utkinpol

hi,
i know about spec e30 cars and events - but does e36 spec exist too?
i like those 320hp cars and imho it should be more fun than 2.5l e30, but do those e36 spec events really exist?

is there anybody here who owns e36 spec car?

regards, paul

Veloce Raptor

321 hp was the non-US spec motor for 1996-1999 E36 M3's. All US models had 240 hp.

Gary R.

Good question, but when are you coming racing Paul? I'm hoping they let my D car run in your group... you can lap me!

mglobe

BMWCCA does have a SpecE36 class in their rule book. I would think you could run it in that trim in NASA as well, either in GTS2 or GTS3 depending upon wt/hp ratio.

Paul 996

NASA has SpecE30 for E30s and Spec3 for E36s. None of them are M cars. All of the M cars run in GTS3 or 4 at NASA.

jaje

Spec3 Rules which allow the 1993-1995 325i platform: http://www.nasaproracing.com/rules/spec3_rules.pdf

It is still in its infancy it seems as their website is not finished (http://spec3racing.com/).

Spec e30 is much more popular as they had a 30+ car field at Nationals last year (ran with 944-Spec last year and it was so fun - our cars had better handling but they had a lot more power and factory ABS).

utkinpol

god, i keep forgetting those nuances. so there are no 3.2l e36 cars here at all?
that sux.

Gary R.

Lot of talk about all the discrepancies, what race class have you run that 997 in? Have you won any DE's with it yet?

Veloce Raptor

Both versions were 3.2 liters. One was handbuilt, revved to around 8,000, and made 321. The other wasn't, and didn't. I have the latter..

utkinpol

i had one imported from Germany, and it was the first, 321hp. pretty good car.
well, it is not a problem, will think of something else to build.

utkinpol

997 is a nice toy, i want to keep her clean. not worth to race her or keep beating her up. plus, i do not want to test that motor any further.

and, most importantly, this build is done, i am bored and want something new. it just will take time to figure what this will be. may be even a dragster, i did not do one yet and i like to dig into big block monsters. will see.

Paul 996

Not sure what the topic is anymore.

Like what VR said. The US got the E36 M3 in both a 3.0 and then a 3.2. In the ROW they got the E36 M3 in a more robust config.

US E36 M3s and non M3s are raced in both BMW CCA, NASA and SCCA and whole variety of classes and formats. Some are spec (BMW and NASA) and most of the others have a wide open flavor based on the rules of the class for any car model that fits in it.

Make sense?

Trying to take a non us model and race it will only end up forcing you to run in some class where engine swaps are permitted thus upping the ante.

utkinpol

>The US got the E36 M3 in both a 3.0 and then a 3.2

Thanks, now it makes sense. 3.2 exists but it differs from german one, still it is a 3.2l car. Got it. It is what I wanted to know. Thanks.

I just got confused after I went to spec class links for both E30 and E36 and it only mentions 2.5L engine in rules.
I will review BMW spec classes more, I think this 300hp somewhat car with under 3k lbs weight is what I would like to drive.
I would love to build something with closer to 500hp but it is different money and a different game. As of what topic is about - I do not know myself. I want to build a race car I would like to drive. So far I owned miata, 87 camaro, e36 bmw, drove japan made spoper subaru, japan build proper twin turbo mitsu 3000, here drove z5 vette, now it is 997 'stage', so, it takes time to figure out what platform to go with. 997 or 996 are great cars but I do not want to trash on track motor that costs so much to rebuilt.
As I see it 3.2l E36 is a some sort of a sweet spot car as it is cheap enough parts wise and is close enough to 300hp/3000lbs ratio.

It is very tempting power wise to try out new stuff like those modified GT-Rs that are quite hot now but I do not think I will be able to maintain it on my own.

Paul 996

The E36 M3 is super competitive in NASA German Touring Series within GTS2 and even 3. GTS is a power/weight class with hardly any other rules. Build what you want, gearing, suspension and aero but stay within the confines of the power/weight formula for the class.

When I say super competitive, it essentially dominates.

IcemanG17

Several local GTS racers run E36's with 3.2L american M3 engines.....they run GTS3 or 11-1 so when tuned for torque its right at 240 power factor....