E46 BMW vs Mazda Miata Budget Track Car Battle ONE TRACK MIND Ep. 2
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TechTranscript
00:00Track driving and motorsports can seem daunting and expensive.
00:25But how much do you really need to spend on a car just to get out there and drive?
00:29The 2003 BMW 325i, which you are looking at, is an inexpensive and easy-to-find option,
00:35and it just so happens to be mine.
00:38But what about an alternative?
00:40This early-generation Mazda Miata was purchased used for $7,000, only a bit more than the
00:45E46 generation BMW, and it already had some track-specific parts.
00:50Like me, the owner began shaping it into his ideal track car.
00:53He got a Wilwood brake kit, upgraded the cooling, and with better suspension and sticky tires,
00:57he has tons of fun on weekend track days.
01:00As you can see, these are not show cars.
01:01They are meant to be driven, and we love them for that.
01:04So at a comparable price of well under $10,000, which of these rear-wheel-drive bargains can
01:09bring more smiles on a wet day at Toronto Motorsports Park?
01:13It is completely pouring.
01:15The track is absolutely soaked, but this might be a good thing, because I get to see what
01:20these cars are like at the limit very easily.
01:24Alright, so let's find out exactly what the 325 E46 is like as a fun track toy.
01:35I can already comment on that, obviously, because it is mine, but we're about to experience
01:39it a little bit more at the limit.
01:42Now at this point, you're probably thinking, this is a heavy four-door sedan.
01:47It barely has 200 horsepower.
01:50How much fun can it possibly be?
02:02A lot of fun is the answer.
02:20So the advantage to a car like this is that you're not really that worried about it.
02:31So you can learn the limits, and this is not a $100,000 car.
02:35So I can go out, slide the car around a little bit, and not be too worried if I have to spin
02:41off onto the grass, really.
02:45Like that.
02:48So the suspension modifications that I've done make it actually quite easy to predict
03:04the body motion when you start to slide.
03:07So stiffer suspension is definitely something, if you have one of these cars as a track toy,
03:11that you want to invest in, because I find it very predictable when it's starting to
03:15go and when I'm going to spin.
03:18The thing that I like the most about the E46 chassis, and why I think it makes a very good
03:21track car, is that the steering is fantastic.
03:24It communicates everything very, very well, and it has a very quick ratio.
03:28Now the E36 has a slightly slower ratio than this, so that means I need less lock to get
03:34myself going into the corner, right?
03:37So that makes it feel a little bit more race car-ish, really.
03:45Yep.
03:46Fun!
03:49It's just like, you come out on a slightly wet day, or you find a skid pad, and for $6,000,
03:56I can't think of something that I would rather do, to be honest.
04:01Easy, cheap, no consequence, sidewaysness.
04:05And this track is perfect for that.
04:07Toronto Motorsport Park has nothing to hit, right?
04:10So I can just go in, huck the car, I've gone on the grass twice today already.
04:16Woohoo!
04:24I'm happy with this car, but the question is, did I make the right choice?
04:29Should I have gone for something a little bit smaller and a little bit sportier, like
04:33the Miata?
04:35I think it's time to take that out on this track, and see just what it's capable of.
04:42Is it worth the lack of daily driving ability to get that extra little bit of sportiness
04:48on the track?
04:53Now the owner has put a little bit more into this than I have into mine.
04:57He has an aggressive alignment, better brakes, and with no driver assistance and a limited
05:01slip differential, this car looks like it's shaping up to be the more ideal track car.
05:06Of course, there are some comfort compromises you have to make for that.
05:11Alright, we are in the Miata.
05:15Right away, this is a much more cramped and aggressive driving experience.
05:19We've got a racing seat, racing harnesses, roll bar, pretty much everything about it
05:26is for the track.
05:29Okay, the steering is not powered, so right away, I thought my BMW had feel.
05:34Oh, this feels good.
05:37Yeah, that's really nice.
