Here's a long read on hitting 425+ horsepower at the crank and over 275 rear wheel torque in a 328Ci.
For years, my friends have referred to my 3 as "The Turtle". Given the car's color and measly 200 horsepower, I can't say I blamed them. And so began the quest for power. I wanted to do something relatively unique and up to par with the rest of the modifications..
Initially I purchased an ESS kit from Toby out on the west coast. He was an awesome guy and the kit was in great condition, but I wasn't really ready for fully dive in and ended up selling the kit to another local. I ended up doing the same with a VF-E kit I purchased from another member on here. This time though it was because I realized that I wanted to include an intercooler and didn't want to tap the factory oil from the motor.. so, the kit went up on ebay and was shipped off to a guy building an E39 wagon (the updates have been pretty cool).
And thus began the conversations with Viral at Active who has been absolutely awesome to deal with. Our conversations go back almost two years and he's always been extremely responsive, supportive, encouraging. He helped me work with their team to secure a sponsorship, notified me the day the kit was pieced together, had tracking information for me the day it left the shop, and checked in to make sure it arrived without any headaches. At the day's end, we settled upon their Stage 2 kit with an Active intercooler, Rotrex blower (pushing 11-12 psi), an oil cooler for the blower, and all the other needed goodies.
As Active shipped off their kit, I researched and studied up on what additional pieces I'd need to ensure this went smoothly. I fortunately had the support of some key members of this forum including MalibuMafiaV and Anthony at Bimmerbrakes. One of the big questions that I had was how to run headers on the car given supersprint were impossible to find, ebay offered questionable quality, and his shop only had 330 headers. Anthony suggested (and RRT agreed) that we take his high quality racing headers, modify the exhaust side of the flange, and run them. After all, the 330 headers lined up fine on the motor side.. and we had to do custom exhaust fabrication anyhow.
Unboxing of Active Kit
I then needed gauges and some type of installation piece. So I got in touch with Prosport who was able to sponsor their halo series AFR and boost gauges and ATI provided the gauge pod (mickey mouse style)
At this point, we had all the major components... but I wanted to make this even better. So I reached out to AEM electronics who was able to provide their methanol injection kit along with their LED display. I still need to add a hobbs switch to the setup though to ensure every failsafe is in place.
So we now had the following :
--Active Autowerke Stage 2 kit
--Bimmerbrakes Headers
--AEM Electronics Methanol kit
--ProSport Gauges (AFR and Boost)
--ATI Gauge Pod
But it had to all go in. Naturally, I took it to the masters at RRT Racing in Dulles, VA : http://www.rrtracing.com/
Given RRT's racing heritage, expertise, and their familiarity with my vehicle (they built the custom exhaust and have done all mechanical work for years), we began discussing the project and ways to improve upon what's been done in the past. In total, the work alone took roughly two months (I told them I was in no rush to get the car back and they have countless fires they must put out for customers on tight racing deadlines) but the work is SO well worth it.
Stuart who is on this forum stopped by halfway through the build and snapped some these:
And then, after months in the shop, the call finally came in : "So ummm, your car is running and stuff" Mike said jokingly. After a number of test drives, checking for leaks, and ensuring everything was good to go, they took it to the dyno. Without meth, and with misfires in bank one (cylinders 1, 2, and 3), the car put up over 300 at the wheels on pump gas. The AFR levels were 12 across the board, 14 across the board, and 13 across the board with little fluctuation. I'm not really sure what caused the 12, 13, 14 variance but the good thing is that the AFRs were rather linear. RRT is diagnosing the misfires and then we'll re-dyno and tune with meth in place... they are anticipating roughly 340-350 wheel putting the car around 400-420 at the crank. The coil packs were changed out so not really sure what is causing the misfire.. could be that the spark plugs need to be a degree cooler.. also may swap out the fuel pump for the m3 variant.
I can not thank the team at RRT Racing enough for all their incredible work and support. Between the customization to the intercooler piping (they had to fabricate some of it from scratch as it wouldn't fit properly), the work they did with the AEM Meth kit (including a custom trunk installation that I'll post pictures of shortly), and all their patience... they are INCREDIBLE and I can't recommend a shop more!
This past weekend, I was in Carlisle, PA debuting the vehicle at Carlisle Performance & Style. The BMW was brought up by Meguiar's (one of my more recent sponsors) and took first place and I got to meet tons of new individuals.. a couple of which were E46Fanatics members.
Meguiars also really hooked me up with some quality products. Really :bow: to their team
Upon returning home, I had a few quick pictures taken for the forum
STATUS Racing also sponsored some new 4 point harnesses (for display purposes.. I don't use them on the road for safety)
Saving the best for last
Out of car video (day I picked it up)
http://youtu.be/IphpN_JU6pI
In car
http://youtu.be/v3yo5d3zTTY
http://youtu.be/BOh0e02Nh8U
For kicks, here is my buddy's AA Stage 2.5 E46 M3... It makes my car feel so wimpy LMAO
http://youtu.be/NEsJP7hWbyo
A videographer is looking to do a small video on the vehicle so will keep this updated with additional media
Many many many thanks to :
- RRT Racing
- Active Autowerke
- Bimmerbrakes
- Prosport
- AEM Electronics
For those who will be attending Bimmerfest East in July, make sure to check out RRT Racing's vendor booth. The vehicle will be on display with their team available to answer any questions you may have about the work we did or other projects you're considering for your own ride
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHMmQRQv6_o&list=UUxC4_WV2Wd2uW4eEIRFzg2A
For years, my friends have referred to my 3 as "The Turtle". Given the car's color and measly 200 horsepower, I can't say I blamed them. And so began the quest for power. I wanted to do something relatively unique and up to par with the rest of the modifications..
