Did a PCA HPDE event and my arm got tired from point bys - need help going faster

[heinzboehmer]

csl airbox doesn’t add any power of note, at least not before headers/cams.

Not sure I agree. My car picked up 16 whp with just the airbox and stock CSL tune. Jumped to 25 whp gain with an off the shelf PCS tune.

https://nam3forum.com/forums/forum/main-forum/e46-2001-2006/1925-s54-dyno-database?p=126356#post126356

[Obioban]

Thanks for the feedback. As I mentioned I 100% agree with focusing on myself as a driver, but I already have a plan for that (Garmin is included, amongst other things). I appreciate the reinforcement nonetheless from those who chimed in.

I also didn’t mean to imply that I wanted to match GT car performance, just to get a little faster. Honestly it wasn’t bad as I settled in with a 997.2 Carrera S, which made me pretty happy. But let’s face it we are on a forum where a lot of conversation is on car modifications, so was hoping to focus there.

Consensus seemed to be around suspension, seats, tires and weight. This makes sense to me (although interesting counterpoint on 100 TW tires). That gives me a good place to start. Just need to decide how far to go relative to my dual duty concept. I forgot to mention I’m already running Freakyparts E90/996 calipers, rotors and DTC-60 Hawk pads F/R with SRF fluid and cooling ducts, so brakes are set.

Question - any mods that you would recommend I stay away from from a track reliability standpoint? Example is forced induction (not that I was considering that) and the potential pitfalls with heat management. But what about a CSL airbox mod … do you have to worry about that on track (MAF conversion, heat under the hood, etc.)? Also is there an exhaust you say I should stay away from (I.e. euro headers vs aftermarket due to quality of welds and/or excess heat, or mufflers that don’t fill the cavity in front of the rear bumper?

BTW I’m surprised no one mentioned a carbon front strut tower brave from a nearby thread, good for at least 3 sec a lap?

You did say 3-4k budget— brace not in range 😜

csl airbox doesn’t add any power of note, at least not before headers/cams.

If you want a mod in the 3-4k range, that could get you into a decent dual purpose street/track suspension setup. IMO the stock suspension setup doesn’t do particularly well with modern trackable tires, so that would likely make it meaningfully easier to work on that driver mod.

https://nam3forum.com/forums/forum/main-forum/e46-2001-2006/9123-e46-m3-suspension-setup-or-how-to-not-downgrade-your-car-with-suspension-mods

[Maxhouse97]

Thanks for the feedback. As I mentioned I 100% agree with focusing on myself as a driver, but I already have a plan for that (Garmin is included, amongst other things). I appreciate the reinforcement nonetheless from those who chimed in.

I also didn’t mean to imply that I wanted to match GT car performance, just to get a little faster. Honestly it wasn’t bad as I settled in with a 997.2 Carrera S, which made me pretty happy. But let’s face it we are on a forum where a lot of conversation is on car modifications, so was hoping to focus there.

Consensus seemed to be around suspension, seats, tires and weight. This makes sense to me (although interesting counterpoint on 100 TW tires). That gives me a good place to start. Just need to decide how far to go relative to my dual duty concept. I forgot to mention I’m already running Freakyparts E90/996 calipers, rotors and DTC-60 Hawk pads F/R with SRF fluid and cooling ducts, so brakes are set.

Question - any mods that you would recommend I stay away from from a track reliability standpoint? Example is forced induction (not that I was considering that) and the potential pitfalls with heat management. But what about a CSL airbox mod … do you have to worry about that on track (MAF conversion, heat under the hood, etc.)? Also is there an exhaust you say I should stay away from (I.e. euro headers vs aftermarket due to quality of welds and/or excess heat, or mufflers that don’t fill the cavity in front of the rear bumper?

BTW I’m surprised no one mentioned a carbon front strut tower brave from a nearby thread, good for at least 3 sec a lap?

[Nate047]

Driver mod
Coilovers and a good alignment/damper setup
Pull some free weight out of the car

Mainly driver mod though. I’m always super rusty after long breaks from the track, just go back as often as you can.

Also don’t keep changing stuff, unless something is really terrible. For example pick one tire and one brake pad, get consistent on those, and don’t keep switching things that make the car different if you’re still learning.

[Gt4]

BTW if you don’t give them point-by, you will save tons of cash and still be in front of them!

Fuck I hate lapping days with point-by, I always avoided organisations who swear by them… I did one day with BMWCCA Qc region and I had enough.

