Supercharge owner are you happy !

[nuc1]

BTDT:
1. 150 shot Wizard of NOS nitrous progressive setup. Tuned by AA. Torque was insane. Lots of fun to install and tinker with. Appealed to my engineer mind.
2. AA Gen (can't remember) Stage 2. Tuned by AA (great until it wasn't so great anymore). Also lots of fun. Then got bit by the track bug. In South Florida. Can you say heat soak? Then can you say "the owner and head engineer of AA lied to me and got caught via email" after my engine blew up?
2.5 About 2 clicks away from HPF Stage 2.5 cause why not.
3. Calmed down a bit. After an engine rebuild courtesy of AA (where the head engine builder had to text me daily as the owners wouldn't help him with what needed to be done), went all NA: CSL airbox, 288/280 cams, CSL tune, etc etc.

I would say if you live in an area with moderate temps and a constant elevation, FI would be a lot of fun. Track time = NA for the fun.

My $.02.

And forever a gigantic fuck you to Karl and Mike Hugh @ Active Autowerke. Liars and douchebags.

Mike

[oceansize]

BTDT:
1. 150 shot Wizard of NOS nitrous progressive setup. Tuned by AA. Torque was insane. Lots of fun to install and tinker with. Appealed to my engineer mind.
2. AA Gen (can't remember) Stage 2. Tuned by AA (great until it wasn't so great anymore). Also lots of fun. Then got bit by the track bug. In South Florida. Can you say heat soak? Then can you say "the owner and head engineer of AA lied to me and got caught via email" after my engine blew up?
2.5 About 2 clicks away from HPF Stage 2.5 cause why not.
3. Calmed down a bit. After an engine rebuild courtesy of AA (where the head engine builder had to text me daily as the owners wouldn't help him with what needed to be done), went all NA: CSL airbox, 288/280 cams, CSL tune, etc etc.

I would say if you live in an area with moderate temps and a constant elevation, FI would be a lot of fun. Track time = NA for the fun.

My $.02.

And forever a gigantic fuck you to Karl and Mike Hugh @ Active Autowerke. Liars and douchebags.

Mike

Definitely aligns with what I heard back in the day. I went with ESS over AA. I'm always sure in my posts concerning FI to point out the particulars of my situation. I don't want anyone thinking I'm at the track driving to the limits. I'm not. Backroad spirited driving enthusiast only, I simply don't have the time for yet another hobby.

[Slideways]

Give a stock powered M3 to a skilled driver and that will scare the crap out of most people. Those who think they need FI and more power, go to a track day and see how fast NA M3s are lapping the track. I got a ride a while back in a Euro S50 E36 with tires, stripped interior and suspension and he lapped every exotic car with double the horsepower except one 997 GT3.

[maw1124]

^^^ a bone stock E36M through the hills and neighborhoods of Westchester and Peekskill NY circa ‘00 convinced me I needed an M3. A few cars and a beach home later I needed a “classic” drop top, so here we are. I seriously debated a supercharger, drove AA’s test car a good bit. For the money, to me, it “felt” like the same car, if that makes sense. Didn’t change the character (power all up top), just amplified it. A supercharged E92M is a different story — complete tire roaster. But still I just don’t see taking the equipment OFF if it’s already there. Unless you’re chasing some stockish representation of the car for BaT which I also think is silly.

maw

[oceansize]

Give a stock powered M3 to a skilled driver and that will scare the crap out of most people. Those who think they need FI and more power, go to a track day and see how fast NA M3s are lapping the track. I got a ride a while back in a Euro S50 E36 with tires, stripped interior and suspension and he lapped every exotic car with double the horsepower except one 997 GT3.

Nobody ever “needs” more and you track guys always have a bare necessities master what you have outlook which while admittedly admirable isn’t what I’m interested in. There are other areas of my life where I do subscribe to that philosophy so I do understand your point of view. The track guys also drive innovation which I’m grateful for.

[01SG]

I've got two other more modern NA vehicles both with 450 plus HP at the crank and 440 plus ft-lbs of torque plus the FI M3 and a boosted modified four cylinder as well and I don't feel any of the four are overpowered but then again I live in a very rural area so I don't deal with traffic. I'm constantly on the backroads enjoying them. Not sure on the responsive comment either. My FI M3 is as responsive as anything else I own. To me the 450 HP at the crank is the magical number (depending on weight of course) for maximum enjoyment on the street. Fast in a straight line but not too scary on curvy road. I realize not everyone has the luxury of having good, and clear, backroads. I have heard, repeatedly, that cooling an FI e46 m3 on the track is problematic.

In terms of responsiveness, I was thinking along the lines of turbo lag. Doesn't a supercharger also impede throttle response, if less severely?

As far as power, you are also coming from a convertible smg. It is significantly slower in the first place than the coupe/manual I was thinking of. It is a matter of power to weight more than pure horsepower.

You can argue for a bit more, but you also can't say it isn't getting close to the point of too much. It straddles that line. It is debatable. A good point about the roads too, Connecticut is very congested.

[WestBankM4]

the F80 is pretty damn good looking besides the catfish front.

Excuse me? I'll have you know it's the finest looking catfish I've ever laid eyes on.

[Tbonem3]

Better than the M2 for sure

[bmw m3 s50]

I will jump in and comment even though everything has already been said. I am supercharged and I am moving to an N.A. build when I do my restoration to my m3.

You have to ask yourself this: What’s the point?