Initially I purchased an ESS kit from Toby out on the west coast. He was an awesome guy and the kit was in great condition, but I wasn't really ready for fully dive in and ended up selling the kit to another local. I ended up doing the same with a VF-E kit I purchased from another member on here. This time though it was because I realized that I wanted to include an intercooler and didn't want to tap the factory oil from the motor.. so, the kit went up on ebay and was shipped off to a guy building an E39 wagon (the updates have been pretty cool).
And thus began the conversations with Viral at Active who has been absolutely awesome to deal with. Our conversations go back almost two years and he's always been extremely responsive, supportive, encouraging. He helped me work with their team to secure a sponsorship, notified me the day the kit was pieced together, had tracking information for me the day it left the shop, and checked in to make sure it arrived without any headaches. At the day's end, we settled upon their Stage 2 kit with an Active intercooler, Rotrex blower (pushing 11-12 psi), an oil cooler for the blower, and all the other needed goodies.
As Active shipped off their kit, I researched and studied up on what additional pieces I'd need to ensure this went smoothly. I fortunately had the support of some key members of this forum including MalibuMafiaV and Anthony at Bimmerbrakes. One of the big questions that I had was how to run headers on the car given supersprint were impossible to find, ebay offered questionable quality, and his shop only had 330 headers. Anthony suggested (and RRT agreed) that we take his high quality racing headers, modify the exhaust side of the flange, and run them. After all, the 330 headers lined up fine on the motor side.. and we had to do custom exhaust fabrication anyhow.
Unboxing of Active Kit
I then needed gauges and some type of installation piece. So I got in touch with Prosport who was able to sponsor their halo series AFR and boost gauges and ATI provided the gauge pod (mickey mouse style)
At this point, we had all the major components... but I wanted to make this even better. So I reached out to AEM electronics who was able to provide their methanol injection kit along with their LED display. I still need to add a hobbs switch to the setup though to ensure every failsafe is in place.
So we now had the following :
--Active Autowerke Stage 2 kit
--Bimmerbrakes Headers
--AEM Electronics Methanol kit
--ProSport Gauges (AFR and Boost)
--ATI Gauge Pod
But it had to all go in. Naturally, I took it to the masters at RRT Racing in Dulles, VA : http://www.rrtracing.com/
Given RRT's racing heritage, expertise, and their familiarity with my vehicle (they built the custom exhaust and have done all mechanical work for years), we began discussing the project and ways to improve upon what's been done in the past. In total, the work alone took roughly two months (I told them I was in no rush to get the car back and they have countless fires they must put out for customers on tight racing deadlines) but the work is SO well worth it.
Stuart who is on this forum stopped by halfway through the build and snapped some these:
And then, after months in the shop, the call finally came in : "So ummm, your car is running and stuff" Mike said jokingly. After a number of test drives, checking for leaks, and ensuring everything was good to go, they took it to the dyno. Without meth, and with misfires in bank one (cylinders 1, 2, and 3), the car put up over 300 at the wheels on pump gas. The AFR levels were 12 across the board, 14 across the board, and 13 across the board with little fluctuation. I'm not really sure what caused the 12, 13, 14 variance but the good thing is that the AFRs were rather linear. RRT is diagnosing the misfires and then we'll re-dyno and tune with meth in place... they are anticipating roughly 340-350 wheel putting the car around 400-420 at the crank. The coil packs were changed out so not really sure what is causing the misfire.. could be that the spark plugs need to be a degree cooler.. also may swap out the fuel pump for the m3 variant.
I can not thank the team at RRT Racing enough for all their incredible work and support. Between the customization to the intercooler piping (they had to fabricate some of it from scratch as it wouldn't fit properly), the work they did with the AEM Meth kit (including a custom trunk installation that I'll post pictures of shortly), and all their patience... they are INCREDIBLE and I can't recommend a shop more!
This past weekend, I was in Carlisle, PA debuting the vehicle at Carlisle Performance & Style. The BMW was brought up by Meguiar's (one of my more recent sponsors) and took first place and I got to meet tons of new individuals.. a couple of which were E46Fanatics members.
Meguiars also really hooked me up with some quality products. Really :bow: to their team
Upon returning home, I had a few quick pictures taken for the forum
STATUS Racing also sponsored some new 4 point harnesses (for display purposes.. I don't use them on the road for safety)
Saving the best for last
Out of car video (day I picked it up)
http://youtu.be/IphpN_JU6pI
In car
http://youtu.be/v3yo5d3zTTY
http://youtu.be/BOh0e02Nh8U
For kicks, here is my buddy's AA Stage 2.5 E46 M3... It makes my car feel so wimpy LMAO
http://youtu.be/NEsJP7hWbyo
A videographer is looking to do a small video on the vehicle so will keep this updated with additional media
Many many many thanks to :
- RRT Racing
- Active Autowerke
- Bimmerbrakes
- Prosport
- AEM Electronics
For those who will be attending Bimmerfest East in July, make sure to check out RRT Racing's vendor booth. The vehicle will be on display with their team available to answer any questions you may have about the work we did or other projects you're considering for your own ride
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHMmQRQv6_o&list=UUxC4_WV2Wd2uW4eEIRFzg2A