Which supercharger should I go with for road racing my e46 m3, AA or VF?

[ctsvkilla]

Well im planning on pulling the trigger for a supercharger before next track season. There are a lot of factors with road racing, as you usually run into some sort of problem eventually, the main problem is overheating. The reason im going with a supercharger setup for road racing is the money factor. Ive realized if I went NA I wouldnt even be getting as much horsepower/torque for the money as I would be if I got one of these kits. So do any of you guys road/track race with your supercharged m3s with out any problems? I akso would like to know the weight of both the stage 2 kits from aa and vf. I appreciate all the intelligent comments, I dont want this to become a vf vs aa war.

[SPDu4ea]

an AA-SC'd M3 placed first in class in the One Lap of America.

[ctsvkilla]

an AA-SC'd M3 placed first in class in the One Lap of America.

yes I know that, but that was just one event. Im wondering if anyone with a supercharged m3 has experienced doing multiple events with no problems.

[phrozen06]

AA and VF both have a huge customer base so you can't go wrong with either.

[SimpleSeemon]

i was told VF

my 2 cents

[Sean@VF-Engineering]

i was told VF

my 2 cents


It wasn't me that told SimpleSeemon, but I do agree! :thumbsup:
Besides, who else offers 0% financing?
-Sean

[SPDu4ea]

yes I know that, but that was just one event. Im wondering if anyone with a supercharged m3 has experienced doing multiple events with no problems.

20 events within one, but yeah.

[ctsvkilla]

20 events within one, but yeah.

Really, see I didnt know that. No need for attitude.

[A55A55IN]

From what i've been reading, both companies are very good/reputable and provide awesome support to their customers.

You can't go wrong with either...i'm in the same boat as you...VF kit or AA kit..although i wonder if i can run a C38 kit in my 325 or even the ASA kit that they have :yikes:.

[docwyte]

Respectfully, One Lap is like an auto-x. It's mostly highway driving, with 6 actual laps on a race track per day for 6 days. That's not the same as running 4-5 30 minute track sessions as two 3 lap sessions like they run for One Lap doesn't put any real heat load on the car.

[MSpired]

Can't go wrong with either. I have tracked my car a couple of times with the supercharger and only had heating issues on one of those track days, but that was due to the fact that it was literally 110+ degrees ambient...

Whichever kit you go with, make sure to go with the following cooling mods to help (in order of most important IMO):

-AA/Motorstport Thermostat
-2000+ CFM Electric Fan
-Redline Water Wetter
-Upgraded/Bigger Radiator (this is more important than the above, but I would only do this if the above doesn'y do the job)
-Vented Hood

[vaio76109]

What makes you think that you need more power? How much track experience do you have?

[Activ3]

:rofl:

AA obviously gets my vote. I've only done three track events with my blower, but for one of them I was non-intercooled and had no problems. I have 37k miles on my kit, and it's daily driven to and from school/work. I will add that it's nice to know that the blower has it's own cooling system, and I've even read of some of the muscle car guys converting their vortech powered units to their own cooling system for better efficiency, and to prevent the loss of the blower should something happen to your motor.

[Activ3]

What makes you think that you need more power? How much track experience do you have?

:werd: If you aren't at the limits of the stock M, you should consider keeping it NA, as it's highly possibly you'll put down slower times with the SC than without it if you aren't pretty experienced.

EDIT: I see that you said track season, so I'm assuming you track it regularly?

[BDUB328I]

check out ess aswell they have some pretty awesome kits coming out soon

[ctsvkilla]

:werd: If you aren't at the limits of the stock M, you should consider keeping it NA, as it's highly possibly you'll put down slower times with the SC than without it if you aren't pretty experienced.

EDIT: I see that you said track season, so I'm assuming you track it regularly?

yep, I track regulary.




Btw, I said in my first post to not make this thread a war between aa vs vf guys, so please only chime in if you have something constructive to say about your kits and people tracking with them. Thanks

[WillC310]

I don't remember hearing about 1 person that had any *serious* issues with their kit, VF, AA, or ESS. That said, I'm sure that there have been overheats and other random things but nothing like a bottom end blowing out.

[FastM3CT]

I really think both kits are great without question... My friends race buddy has a e36 M3 track car with a AA setup. He has gone 60k track miles with no issues from the blower. Just thought I would share that.

[AzN_M5]

Check into ESS...I track my car regularly, not to mention, their kits are tuned and tested regularly through track time and even on the Nurburgring. M3Jaydee and the LoadedCSL to name a few ESS cars that are just mind blowing.

[docwyte]

I'd be careful with ESS, they're not an american company and the support here isn't all that great...

[AzN_M5]

I'd be careful with ESS, they're not an american company and the support here isn't all that great...

Nope, their US based HQ is in Arizona...I've personally met AJ and Todd and from what I've seen, they work around the clock to give the best service they can.

[docwyte]

Are they doing any of the actual tuning there? Having a coupla guys in the US is a help, but not the same thing as being based here...

[AzN_M5]

Are they doing any of the actual tuning there? Having a coupla guys in the US is a help, but not the same thing as being based here...

All the DME's for US cars are being tuned here. AJ is personally moving around to shops around the country to approve installers. And last I saw, the CFR550 for the M Coupe was being tuned by AJ in Arizona.

