Steve Chi's M3: The Natural

Steve Chi followed a long, sinuous path through motorsports before he started spending most of his weekends at the track. His salad days of drag racing and with import scene of the late 1990s featured a list of interesting cars—a heavily stickered Integra and a touge-tuned EG at the top of list. After a decade of teenage hooliganism eventually put him in touch with some more serious-minded car nuts and encouraged him to step into a safer, more challenging avenue. One friend Ryan recommended he try Thunderhill in his then-new RSX Type-S.

The financial limitations at the time kept Steve from truly exploring the nuances of that chassis, but that one outing had planted the seed. Fast forward seven years, and he’d finally acquired the right car and the means necessary to frequent his local tracks.

The car was one of the best available for someone with his interests and experience. Sadly, this Scion FR-S was modified to the point of pointiness; it had a tendency to get a little too loose. During one day at Laguna, Steve fell prey to the deceptive shape of an increasing-radius corner, and to make matters worse, this corner tends to accumulate a lot of sand at the exit. By dropping a wheel at the exit of Laguna’s Turn 3, he drew a fifty-foot arc across the track and backed the Scion into the inner wall just underneath the bridge. Though he was fine, the impact was direct and enough to write the car off. It was also a lease.

Despite the drama, he wasn’t discouraged long and sought out a new car a few weeks later.

Keeping Things Natural

He’d been through faster front-drive and four wheel-drive platforms before his FR-S, but the engagement and playfulness of the Scion had stirred something up inside him. His hands were getting quicker, and though he was wary of the running costs of a powerful rear-drive car, he was curious.

He’d always wanted a M car, and seeing the way the price of the E46 M3 was growing, it seemed that the newer, heavier, and more powerful E92 was the way forward.

Truth be told, he wanted an E90: the four-door version of the last atmospheric M3 for stylistic reasons. Additionally, there weren’t many performance disadvantages—the weights are similar and, actually, the sedan’s slightly stiffer. However, the four-doors weren’t so easy to find, and after a month of scouring classifieds, he came upon an E92. This one had just two doors and the undesirable moonroof, but was nonetheless a clean car which tugged at Steve’s heartstrings.

So, despite Gary Wong urging him to wait for the ideal car, Steve took his new sedan home with him. Only once the honeymoon phase ended.did he start to consider the tire bill, though his fears were allayed by the promise of twice the power his FR-S going through the rear wheels.

“Gary wasn’t surprised by my decision—just disappointed,” Steve chuckled.

That power is enough to cause concern. Not because it causes snap oversteer or anything, but more the way it limits the lifespan of the tires—particularly the rears. While the FR-S would only destroy its tires after five track days, Steve can run through a set in just two days if he’s driving aggressively.

Thankfully for tire longevity, he S65 isn’t like a lot of comparably priced V8s on the market. Its powerband is best described as peaky; it displaces only four liters and most of the horsepower arrives well past 4,000 rpm. It does to 8,200, though. That peakiness helps with the power delivery, but the lack of torque to move that weight around leaves him wanting a little more. “It’s in a weird spot now,” Steve began,” either it needs another 100 horsepower, or it needs to lose 150 pounds.”

Not a Heifer

The car came to him at 3,730 pounds, but through a pretty stringent diet and some lightweight replacements here and there, he’s trimmed about 500 from the original number. A carbon blank-off filling in the moonroof space and panel-free doors add to the sense of occasion, the lack of rear interior increases the volume in the cabin, and a harness bar keeps him from storing too many tools and tires where the rear seats used to be.

If all these changes took little bites out of the car’s convenience, the removal of the roofliner stole a chunk—the removal of the liner took the visor mounts along with it. A track car worth its salt should render you deaf and blind over time.

There’s still some room for serious reduction without resorting to composites. The OEM exhaust’s still in place, as is the original battery. If those two are replaced with race-oriented parts, he could get nearer to his desired weight without spending outrageous money.

Read too many Colin Chapman quotes and you might think that weight is always the enemy, but this M3’s weight reduction program posed one major problem: the discomfort of the car was getting to be a bit much. The Ohlins R & T coilovers rode roughly and, worse yet, they made the car too nervous and excitable. In faster corners, he always felt the need to leave a lot in reserve.

However, it’s so often about optimization; these parts need to be tailored to different weights or driving styles to find a happy partnership. Sticking with the same brand, he upgraded to the TTX line with spring rates better suited to his lightened car. Now, even with solid mounts and poly bushings most places, the car is compliant and confidence inspiring. This car is not trailered and needs to be semi-streetable to get places.

Future Plans

Towards the start of the pandemic, Steve took a sabbatical from racing to start a family, but wisely kept the rust away with a basic sim rig. Once the kids had all gone to bed, he’d sneak away for a quick session.

By keeping himself sharp, he returned to tracking towards the end of last year and found his performance comparable if not slightly better than when he’d last been steadily hacking away. If he learns how to restrain his right foot and give his overworked rubber an occasional breather, he’ll have a fighting chance at the S2 title.

Modifications

E82/E9X Precision Front Upper Control Arm Bearing Kit

BimmerWorld Race Adjustable Rear Upper Wishbone/Camber Arms - E82, E9X (incl M)

Engine Mount, BimmerWorld Performance - E36, E46, E9X M3, Z3, Z4

BimmerWorld Solid Aluminum Differential Mount Set - E82 1M, E9X M3

Aluminum Subframe Mount Set - E82, E9X

BimmerWorld Spherical Rear Guiding Link Set - E82, E9X

BimmerWorld Billet Aluminum Seat Floor Mount Adapters - E82, E9X, F3X, F8X

OMP Steel Seat Side Mount Set - Low

aFe Pro5R Air Filter - E90/E92/E93 M3 2010+

Eibach Adjustable Front Sway Bar Kit - E9X & E82 RWD including M3 & 1M

Goodridge brake lines

Quad resonated catless X-pipe

CSF Oil Cooler

Koyo Radiator

BE bearing upgrade with ARP bolts

Carbon Creations vented CF hood

Stoptech ST60 front BBK

Winmax W7 rear pads

Aeromotions R.dynamic Wing

Volk ZE40 18x10.5 ET30

Cobra Ultralite Seat

Flossmann vented CF fenders

Hard Motorsports Splitter & Mounts

Epic Tune

Scroth 6 pt harness

Braum Harness Bar

BW CF sunroof delete

Hard trunk floor filler panel

BW power steering reservoir

AFE power pulleys

Ohlins TTX