Our E36 M3 Packs on the Miles

Our 20-year-old BMW M3 has been getting a lot of exercise lately. It provided transport to the Amelia Island Concours earlier this spring, and has just returned from our huge Classic Motorsports Mitty presented by Hagerty. Once again, it served as the chase car during the Mitty parade and touring laps. Although these laps are done at moderate speeds, it’s always fun to put the BMW in its natural environment. Stable, quick and fun, it really is a joy both on track and driving through the Georgia countryside.

We’ve been improving the M3 as time goes on, too. We’ve added a Shark Injector reflash to the car’s ECU, gaining a few horsepower, and raising the redline by 500 rpm. The Shark Injector also removes the speed limiter, allowing our BMW to knock on 150 mph under the right circumstances. Purchased for about $350 from BimmerWorld, this modification really has no downside.

We also finally ditched the factory BMW seats. Our Luxury package car came with power BMW sport seats. These were comfortable, but heavy—really heavy. We switched to the “Vaders” that came with the standard M3 coupes, but we also found those lacking. As we plan on keeping this BMW for the long haul, we sprung for a set of Sparco Chrono Road seats. They’ve proven to be comfortable, very supportive, and the quality is excellent. At $1K for the set, we feel they are well worth the expense. As a bonus, they are much lighter than either of the stock seats, shaving nearly 60 pounds from our BMW.

Next on the docket is a set of fully-forged wheels, also purchased through BimmerWorld. We’re expecting them soon, and are looking forward to going with a 8.5-inch-wide square setup, instead of the factory staggered orientation. Stay tuned. The car has now passed the 178,000-mile mark, and is running stronger than ever!

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