E46 330i performance upgrades

[siphar]

I have just bought a 330i and was wondering if there are any performance upgrades I can do to the engine eg supercharging, re-maps etc. Any advice and details of sites for me to look at would be greatfully appreciated.

[BiggusLaddus]

how about supercharging it or a remap? lol.

ASA (in germany) are the people to speak to regards supercharging. Go to a forum called www.evotechnik.net/

i know at least one car on there was a supercharged 330

[siphar]

£7k for a supercharger!!!!

Does anyone know of any cheaper / worthwhile options or do I just have to save for a CSL instead?!

[droptheclutch]

siphar said:

£7k for a supercharger!!!! Does anyone know of any cheaper / worthwhile options or do I just have to save for a CSL instead?!

Have a chat with Ray at West Tuning. He's a brilliant chap, been in the business of tuning cars of all sorts for years. I just had my 330i tweaked by Ray and it's just fantastic. Spend £1500.00 and you'll get a remap (with reprofiled vanos, cat-back stainless exhaust and a Gruppe M carbon ram air intake. The extra noise alone is worth it.

My car was producing 230bhp before the mods and now produces 265 to 270, fuel and weather dependant. On the dyno after the mods the car put out 262.8bhp @ 6300rpm on standard fuel with a really good hike in the torque too.

Whatever you do, I would advise against changing the pulleys to 'power pulleys'. The logic behind them is fine, but if your car is a daily driver, you don't want your water pump being under driven while sitting in traffic...

[Zod]

The easiest upgrade is to sell it and buy an M3.

[baz1985]

Speak to Roy at CA Automotive- ASA SK plus for £3k- circa 285bhp. I'm getting one in the Summer

[dannylt]

Zod said:

The easiest upgrade is to sell it and buy an M3.

I think this is the conclusion we all come to after many years of modifiying! Standard is simplest, insurance/reliability/hassle wise. Unless you're going mad and having fun.

[droptheclutch]

Zod said:

The easiest upgrade is to sell it and buy an M3.

Why buy an M3 that on paper produces 343bhpo and on the dyno does 320bhp when you can have a 'sleeper' bmw that is just as quick, if not quicker, for less? Unless of course badge snobbery comes into play...

[outnumbered]

Well, the M3 would give you better handling, the electronically controlled M-diff, SMG if you wanted it, for a start...

[baz1985]

outnumbered said:

Well, the M3 would give you better handling, the electronically controlled M-diff, SMG if you wanted it, for a start...

agreed. But the E46 M3 is so omnipresent. However, if I had £3.5k to pay for the insurance- I'd swap my 330 right now!

[dannylt]

How can an M3 cost 3.5 to insure! Anyway, it's not just the immediate cost; it's the resale etc. too. Modifications generally make cars worth less, an M3 will still be an M3. And at least the servicing/reliability/insuring is a known quantity.

[sjj84]

You'll probably find that insurance for a supercharged 330 will be about the same as that on a M3. Personnally I'll be keeping my 330 standard and saving the money for a M3.

[vesuvius996]

AC Schnitzer do a MAGIC supercharger which is BMW approved and can be fitted by any dealer. About £6k I think - well worth it.


>> Edited by vesuvius996 on Thursday 13th April 17:40

[gmarks1]

I've recently had a supercharger, CSL reps and BBK installed by CA Automotive - it does transform the car, and the insurance only went up by £50 with everything declared. Car made 293 bhp on standard unleaded. Roy at CA is a very good guy to deal with - plenty of advice and knowledge. I went for the SK Plus system (no intercooler) at <£3K I'm very happy with it - here are some pictures and video - I apologise in advance for the number plate - it's from my previous E36 M3 Evo.






http://media.putfile.com/MOV00033
http://media.putfile.com/Exhaust87

[vesuvius996]

That, sir, is a LOOKER!

Better IMHO than an M3. A real sleeper.

[baz1985]

dannylt said:

How can an M3 cost 3.5 to insure!

21, 4yrs ncd it does.

ACS have stopped doing their Supercharger kit, I enquired with ACS direct.

Mark your car looks amazing!

>> Edited by baz1985 on Thursday 13th April 18:24

[droptheclutch]

vesuvius996 said:

That, sir, is a LOOKER! Better IMHO than an M3. A real sleeper.

Yes, indeed it is! Damn fine. I would imagine that this would be almost as quick as an E46 M3, in fact, given the vast differences in driver ability, you may well out-drive a number of M3 owners that I have seen!

Sounds a treat too, job well done. Do you know the torques figures?

[droptheclutch]

outnumbered said:

Well, the M3 would give you better handling, the electronically controlled M-diff, SMG if you wanted it, for a start...

SMG, no thanks. M-diff, yes please. Handling? The 330Ci Sport/Clubsport isn't that far away in that area, especially on road driving as opposed to track...

[gmarks1]

droptheclutch said:

Do you know the torques figures?

258 lbft at 4,800 rpm - the non-intercooled conversions don't make as much torque as those with an intercooler, but it's a significant increase on standard (221 lbft at 3,500 rpm)

>> Edited by gmarks1 on Thursday 13th April 19:05

[gwatson]

"insurance only went up by £50 with everything declared."

wow, I've been thinking of a SC for a while, but my insurance would go up to £1800 from £600 on my 3.0 Z4, crazy! Who were you insured through?

Graeme