Everything You Wanted to Know About NASA's Spec3 Racing Series
One of the most economical ways to race a BMW in NASA is Spec3, a racing series that uses the 1993 to 1995 BMW 325. It’s the most restricted series in NASA in terms of which cars can be used as donors, but because of that, it’s also one of the most competitive. Spec3 races are always close! If that’s something that interests you, find out more below.
Tires, size, brand and prices
Toyo RR 235-40-17 $246 from TrackDayTire.com
Toyo RA1 225-50-15 (rain tire) $205 from TrackDayTire.com
Brakes, brands and prices
From Bimmerworld
Hawk DTC-60 pads: $213 front; $206 rear
From Andrew Racing
Hawk DTC-60 pads: $140 front, $140 rear
Check the NASA Contingencies page for the latest programs.hes.
Spec3 Resources
Questions and Answers to Feed Your Curiosity
Spec3 is open to 1993 through 1995 BMW 325i and 325is cars. To make it easier to find and build new cars, any E36 chassis maybe used provided that all relevant components (engine, engine wiring harness, transmission, brakes, etc.) come from a 1993-1995 production vehicle.
The eligible models are so limited and the modifications are so tight, there is no one year that’s better than another. They key is to find a clean, rust-free chassis.
Yes, among all the usual outlets (Bimmerparts, Bimmerworld, ECS Tuning, Turner, OEM and aftermarket) parts availability is still good for 25-plus-year-old cars.
Because modifications are so limited, this class focuses on the driver. Competition is extremely close.
Less than you might think. Purchase and preparation of a car for this series should be less than $15,000.
All of them are known and solvable, but most typically the floor pans need to have the suspension mounting points reinforced if the car will be used for racing.
Spec3 represents one of the least expensive ways to race a BMW 3-series. At 2,825 pounds, they’re lightweight and relatively easy on consumables such as brakes and tires. It’s no more expensive than Spec E30 while being considerably quicker, and far less expensive than Spec E46. Spec3 cars also can race in NASA’s Super Touring 5 and German Touring Series 2 classes.
Latest Spec3 News Around The Country
Twelve Spec3 racers plus two HPDE drivers traveled to Carolina Motorsports Park for the penultimate race weekend in the NASA Southeast 2024 season, a […]
In this week’s, installment of the NASA Racing Gear Store Move of the Month, we ride along with Andreas Schmidt in his Spec3 for an inverted grid […]
NASA Northeast Spec3 racer Alex Rubenstein went door to door with Spec3 National Champion Jon McAvoy for a full lap and a half around Summit Point in […]
After the debut of the Toyo Tires® Proxes® R DOT competition tire at the Performance Racing Industry show in Indianapolis in December 2023, NASA […]
All it took to win the July NASA Racing Gear Store Move of the Month contest was a near-total brake failure. NASA Southeast Spec3 racer Andreas […]
What Spec3 Competitors Say
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Spec3 Series Contacts