Managed to strip pretty much the entire interior out over the weekend. Ive pretty much left in the dash, glovebox and area around the cd player/elec window switches. Front seats are INSANELY heavy.. I got a pair of Ford Recaro buckets kicking about so going to see if I can fit them safely. Pics soon
318IS Track Car? Nickxx?
- Thread starter MrKnifey
- Start date
If you have removed the door cards I'd suggest you sort something to cover the window mechs etc - there are a lot of sharp things around there and you'd probably fare better day to day and certainly in a crash. Some thin board or similar would probably be enough 
I remember there being a LOT of soundproofing between the rear seat backs and the steel of the boot and again on the inside so you've probably saved a good few KGs but at the cost of probably lots of noise
I remember there being a LOT of soundproofing between the rear seat backs and the steel of the boot and again on the inside so you've probably saved a good few KGs but at the cost of probably lots of noise
Fair play to BMW they do love good build quality.. Ive taken the door cards off and going to look at what I can do to sort it out..
Im going to try get it weighed when its driveable again.. Need to remove the air con too..
Im going to try get it weighed when its driveable again.. Need to remove the air con too..
Fair play to BMW they do love good build quality.. Ive taken the door cards off and going to look at what I can do to sort it out..
Im going to try get it weighed when its driveable again.. Need to remove the air con too..
I'd personally leave it in. When you're spanking it around the track on a hot summers day you'll be glad of it. You're not driving in the DTM so that extra weight and power loss won't lose you as much time as your breaking concentration due to the heat will!
This.
I always find myself needing the aircon on, and it won't make "that" much difference.
What wheels does it have? The M3 wheels (Sunflower - Style 22, M Contour - Style 23, Evo - Style 24) are forged rather than cast, and weigh a fair bit less. As we all know, unsprung weight is key!
Hi there crankbro - yup I do have the 318iS still.
As mentioned above the best way to bin weight is to get rid of all of the sound deadening. There's a lot of crap you can take out - I think all this lot weighed 60kg or so:
Depending on your engine (I.e. if you have the earlier M42), you could get it chipped for not a lot. I paid £30 for a chip off eBay which was a very worthwhile upgrade imo. If you have the later M44, you will have to get it remapped however - I don't think the cost would be worth it.
I also fitted Spax coilover suspension to mine which was £400 and very worthwhile if you're taking it on the track.
If your wheels are genuine (they probably are if they're staggered) then I'd stick with them and get some good tyres (I'm running Pilot Sport 2s).
This is me hunting down an Elise last year at Bedford:
As mentioned above the best way to bin weight is to get rid of all of the sound deadening. There's a lot of crap you can take out - I think all this lot weighed 60kg or so:
Depending on your engine (I.e. if you have the earlier M42), you could get it chipped for not a lot. I paid £30 for a chip off eBay which was a very worthwhile upgrade imo. If you have the later M44, you will have to get it remapped however - I don't think the cost would be worth it.
I also fitted Spax coilover suspension to mine which was £400 and very worthwhile if you're taking it on the track.
If your wheels are genuine (they probably are if they're staggered) then I'd stick with them and get some good tyres (I'm running Pilot Sport 2s).
This is me hunting down an Elise last year at Bedford:
If you have removed the door cards I'd suggest you sort something to cover the window mechs etc - there are a lot of sharp things around there and you'd probably fare better day to day and certainly in a crash. Some thin board or similar would probably be enough
I remember there being a LOT of soundproofing between the rear seat backs and the steel of the boot and again on the inside so you've probably saved a good few KGs but at the cost of probably lots of noise
Can cut out the whole frame of the door using a dremel or similar and then pop rivet an aluminum or plastic piece cut to shape over the old frame. Pop a door pull tag onto it and a job done.
Ive taken much much much more out than that and Im also swapping the Front seats. I should have weighed everything to be honest. How do I find out what engine I have mate?
If you have the logbook, the simplest way is looking at the engine capacity. M42 is 1796cc, M44 is 1896cc
A quick visual check is the intake manifold. The M44 is a curved type affair, the M42 is pretty much straight into each cylinder.
Another is the aux belt/pulleys. The M42 uses V-grooved pulleys and v-shaped belt, the M44 uses toothed.
A quick visual check is the intake manifold. The M44 is a curved type affair, the M42 is pretty much straight into each cylinder.
Another is the aux belt/pulleys. The M42 uses V-grooved pulleys and v-shaped belt, the M44 uses toothed.
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*looks at the scars still on his hands* ... oh really !
Serious point, the e36 318iS is a really quite competant track car, and bloody cheap to run and upgrade
To my knowledge nick has never managed to get brake fade and is using cheap pads and discs. Best option if you wanted better braking would be to go up to an M3 setup (if your keeping the M42 engine) just so you can have more force and brake later, I doubt just uprated discs and pads would give enough improvement to notice. I think when you do this you need a new master cylinder.
