not.
If a 996 Turbo happens to fall into my lap that meets my requirements (6 speed manual, no grey interior, driver quality, decent price) then I'll really have a decision to make...
I understand the dilemma. I face it on a lesser scale with my DH bike. In my living room sits a $7000 bicycle that is pretty much only good for doing one thing: going down extreme lift-served dedicated downhill trails very fast. If I ride the bike 10 days this season I'll be surprised. But a bicycle takes up a lot less room than a car and doesn't cost anything sitting in my house (other than maybe flat-spotting the tires).
In reply to docwyte:
It's really hard to go from a razor sharp dedicated track car to a street car. I tried. There is nothing fun about tracking a car that won't do what you want immediately - and that means the suspension and harnesses have to stay so you and the car are not flopping around.
My advise is - go to the track more so you don't feel the pinch of compromise :)
DaewooOfDeath wrote: Why not a 3k dollar track day car so you don't feel bad parking it outside/driving it 14 days a year? I guess I don't understand how an M3 is better than a ratty SN95 if you want a fun, fast track ride.
$3k barely buys the necessary safety gear.
Well, had my track day yesterday. Only got in 3 sessions as I was needed at home to help with my daughter somewhat unexpectedly.
Started off with a wet track and it was cold! Like 38 degrees. So for the first two sessions I went out on my street tires, which did remarkably well. (Pilot Super Sports)
Had a great time and was beginning to lap the field, got to play with a fully prepped, gutted, E36 M3 race car, which was a bit quicker than me.
Bottom line, I don't think I can decontent this car. It's just too well setup for the track and I'm definitely going to miss the way it is on the track.
I just have to decide if I want to keep it as is, or go more fully over to the street side.
docwyte wrote: Daewoo, because a $3k beater takes at least another $5k to get reliable and durable for track use. Plus the M3 is a much better car and I've already bullet proofed it for track use. Ricky, doing either would be exceedingly expensive!
Man, that's not been my experience at all. I've never tracked any car worth more than 3 grand ever, I drive like my hair is on fire and my biggest mechanical failure to date has been broken injector wires.
A prebuilt cage isn't that expensive. Seat belts aren't that bad ... am I missing something else that can't be found in a junkyard?
Every $3k car I've ever seen is neglected and full of worn out parts, let alone the seats/harnesses/rollcage/suspension it'll need. Even my fairly well maintained M3 still needed a bunch of things replaced.
I don't like having to wrench on my cars while at the track. I know some people find that fun but I just want to turn the key and drive. Maybe have to put in gas...
DaewooOfDeath wrote:docwyte wrote: Daewoo, because a $3k beater takes at least another $5k to get reliable and durable for track use. Plus the M3 is a much better car and I've already bullet proofed it for track use. Ricky, doing either would be exceedingly expensive!Man, that's not been my experience at all. I've never tracked any car worth more than 3 grand ever, I drive like my hair is on fire and my biggest mechanical failure to date has been broken injector wires. A prebuilt cage isn't that expensive. Seat belts aren't that bad ... am I missing something else that can't be found in a junkyard?
A pair of good composite racing seats is $800-$1500. A Momo wheel is $200. A pair of 6 point harnesses is $500. The cheapest bolt in cage is $1000 with shipping and a decent custom weld-in can be anywhere from $2500 to $6000. We haven't got to hoses, fresh tight bushings, oil cooler, brake lines, safety wiring, spare wheels, etc. Hell, you can easily spend $150 just changing all the fluids.
There is a difference between a solid track car and a reliable car that goes to the track. If you are doing all the work to find and fit take-offs, install, assemble, fabricate, tune, tweak it yourself... just go ahead and assign yourself a small price per hour for that time spent at the JY or in the shop and see where you come out. There is no free lunch. I have done it the hard way - and no matter how I slice it the difference is $5k minimum (or umpteen hours mucking about) to get the safety and stability bolted to a street car.
In reply to Huckleberry:
Well... note his screen name is DaewooOfDeath. 
Huckleberry wrote:DaewooOfDeath wrote:A pair of good composite racing seats is $800-$1500. A Momo wheel is $200. A pair of 6 point harnesses is $500. The cheapest bolt in cage is $1000 with shipping and a decent custom weld-in can be anywhere from $2500 to $6000. We haven't got to hoses, fresh tight bushings, oil cooler, brake lines, safety wiring, spare wheels, etc. Hell, you can easily spend $150 just changing all the fluids. There is a difference between a solid track car and a reliable car that goes to the track. If you are doing all the work to find and fit take-offs, install, assemble, fabricate, tune, tweak it yourself... just go ahead and assign yourself a small price per hour for that time spent at the JY or in the shop and see where you come out. There is no free lunch. I have done it the hard way - and no matter how I slice it the difference is $5k minimum (or umpteen hours mucking about) to get the safety and stability bolted to a street car.docwyte wrote: Daewoo, because a $3k beater takes at least another $5k to get reliable and durable for track use. Plus the M3 is a much better car and I've already bullet proofed it for track use. Ricky, doing either would be exceedingly expensive!Man, that's not been my experience at all. I've never tracked any car worth more than 3 grand ever, I drive like my hair is on fire and my biggest mechanical failure to date has been broken injector wires. A prebuilt cage isn't that expensive. Seat belts aren't that bad ... am I missing something else that can't be found in a junkyard?
I'm not trying to discredit you or anything, but I am suggesting that your standards might be unnecessarily high for track days.
Why do we need composite seats when we can use a single aluminum Kirkey for 150 bucks? Steering wheel? I've already got one, thanks. Summit lists racing belts at about 70 bucks each. My tire budget is currently zero because I grab stuff off the pile. My oil cooler was 20 bucks off a delivery van. My track wheels were 300 bucks total because I'm okay with scratches ...
I get that people want to be classier than I am, but there's not much of a case outside aesthetics IMO.
I've done very similar yet not the same things: built Samurais that were for all intents and purposes, off-road only vehicles. No swaybars, no doors, no roof, no tailgate, no back seat, racing seats, SPOA lift (gooey-soft suspension) and 33" Super Swampers that absolutely howled above 20 mph that drowned out the crappy factory am-fm cassette stereo, no A/C and almost no heat.
The main difference is they were my only vehicle and I drove those things EVERYWHERE. I used them for what they were built for just a few times a year but I enjoyed every single mile I put on them and it was a LOT of miles.
Ive never been turned off driving vehicles that most people can't stand to be in for long.
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