Cadwell Track Day

[olly69]

Had an afternoon at Cadwell a few weeks ago in the z3.

Only recently purchased it but did a bit of prep beforehand as it came with absolutely no history, receipts, paperwork lol:

All fluids changed - engine, gearbox, diff etc.
E46 brake carriers and 300mm 3.0 discs
EBC Redstuff pads
High temp brake fluid and a full system bleed including the clutch
Eibach 30mm springs and PS4 tyres all round

Wasn't bad on track considering the front dampers are completely shot! The standard seats are horrendous, spent most of the day trying to stay in them, must upgrade..!
The brakes are where this thing really let me down. After only a few laps they would fade badly and left me in a massive spin out after carrying too much speed through one of the corners.

Gonna remove the fogs and sort some brake cooling ducts I think, Might also swap the pads out as redstuff aren't the best for track.
Got another day at Blyton coming up next month so will get it sorted for then!

 

[Lee]

The z3 is a fun car on track, the brakes being it's biggest weakness. Cooling ducts really work well with cooling adapted dust shields. I ended up fitting 4 pots which I never found the limits of.

Once you've replaced the shocks (I ran OEM Sachs) with lowering springs get yourself a HnR roll bar kit. The z3 leans so badly

 

[olly69]

The z3 is a fun car on track, the brakes being it's biggest weakness. Cooling ducts really work well with cooling adapted dust shields. I ended up fitting 4 pots which I never found the limits of.

Once you've replaced the shocks (I ran OEM Sachs) with lowering springs get yourself a HnR roll bar kit. The z3 leans so badly

View attachment 234145
View attachment 234147

There's a seller on ebay offering a full set of new Bilstein b4 dampers, new top mounts, bump stops and dust boots. I'm considering it but wasn't sure whether to go for the b8 dampers instead. How are your oe spec dampers with lowering springs on track? Obviously I have so much body roll because mine are totally shot, but will new oe dampers be not much better?

 

[Lee]

The OE damper is brilliant, the B4 is an OE equivalent so a good place to start. I did some 15+ track days with the standard shocks and no issues over 4 years.

You'll still get quite a bit of body roll after new shocks its inherent in the Z3 chassis design. If its a long term car consider coilovers so you can adjust rebound and stiffen it further.

 

[olly69]

It probably won't be a long termer, can't keep anything long! I think I'll stick with new oe dampers and spend the rest on a stiffer front roll bar. Need to find a way to correct the rear camber too!

 

[Lee]

The rear end is all fixed on the Z3 so the more you lower the more it cambers.

You can buy kits to rectify this but these are quite intrusive work. You can also fit spacers between the diff and the beam to reduce some of the camber.