Josh created a race track version of the E46 BMW M3

"Torque Affair" (torqueaffair)
07/11/2014 at 08:17 • Filed to: BMW, RACING

If you've ever looked at your car and wondered "hmm, wonder what it would be like to have a track version of my car", then look no further than Josh's M3.

Or if you've never had that thought in your life but have done any modifications on your car whatsoever, you'll still like what Josh has done. He started off like many of us would....changing minor things here and there like exhaust and intake, but then he couldn't stop. He basically ended up creating an M3 that BMW might look at and think: "we should have made this!".

Josh has, in essence, has created a GT3 equivalent of an E46 BMW M3. A few years and thousands of dollars later he has a car that dominates the race track. I must say that he has been bitten by the racing bug pretty hard !

He has changed out many of the components of the car; everything from seats, harnesses, carbon-fiber fitments that lower weight and of course, a ton of engine and suspension enhancements.

Ironically, Josh never set out to do this. He bought an E46 M3 a while back and all he really wanted to do was keep it in pristine condition, baby it and not really put any miles on it. Little did he know at the time what he would end up doing with it!

If you happen to own an E46 BMW M3, then you will really enjoy Josh's !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . He painstakingly details everything he has done over the years; in the process he has amassed a loyal following and is well known in the M3 community. I'm sure lots of people followed his advice and worked on their the cars the same way he did.

If you don't own an M3, you should be inspired. Just look at how he has transformed his car...well pictures don't do it justice. Really the difference is in how the car drives and performs on the track

I won't go through everything Josh has done - for that you can check out his journal (70-something pages and counting!). My favorite mods are, of course, those that don't really add to performance whatsoever. For example, a steering wheel that can be released- hey if you're going to go all out, might as well go all out !

And a really cool shifter....

He also has a roll cage which serves a true benefit. Things can get hairy out on a track - just watch the video below to see what I'm talking about. If I was driving that car and could barely control my car, I would definitely need the roll cage!

There's a long wide mirror up by the visors that he installed to make it easy to see what's going on behind him - for example a 638 hp ZR1 creeping up behind him (you'll get to see this clip in the video)

Except for the steering wheel, Josh had a reason to do all the upgrades - everything that contributes to better track performance and better racing.

He manages to get 300 hp out of the naturally aspirated motor. The engine itself is pretty amazing and sounds great when he's racing.

The video below highlights Josh's driving skills and his ability to control his car when he virtually no brakes or tires left! There are some heart pounding moments specially at 4:14 and 5:18. If that was me, I would have ended up in the wall.

So, after all these mods, Josh is surely done, right? Nope…one more thing. He wants to do is change out his roof and put in a CSL carbon-fiber one.

Weight reduction - check . Power - check . That's about it!

I should say that Josh still wants to retain creature comforts so he hasn't stripped it out completely. It still could be a daily driver around town if he wanted although he primarily uses the M3 for racing.

Here is another video of Josh and a mutual friend having fun with their M3s. This was before he was getting ready to hit the Circuit of the Americas.

So what's next? He will likely keep the car for a very long time. After all, he has put in so much money and done so much work, he can't bear to give it away for almost nothing. Up next for Josh are time trials and wheel to wheel racing. Looking forward to tracking his journey as a race car driver!

Check out more posts at !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!

DISCUSSION (19)

Party-vi > Torque Affair
07/11/2014 at 08:22

Any reason he kept the interior? Shedding the interior bits would probably save 200-300lb. Also, not a fan of losing the airbag, but that's his choice.

BKRM3 > Party-vi
07/11/2014 at 09:01

Well he doesn't really need the airbag with a half cage, race buckets, harnesses, helmet and HANS. It is stated above that, although the car is street legal, it's primarily a track car. I agree with you about the interior though. Maybe the thought was that the cage (looks like it could be a bolt-in?) and seats are easy enough to remove and that he wasn't ready to commit to ripping out the entire interior. It's hard to make decisions like that when you're starting out with a "nice" M street car. That's why I haven't done more to mine (and I don't plan to). I believe the widely accepted wisdom is: buy a race car, don't build one.