05:39The steering ratio is wonderful, and holy, is it ever flat through the corners.
05:49There goes the tail.
05:53Oh, this is a great little car.
05:58Okay, so he bought this car for about $7,000, as I said, and he's put, he said around $1,500,
06:05somewhere around into it.
06:07So it came with a few of the things.
06:08So you can buy a car like this on the used market for about that much money.
06:12Alright, we limit oversteer so easily in this.
06:16Holy, oh, that's just lovely.
06:21Now, this car is set up way better than mine.
06:23Mine's on coilovers too, so it could potentially be set up this well.
06:27But the way that he's got this set up is that you turn into the corner,
06:30and there's just so much more front grip than you think there should be,
06:33and then the car starts to limit oversteer, like a rotation,
06:36without having to do it with the throttle,
06:39which is a huge advantage for getting that front grip and getting your proper line through the corner.
06:45So if you have a car like this, you get coilovers, you can set it up,
06:48and essentially what I've got here right now is a little mini race car.
06:52Since I'm so locked into the seat, you get a racing seat and harnesses like this,
06:55you feel every little movement in the car.
06:59Now, the throttle response in mine is a little bit better just because it's naturally aspirated,
07:04and it has a light flywheel.
07:06But it's not like I'm hurting for throttle response in this.
07:11It's making lots of good noises, and boost comes on quite quickly.
07:14It sounds great.
07:16Yeah, this is a fun little car.
07:19I'm very cramped, I'll be honest. I'm very cramped.
07:22The driver's a little bit shorter than me, and the seat is bolted to the ground so it can't move.
07:30So not exactly practical if you are looking to trade drivers with somebody, but I'll make do.
07:39It's a very, very connected driving experience, one of these old Miatas.
07:43I'm having a great time in this car.
07:47So right away I can tell you that as a pure track toy, this one wins over the BMW without a question.
07:54But is it worth the lack of practicality and noise and discomfort maybe that something like this comes with?
08:04If you can afford a second driver, a second car, then yeah, obviously.
08:10But, I don't know, can you?
08:13Oh, we can spin the tires easily in the straightaway. That's scary.
08:21This is a much more involving car than the BMW.
08:24And I'm not saying that you can't make a BMW this involving,
08:28but for pretty much the same price that we've put into them,
08:32if you're looking for just a track toy, look for a Miata.
08:37Now these are a little bit harder to find than an E46,
08:41which is one of the reasons really why I looked at an E46.
08:48At this point, I started driving the car a bit harder, and honestly, talking went out the window.
08:54All I could do was make my concentration face.
08:57In a car without anti-lock brakes, traction control, and with performance like this,
09:02In a car without anti-lock brakes, traction control, and with performance rubber in the wet,
09:07all of your brain power goes to keeping the car on the track and off the grass.
09:16You can slide it!
09:24Naturally, my attempts at drifting were pretty short-lived.
09:33We didn't stall. That's important.
09:36Reverse.
09:38Oh, the power steering!
09:40If you wanted to go out and get some more milk in this car, it's a full-blown workout.
09:49I personally would not use this car every day if I had it.
09:53So therein lies the downside.
09:56I really did like driving this Miata.
09:59It's well-balanced, and the owner has done a great job with his build.
10:03I did start to wonder, though, how my racing driver was going to manage each of these cars,
10:08considering they are both on performance rubber, really meant for a dry track.
10:13Let's find out.
10:20Let's take a look at the performance of the Miata.
10:24Let's take a look at the BMW 325i.
10:28Now, this car is on BFGoodrich GeForce Rivals,
10:32which is a pretty sticky tire meant for the dry, not for the wet.
10:35So keep that in mind when you're watching the lap.
10:38That means this car is going to be all about managing front grip.
10:42So you'll watch, in pretty much every corner,
10:44his inputs are super smooth and super delicate to get the car turned in properly.