Handling with the coilovers is pretty dam good, and I'd imagine if you put on track tyres it would be another decent step up in performance. I've personally witnessed Nicks 318 just after coilovers were fitted keep up with a 328 e36 lap after lap, because he was still on stock suspension and nick just kept pulling him in on every corner. "Anyone" can up the BHP to get past on straights (scooby owners?) but the real fun is working your butt off through the corners to make ground on the 'Faster' Cars.
Great track car in my eyes, keep us updated on your progress !
Here are some pics, sorry about quality etc as its in a tight garage and im using a phone! Anyways heres the car (ish)
Still more to come out:
Start of subframe for seat, as its a budget track car im using a spare set of ford recaros. MUCH lighter than BMW seats and hold you really well:
Seat in:
Battery in the boot:
M3 Front Bumper Fitting:
Well theres what ive done so far... All comments welcome, also any ideas on which engine model I got guys?
Still more to come out:
Start of subframe for seat, as its a budget track car im using a spare set of ford recaros. MUCH lighter than BMW seats and hold you really well:
Seat in:
Battery in the boot:
M3 Front Bumper Fitting:
Well theres what ive done so far... All comments welcome, also any ideas on which engine model I got guys?
Bumper looks good, also it's looking very light
Looks preface lift and it's an N reg, it's on the cusp of M42/M44 changeover I've not idea how to tell the engines apart, is there not a serial or barcode sticker on the block that you can see?
Looks preface lift and it's an N reg, it's on the cusp of M42/M44 changeover I've not idea how to tell the engines apart, is there not a serial or barcode sticker on the block that you can see?
Soldato
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Can't you look on the V5 and see what its engine size is down as 1896 for the 44 and 1796 for the 42
Hi there
This shall be excellent on track when done and huge amounts of fun.
I've been to a lot of track days now and the most impressive low cost cars which do surprisingly well are Clio 172/182's stripped out on sticky rubber, the only downfall from a driving aspect if they are FWD which is not as fun as RWD but more forgiving in novice hands.
On BMW side the E36 cars do very well, a 318is is a superb handling car but unfortunately does lack power. On my last trackday I went out in an E36 328i which was completely stripped running coil overs, slicks, think the guy said the weight was down too 1150kg and it was circa 205BHP. The car was incredibly impressive on track and was far quicker than most other cars and his best lap time was only 2s off me in the 911.
Fact is he paid about 2k for the car and about a further 2-3k in making it track ready himself and as long as you get a good base its possible to get a great track car for little money.
My view is if your not very experience then something like a Clio 172 is ideal, they are the quickest of all the hot hatches I've come across on track days, though the Meganes do very well too, Renault do certainly seem to have the edge in hot hatches, particular on track.
If you've got more experience then an E36 and ideally 328i are absolutely superb, they have enough power to have plenty of sideways fun when required and the chassis is simply class leading and so controllable. The only dis-advantage of track prepping an E36 to this extent makes them awful on the road, noisy, clattery and too harsh but just about bearable enough to drive too and from the track.
Or if you've got plenty of cash then just buy an M3 CSL, they are truly menacing on track.
Or get a 911 and slowly work on converting it too CUP spec.
This shall be excellent on track when done and huge amounts of fun.
I've been to a lot of track days now and the most impressive low cost cars which do surprisingly well are Clio 172/182's stripped out on sticky rubber, the only downfall from a driving aspect if they are FWD which is not as fun as RWD but more forgiving in novice hands.
On BMW side the E36 cars do very well, a 318is is a superb handling car but unfortunately does lack power. On my last trackday I went out in an E36 328i which was completely stripped running coil overs, slicks, think the guy said the weight was down too 1150kg and it was circa 205BHP. The car was incredibly impressive on track and was far quicker than most other cars and his best lap time was only 2s off me in the 911.
Fact is he paid about 2k for the car and about a further 2-3k in making it track ready himself and as long as you get a good base its possible to get a great track car for little money.
My view is if your not very experience then something like a Clio 172 is ideal, they are the quickest of all the hot hatches I've come across on track days, though the Meganes do very well too, Renault do certainly seem to have the edge in hot hatches, particular on track.
If you've got more experience then an E36 and ideally 328i are absolutely superb, they have enough power to have plenty of sideways fun when required and the chassis is simply class leading and so controllable. The only dis-advantage of track prepping an E36 to this extent makes them awful on the road, noisy, clattery and too harsh but just about bearable enough to drive too and from the track.
Or if you've got plenty of cash then just buy an M3 CSL, they are truly menacing on track.
Or get a 911 and slowly work on converting it too CUP spec.