So, the time has come. I have been green-lit by insurance and all other relevant parties to drop money on supercharging my car. It's only got 86k on the clock and my mechanics and I had a 20-minute sit-down today to talk ALL about it.
Here's the quick and dirty.
First I wanted VF because I could stay within nearly guaranteed safe zones power-wise on the xi transfer case (tranny can take it, transfer case and front diff are the scary bits). But then I was worried that my friend in his spiffy Msport 335i would egg me on. I know I'll never keep up with that car in a boosted 325 and I don't aim to. But he is a bad influence when it comes to saving money.
So then I firmly decided on ESS due to low-end torque. The AWD is prime low-end territory for low-speed rolling starts anyway. Plus I heard they can flash a car running Euro software, which is essential for me. I can't vouch for the source of that, so I hope it's true.
But then, when sitting down with my mechs, they had experience installing procharger kits on three E46s recently and reported that they ran beautifully and needed zero additional tuning. They also reported a responsive low-end.
For the install, with the ESS kit I was planning to do it myself since the initial price is rather high. From what I've gathered, it's mostly just replacing the intake manifold with some other gubbins? Considering that I replaced my front axles a couple weeks back I'm feeling fairly confident.
Recent maintenance:
Front brakes/rotors: Feb.
Front LCA/:CAB: Feb.
RTABs: Feb.
Entire CCV system: Feb.
New springs/shocks/RSMs: March
Electric fan conversion: March
Entire cooling system w/ OEM parts: May
Oil/filter change: April
Pulleys/Belts: June
Front axles: June
Front Diff. fluid: June
New electric fan (BEHR crapped itself, so I got Bosch): June
New fuel filter: June
Brake flush: June
A/C drain/refill: June
But now I'm stuck on which kit again. VF, AA, ESS, Procharger? I'd like to maintain the low-down drivability without any sudden surges of power such as the ones that can be found in a B7 A4 2.0T with FWD. Price definitely matters though. But I also don't want to get a cheap kit that won't take any upgrades down the road. I know that after a while I'll want to do something. I'd also like a kit that can somehow preserve my intake. I got an Injen long tube for a steal and if I can keep that in some form I won't feel like I just burned money on it.
Relevant mods/info:
Headers
300-cel spun metallic cats
EU2 flash
Injen long tube intake
86000mi.
Automatic
AWD
Please don't tell me, "sell your car and get an M3." I am far too emotionally invested in this car to part with it. I don't want to supercharge so that I can have a fast car. I want to supercharge to make my car faster.
Thanks for your help fanatics!
Here's the quick and dirty.
First I wanted VF because I could stay within nearly guaranteed safe zones power-wise on the xi transfer case (tranny can take it, transfer case and front diff are the scary bits). But then I was worried that my friend in his spiffy Msport 335i would egg me on. I know I'll never keep up with that car in a boosted 325 and I don't aim to. But he is a bad influence when it comes to saving money.
So then I firmly decided on ESS due to low-end torque. The AWD is prime low-end territory for low-speed rolling starts anyway. Plus I heard they can flash a car running Euro software, which is essential for me. I can't vouch for the source of that, so I hope it's true.
But then, when sitting down with my mechs, they had experience installing procharger kits on three E46s recently and reported that they ran beautifully and needed zero additional tuning. They also reported a responsive low-end.
For the install, with the ESS kit I was planning to do it myself since the initial price is rather high. From what I've gathered, it's mostly just replacing the intake manifold with some other gubbins? Considering that I replaced my front axles a couple weeks back I'm feeling fairly confident.
Recent maintenance:
Front brakes/rotors: Feb.
Front LCA/:CAB: Feb.
RTABs: Feb.
Entire CCV system: Feb.
New springs/shocks/RSMs: March
Electric fan conversion: March
Entire cooling system w/ OEM parts: May
Oil/filter change: April
Pulleys/Belts: June
Front axles: June
Front Diff. fluid: June
New electric fan (BEHR crapped itself, so I got Bosch): June
New fuel filter: June
Brake flush: June
A/C drain/refill: June
But now I'm stuck on which kit again. VF, AA, ESS, Procharger? I'd like to maintain the low-down drivability without any sudden surges of power such as the ones that can be found in a B7 A4 2.0T with FWD. Price definitely matters though. But I also don't want to get a cheap kit that won't take any upgrades down the road. I know that after a while I'll want to do something. I'd also like a kit that can somehow preserve my intake. I got an Injen long tube for a steal and if I can keep that in some form I won't feel like I just burned money on it.
Relevant mods/info:
Headers
300-cel spun metallic cats
EU2 flash
Injen long tube intake
86000mi.
Automatic
AWD
Please don't tell me, "sell your car and get an M3." I am far too emotionally invested in this car to part with it. I don't want to supercharge so that I can have a fast car. I want to supercharge to make my car faster.
Thanks for your help fanatics!