10:50Because of these conditions, I doubt you're going to be seeing this car generating any huge cornering forces.
10:56But you probably will hear the open diff spin the inside tire as he tries to power out of a corner.
11:05There he is turning the windshield wiper blades on.
11:08That's probably necessary.
11:10Now, this corner here coming up is great for drifting,
11:13which means we're probably going to see him get a little bit sideways.
11:16Let's take a look.
11:17Braking late, turning in.
11:19Carefully managing right towards the apex.
11:22Trying to get on the power on the way out,
11:24and there's some opposite lock because of the tailwind.
11:29Coming up to the chicane here.
11:31Very careful through here so he can set it up for this next corner.
11:34He'll throw downshift in a second.
11:38Trying to manage the front grip from the tires.
11:40Trying to get everything he can.
11:41A little bit opposite lock.
11:42Coming around here.
11:43I went wide on this corner pretty much every single time I went through it.
11:46The car does not like to build front grip in that area,
11:49and it understeers very severely.
11:55This corner here is usually done very quickly,
11:58but he has to be very, very careful to set the car up for these last two corners.
12:01Otherwise, he'd have too much speed trying to carry through here.
12:05Yep, wow, 40 kilometers an hour.
12:08That's not very fast.
12:11All right, let's get the power down as much as we can on the straightaway
12:13to see what the best time we can possibly pull is.
12:18And we do a 2.034.
12:22That's not very fast.
12:24Let's take a look at the Miata.
12:31Okay, the Mazda Miata.
12:33This is on Hankook RS3s, and these are arguably a better tire,
12:37but not that it matters that much because we are in the wet.
12:40However, the suspension geometry and the setup of this car does.
12:43This car has much more negative camber in the front,
12:46almost two degrees more than the BMW,
12:48so that really does help getting the car turned in
12:51and allowing the car to rotate.
12:54You'll see his entry speed to the corners is a little bit faster than the BMW
12:58just because you can get the front to grip.
13:03Now, this car is a little bit more of a handful.
13:05It does not have anti-lock brakes, and it does like to rotate,
13:08so you'll notice that the driver is a little bit more active on the steering wheel.
13:15Now, coming up to this corner here, the BMW got a little bit out of shape.
13:18Let's see if the Miata does the same.
13:21Turned in a little bit more aggressively, a much easier line through there.
13:25And, no, actually a fair amount of grip on the exit. That's pretty good.
13:31Going through the chicane, that looks a little bit faster than the BMW too.
13:36An aggressive downshift, and he's sideways.
13:39Look at that. Very nice.
13:42Turning in here, the BMW liked to wash wide very severely.
13:46This one just looks like it's gripping and gripping and gripping,
13:48and he's sideways again.
13:52Okay, these last few corners are very important.
13:55He has to manage the grip properly so that he can carry as much speed as possible onto the straight.
14:00The BMW liked to wash wide through here,
14:02but it looks like the Miata is carrying a lot more speed.
14:07This car makes some fantastic noises with the turbo blowoff bouncing off the wall beside you.
14:12All right, let's see what kind of a time he can pull here.
14:15We have a 1.54.9. Very nice.
14:20That is significantly faster than the BMW.
14:23There you go.
14:25I really would like to revisit these cars in the dry,
14:27because I think the Miata is capable of some serious lap times,
14:31and I want to see how the BMW can stack up as my build continues.
14:35As I was driving these around the track,
14:37I realized that I was learning a lot about myself as a driver, especially in the wet.
14:42And really, that's the point of buying a budget track car.
14:45It's something that you can get your hands dirty with,
14:47tune and modify, and then push to its limits.
14:52For under $10,000, the BMW really is a very good option for a rear-wheel drive car
14:57that is easy to find on the used market and is loads of fun on the track.
15:01But if you want to ditch the practicality, buy a second car maybe,
15:05and build a very pure driving machine,
15:08for this price, a Miata really is the answer.
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