All good points.
Im fully aware of the importance of weight....
When I was researching the lightest chassis available, the only ones that could be sub 2000 were the Elise, Miata, and MR Spyder. None of these cars can fit a 295 tire, and to do a non ‘marque’ swap would put it in Limited anyway...
The other thing is looking at lap times in general, it becomes evident that some cars respond to hp increases very well, and some dont.
When I raced the S2000 all those years ago, we won a lot of races with very little power.
When I raced the FRS, it had 2x the power, it was barely any faster and still ‘needed more’.
So, Im looking at a bunch of possible options for a build in the street class and shooting for something like a 2:20 COTA and 1:30 Laguna.
I have tracked a few E46’s and have an idea of what they feel like, but never tracked a 92.
The other thing is the non M 46 chassis are so cheap now!
Quote:
Originally Posted by dogbone
hmmm where to start......
-What time attack series are you looking at? With an organizer like Global Time Attack, they have removed the drivetrain class separations. So, FWD, RWD and AWD all compete against each other. In my opinion, this gives the AWD cars the advantage given equal money spent on the three drivetrains. So, if you're looking to be competitive, the easiest way to be competitive is to start with AWD.
-E92 simply cannot be as light as E46 or E36. E92 can't easily go below 2800 lbs without getting super crazy. E46 can be sub-2600 lbs with a full gutting and carbon parts. E36 can be around 2400 lbs with full gutting and carbon parts. Weight is very very very very very very important.
-In general, BMWs aren't really the ideal TT platform. I do TT with my E90 because it's the car I had. But it's at a huge disadvantage compared to many other cars out there. It's tall, big, heavy, RWD. If you are starting from scratch, and going to go big power, you should really consider a body that is low slung and can get light. Corvettes can do very well. And I know it's not sexy, but a Miata with crazy development can be fast as hell. Of course, Subarus are putting insane times down. I won't talk about Nissan GTRs because they start really expensive. All these other things I've mentioned can be gotten pretty cheap now.
Anyway, given the question you started by asking, I don't believe you're wedded to a BMW. And if you're going to pour a ton of resources into a car that is specifically built for TT, why not start with a platform that will give you the best chance?
btw, the lightest E46 I have seen in person was built by Trinity Autosport. It weighed 2550. That thing was super stripped and had a basic cage in it. You mentioned an E46 at 2300 lbs. That would be quite a feat.
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