The M3 Is So Capable Now… E46 Track Test

After installing some new upgrades to the E46 M3 (AP 9660, 24mm RARB, and some wide 265/295 tyres), I went to Croft Circuit to test out the changes.
The weather wasn't perfect in the morning but it soon cheered up. Fortunately my brakes didn't fail and the M3 performed tremendously.
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[@rockyroad1780]

When I started doing trackdays I got intimidated if I saw an Atom in the pits - obviously it’s the ultimate track weapon. Didn’t take me long to realise they are usually the slowest car there! My last trip to brands I particularly enjoyed watching one hold up a battered Peugeot 206 gti for a few laps, casually ignoring all the blue flags waved at them before coming in and complaining to his mate about ‘low front end grip’ 😂.

[@BigAuf_]

I absolutely love this Estoril blue BMW E46 M3 and I bet it's excellent to drive around the Croft racing circuit trackday circuit although I can't help but feel that it would be slightly improved by a carbon airbox...

[@JeremiBulakowski]

aaaaaand in next episode...

[@anidiotinaracingcar4874]

This color is fantastic on almost any car and it suits the E46 particularly well.

[@ManSeeksCivic]

Great old fashioned Danny video, kicking the hell out of your street car. Respect for the FTO too!, it was a great track day and a pleasure to meet you in person. Top bloke!

[@fonzeyontrack5212]

I think it was 98% chance of rain last time I was at Croft, and it was dry all day. Thanks for swap

[@thesam101]

You can get anti rattle shims for the APs, makes them slightly more palatable for daily activities.

[@basher1285]

Some class driving that! E46 M3, what a car!❤

[@jessesnowden4578]

M3 is looking great, can't wait to see it crack off a sub 8 at the ring

[@richardweerasinghe3296]

Great video. Thanks for sharing. I have the AP setup on my e46 with Performance Friction discs and there is no vibration whatsoever.

[@AndyLangleyRacing]

The M3 looked awesome, pretty well stuck to the road, love seeing them on track. Looking forward to the Mini video, fancy a go in that myself...

[@neilstewart1208]

Mint, glad your still enjoying M3

[@ModFix]

Great video Dan, love the sound of an E46 M3 👍

[@whoisgoogle]

Yes Dan

[@SuperWesty177]

Man that scania sounds good! Gotta love the e46 always an enjoyable car to watch being pedalled!

[@meister_harris5623]

Reminds me of the good old days this one.. good ol’ M3 still gives it large!

[@anidiotinaracingcar4874]

I'm not a huge fan of the E46 M3 but in Estoril blue, gosh that's a good looking car!

[@Pr0vost]

Great for the Sunday blues

[@ScottPC]

The 2% chance of rain you mentioned actually meant 2% of the area will be rained on. So you got unlucky!

[@yardspeed13]

Enjoyed that, i got a set of AR-1 for my first ring trip a few weeks back...very impressed with them, ring was awesome. Be interesting to see what you find out on the cooling system on the bimmer...anyway, keep up the content.

[@dannyDC2]

I had them on my old MR2 before, there are better tyres but they do a good job

[@yardspeed13]

@@dannyDC2 it was a toss up between these and MRF’s might give them a try next time. Enjoy the ring trip dude

[@harleycottrell802]

Yesss, Dan when you get to the ring pal I'm gonna need to see that sub 8 minute lap my guy haha

[@harleycottrell802]

It may be worth thinking about using some windscreen spray washers and setting up a water spray system on the radiator that tee's off shortly after the bottle, cheap way to help with temps on track without doing big cooling mods to those temperamental cooling systems

[@dannyDC2]

Can’t see that being so effective tbh. I’m aware people do it but not sure the juice is worth the squeeze

[@harleycottrell802]

@@dannyDC2 I've seen positive results with it on track, saw a 5 degree drop in coolant temp on the front straight of Coombe obviously under full load... If nothing else it would be decent and easy enough content, and the opportunity to debunk the theory one way or the other it's a win win I reckon on your part mate... Food for thought 👍

[@danielcgomez]

I like track videos too ...and every other video too ...ha! Car is hooked up nicely Dan!

