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BMW Blog, Performance, Tuning, Motorsport, and Modification News
Published on 08-29-2012 07:45 PM
M5 vs. M3. One of the great debates of our time that has the potential to turn any BMW message board into a full blown e-riot. When the DCT M3 first came out many M5 owners refused to believe the M3 could keep up with it. Well, reality is it definitely can especially from down low where the lower weight and dual clutch transmission help versus the more powerful (and heavier) M5. ...Published on 08-29-2012 01:12 PM
Those in the BMW M3 S65 V8 tuning community know that supercharged S65 V8 stroker motors have been tried before and the latest experiement ended in colossal failure. G-Power seems to have the first successfully tuned and running supercharged stroker S65 V8. They take the displacement up from 4.0 liters to 4.6 liters courtesy of increased stroke from a custom crank and add their SKII supercharger kit to boost output to 720 horsepower. ...Published on 08-28-2012 12:11 PM
Velos Designwerks recently completed an ESS VT2-625 supercharger install on an E92 M3 at their location in Florida. In the hot and humid Florida weather the car put down 567.8 wheel horsepower (we are unsure on what correction factor was used) on their dynojet dyno. We recently saw an ESS-VT2 600 which runs lower boost and a less aggressive tune put down 534 horsepower to the wheels on a dynojet with STD correction making the numbers for this higher output kit fall right inline. ...Published on 08-27-2012 11:24 PM
The new M6 is not exactly what you would call a lightweight track car but we still expect the new M cars to be able to perform on the track. In the video below race car driver Bill Auberlin (a current BMW ALMS driver) takes the M6 for a lap around Laguna Seca passing an Alpina B7 in the process which was actually doing an admirable job holding the M6 off. Of course the M6 is able to eventually pass and show what it can do. ...Published on 08-27-2012 02:01 PM
Here is a very, very cool project that is sponsored by BMW specialist Schmiedmann and was built for the Limmet Drift Team. The project started as a standard 1 Series that then received 1M body pieces. The engine is an S62 5.0 liter v8 out of an E39 M5 that then received a Vortech YSI supercharger. The supercharger is mounted in an interesting spot low and in front of the car. Power is said to be around the 600 horse mark. ...Published on 08-25-2012 01:37 PM
The dilution of the M brand and BMW turning its back on its history just continues. Car and Driver reports they have information from a source inside BMW that "is" models will no longer be offered and instead they will be replaced with the M Performance Line. Kind of a sad day for longtime BMW fans as the "is" models were very special denoting fuel injection with the i and sport with the s. ...Published on 08-24-2012 11:40 PM
Bimmerstock is a large BMW meet that benefits diabetes research taking place September 9th in the city of Glen Clove, New York. The event is sponsored by GermanBoost Network Premier Vendor Velos Designwerks. For the benefit of diabetes research Velos will offer up to 50% off BMW software if $50 is donated to the Diabetes Research Institute. If one donates $40 they will get 40% off, $30 gets 30%, etc. Full details are below and this is a great opportunity to get a large discount if one was waiting to get ECU tune software for their BMW. ...Published on 08-23-2012 03:22 PM
Now some of our more astute readers might be saying hold on a second, weren't the new F10 M5 as well as the F12 M6 seen testing with carbon ceramic brakes and aren't they a factory option? Well, the answer to that would be yes but the problem is the carbon ceramic brake option is delayed until 2013 at the earliest for undisclosed reasons. G-Power took the opportunity to launch their own carbon ceramic brake kit for the new M5 (and likely the new F12 M6 as well). ...Published on 08-23-2012 07:40 AM
BMW decided to introduce the 550GT thinking it would somehow bridge the gap between people who liked wagons and people who liked SUV's as if there is a large group sitting in the middle. The problem is people who like SUV's did not like the 550GT and the exact same could be said for people who like wagons. So, 550GT's linger to this day on lots and BMW themselves admitted the 550GT was a disappointment as wagon buyers went to Mercedes instead of buying the 5GT as anticipated. ...Published on 08-22-2012 02:52 PM
The Yin and Yang concept of Chinese philosophy represents a balance found everywhere in life and nature. In its most simple form, it is the idea that opposite and seemingly opposing concepts cannot exist without one another. You can’t have a concept of light without knowledge of darkness; it is not possible to have a definition of hot without understanding cold. In this same way, whatever appeal either of these M3s have individually is magnified by the presence of their counterpart. We were fortunate enough to have both cars at our facility this past week, and were able to see how these radically different approaches to modification have created two great cars. ...Published on 08-22-2012 07:02 AM