Bullitt Ride > Torque Affair
07/11/2014 at 09:02

"There are some heart pounding moments specially at 4:14 and 5:18. If that was me, I would have ended up in the wall."

Once you've done a couple of HPDE's and a few lapping days, reacting to 'moments' like those becomes like second nature and they don't seem like a big deal.

BKRM3 > Torque Affair
07/11/2014 at 09:04

At 4:14 Josh got greedy with the throttle (perhaps on purpose!) and at 5:18 he began his turn in while still under too much braking, hence no weight on the rear - that particular rotation is a scary one if you aren't expecting it, because the only way to fix it is to open the wheel and let off the brake. If you're too close to the outside of the track - whoops!

Cool car. I believe he and I have the same tow straps lol.

E92M3 > Party-vi
07/11/2014 at 09:10

Me either, but I suppose if you have a 4 point harness and hans device it's not doing much anyway.

ArmadaExpress drives a turbo outback > Party-vi
07/11/2014 at 09:15

Looks like he is using a HANS device so it was definitely a good idea to be rid of the airbags. Considering he only tracks the car there is no longer a need for them as well.

Party-vi > E92M3
07/11/2014 at 09:19

He wears the HANS on the street?

Party-vi > ArmadaExpress drives a turbo outback
07/11/2014 at 09:19

If he only tracks the car there's no need for plates is there? Or do he drive to events with his HANS on?

E92M3 > Party-vi
07/11/2014 at 09:29

Don't you?

Party-vi > E92M3
07/11/2014 at 09:31

I'm HANS-less. Also fast car-less, too.

E92M3 > Torque Affair
07/11/2014 at 09:53

Kinja'd!!!

Did someone say racecar?

ArmadaExpress drives a turbo outback > Party-vi
07/11/2014 at 10:02

He may drive it on the street but it seems that it's not his daily driver. Also think you need plates if you want any sort of insurance on it. (I'd be curious to know who/how this is insured) Also possible that if you were to live somewhere that has an HOA, you would likely have to have the car streetable with plates and so on. That last one is a bit of a gray area though.

Torque Affair > E92M3
07/11/2014 at 18:14

Hah...that's definitely a race car!

Torque Affair > BKRM3
07/11/2014 at 18:15

I need to go out to the track more often so I can learn how to do all this!

Torque Affair > Bullitt Ride
07/11/2014 at 18:16

Yeah, I've only done one, and just in that one, I spun out a couple times. Couldn't really do counter-steering correctly. Did it the worst way possible...but I hope to do some HPDEs track days to learn.

Torque Affair > Party-vi
07/11/2014 at 18:17

I think he still wanted to retain some "drivability" and overall comfort ...

BKRM3 > Torque Affair
07/12/2014 at 06:52

Heck yes you do. It's the most fun thing ever.

Torque Affair > BKRM3
07/12/2014 at 08:08

Totally.

Ike Carr > Torque Affair
08/06/2015 at 02:14

I don’t want to be a buzz-kill, but “...manages to get 300hp...” The stock E46 M3, MAKES 343hp, STOCK (E46 is the chassis code for the 3-series mentioned, model year 2001-2006). You can check any reliable source, edmunds, dealer info, etc. to verify my statements. Now what might be going on behind the scenes is a change in the torque curve, that would help alot (likely lowering the hp, in exchange for more torque). But the article is not giving me the kind of specs I want to see (horsepower sounds pretty, but torque wins races). On another note, BMW made two more track orented M3’s, they mention the M3 CSL, but not the M3 GTR (not to be mistaken for the Nissan GTR), which would easily hold its own in the GT3 circuit (the M3 GTR is outlandishly expensive, but GT3 is NOT for those with shallow pockets). Honestly I’m not picking on Josh (sick car!), sounds like he did good work. But the article... I’m disappointed in the lack of detail, and fact-checks. Still, I enjoyed the read. Thanks, Ike Carr