[@MKT_19]

Nice vid, will be an absolute riot round the ring, looking forward to that 👌

[@audisportcarrasco]

I got a e46 m3 convertible want to built like this

[@PGriff]

Hey Danny, it’s worth checking the visco-coupling if you’re seeing the temps rise like that at speed - tbh, it’s one of those parts that’s probably worth changing regardless. Easy job to do, just get a massive spanner and wallop the ring-end of it in the correct direction to loosen the nut. Also, (if it’s the same as an E39 M5 setup, which I think it is), there’s an electronic fan pack that sits behind the bumper but in front of the rads and that has a tendency to fail with age - happened on my E39 M5, but it was a fairly easy swap. Get the multimeter and a switched live to the fan to test if you’re not sure. If you need a new water pump then expect to pay through the nose as they’re probably only available from the dealer for the S-series lump and they know how to change because it’s an M-car; a water pump for the E39 was £255!!

[@dannyDC2]

Already ditched the viscous dude. Can’t remember the water pump being so expensive. It’s a shame I didn’t have any actual data to check as the OEM gauge isn’t so linear from what I remember. It didn’t get hot at Combe the other day though

[@mrbakerr1]

Even the Darkside truck doesn’t sound stock lol, although I know FA about lorries 😂

[@martinc8532]

Those Atoms were there last week when I was up there. Same thing, fast in the easy parts, slower than my Clio though the twisty stuff. I'm glad I'm not the only one with brake anxiety after replacing parts, mine was rebuilt calipers, new discs and a new pad compound I'd not used before and turn 1 is scary. Several Lotuseses (Lotii?) fell into the gravel the day I was there. Pretty standard thing according to the TDO.

[@dannyDC2]

Yeah T1 sees a lot of action for sure. Our day was ended early due to an accident there

[@scottbrown4142]

Eager to see a vid on the mini if you filmed one!

[@morley2212]

Car sounds mega. After I put the wider setup and brakes on mine it transformed the car to another level so rewarding, little mods on BMWs for maximum effects 🔥🔥

[@dannyDC2]

Yeah level up man

[@jandewinter6749]

hello do you mean wider wheels, a wider track by using spacers, or both? interested. have a nice day Jan

[@morley2212]

@@jandewinter6749 hi. I drive a E90 M3 btw not 46 but I run wider wheels, spacers on front and more camber, that’s kind of what I’m getting at makes the car transform to a beast.

[@jandewinter6749]

​@@morley2212 Hi Morley Thanks for the reply. it's for a simple e36 325i trackday car. I use medium wider AR1's and wonder if strategically using spacers to widen the track would be beneficial despite it not being necessary to fit the tyres. I was always quite opposed to using spacers because it can mess up the geometrics but maybe there is also a benefit increasing grip..

[@jonff1234]

10.09... Did you call him a "Pedo" ? 🤣🤣🤣

[@joshquinton2348]

That’s what I heard too

[@dannyDC2]

Lol I said “there you go” I think but if the shoe fits

[@jonff1234]

@@dannyDC2 😆😆 They are a suspicious bunch those Caterham owners...

[@MikeSmith-rd9fi]

Def heard 'fucking paedo' hahaahh

[@skytegra5]

Awesome vid Dan, you seemed to have enjoyed the upgrades. Gonna work on the water temp? Also thanks for those few seconds of the v8 scania 😎👌

[@dannyDC2]

Water temp was fine at a day since, not sure. I have a posher setup to try on it

[@jasonboyle7203]

Fun day 🤘 👀

[@misterLukeG]

Time to turbo to catch the M2s

[@darranround3455]

Must be Mr Marples and Liddy in the m2's

[@florian_montuzet]

M3 was fast. Now it's faster ❤️.

[@oversteer6771]

New to the channel! Love the car, what’s done to it? Sounds proper!

