This year, I'll be building this E92 BMW M3 into the ultimate track day tire test car!

At the time of purchase it was the cheapest E92 M3 on the market, costing just £13,600 (CAT D), with sub 50,000 miles on the clock. It's a well specified 2008 car, with EDC (electronic damper control), full leather and even digital tv, which almost makes it a shame to tear it apart. But in the name of tire testing, it must be disassembled.

As part of the build process, the car needed a shakedown. Goodyear kindly offered to provide a set of the new Goodyear Eagle F1 SuperSport tires, and a place at the Goodyear sponsored EVO track days at Bedford AutoDrome.

Fortunately, the shakedown of the car went as well as could be expected, with only the brakes (warped NSF disc) and powersteering being an issue, both known issues on e92 M3s and I've plans to sort both.

As the car ran relatively smoothly, it was also a great opportunity to test out the new Goodyear Eagle F1 SuperSport on track.

The F1 SuperSport is the most road focussed of the three new tires from Goodyear, with the R and RS having far more track bias.

On the road the F1 SuperSport felt extremely similar to the Michelin Pilot Sport 4S it replaced, having broadly comparable levels of grip, comfort, steering feel and speed. This is good news for the new tire, and will be tested properly in our full test in June.

On track, the new F1 SuperSport really impressed. The turn-in, grip and balance of the F1 SuperSport was incredible, and at points it felt more like a track tire than a road tire. Overheating resistance was excellent for a road tire, with only the rear right starting to grumble shortly before I received the "no drifting" board, which probably had more to do with the driving style than the tire itself! Wear was looked to be very low, with very little visible wear after three hard sessions.

While this has in no way been a full comparative review, I thought it was worth sharing in case anyone is wondering whether the F1 SuperSport can be used on track. The answer is yes, it certainly can, and with great results.

Head over to the YouTube channel and subscribe to keep up to date with the new M3 build project. The work starts in July, with each modification being properly tested and timed to see exactly how much faster it makes the car! The episode list will go something like:

Episode 1: Brakes

Episode 2: Suspension

Episode 3: Weight Reduction

Episode 4: Aero

Episode 5: Lighter wheels

Episode 6: Suspension tuning

And more!

Questions or suggestions? Feel free to comment below!