ILC's E92 M3

[i_love_cars]

jc43089 said:

Are you sure the coolant was mixed strong enough to prevent freezing? Could have frozen and that's what caused a leak just sitting? Doubtful because it's such a new car though, likely it hasn't been touched yet.

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The prior owner had coolant flushed on annual basis at the dealership (kinda weird?), and I had 0 problems storing it last winter but then again it wasn't nearly as cold last winter compared to the huge cold snap we had this year in Deember/January. 

I borrowed a coolant pressurizer from Dan Frodl and couldn't reproduce a leak anywhere. That said, the thermostats on these cars are a common failure at my mileage anyway so I picked up a new thermostat and a couple of orings for the elbows that go to the cylinder heads off the thermostat housing (which is where the coolant leaked from). I've put several hundred miles on the car over the past month without any issues so I'm almost 100% sure it was only due to the extreme cold we had and orings shrunk. Either way I'm not leaving it to chance. This stuff is going on when the supercharger goes on since the manifold will be off anyway.

[i_love_cars]

Ok so everyone else is doing cool builds and as usual I don't have anything unique to add to the conversation - just basic beta bitch mods like bolt-on superchargers. 

I walked away from the deal for the used 625 kit that had the red painted manifold. It looked good in photos but I know it was also a $15 rattle can job. Not a professional paint job like you'd get from iND or something. The guy wanted $6250 for his kit and on top of that you need to drop $1000 to get a new tune from ESS because they are locked to a VIN. I just couldn't fully bring myself to spend that kind of money for a used supercharger kit compared to the price of a brand new one that comes with a 2 year warranty. 

So I called up EAS and they quoted me $7720 shipped for a brand new kit (which includes a tune). It's a no-brainer at that point to just buy it new. The extra $500 guarantees no missing parts and everything works. 

I also ordered a set of BE rod bearings and ARP bolts. They were back-ordered until March 31 (i placed my order on March 22nd or so) and I'm glad I did because as of now they are already backordered again until July 1. Lots of S65 owners are buying up these bearings because they have increased clearance, but not so much that there is any real impact to oil pressure at high rpms. 

The supercharger showed up earlier this week and I'm still waiting on the bearings. Install plans have been delayed because ....well I mean just look outside. It's cold in my garage too. 

I will be outsourcing the rod bearing install to Efab Motorsports in Lake Zurich. They are doing a labor special on rod bearing service for $700 during the month of April. I'll have them throw in new motor mounts while they are at it because for whatever reason the mounts on this car are a 50k mile maintenance item and the subframe will be down already. The shop owner has a VO 1M that I am excited to look at when I go down there.

I am scheduled to drop the car off for RB service on May 1 and pick it up May 3. 

[YoungCR]

Are there no after market solutions for the motor mounts? Every 50k is crazy

[i_love_cars]

YoungCR said:

Are there no after market solutions for the motor mounts? Every 50k is crazy

There are but they all involve more NVH and I'm trying to preserve the street manners of the car since I don't intend to track it ;(

[Daggerty]

YoungCR said:

Are there no after market solutions for the motor mounts? Every 50k is crazy

Higher power luxury cars it is common with the hydraulic mounts.

[Jdesign]

Are they those fluid filled mounts? Ughh those are such a mess when they fail.

[GunMetalGrey]

Jdesign said:

Are they those fluid filled mounts? Ughh those are such a mess when they fail.

I poked one a tiny bit on my Mazda (with my finger) and it blew up in my face. 
That is one thing I wish to never have happen again.

[suspenceful]

*Insert comment about how you must miss the power of a modded N54*  

I'm excited for you to get the new setup installed!

[MPW3RLee]

$700 for RB replacement!? That’s a steal! I did mine on my own but at that rate I’d almost consider paying someone, maybe....

Following to see how the SC turns out, would like to go that route someday, but that might be a ways away for me

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[i_love_cars]

suspenceful said:

*Insert comment about how you must miss the power of a modded N54*  

I'm excited for you to get the new setup installed!

