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German Car Blog, Performance, Tuning, Motorsport, and Modification News
Published on 10-25-2010 04:03 PM
Are you saying "Huh?" Because we are. The Rossin-Bertin Vorax is a carbon fiber bodied, $400k, sports car set to be produced in Brazil. It features a 570 hp version of the S85 V10 in naturally aspirated form and supposedly a supercharged 750 hp version (this we have to see). It is supposed to debut Sau Paulo Auto Show this month. Like many of these announced cars, we don't this will ever amount to anything more than the renderings provided. Sourcing S85 motors is also going to be difficult as well. Hey, anything is possible with enough money, we wish them luck. ...Published on 10-25-2010 11:42 AM
The video speaks for itself but we must say we were very surprised with this result. What happened to Quattro?
...Published on 10-25-2010 11:34 AM
Leaked photos of the RS3 gauge cluster as well as photos of the car testing on the Nurburgring have confirmed what many suspected, Audi is readying an RS3. We do not have any specs but the car will likely share the TT-RS drivetrain (2.5 liter 5 cylinder, around 350 hp) which makes the most sense. If that is true, the car is going to be the main rival for the 1 series M coupe. The other question becomes, will Audi even be able to get this car to the US? They did not bring the TT-RS over until it was deemed there was enough interest and the USA has yet to get the RS6 so who knows. We will keep you updated, but Audi clearly is aiming for BMW. ...Published on 10-24-2010 12:17 PM
We rarely see ESS cars make it out to the strip so it was refreshing to see an E39 with the ESS SC out at MIR. Car is running a higher boost pulley than the standard setup, 92 mm, pushing about 8 pounds of boost. The car has exhaust along with 3.45 gears and has run a 60-130 of 10.83. We congratulate the owner for getting out there and to put these numbers in context, the car compares favorably with a bolt on E92 M3. ...Published on 10-24-2010 04:32 AM
These videos are from a private track rental at MIR on 10/22/10. We want to congratulate Boris, BB user djborya, for his 9.5 second pass at 143 miles per hour in his turbo E30. There were several record setting AMG's in attendance as well tuned by BB Sponsor MHP. Enjoy the videos! ...Published on 10-23-2010 02:17 PM
You may remember when we reported a couple months back that Wiesmann would no longer be able to use the S85 M5/M6 V10. Speculation at the time was that they would switch to the twin-turbo V8. Wiesmann confirmed that they indeed will be using these motors. The N63 twin turbo V8 with just over 400 horsepower will be used in the MF4 model. The S63 with 555 hp used in the X5 and X6 M will find its way into the MF5. The cars can already be ordered with the new motors and should be faster than the cars with the outgoing motors. Sadly, these vehicles are not available in the USA. ...Published on 10-23-2010 08:23 AM
The E92 M3 dream mod is here. This is what we have truly been waiting for, the ultimate mod for the ultimate driving machine driven by the ultimate attention whore. Want something completely ostentatious that does not belong on an M3? Want something to get everyone around you to sarcastically say to themselves, "Wow, that guy is soooo cool"? Well, LSD-Doors has you covered. Gentlemen, do us a favor and only get this style of door when you can afford the Murcielago it comes with. If you desperately need these though, they will run you over $2k at 1749 euros. ...Published on 10-22-2010 05:10 AM
We sort of lost two weeks with the project resolving a power supply/relay issue but with that comfortably behind us we are finally back on track and back to tuning. There are literally hundreds of lines of new code and many new algorithms so still much testing and tweaking to do. But very happy with the progress so far.
Here are are a few dyno runs and logs and a video from a tuning session yesterday. Mods are downpipes, IC, and DCI. Still the stock catback/cats and heavy OEM rims. Octane around 92 (had 10 miles showing on a previous 100 octane tank and filled to the brim with 91) and dyno conditions were ideal with temps in the 60s.