From what I understand, ESS has just recently begun building a US based HQ, so they're only in infant stages of growth, but are progressing rapidly.

[deltasleep]

VF all the way. I had AA on my car and removed it after months of problems and headaches (headeaches cause by the wife being pissed at the money to fix problems:bawling:) I decided to go VF after going back to stock for about a year. I installed my kit and after 30,000+ miles I am having a blast. In fact I dyno'd my car and got a surprize. My dyno slips look are damn near the same same as when I dyno'd the car at 70k and at 100k, I lost about 8 rwhp. That could be cause from anything, fuel, air temp, dyno calibration ect.. either way I love my VF Stage 2 kit.

[bitsnbytes]

VF all the way. I had AA on my car and removed it after months of problems and headaches (headeaches cause by the wife being pissed at the money to fix problems:bawling:) I decided to go VF after going back to stock for about a year. I installed my kit and after 30,000+ miles I am having a blast. In fact I dyno'd my car and got a surprize. My dyno slips look are damn near the same same as when I dyno'd the car at 70k and at 100k, I lost about 8 rwhp. That could be cause from anything, fuel, air temp, dyno calibration ect.. either way I love my VF Stage 2 kit.

VF Stg. 2 all the way!!!! I have a buddy with an AA supercharger and that thing was a joke. Kept stalling out on him when he would start the car and while stopping at red lights. He eventually sold the car b/c he was so pissed and went p-car.

Deltasleep- what was your rwhp? I just got my VF Stg 2 on and I have 4.10s waiting to be put in next week. After I do the 1200 mile breakin for the diff :cry: I'm gonna take her in for a dyno.

[TaZaM3]

AA without a doubt, ive abused my car (imo) more then anyone on this board and it performed like a champ. My friend has 100k miles on his M3 with the AA kit, runs great as well. You cant go wrong, with all the years experience, speaks for itself.

[mikem7709]

I`ve tracked mine (ESS VT) loads of times and not had any problems at all. Even in 30C + ambient temps, with the stock oil cooler and no I/C. A friend also had the VT kit fitted to his coupe a couple of weeks before me and now has over 30K miles on it without any hic-ups at all.

I broke my oil line fitting (by over tightening it for no reason) and the guys at ESS sent me a new one via air mail for nothing, can`t really get better service than that. :thumbsup:

[Gatorsurgeon]

My main priority when I got my kit was being able to road race the car, so the inclusion of a larger radiator and a double-size oil cooler was appealing. The car has been completely bulletproof so far, and I cannot imagine a need for more power than this on a road course. Even tracking @ 90 degrees F., I've never seen the temp needle past halfway or the oil temp above 225. If your big thing is road courses, then I'd go for a conservative set-up on boost (5-6 psi), and get every cooling mod you can.

[jetskier88]

I'd be careful with ESS, they're not an american company and the support here isn't all that great...

now your just being ignorant... can you tell us your experience where the support wasnt "all that great"? if needed they are available almost all the time for technical support... i have had nothing but the best experiences ..

Are they doing any of the actual tuning there? Having a coupla guys in the US is a help, but not the same thing as being based here...

really BMW is not "based" in the United States.. why did you buy one if this issue seems to concern you... the fact that a company is not based here has no signficance or relevance to the quality of thier product and customer support...:slap:



AND to the OP.. if your gonna fork over that kinda money, why not save up a little more for an HPF kit and be supercar status:str8pimpi

[docwyte]

Before you call me out, why not ask nicely?

My experience is based on my E36 days, when plenty of people had issues with ESS, whether they were software or hardware. They had quite a bit of difficulty dealing with them as they were overseas, didn't have the same car as us, weren't native english speakers, etc, etc.

If all that's changed, great. Personally, based on friends past experiences, I'd much rather deal with a US based company.

[Asbjorn@ESS]

You are aware that we discontinued our E36 product line over 7 years ago? Back then we did not have much of a US presence, but we sure do now.

All our products are especially engineered and tested on US spec vehicles as well as Euro specs.

[m28]

AA worked for me, had many events with my kit and had NEVER placed lower than top 4 in my group :thumbsup:

[DLSJ5]

AA worked for me, had many events with my kit and had NEVER placed lower than top 4 in my group :thumbsup:

That may have to do with your paddle skills my friend. :thumbsup: Are you back in the states?

Either kit will perform fantastic on the track. :thumbsup:

[ctsvkilla]

That may have to do with your paddle skills my friend. :thumbsup: Are you back in the states?

Either kit will perform fantastic on the track. :thumbsup:

I see you tracked your car from your sig, were you happy with it?

[jeffgm3conv]

I tracked my VF S2 Vert last week for the first time (at Watkins Glen). Kit performed flawlessly, with no overheating and plenty of linear power. Getting my cats/headers installed today so should have even more power for my second track day this Wed at NJ Motorsports park. Will update after that and after I re-dyno my car post-cats/headers.

[DLSJ5]

I see you tracked your car from your sig, were you happy with it?

To be honest I haven't tracked my car in over a year. :(

[m28]

That may have to do with your paddle skills my friend. :thumbsup: Are you back in the states?

Either kit will perform fantastic on the track. :thumbsup:

hey Drew,
no still working around China, the online ad buz is crazy here

[mPhoenix]

^ i see the skidpad!