Rolling Road – BMW E30 M3
You’re jealous, I can tell. Hell, I can hear you muttering, even over the sound of its bulkhead gently fizzing with corrosion. I’d actually driven this car about a year ago, and at the time had been utterly blown-away by, not only what it did, but also by how much care and money had been lavished on it.
In an effort to create the ultimate trackday special, the owner had spent nearly £40,000, and a lowered-ratio diff, stiffened suspension and uprated anti-surge sump were just some of the things I didn’t understand but knew I wanted to tell strangers I had.
The only problem was, the owner wasn’t even remotely willing to entertain offers of less than the asking price, and we fell out about what ‘ONO’ means on an advert. I left slightly cross with myself that I wanted to buy it but didn’t just to prove a point, but resolved to the idea of getting another BMW M3 just like this one.
However, thanks to a combination of an advert that looked like a telegram, and the owner’s steadfast refusal to negotiate on the price, nearly a year later I noticed that the car was still up for sale, and moments later I was driving home in it in the freezing fog, after having a somewhat tokenistic haggle with the owner.
In truth, this wasn’t the best way to get fully acquainted with the car’s twitchy brilliance, but since then I’ve taken every chance I can get to go for a bit of a spin. OK, that’s not entirely true. I have driven the car quite a bit, but not anywhere near as much as I’ve spent modifying it myself and, well, just looking at it, really. What? I like it. Shut up.
Looking at it is a much part of owning it as driving it. Anyway, first to go were the tyres which, despite being totally ruined, now adorn the corner of my workshop as if I was responsible for either their purchase or destruction and give an air of heroism by proxy. I’ve replaced them with a set of Continental ContiSport Contact 2s, as I’d heard excellent things about the ContiSport Contact 3s on other M cars.
So far they’ve certainly lived up to the reputation, if robbing me of a little of the juicy anxiety that every bend on the slicks provided. I can’t wait to see what they’re like when they’re fully bedded in, as I’m hopeful this car will see many miles this year, despite it being a little on the deafening side inside.
The brakes had also suffered at the feet of the previous owner’s last trackday, so I’ve replaced them with another set of Mintex pads, as I’d been so thrilled with how they worked for me on my Project Volvo, and suitably refreshed, the car now stops as well as it goes again, and is really shaping up to be the magical bag of legends that I always hoped it would be.
I can’t wait for the weather to become a bit more predictable so I can head out on my first proper adventure – a two week jaunt down to the Route Napoleon with nothing to do but make noise and eat pizza. All I need now are some earplugs…
Source: Road Magazine