As many people pointed out, there are better options if FI is your thing. The e46 m3 is a 20 year car. Yes, supercharging it was great during 2004-2011. I did it because I wanted to run with all the high horsepower cars at the time. You only needed 450whp-550whp back then. Skip forward 20 years, what’s 450whp-550whp? That’s what most M cars, RS cars, AMG’s, mustangs, Camaros, etc put down from the factory without mods. You simply can not compete with the modern cars. You can get the M2 Competition that comes with the s55 engine and retains the small compact nature of the e46 m3. Better yet, you could get an e9x 335i n54 that makes more power and is compatible to an e46 m3 with a supercharger for the price of a stock e46 m3 manual coupe.

For me, when I saw that they were never going to make a comparable car to the m3 e46, I said it’s time to make it a car that you enjoy driving. As many pointed out with a CSL airbox, injectors, full exhaust and cams you could be making 410-420 hp, that’s as much power as an v8 e9x m3. Throw in some weight reduction and suspension work, you will have one fun little car that is not available new anymore. A 420hp, high revving, 3100lbs car is like a unicorn today. I keep hearing that it’s better to have a slow car feel fast then a fast car feel slow, and I think this is true of the e46 m3.


So again, you need to ask yourself: What’s the point?

[Cubieman]

I would love to do a turbo build on a 2nd M3, I don't have the money to buy a F80 or even a nice E92 outright but I could do slow burn build and that build would be a single turbo E46 M3.
I don't want crazy HP, but right around 600hp at the crank would suffice, that would mean a built motor.

I did the 335i thing briefly, it had all the standard bolt ons and was fast, but I despised the interior and just didn't like that car so much. Also didnt help it was on shit suspension and sitting wayy too low.

The N54 has potential but it also has a long list of major issues that the S54 just doesn't, not to mention a set of injectors is currently $3200 for a N54!

I love the E46 M3, I like E60 M5's, I like E9x M3's, might buy one of those two someday, but what I really want is a 2nd E46 M3 with some balls, just because.

[bmw m3 s50]

I would love to do a turbo build on a 2nd M3, I don't have the money to buy a F80 or even a nice E92 outright but I could do slow burn build and that build would be a single turbo E46 M3.
I don't want crazy HP, but right around 600hp at the crank would suffice, that would mean a built motor.

I did the 335i thing briefly, it had all the standard bolt ons and was fast, but I despised the interior and just didn't like that car so much. Also didnt help it was on shit suspension and sitting wayy too low.

The N54 has potential but it also has a long list of major issues that the S54 just doesn't, not to mention a set of injectors is currently $3200 for a N54!

I love the E46 M3, I like E60 M5's, I like E9x M3's, might buy one of those two someday, but what I really want is a 2nd E46 M3 with some balls, just because.

I think that by the time you spend the money on building an m3 e46 turbo car, you would be in the same price range of an f80 m3. F80’s have dropped in prices since the g80 m3 release. You could pick up an f80 m3 for like $35k-$40k now.

For sure a stock suspension or a cheap slammed coil over will handle like crap but I am pretty much you get a decent suspension setup on the car it will handle good. Hell you could swap in an e9x m3 non edc suspension and still be cheaper.

Not going to even comment on maintenance between an e46 m3 and an e9x 335i. I am sure after Vanos lockdown, rod bearings, subframe reinforcement, valve adjustment, inspection 1 and 2, etc. is comparable to 335i maintenance.

[EthanolTurbo]

I will jump in and comment even though everything has already been said. I am supercharged and I am moving to an N.A. build when I do my restoration to my m3.

You have to ask yourself this: What’s the point?

As many people pointed out, there are better options if FI is your thing. The e46 m3 is a 20 year car. Yes, supercharging it was great during 2004-2011. I did it because I wanted to run with all the high horsepower cars at the time. You only needed 450whp-550whp back then. Skip forward 20 years, what’s 450whp-550whp? That’s what most M cars, RS cars, AMG’s, mustangs, Camaros, etc put down from the factory without mods. You simply can not compete with the modern cars. You can get the M2 Competition that comes with the s55 engine and retains the small compact nature of the e46 m3. Better yet, you could get an e9x 335i n54 that makes more power and is compatible to an e46 m3 with a supercharger for the price of a stock e46 m3 manual coupe.

For me, when I saw that they were never going to make a comparable car to the m3 e46, I said it’s time to make it a car that you enjoy driving. As many pointed out with a CSL airbox, injectors, full exhaust and cams you could be making 410-420 hp, that’s as much power as an v8 e9x m3. Throw in some weight reduction and suspension work, you will have one fun little car that is not available new anymore. A 420hp, high revving, 3100lbs car is like a unicorn today. I keep hearing that it’s better to have a slow car feel fast then a fast car feel slow, and I think this is true of the e46 m3.


So again, you need to ask yourself: What’s the point?

This is so true. I am way more excited to drive my 420+ hp 3100 lb E46 M3 than say a G80 M3 or C7 Z06 even though it's easy to get those to double the whp of the modded E46 M3. It's kind of like a GT3 Lite at a fraction of the price.
Plue, the S54 is proven to last a very long time once you get it dialed in.

[Rudbari]

Thanks everyone appreciate.

I love e46 m3 and can’t see my self in new m3 lol

[ldmiller78]

Picked my car up today been a long 6 months at the shop.. I’m very impressed with the time.. Much better then my last E46 M3 build

[fattycharged]

I did this, 100% do not regret it, at all.