I've just taken delivery of a pre-owned Active Autowerke intercooled SC set-up for my M Roadster. Studying the instructions, inventorying the parts and impatiently waiting for New England to warm up so I can do the installation. Within a couple weeks the Red Head Roadster should be blown!!
Go pick up Dad in that beautiful beast of yours and bring him to the Saratoga Auto Show on the weekend of May 16th and 17th. Congratulations on the upgrade!
Scott, I certainly expect to have the project done by then and I have the Saratoga Show on my Automotive Events calendar. But I'm torn between 2 conflicting events for that weekend... It is the same day as the Carlisle PA Import show that I'm contemplating meeting up with the original owner of my SC system and joining him in PA for that day. What could be cooler than 2 blown M Roadsters side by side? I'll hold off on a decision until the date gets nearer.
I officially started the installation tonight. After work, I headed up to Swift Motorsports in Norwich, CT for a baseline Dyno run. I was reasonably impressed with peaks of 220 bhp and 220 ft*lb torque measured at the drive wheels. There was definitely room for a few more bhp since it started mis-firing a little near redline. The Dyno guys surmised it was an old dirty fuel filter that couldn't keep up with demand at high rpm's. Not bad compared to the 240bhp that BMW advertised at the crankshaft. But then I do have that M50 intake manifold and Supersprint exhaust. So, tonight after the Dyno run, I got the car up on the jack stands and started removing stuff to make room to install the new hardware. The most significant point is that the DME is out of the car and packaged up to ship out to AA for reprogramming. More to come...
I am planning to be at the Carlisle show on Saturday, May 16. Hope to see some of you there! I should be in my Diamond Schwartz E30 M3. For those interested here is the website, http://www.carsatcarlisle.com/ce/events/import/ There is usually a good turn out. No offense but the Nittany Bimmers Chapter could be a little more welcoming to the larger BMW CCA community. Maybe it is me, but I just get that feeling when I stop by the tent. On the other hand the Saab and Audi crews are living it up and have BBQs going late into the evening when there is no longer a BMW in sight. I just think we can out do those guys from up the Autobahn!!!!
Lance, How much do they charge for dyno runs? I wanted to run mine and see how much of the power is gone throughout its 320k life... ... and will be returning when my S50 gets dropped in.
Swift Motorsports, the guys I used here in Norwich CT charged $78.50 per run. A "run" consists of 3 individual pulls to ensure consistency. But they are on the wrong side of the State for you Botond. Have you looked into the outfit in Milford who is having the "free Dyno day" in a couple weeks, Pruven Performance?
I have, but there's a good chance that I won't make it on the dyno. There are going to be LOTS of people there with much more interesting and powerful cars, and it would be a shame to waste a free run on my car that's not really worth dyno'ing when there will be other people there who genuinely need to know how much power they're putting down. I'm just doing it for the curiosity factor, and could live if I never find out, but others who are tuning have to know.
Looking forward to hear how the install goes and the end results. I have known the folks at Active Autowerke for years and actually had the 2nd pre-production E36 Supercharger kit on my M3. Just out of curiosity what kind of dyno did you do your runs on?
Over the course of this weekend I got the crankcase vent & vacuum plumbing done, although it required removal of the intake manifold due to the differences between the stock S52 manifold and my S50 manifold. The fuel injectors have been swapped, the compressor mounting bracket and new idler pulleys have been mounted and the compressor is mounted to the bracket. And the ECU has finally left for a trip to AA to be reprogrammed. Next, the compressor lube oil system goes in, then the intercooler and it's plumbing. unfortunately, I'll be out of town for the next several days and next weekend is pretty busy. But were making progress! Pics have been posted over here... http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1172904&page=2
A few more hours and the project will be done. The compressor is mounted, the new serpentine belt is on, the compressor lube oil system is one and most of the intake and intercooler piping has been fit-up and installed. Now, I need to figure out an elegant way to install the OBDII Intake Air Temperature sensor in the cast aluminum elbow that feeds the throttlebody. The sensor was displaced when I did te M50 intake manifold last year and the rubber boot where it had been living was ditched for the pressurized SC plumbing. The ECU reprograming is done and it will be back in my hands on Wednesday (4/1, there better not be an April Fool here!). Then it should be ready to fire up. Maybe a little more tweaking of the plumbing and put the face back together! Here's some pics of the project to date...
I got my modified intake elbow back today and it is a work of art. Rory West of Pro-Kart here in Colchester, CT welded and machined a bung onto the cast aluminum elbow to accommodate the intake air temperature sensor. We got the position perfect and it just clears the compressor inlet elbow right next to the throttlebody inlet elbow. Tomorrow the ECU should be delivered. Then a little more work to finish the intake air plumbing, fill the compressor lube oil reservoir, bleed the fuel system and fire that bad boy up! Presuming it doesn't throw a belt or blow any fittings out, another couple hours to put the headlight and bumper back on and I'll be road worthy!
I can't wait to see this piece of engineering in person! You've put some major work into that bad girl...
Unfortunately, the FedEx guy and Mother Nature played the April fools joke on me. There was no one home to sign for the FedEx delivery of my remapped ECU so it went back to the Depot. Mental note: never use FedEx Ground serivce again. Unlike UPS, FedEx will not hold an item for customer pickup at the Depot (and their Depot is 40 miles away compared to 5 for UPS) and the FedEx telephone people aren't especially polite. Then it started raining just as I got home from work, so I couldn't work on the few remaining loose ends. Hopefully, tomorrow will bring better tidings
Finally done!!! FedEx delivered the ECU, within minutes I had it plugged back in and fired that mother up. Everything looked and sounded good, so the bumper went back on and commenced road test. Wow, the pull from 4000 to redline is impressive. It is going to take some incredible restraint to avoid multiple tickets per week with this thing. Scott, I commend the boys at Active Autowerke for the engineering of this kit, all I did was turn the wrenches. But the kit was quite well thought out and the instructions were pretty thorough. Let the road trips and car meets begin, I'll see you there...
And the final Verdict... 297 hp and 245 lb*ft measured at the wheels by the DynoJet at Pruven Performance in Milford CT I was really hoping for a bona fide 300 at the wheels, but I'll take the 297. There is no doubt that hitting the gas at about 3500 or above in 3rd or 4th gear guarantees a huge grin everytime!!
My soul weeps for your measly 297 rwhp. Remind me not to mess with any Alipine Z3s in my M5. Can you post a dyno chart? I wish to illustrate a few points.