I honestly wish I could say that because it would actually make me feel better about my purchase LOL - as it turns out, it's moreso that I am just completely incapable of leaving well enough alone. 

MPW3RLee said:

$700 for RB replacement!? That’s a steal! I did mine on my own but at that rate I’d almost consider paying someone, maybe....

Following to see how the SC turns out, would like to go that route someday, but that might be a ways away for me

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Yeah I have digital torque wrenches so doing this with proper accuracy shouldn't be hard, but at $700 it was a no-brainer. I figured I can justify the cost after all the thousands upon thousands I saved by DIYing my E46 manual swap   

My stance on the supercharger is that if you want the car to be a drag car, then just buy an N54 instead - but if you like everything else you get with an S65, then a supercharger makes the car "competitive and relevant" in the modern age to essentially give it a new lease on life. FIrst you say "someday" which is exactly what I did....then before you know it barely a year later you're installing a 625 kit LOL. To quote Family Guy - "it's like sex with Kobe - you can fight it all you want but, it's gonna happen"

[patsbimmer1]

I'm glad I saved this...

[i_love_cars]

See ?!  This is nothing more than pure validation of my prior statements that the longer you wait, the worse it is because no matter what, it's gonna happen and yer gonna get a supercharger hahaha. 

I bought the warranty as a way to try and keep myself from modding the shit out of the car. That lasted for a bit and then I was like "Fuck it I can get 3k prorated refund on and use the money for performance parts!" 

And here we are 

EDIT: my friends clearly know me, otherwise Hallway never would have saved that photo from so long ago lolol. Everybody knows I have complete ADHD and cannot leave shit alone.

[i_love_cars]

Started on the install process on Saturday and by Sunday I was ready to mount the supercharger, then I noticed that I had received the wrong belt from ESS. They shipped me a belt for a 650 kit with 7 ribs instead of 6. I sourced a comparable belt from Napa on Sunday at 2120mm which is just 5mm shorter than what the normal 625 kit includes. They are overnighting me the correct belt so whatever I'll swap it tomorrow. 

What's more troubling is that ESS also gave me the wrong tune file. It is fortunate that I am DIYing this install because I don't think even a reputable BMW shop would have recognized that the tune file name ended in "124" which is what ESS uses to identify tunes intended for their black fuel injectors, as 124 is the last 3 of the part number. They shipped my kit with white injectors which have different flow rates and has a different tune. DOn't ask me why ESS has changed injectors over the years - the power is the same regardless, the tune just needs to be calibrated for the right flow rate. I'm sure if I had a shop install this, I'd be driving around wondering why the fuck my car is running like dog shit and potentially leaning out. 

Turnaround was quick and I got my updated tune file from them today for the white injectors that I have in my kit. So now I think all is well. 

I'm 98% done. Should be driving the car tomorrow - the only things left to do is hook up the air filter, put the radiator fan shroud back in, top the coolant off, and start the car. 

[wasnt m3]

Can't wait to see this thing tomorrow!

[MPW3RLee]

Nice work, looks good in there! Almost like these cars should’ve came with it....[emoji848]It was certainly pretty cool when they made the Alpina E65 with a SC, minus the fact that it was still on the E65 chassis.

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[jc43089]

Looks good!

[m42b32]

Wow that was fast! Looks great!

[wasnt m3]

Can confirm that the install looks great. Saw and rode in the car tonight.

[i_love_cars]

Car is up and running. 

TJ did stop by and confirm I did not fuck it up. I needed a witness. I'm not used to superchargers *at all* so I was freaking out about all the noises. Then I learned some things. 

200 mile break-in period for the supercharger gears/bearing/seals and to allow the ECU to adapt to the tune. Luckily I have a 93 mile one-way drive on Sunday to get my rod bearings replaced !

[Jdesign]

Oh man this is epic. That looks top notch.  Now all we need is videos of sweet whining noises and tires smoking.