Howdy folks,

[...]

Anyway,
here's my impressions on the major mods to my 1995 M3.

Baseline:

June 97 mods.

1. Out goes the stock differential (3.15 ratio and 25% lockup) and in goes the racing diff with (3.46 ratio and 40% lockup).
2. Out goes the stock flywheel (40lbs) and in goes the aluminum flywheel (11lbs)
3. out goes the throttle body, in goes a bored out TB with 3mm overbore.
4. Out goes the US HFM and in goes the Euro air flow meter. (almost a inch wider at some points)
5. Out goes my custom K&N, in goes an even bigger K&N with a flange to match the new intake diameters.
6. Out goes the complete exhaust system (from the engine head to the Borla tips), in goes Supersprints' complete racing exhaust system with huge Euro sized headers, Dr. Gas Crossover, Euro sized resonator pipe, and Euro sized Supersprint exhaust w/ DTM tips.
7. Out go the stock injectors , in go 6 hi-volume Bosch injectors.
8. Out goes the APE chip, in goes a Jim C. special (custom made for this setup).

Positive Impressions:

1. thru h) : what the hell ?!!! wow, arghhhhh <brakes> The car is so fast , i dont feel comfortable driving it. Step on the throttle and your butt will get an inprint of the seats' leather patterns. I am not kidding, I sink into the hard M3 sport seats, like they were made of foam. MAJOR torque feel. I have driven Blown/ intercooled E36 M3s for many miles and let me tell you, lets ROCK.

I didnt have time to dyno it at the ERT dyno and the car is already out of the US (EPA land) borders. I have driven 13.5sec QM cars and this M3 is on par with them.

1. Here's what this does. 2nd feels as torquey as 1st, 3rd feels as torquey as 2nd , and 4th feels as torqey as 3rd and so on. 1st (in combo with the lightweight flywheel) feels like an 18 wheeler rammed you from the behind.
2. This is one of the most effective of the above mods. The driveabilitiy of the car has improved 100%. Remember when the car "bogs down" everytime you downshift, even when you match the revs with heel and toe ? GONE. Remeber when you "blip and wait" the throttle to get the rpms to where you want them ? Instant Downshift and match the RPMs with your eyes closed. No weight shift to the front, no wasted hp putting the engine into spin cycle. Its like driving a motorcycle. A must do. It makes the BMW feel like the mother of all BMW's. In combo with f) and e) throttle responce is not just instant, its telepathic. before you even touch the pedal, rpms jump.
3. measurable torque gains in mid and high rpm. gains are not as obvious as with the other mods but definately measurable, and definately essential.
4. car breaths a lot better. Remember how the torque curve wakes up at 4k rpm and chokes after 6k rpm ? well now the kick in the pants starts at 3k rpm and goes beyond 7 krpm. What I am saying is that the torque curve feels flat between 3k and 7k. With blown or turbo cars you have to wait until 5k to wake things up. The SS headers and the Dr. Gas plumbing look so hi-tech they must be stolen Roswell - allien technology. When you look at the US M3 exhaust system, you can see that it is a restricting factor. The stock exhaust collectors connect 3 exhaust ports to 1 pipe. You then have 2 pipes that are conected into 1 pipe just before the cats. The single pipe is as big as the trottle body and has a bend that is not Mandrel bended. In contrast, the SS Euro sized headers, Dr. gas, etc. are huge and make a true twin exhaust system.
5. no measurable gains, but good insurance.
6. see c). Its also good insurance, IMHO.

Also, the weight savings from the above mods bring the car weight around 2950lbs (1 gallon gas , toped other fluids,no driver). Thats lighter than the NSX and almost as light as the RX7. Imagine an M3 lighter than an NSX. Tip of the day:Remove the sound insulation (under the carpet) at the rear shock towers. Its very heavy for its size and you save around 5 pounds. I have removed all the trunk carpeting though, and I find the empty spare tire wel as a perfect place for the grocery bags (they stay in place at .87 g turns).

Negative impressions:

b) When idling , the Lightweight flywheel , allows engine components to vibrate and create all sorts of rattling noises that are very un-BMW. Idling is also slightly affected, and is not rock steady as the BMW idling is. Both problems can be fixed by bumping the idling 200rpm.

1. Your cruising speed on 5th will be about 400rpm higher, and your top speed will be around 138-140 at 7k+ rpm (can somebody do the math on this one ?) Although cruisability and millage changes are small but measurable, I love this mod, because without touching the M50 engine marvel, I got a significant torque increase at no component life cost. If you think about it , it does make sence.

a thru h:
Cost: Total parts cost: around $6,500

Installation for exhaust system,flywheel and rear diff: $1,100

Vendors:

Installation:

Misc Comments:

Time to go,

Regards
Vlasis
95 Avus Blau