Targa: The Build
It's been far too long since we last spoke. Much has been going on at the shop the last few months, so the time to post simply wasn't there. To kick things off for 2013, we thought we'd take a quick step back and bring everyone up to speed on "Target Targa", our 2012 Targa Newfoundland adventure. And because everyone loves a good video, we'll have a few of those in the next several entries...
First things first, the build. We started with the owner's pristine 2003 Alpine White M3. To convert the car to Targa duty, we took the track day set-up, which already included:
• Stock drivetrain with aFe Stage I cold air intake, Bimmerworld exhaust, Bimmerworld lightweight flywheel and street performance clutch.
• Stock brakes with BMW motorsport cross drilled rotors and Performance Friction PF08 pads.
• 9.5 x 18 inch Apex ARC-8 Wheels with Dunlop Dirrezza Star Spec tires, 275/35 R18.
• TC Kline Racing double adjustable coil-over suspension, front adjustable camber plates and rear adjustable camber arms.
And then added proper safety equipment:
• Gutted interior to make room for a VRPerformance designed 6-point welded in cage
• Recaro race seats mounted to VAC plates
• Schroth 6-point harnesses
• Fire suppression system
While the suspension was not designed to handle tarmac rally conditions, the components held up against Newfoundland’s four-wheels-off-the-ground abuse. Compared to the track set-up VRPerformance raised the ride height, softened both compression and rebound settings, took out some camber at all four corners and zeroed the toe. When the suspension was originally installed, we kept all the bump stops in place—a good thing, since we bumped into them more often than we care to remember.
Here's a short timelpase video of the build crew from VRPerformance in action:
Next up: race action from Newfoundland.