When we get involved in the task of creating a car solely and exclusively for runs on the circuit, we automatically find ourselves with a top priority: reducing its weight as much as possible. And it is that this data is almost as important as engine performance, aerodynamics or tuning, and in search of knowing how light a BMW 3 Series E46 can be, the youtuber ChrisFix has decided to find out with his own to turn it into a racing car.
And although it is true that there are other sections to deal with to turn a street car into a pure and hard track car, our protagonist has decided to start with one of the most obvious sections. The good thing about his destiny being none other than the circuit is that he can be as disruptive as he wants when it comes to eliminating elements that added a few extra kilos to the group.
The BMW E46 that underwent a strict diet to find out how light it can be to run
The goal is to make it as light as possible for a 16-hour endurance race, but not before checking out the performance of your E46. Specifically, it is the 330 xi version, that is, the one that uses an all-wheel drive system and, therefore, adds more weight. In its bowels it hides a 3.0-liter naturally aspirated inline six-cylinder that produces 231 hp and 300 Nm of torque.
With these figures and with a weight of 1,529 kilos measured by the youtuber himself, the Bavarian saloon covers 0 to 100 in 6.7 seconds, and manages to stop from 100 to 0 in 51.2 meters. Without further ado, our protagonist mercilessly attacks the E46 to the point of managing to lower the declared weight on the scale by 196 kilos, leaving a total weight of 1,333 kilos.
To reach this figure, ChrisFix has removed seats, everything possible from the trunk, plastics and audio system, carpet, insulation, mechanical components of the sunroof and dashboardelements that contributed, respectively, 83 kilos -to which must be added 13 kilos of the competition seat that is installed later-, 34 kilos, 22 kilos, 20 kilos, 11 kilos, 18 kilos and 28 kilos.
And although it is true that the youtuber himself indicates that he will later remove the curtain airbags when installing the roll cage and that he keeps the door panels to protect himself in the event of an accident with the windows down, the car is considerably faster. A) Yes, the E46 manages to cover 0 to 100 in 5.9 seconds and brake from 100 to 0 in 42.1 meters.