Some general notes in no particular order: ...Published on 10-22-2010 01:25 AM
Is BMW Diesel tuning the next big thing? With Diesel's making up about half of all BMW sales, this sector is poised for great expansion. The sales figures are a bit misleading however as these are global BMW sales and not a reflection of the US market where gasoline still dominates. Part of the reason is that BMW does not sell their full Diesel lineup in the United States. If they did, the numbers would be even more in the favor of Diesel as Americans are becoming more and more open to the idea of oil burners. Just look at the numbers in the graph for the BMW third quarter numbers, almost 2/3 of sales are Diesel. ...Published on 10-20-2010 09:43 AM
We never get tired of these reviews done by Former_Boosted_IS which simply set the standard in the BMW aftermarket community. In his words:
I have been a guy that has extensively focused on making my BMW quicker and faster. Power to weight ratio is the key to making your vehicle go fast. I have added horsepower where I could and I have tried to lighten the car when possible. Carbon fiber is a look I love and a theme that extends through many parts of my car. With the stock hood weighing about 40 lbs, I felt this was an area that I could shave some weight off while adding a nice aggressive touch to my car. The time had come to get a carbon fiber hood for my car. ...Published on 10-20-2010 06:11 AM
This is the kind of thing that makes us happy. We like to see the different approaches people take to BMW performance from JDM swaps to electric swaps. Purists may not like it, but we love seeing the different things enthusiasts do with their BMW. What we have here is an E30 with a Netgain WarP11 HV series DC motor powered by a couple of Headway cells. The car supposedly runs the 1/4 in 12.1 and there is a vid of it smoking a Tesla to prove it. Did we mention VST Conversions is based out of Croatia? Impressive work our Croatian friends, impressive work indeed. Click "read more" to see more videos of this car in action. ...Published on 10-20-2010 05:52 AM
E85 and E86 Z4 owners, here are some nice looking body pieces for you from Arkym. A spoiler is available for the E86 which should fit all models. The lip and rear diffuser are shown on the M. All three pieces are being sold on special right now for $2097. The individual piece pricing is as follows, lip $749, spoiler $749, diffuser $599. ...Published on 10-19-2010 06:32 AM
No doubt there are going to be some BMW purists who freak out when they see this. They will avert their eyes and start shouting "blasphemy" as they see the supra turbo motor in the E39 M5. Well, if you happen to see one of these "purists" acting in such a matter, please smack some sense into them. E-shift performance has done several of these swaps in to the E39 and E36 and we must say it makes a lot of sense. The BMW S62 simply has not seen the aftermarket development the 2JZ-GTE has and to get big power out of it who knows how much money it would take. This swap makes a lot of sense especially financially and the motor does not look out of place in the E39 M5 engine bay. We will be posting updates on the progress as soon we get them from 930chas. In the mean time, check out some of the work E-shift has done below. ...Published on 10-19-2010 03:19 AM
OE Tuning has a canned flash available for $400 for the N52. This motor does not get much attention or love so it is nice to see an affordable tune offering great gains available. This is simply an off the shelf tune, not a custom dyno tune. A custom dyno tune is also available of course but for a much higher cost. The car is completely stock other than the tune and the gains are on 91 octane. The speed limiter is also removed. ...Published on 10-18-2010 12:26 AM
Take this as a warning BMW enthusiasts. Discovery Automotive was able to create a good reputation for themselves on M5board where they profited from exposure in cleaning up RMS mistakes. Shadowman, Bill of Discovery Automotive, was able to force his way into the lucrative high-end BMW tuning scene through the easiest route available, which is taking advantage of M5 owners. To be honest, we fell for this as well seeing Discovery Automotive take great care in posting their builds to give the appearance of a high end shop only for horror stories to start to surface. ...Published on 10-17-2010 08:24 PM
This is a new style hood from Duke Dynamics. It is available in carbon fiber or FRP. No pricing announced yet but the styling is different from the previous D-power vented hood. The vents have been moved to the outside and the M3 powerdome is used which is a cleaner setup. Contact Duke Dynamics if interested. ...Published on 10-17-2010 05:15 AM
What you see here is a modified BMW M70 V12. That V12 was developed in 1988 and put out 295 hp and 300 lb-ft of torque. To take on the best Mercedes was able to throw at them, 6 months after the M70 was on the market BMW decided to blow them away and developed a V16. The V16 was a full foot longer than the V12 coming in with a weight penalty of about 130 pounds. It offered gains of 100 hp on top of the V12 as well as upping the torque to 461 lb-ft. ...Published on 10-17-2010 03:10 AM
This tune makes another 10 whp torque and 38 whp compared to the previous tune. It would seem the X6 and X5 M tuning is evolving with considerable steps forward taken even on 91 octane. The dyno is a dyno dynamics and all the gains are shown at all 4 wheels. Graph is at the end of the video. ...Published on 10-16-2010 03:03 AM
Well this car certainly is very... green. As you can tell, the car has a widebody kit on it and new front and rear bumpers. These pieces retail for $8,420. The pieces themselves don't look bad but to drive around with the scissor doors and bright lime green paint you must be doing something associated with the last 3 numbers in the price of the kit. A tune and exhaust are also available for $1,800 and $2,200 respectively which when combined push the output to... a boring 379 hp. The 600 name it would seem is just a reference to 6 series. Contact CLP Automotive if interested. ...Published on 10-15-2010 08:33 PM
This video shows some of the tools BMW uses in manufacturing as well as their dedication to safety. We all complain cars are getting heavier but there is no doubt BMW is making an effort to use lightweight materials. They are no willing to sacrifice safety for weight, they believe they can achieve both a safe and lightweight car. After seeing this video, no reason to doubt their efforts. ...
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