[tnord]

Doing a lead-follow with a good driver you trust in a similar car (I wouldn't want to learn a FWD or 911 line) will be the cheapest/fastest way to "gather data" and go faster.

After that stick with maintenance, chassis, and setup (corner weight your coilovers, get adjustable swaybar endlinks, pay attention to your alignment, dial in your tire pressures).

[Obioban]

Modern GT3/4s aren't a realistic target, if the drivers are competent.

15 years ago I primarily did PCA events, because CCA was annoyingly slow and I was always stuck in traffic.

These days, I do far more CCA events. Modern Porsches have gotten FAST, especially the GT cars. If you drive with a club that's mostly new GT cars, in a run group with mildly competent drivers, it is a lot of pointing by.

That said, the only single "mod" that'll make your car significantly faster is tires. And tires have tradeoffs.

More seat time is the best way to get more faster.

[S54330Ci]

Well first of all an attempt to even keep up with GT3 / GT4 cars is futile given they are 400-500hp (or more) massive aero and huge mechanical grip. If this is the group you are running with then point-bys will be inevitable. The money you would need to invest in your M3 to make it close to competitive would be ridiculous and even then you would still be pointing these cars by.

I'd look into dropping into a slower group of comparable HP cars if that is possible.

Having said that, I dropped a second in time from just a proper seat alone. A race seat will help you feel the car under you (through your rear), keep you from sliding in a typical leather covered seat, eliminate the "death grip" on the steering wheel and the need to brace yourself against the door in corners. It really helps you focus on the car and what it is doing. What others have said about instruction (whether it is human or electronic) has definite payback with lower lap times.

[eacmen]

Rollbar, seats, and harnesses, and HANS!

[EthanolTurbo]

Seats and seat time are probably the best track mods.

[mrgizmo04]

I'd go with Hoosiers, aero kit and a turbo kit, all can be found used.

I kid.

You would most benefit from what you said to set aside, which is to spend the extra $ every HPDE you go to to get private instruction. That is best bang for the buck. That said, for you to be more comfortable and to be able to focus on driving, a proper seat/restraint would help a lot. Also, to get the most out of the 200tw tires, you'd probably want to get coilovers that can handle the additional forces and actually keep those tires on the ground.

Our cars can still put up a decent fight, just remember that they can get smoked by minivans and grocery getters these days, so don't get too discouraged in packs of pcars with decent drivers.

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[MarcoPolo]

WOW a 1:14 & 1:12, Impressive! That's faster than an Indycar! (Scout Dixen's pole was a 1:22 and change on the long course) I think you mean 2:14 & 2:12

Lol...touche...yes 2:12 /2:14.. actually last time I was limping 2:16's all day...bad engine....getting it back this week and doing summit/wgi back to back this coming weekend.

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[Gt4]

I would get:

-brake pads with race compound like Performance Friction 08. No dual purpose pads, it’s noisy on steeet and sucks at track. Also make sure you have good brake fluid like Motul 600 or 660. Brass bushing guide pins are also nice upgrade to help wear pads straight, not like a wedge.

-Ohlins R&T coilovers

-lightweight wheels like Apex Arc8 in larger sizes

-headers

[M9Seth]

you 100000000% do not want 100TW tires. you need the noisy tires to tell you how to control yourself. problem with 100TW is....you get no warning and by then it's too late and you're hitting a wall.
i'd say mods give you motivation to improve but they do more to mask issues. the goal is to peak your driving abilities with the way the car is setup and then add stuff to increase that. mods won't make you better, just faster. but faster doesn't do anything until you're better.

anti-gravity battery is cool but you're not shaving seconds off just cuz of that.

i would look at improving your suspension to improve your handling. this will make both your track experience fun as well as keeping your car as a daily driver.

my car is fairly modded and i'm doing 1:14's at Watkins. a friend is on a bone-stock e46 except for bilstein clubsports and he's doing 1:12's. 2 seconds faster than me, stock seats, stock catted headers, stock exhaust, stock tune...do i need to go on...

WOW a 1:14 & 1:12, Impressive! That's faster than an Indycar! (Scout Dixen's pole was a 1:22 and change on the long course) I think you mean 2:14 & 2:12

[eacmen]

One of the instructors at the last team event had a Garmin Catalyst and showed me what it can do and how it helped him. First thing I did when I got back was buy one. Going to try it out at VIR in November, but I suspect dollar for dollar will probably be the best bang for buck as far as lap time.