epsdan
Well-known member
So James Colborn and I have been talking ... SpecE46. James is looking for an east coast car to race, and I'm toying with the idea of "sharing" one with him, so we won't be renting when we go test at tracks. The idea of SE46 as the evolution of PRO3 is also intriguing.
James Clay (BimmerWorld) and Jason Tower have put together a rules package, and are doing two test builds for SpecE46 (spece46.com). I'm tossing it out here (1) 'cause it's a cool idea, and (2) it may end up being the natural evolution of PRO3, as mentioned above.
For some background and more info, look at the above site, and also at the Bimmerforums thread http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?2059182-Announcing-Spec-E46
Short version of the story - it's really early in the development, but Clay and Tower are controlling the ruleset. In a nutshell, a e46 330 (coupe or sedan), MCS Single adjustable (great shocks, BTW), spec spring, sways allowed, stock engine, spec exhaust, spec/sealed ECU/tune, lotsa tire (R-compound, likely either RR's or R7's), stock ABS (which is pretty decent). stock tank, and a end-of-race weight with a "large" driver of around 2850#. They are building one coupe (Clay) and one sedan (Tower), to get a feel for the weight.
The car will be decently fast - not as fast as an ST car, but about the same speed as our Conti e92's for a lot less money. How much less?
The donor is in the $3K-$6K range (east coast, at least). The build list for parts (including safety, minus the cage) is $18K, retail. Multiple sources for everything except the exhaust - that's a BimmerWorld part. If you do the build, you're in it for $23-$26K, assuming $2K for the cage. BimmerWorld has quoted a build for me at $35K, turnkey. If this is more than a current PRO3 build, it's not much more ...
There are a number of potential contingency sponsors already chomping to get signed up (Clay is good at getting these things set up). They are trying to get both BMWCCA and NASA to sanction. It is my belief (and James') that when they get the numbers, the sanctions will happen.
Think of the potential here - if NASA, BMWCCA, and Conference all adopted the same rule set, you could take one car and race for Championships in any of the three sanctioning bodies. I'm a Conference guy at heart, so I'mnot overly interested in running the car in NASA-PNW (that's just me, though), but how cool would it be to have a bunch of NORCAL SE46 guys come up in a couple of years to experience a ICSCC race at The Ridge, ORP, or any of our other really cool tracks?
Like I said, it's early in the development, but it's an interesting idea to look at. Colborn and I are both fully committed to running PRO3 this year, but don't be surprised if you see a SE46 show up at a Northwest track near you. You might even want to take it for a spin!
Enough of my end-of year babbling. Happy New Year, all!
PS - I'm going to cross-post this to the PRO3 Facebook Page and the PRO3 Yahoo! Group, so ignore multiple copies, as necessary.
James Clay (BimmerWorld) and Jason Tower have put together a rules package, and are doing two test builds for SpecE46 (spece46.com). I'm tossing it out here (1) 'cause it's a cool idea, and (2) it may end up being the natural evolution of PRO3, as mentioned above.
For some background and more info, look at the above site, and also at the Bimmerforums thread http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?2059182-Announcing-Spec-E46
Short version of the story - it's really early in the development, but Clay and Tower are controlling the ruleset. In a nutshell, a e46 330 (coupe or sedan), MCS Single adjustable (great shocks, BTW), spec spring, sways allowed, stock engine, spec exhaust, spec/sealed ECU/tune, lotsa tire (R-compound, likely either RR's or R7's), stock ABS (which is pretty decent). stock tank, and a end-of-race weight with a "large" driver of around 2850#. They are building one coupe (Clay) and one sedan (Tower), to get a feel for the weight.
The car will be decently fast - not as fast as an ST car, but about the same speed as our Conti e92's for a lot less money. How much less?
The donor is in the $3K-$6K range (east coast, at least). The build list for parts (including safety, minus the cage) is $18K, retail. Multiple sources for everything except the exhaust - that's a BimmerWorld part. If you do the build, you're in it for $23-$26K, assuming $2K for the cage. BimmerWorld has quoted a build for me at $35K, turnkey. If this is more than a current PRO3 build, it's not much more ...
There are a number of potential contingency sponsors already chomping to get signed up (Clay is good at getting these things set up). They are trying to get both BMWCCA and NASA to sanction. It is my belief (and James') that when they get the numbers, the sanctions will happen.
Think of the potential here - if NASA, BMWCCA, and Conference all adopted the same rule set, you could take one car and race for Championships in any of the three sanctioning bodies. I'm a Conference guy at heart, so I'mnot overly interested in running the car in NASA-PNW (that's just me, though), but how cool would it be to have a bunch of NORCAL SE46 guys come up in a couple of years to experience a ICSCC race at The Ridge, ORP, or any of our other really cool tracks?
Like I said, it's early in the development, but it's an interesting idea to look at. Colborn and I are both fully committed to running PRO3 this year, but don't be surprised if you see a SE46 show up at a Northwest track near you. You might even want to take it for a spin!
Enough of my end-of year babbling. Happy New Year, all!
PS - I'm going to cross-post this to the PRO3 Facebook Page and the PRO3 Yahoo! Group, so ignore multiple copies, as necessary.