[@dannyDC2]

Stock exhaust just no interior makes it louder

[@harveycowell5683]

Been looking forward to this one since the upgrade fitting video, glad to see your efforts paid back with a successful day 💪 How do you find the AR-1 compares to 888s? I'm tempted to try them (AR-1) given their reviews but always find myself held back by the 'stick to what you know' mentality - especially when they're both priced so similarly.

[@arekb5951]

in my experience AR-1s are quite a bit faster than the 888/888r, AR-1s give way better feedback on the limit and need way less warming up. 888s may be a little bit better on the wet and they can do 1-2 fast laps more before they start to overheat (obviously that depends on the car), but these are the only advantages of 888s over the AR-1s I can think of. In my car (Megane 3 RS) the AR-1 is deffo the better tyre.

[@xbwang87]

Ar1 is far more consistent and will take the abuse well

[@wobbler6372]

I.must be pretty late the the Dan party. But i found the dc2 and mr2 are the best content

[@dannyDC2]

How come ?

[@wobbler6372]

Found them more rewarding to watch . It's like you are aiming for something. Instead of just driving. .the day of Dan in the shed videos are pretty chilled

[@wobbler6372]

I'll de honest I would love to see you get that dc2 back going . Watched a few of the nurburgring back catalogue screamer videos . I liked 😨

[@FreestylerAlbert]

you reeally need to try an Ariel once! :) (The owners on the track donno how to drive them)

[@xRichUKx]

Readers rides review of the Darkside Scania when?

[@Munka1985]

Lovely stuff man. Question, why did you double blip on the rare double down shift when shifting from 5th to 3rd?

[@yhp99]

My guess is to just keep the revs matching as he slows down. It feels more natural to do small blips twice as you shift down twice instead of revving extra long just once.

[@benripley7596]

did u call the cateram a paedo? hahahahahaha

[@Kiret123]

he defo did lmao

[@oscarzt1652]

why does the TCR audi have a hydro handbrake?

[@dannyDC2]

standing starts

[@marcelvanderwalt6838]

Caterfield😂😂

[@quicknickdriver8510]

Faster

[@atanaskumanov86]

Bro, I love your m3 since you got it!!! I was a big fan of the 328 e36 as well, but the m3 is 🔥

[@TheMick26]

Hey Danny.👋 Well it was time for lunch over here, but I reckon I'll have dessert first. Been anticipating this one and seeing how the new setup performed. Very nice! Shoutout to the fella who parted with his 5mm spacers. Looks like the a/r bars, fat AR1s, and big brakes are a worthy upgrade to the car. That E46 Estoril blue M3 still ticks all the boxes, even to this day.💙👌 Nice to see such a beautiful car being driven as intended. Enjoyed it, dude. Also, big ups to Josh picking up the camera and asking WILTD.😉 Y'all take care and enjoy the upcoming trip to the ring.✌

[@dannyDC2]

Cheers Mick, yeah Josh is getting quite good at the camera work now 😄

[@DannyBrown88]

Exactly that mate, was speaking with a colleague the other day about how E46 M3s still look great and haven’t aged one bit.

[@matthewhann9376]

awesome driving as normal dan. when are you at combe this is my local track would be great to see you on track there

[@dannyDC2]

I was there a few days ago!

[@matthewhann9376]

@@dannyDC2 ah that's a shame, hope you enjoyed it 👊🏼👍🏼

[@Aliens_Gonna_Get_Ya]

This is the last BMW i liked… after this they got complicated & fat…

[@archie9026]

That’s what real car passion looks like 🙌 pure Motorsport

[@hogg1177]

Look at Takumi with the new balance on *Foreverrrr! Togetherrrr!*

[@mantasv6208]

great vid! quick question, do you know what's causing noisy 4th gear while in gear? Have similar issue was wondering what this could be.

[@dannyDC2]

It’s the diff ratio

[@Loopyspec]

Great driving! What don't you like about running a square set up?

[@dannyDC2]

It’s sub optimal

[@lushleeway]

I'd watch a video on that v8 Scania too 👍

[@goldenspanner1819]

Hi Danny , what tyre pressure did you run the AR1’s 👍

[@dannyDC2]

Not sure tbh probably 30-33 hot