Limits of the car too high to enjoy

[repoman89]

... on public roads. I've had my car for almost six years and have made it progressively faster, better sounding or more bulletproof each year: SSv1s, VANOS, Vincebar, Karb box, and now upcoming 996 Brembos and Cobra Nogaros. I regret to admit that in that time I have not taken it to the track. Each mod or project has made the car better or more trustworthy in one way or another, but from the beginning its limits were already higher than I was capable of exploring on public roads, and I keep raising them because I can and because car projects are fun. I'm 30 now and financially stable enough to pay for track days and associated expenses (ignore the mod list ) and had finally signed up for a BMWCCA beginner track school at one of the many local tracks this spring, but it was cancelled and looks like there is really nothing scheduled for the rest of the year at this point. So, back to street driving and being in go directly to jail territory within seven or eight seconds, or less on back roads, yet not really ever feeling "fast" because the car is nowhere near what it is capable of.

I can't help but think lately that an NA or NB Miata would be a better fun car most of the time, and even as a beginner on the track when I can finally sign up for something next year. Won't be able to bring myself to sell the M3 for it though, so I'm in danger of having a small car collection with a one car garage (also bought an E39 M5 last year as my new daily, which ironically can be more interesting to drive because it's so fat that I can actually make it start to slip at semi-normal speeds. Old all-season tires probably contribute too). I guess the thread is basically a complaint about cancelled HPDE season and wondering if anyone else has the same thoughts about the ridiculously high street limits of the car. Maybe it's just my area.

[Tbonem3]

You're not wrong. I'm cooling it on the mods, at least with regards to power. I'd love an e30/e36/e82/miata/s2000 to throw around. Actually I recently bought an e82 128i to DD.

[ATB88]

Yeah I've really been feeling the same lately. I feel like I'm most of the way to making the decision to pick up an S2K this summer to use as a HPDE car.

[oceansize]

This is where my 2016 Focus ST fits in. Bought it new for a DD and I've modded it as well but none of the mods are power related. SSK, slightly stiffer motor mounts, larger turbo intercooler, tune (a little power added here), exhaust, careful suspension upgrades, good tires, lighter wheels, etc... Super fun as a daily driver and I can push it to the limit easier on the back roads. My e46 which feels more special, I guess because it was always a dream car, is super charged so it can be a little much to handle at times. Track visits aren't in the equation for me, life is currently too busy as I've got 16 year and 18 year old kids but maybe one day.

Edit: I know it is front wheel drive but don't discount the fun factor an ST provides. Stupid little car is fun.

[Sprp85]

Agreed. Although, it is not "fast" by any means nowadays.. it can get up to trouble zone quickly.

Well, E9X 328i are getting realllllllllllly cheap nowadays, in case you want to stay with inline 6s to beat around with. Maintenance isn't bad on them either (Owned 3 x N52 engined BMWs so far).

[r4dr]

If you can live with the reduced space I’d go 128i over 328i. Even the E92 is a bit porky 🐷

[pawa_k2001]

You guys just live in the wrong area. 😁

[oceansize]

Not I, NE TN and there are tons of mountainous curvy back country roads and not many people but I'm in a vert with no roll bar and just enough people around to keep me honest.

[Icecream]

You guys just live in the wrong area. 😁

This is the problem 100%. If anything the car really needs another 100hp.

[Obioban]

You could put on crappier tires 🤔

Track days should cheer you up.

[Steve]

You guys just live in the wrong area. 😁

Truth. Every road is straight here so an extra 200 hp would be nice

[repoman89]

If this work from home stuff sticks around, which it sounds like it will at both my and fiancee’s jobs, I will move closer to central MA at the first opportunity. There are plenty of great roads out there and further west, but that’s minimum 45 minutes to get to them from where I currently live, so not really a casual weeknight activity. Still though I’d rather be working a slow car hard to drive at speeds that seem dangerous rather than not even stretching a faster car’s legs at dangerous speeds.

Track days will definitely cheer me up once they’re back on so the car isn’t going anywhere!

[newton22]

This is where my 2016 Focus ST fits in. Bought it new for a DD and I've modded it as well but none of the mods are power related. SSK, slightly stiffer motor mounts, larger turbo intercooler, tune (a little power added here), exhaust, careful suspension upgrades, good tires, lighter wheels, etc... Super fun as a daily driver and I can push it to the limit easier on the back roads. My e46 which feels more special, I guess because it was always a dream car, is super charged so it can be a little much to handle at times. Track visits aren't in the equation for me, life is currently too busy as I've got 16 year and 18 year old kids but maybe one day.

Edit: I know it is front wheel drive but don't discount the fun factor an ST provides. Stupid little car is fun.

I just sold mine after owning it for 4 years, bought new in 2016. Loved that car. Awesome steering ratio. I agree it's such a great car for driving around on the street.

[lcrain]

Buy a miata and find out if that scratches the itch. They are cheap, reliable, easy to work on and great tools for learning driving dynamics.

I have owned two NA miatas. Granted both were/are race cars, so I have zero experience driving one on the street. Miata #1 was a spec 1.6 and the one I own now is a bit better than spec 1.8 and we use it for endurance racing. I also have a nasa gts3 spec e36m3 w/s54 racecar. Totally different driving experiences, both very fun.

With the miata, you will never get yourself in trouble with your right foot. That allowed me personally to approach the cornering limits of the car comfortably. I know I am not going to overwhelm the car with throttle, really, really hard to do with ~120 hp and sticky tires. So is starkly different from my M3 which loves to throttle oversteer. With the miata, I can learn how to carry more speed into a corner and dance on that edge of grip through a corner. You really have to work hard and have skills to be truly fast in a miata. Those skills also translate to when I take out the m3, which is a nice benefit.

[yhp2009]

I'm one of those people who love keeping their e46 m3 stock. But threads like this really tempt me. Curious to see at the least. Especially lately cars are just so much faster in general and the age is starting to show.