Getting a car ready for a track day can involve a number of changes that have to be done on it. Of course, if you’re driving a BMW M car, you’re already good to go, but not everyone can afford one so people have to get creative. The guys from Car Throttle decided to try and upgrade a BMW E46 330d Touring for track usage during their latest project and things have been going rather well.
They pitted the car against a BMW E92 M3 on a track, to set a baseline reading of how much faster the diesel family car needs to be to catch up to the M3. Then they set off to work, changing the dampers, springs, wheels, tires and brakes in the process. This time, they are working on the anti-roll bars and bushings for their 330d and we get to ride along and see exactly how they can help your track times, and how much of a difference they can make.
When it comes to bushings, you want them to be as thick and as hard as possible for track usage. That’s why the guys went with polyurethane ones instead of the stock version which is made of rubber. And while that may come in handy on the track, the poly bushes are also more resistant when it comes to wear and tear. Rubber is affected by UV and salt, for example, while that doesn’t apply to polyurethane.
As for the anti-roll bars, the general rule is: the thicker, the better. Of course, extremes shouldn’t be taken into account but in this case, the guys fit the BMW with thicker bars on both axles. Therefore, the car should be a lot flatter in the bends. Is that what happened? Did they get the expected results? Check out the video and find out.
