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RRT Racing : An Active (Autowerke) Approach To 425+ Horsepower In A 328Ci

44K views 244 replies 59 participants last post by  TrippinBimmer 
#1 · (Edited)
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
 
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#45 ·
RRT Racing : An Active (Autowerke) Approach To 400 Horsepower In A 328Ci

Chase email it to me and I give u my thoughts...


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#48 ·
RRT Racing : An Active (Autowerke) Approach To 400 Horsepower In A 328Ci


We just slapped the kit on along with headers, meth, and testing from RRT. But we sent the AFR numbers to active and they are concerned about it being too lean. They're looking to set up time with Zak their tuner to have him get it more in spec.


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#54 ·
That's definitely running lean up top.

Try getting rpm vs hp graph read outs.

I'd have Frank tune your car. I'm sure he can get an extra 30-50 whp or maybe more since you're running super lean at max boost. I wouldn't WOT until that is fixed.
Great suggestions guys. My only concern is that having Frank Smith tune the car would void the AA warranty which does offer a considerable amount of protection. Zak at Active tuned my friend Jai's car and absolutely nailed it. I'd rather go that route and at least give AA a chance to fix the tune prior to going elsewhere. I don't doubt Frank's expertise, I just wouldn't want to use it unless AA is unable to address the issue.

And, while frustrating that it's so lean, it's pretty promising knowing that the motor was able to put up those numbers with a really crummy tune, misfires, and no meth. When this is all up and running right, should be doing some solid power :)
 
#53 · (Edited)
That's definitely running lean up top.

Try getting rpm vs hp graph read outs.

I'd have Frank tune your car. I'm sure he can get an extra 30-50 whp or maybe more since you're running super lean at max boost. I wouldn't WOT until that is fixed.
 
#58 ·
RRT Racing : An Active (Autowerke) Approach To 400 Horsepower In A 328Ci


Any time man.. I still will somewhat baby the car and won't thrash around the throttle. But it should be fun to see how it holds up against modified m3s. I suppose after we get the tune resolved, it should easily hold its own.


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#65 ·
Any tuning done between these runs??? If they were back to back, just by looking at the plots, it seems that the fuel pump is getting tired. You can see the afr getting leaner and leaner progressively with each run. If they were done back to back w/out tuning, I think that fuel pump got hot and started loosing pressure and or flow.
 
#66 ·
RRT Racing : An Active (Autowerke) Approach To 400 Horsepower In A 328Ci


Good point. We were considering swapping in an m3 fuel pump during the build but decided to just hold off till needed... Perhaps we're already there. I'm dropping off the car Sunday and they're going to start investigating the mechanical shortcoming... Then tuning a week from today aiming at 360 WHP


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#67 ·
I really can not tell from the pictures, are you blow through or draw through maf setup??? I would also look into clocking the maf. Depending on where bends in the piping are, clocking the maf would solve lots of tuning nightmares. Really important if you are blow through, can make a difference on a draw through setup also.
 
#69 ·
I'll have to run this by RRT when I drop off the car. Definitely worth looking into
I have to say this is one of the most remarkable builds that has been brought to life. I have seen this car go through each stage and transform to truly the ultimate driving machine. This is project has came a long way and glad to work with Chase and making this a reality. :thumbsup:

As for the Software issues we are working with Chase and going to have the tune calibrated to spec. and make good use of those tires. :woot:
Thanks Viral. Your team has been awesome all along the way and I hope we can just get the tune in sync soon.. I have the itch to take the car out this weekend but know it's best to baby it until we get the AFR figured out.
 
#68 · (Edited)
I have to say this is one of the most remarkable builds that has been brought to life. I have seen this car go through each stage and transform to truly the ultimate driving machine. This is project has came a long way and glad to work with Chase and making this a reality. :thumbsup:

As for the Software issues we are working with Chase and going to have the tune calibrated to spec. and make good use of those tires. :woot:
 
#71 ·
Welcome to the dark side, Did you have a horrible customer service exp as i did with AA?
 
#72 ·
RRT Racing : An Active (Autowerke) Approach To 400 Horsepower In A 328Ci


Service has been fine to date. They shipped out the product within a week or two of the order and have been very responsive with follow up questions. We're putting Zak to the test this week as he will be remote tuning the car over a half dozen or so dyno runs.

At that point, we'll see how it all stands.

I was promised a t shirt that never arrived with the kit though.. So I'll have to follow up with viral on that one :)


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#74 ·
Thanks buddy. I'd definitely suggest going through Active if not for their support and help with tuning. With RRT's help, the car will sit on the dyno this week for a tuning session and, if it's anything like my buddy jai's experience, we should see an additional 30-50 whp.... especially given it's running VERY lean right now.
 
#75 ·
wow u have come a long way...hope all works out for you!!

:thumbsup:
 
#76 ·
RRT Racing : An Active (Autowerke) Approach To 400 Horsepower In A 328Ci


Thanks for the kind words :thumbup:


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#78 ·
We shall see. RRT had the car last week looking over mechanical issues to ensure that everything looks fine in the engine bay. Assuming that came back with thumbs up, we'll be tuning this week and I'll give some dyno charts :)
 
#79 ·
RRT Racing : An Active (Autowerke) Approach To 400 Horsepower In A 328Ci

I thought this belonged here
Land vehicle Vehicle Car Bmw Personal luxury car



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#80 ·
So a little update.

- Car has been misfiring in cylinders 1, 2, and 3. Misfires were uncommon and were popping up between 1800-2500 rpms under light load. Car runs fine in higher rpms though a little leaner than we'd like.

Changed out :
-- 02 sensors
-- All coil packs

Car continued misfiring and now did it MUCH more common.. though still doing so in the same RPM area.

Drove up to Ocean City, MD this weekend for the show... car drove fine though CES light was on. Car is back in the shop and they are going to continue to try and figure out what is going wrong. Perhaps the tune? Perhaps there is a wire that is frayed or acting up... rather confused at this point
 
#87 ·
Dude, driving that around as lean as it was before is crazy. You may have damaged your engine from that. Now if the motor gives out they're gonna blame you, and what's written below is the truth.

Did AA give you that kit for free(sponsor), or was it a % off and do you still feel it was a good deal?

really sorry to hear about all this trouble, talk about blown :facepalm:





I really hope you / RRT get this figured out.

The Major problem I have with the Vendor that sold you this kit is, most others that buy this stage 2 kit run into the same or similar problems. In the end you waste A LOT of Time and Money hunting down problems that shouldn't exist. This kit should have been a straight forward Bolt On for RRT, you then should've driven out of the shop and down the road as a happy customer.

But instead it's turning into a nightmare.

In a Very short period of time if you can't get it running perfect, and I really mean PERFECT, ASK FOR A REFUND.

GL
 
#81 ·
I really hope you / RRT get this figured out.

The Major problem I have with the Vendor that sold you this kit is, most others that buy this stage 2 kit run into the same or similar problems. In the end you waste A LOT of Time and Money hunting down problems that shouldn't exist. This kit should have been a straight forward Bolt On for RRT, you then should've driven out of the shop and down the road as a happy customer.

But instead it's turning into a nightmare.

In a Very short period of time if you can't get it running perfect, and I really mean PERFECT, ASK FOR A REFUND.

GL
 
#85 ·
RRT Racing : An Active (Autowerke) Approach To 400 Horsepower In A 328Ci



I'm pretty sure this isnt their standard bolt on kit. He wanted to achieve a certain amount of power and did it different. I could be wrong though.


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