Suspension upgrades from KW are already available for the new F30 3 Series as well as the new F20 1 Series which is not sold in the USA. There are two versions of these coil-over one for vehicles that have EDC (electronic dampening control) and for those that do not have the option. Obviously handling will be improved and the suspension system is capable of lowering the car up to 65mm for a large drop. ...Published on 08-21-2012 07:12 AM
This video comparison comes to us from Brazil courtesy of Full Power Magazine. These two cars grace the cover of their August issue. The M3 has a VF650 supercharger kit and we have seen the weaker VF620 put down 521 wheel horsepower on 91 octane. The exact modifications on the CTS-V are not given but it is stated to have around 650 horsepower as well with Hennessey upgrades so likely just a tune, pulley, and exhaust upgrade. ...Published on 08-21-2012 04:42 AM
Here is an interesting video courtesy of Horsepower Freaks put out to announce the launch of their blog. The shop service manager Jon bet the owner of Horsepower Freaks Chris that he could pull an S54 motor out of an E46 M3 faster than Chris would be able to remove HPF's N54 exhaust manifold. Jon opted to eat his slice of pizza before beginning giving Chris a decent head start. In defense of Chris, Jon pulls these motors pretty regularly while Chris is usually sitting in front of a computer screen. No shame in that. ...Published on 08-21-2012 12:12 AM
Our members and readers have been clamoring for a forum dedicated to suspension and brake components. We are officially launching our network wide Suspension and Brakes forum with the review of the KW DDC Coilovers for the E92 M3 by Turner Motorsport. Dedicating a section to suspensions and brakes will make for more well rounded discussions as well as introduce more members to the community who do not just focus on power upgrades but all around benefits that help on the track/street. One could say we are maturing in our coverage. ...Published on 08-20-2012 04:40 AM
Bruno Spengler got BMW the victory at the Nurburgring in his DTM M3 also setting the fastest lap of the race. BMW Motorsport had a great day with two drivers on the podium as Martin Tomczyk finished in third place behind Audi's Edoardo Mortara. This is Martin Tomczyk's third straight podium finish. Thanks to the victory Spengler moved into second place in the driver standings behind Mercedes driver Gary Paffett who has a 20 point lead. ...Published on 08-19-2012 10:11 PM
BMW and Zagato decided to collaborate again on a design based on the Z4 following their well received Zagato Coupe from three months ago. Zagato is an Italian coachbuilder and the entire body and design were built by hand. The entire car was created in an impressive six week timespan. "Our success in finishing the car in such a short space of time shows what is possible when two successful companies pool their resources" stated Zagato. ...Published on 08-19-2012 12:11 AM
Congratulations to the BMW team for their American Le Mans victory today at Road America. BMW is still in second place behind Chevrolet in the manufacturer standings but the gap is narrowing with three races left in the season. The number 55 M3 GT driven by Bill Auberlen and J. Mueller was the winning car but the other M3, number 56, finished in 10th place. The full GT results are below and it will be interesting to see if BMW can pass Corvette Racing in the standings by the end of the season. ...Published on 08-16-2012 02:06 AM
JAWS Motorsport has been hard at work on their E46 M3 S54 supercharger kit. They recently posted details and performance numbers from their kit. On their Dynomite dyno they hit 529 wheel horsepower at 12 psi of boost. A stock SMG M3 with an aftermarket muffler hit 307 wheel horsepower on this same dyno. The M3 clearly gains a lot of horsepower with this kit but the proof is in the 60-130 mile per hour sprint of 8.79 seconds which is just phenomenal. ...Published on 08-14-2012 09:10 PM
Wow, this part sure came quickly. Craving a carbon fiber roof for your F10 M5 which does not have one from the factory unlike the new F12 M6? Challenge Engineering has you covered with their carbon fiber replacement panel that weighs only 11.5 pounds. Details were not provided on the weight savings but we would guess it will save close to 30 pounds at a high point in the car which will improve handling. ...Published on 08-14-2012 04:41 AM
Yep, we're suckers for a good time lapse supercharger kit install video. Just 10 days ago we posted an Active Autowerke supercharger kit install time lapse and it's great to see a similar video for a different M3 kit to compare. Much more goes into an installation such as this than most people realize. VS Motorsports was able to complete this install in 5-6 hours but it will take someone with less experience likely double this amount. ...
Today, 07:28 AM