Chipped E46 M3.
Discussion
Further to my 'somewhat humbled' post and my encounter with the Evo 8 at the weekend, I've been looking into chipping my E46.
DMS Automotive in Andover seem to know what they're talking about.
For around £800 they can re-map the car to prodcue peak power at 6400rpm as opposed to the stock 7800rpm.
So you don't have to ring the cars neck to play about at the fun end.
Apparantly this will give 370bhp and between 12 - 15 lb of torque improvements.
Also, it apparantly won't make the car any thirstier - and better than all of that - it's undetecable by BMW servicing (so the warranty is unaffected) and MUCH MORE IMPORTANTLY - my wife will never know it's been done either!
I promised her I'd leave this car alone....just can't help myself!
Has anyone had any dealings with DMS or chipped an E46 M3 through anyone else....all contributions gratefully received....
DMS Automotive in Andover seem to know what they're talking about.
For around £800 they can re-map the car to prodcue peak power at 6400rpm as opposed to the stock 7800rpm.
So you don't have to ring the cars neck to play about at the fun end.
Apparantly this will give 370bhp and between 12 - 15 lb of torque improvements.
Also, it apparantly won't make the car any thirstier - and better than all of that - it's undetecable by BMW servicing (so the warranty is unaffected) and MUCH MORE IMPORTANTLY - my wife will never know it's been done either!
I promised her I'd leave this car alone....just can't help myself! Has anyone had any dealings with DMS or chipped an E46 M3 through anyone else....all contributions gratefully received....
Don't believe what most of the tuners out there will say to you about the E46 M3. Firstly very few tuners have been able to test any modification on a rolling road due the the intervention by DSC that cuts in at 6500 rpm and stops the procedure. A few tuners in the US claim to have got around this problem, but from what i understand the only way to do so is to splice into your wiring loom and bypass the DSC controls.
Secondly there really isn't a lot to come from an E46 M3 by adjusting the fueling and ignition timing. I've owned several E46 M3s and now have an M3 CSL and for the CSL BMW made major changes in the induction system, camshafts, exhaust system, exhaust valves and gas-flow of the heads. This was all optimised with a new engine map and they only managed to release a further 17bhp. The best way of releasing more power is to change the 200 cell Catalytic convertors for 100 cell racing items and replace the centre silencer with a straight through unsilenced pipe. That will liberate a few more horses and increase the torque.
If they are telling you they can liberate more horsepower by lowering the revs and increasing the fueling then WALK AWAY! The reason why the M3 revs so highly is to produce the 343bhp that it has, by reducing the revs you will only reduce the ability of the engine to produce this power and there's no way it can counter that loss unless you used forced induction to increase the density of the fuel in the combustion chamber. More Revs = More Power
Secondly there really isn't a lot to come from an E46 M3 by adjusting the fueling and ignition timing. I've owned several E46 M3s and now have an M3 CSL and for the CSL BMW made major changes in the induction system, camshafts, exhaust system, exhaust valves and gas-flow of the heads. This was all optimised with a new engine map and they only managed to release a further 17bhp. The best way of releasing more power is to change the 200 cell Catalytic convertors for 100 cell racing items and replace the centre silencer with a straight through unsilenced pipe. That will liberate a few more horses and increase the torque.
If they are telling you they can liberate more horsepower by lowering the revs and increasing the fueling then WALK AWAY! The reason why the M3 revs so highly is to produce the 343bhp that it has, by reducing the revs you will only reduce the ability of the engine to produce this power and there's no way it can counter that loss unless you used forced induction to increase the density of the fuel in the combustion chamber. More Revs = More Power
Hmmmm, thanks Doctor D - sounds like good advice, but I'm now confused.
I thought the 370 bhp sounded a little ambitious - otherwise why haven't BMW with their multi-million pound R&D budget done more themselves with the CSL.....?
But then he did say that they've done plenty of E46 M3's and all have shown these gains....odd?
With regards to testing them on the rolling road, surely you can just turn off the DSC, no?
I think I'd need to see hard rolling road evidence of any improvements before forking out nearly a grand...
And with regards to your comments about getting more out of the M3 by cat changes etc - I was told by someone else that one of the major contributors to the CSL's extra bhp was the air flow (and obviously the fact it's lighter etc etc). Apparantly (and this could be pub bullsh1t), you can spend £6000 for the CSL air filter and induction set up and see significant power gains???!! It does sound though like improving the air flow into and out of the engine might be the way to go...
Sod it, I'm totally confused, I think the only thing to do is try and find someone who's had the E46 engine tweaked and see what they say.
It's not like the car is slow, and the last thing I want to do is have some spanner monkey f&ck up a perfectly sweet engine......hmmmmm. Confused.
I thought the 370 bhp sounded a little ambitious - otherwise why haven't BMW with their multi-million pound R&D budget done more themselves with the CSL.....?
But then he did say that they've done plenty of E46 M3's and all have shown these gains....odd?
With regards to testing them on the rolling road, surely you can just turn off the DSC, no?
I think I'd need to see hard rolling road evidence of any improvements before forking out nearly a grand...
And with regards to your comments about getting more out of the M3 by cat changes etc - I was told by someone else that one of the major contributors to the CSL's extra bhp was the air flow (and obviously the fact it's lighter etc etc). Apparantly (and this could be pub bullsh1t), you can spend £6000 for the CSL air filter and induction set up and see significant power gains???!! It does sound though like improving the air flow into and out of the engine might be the way to go...
Sod it, I'm totally confused, I think the only thing to do is try and find someone who's had the E46 engine tweaked and see what they say.
It's not like the car is slow, and the last thing I want to do is have some spanner monkey f&ck up a perfectly sweet engine......hmmmmm. Confused.
You can see 370bhp from the non CSL M3 engine, e-mail bluesatin for dyno plots of his M3 if you want, his went up from 333-369bhp.
Its nonsence to say there are no gains to be had from N/A engines, on certain cars 30+bhp is easily achivable and as an example with additional cat bypass & inlet system mods up to 50bhp is pos on certain Porsches for instance.
Give Ray at West tuning (Thruxton- just out of Andover) a call, hes a real engineer- not just a computer programer, tell him I sent you (e-mail me off line for my real name- he will think you are mad if you say Iguana sent you
) and the old bugger might give me a nice discount on some brake bits I need to get from him 
Think he is charging something like half DMS prices on the M3.
You've just got to do it really, coz Im fed up with all those slow E46 M3's getting in the way of the mighty V8 when its on a mission, 370bhp will at least give you a fighting chance
Its nonsence to say there are no gains to be had from N/A engines, on certain cars 30+bhp is easily achivable and as an example with additional cat bypass & inlet system mods up to 50bhp is pos on certain Porsches for instance.
Give Ray at West tuning (Thruxton- just out of Andover) a call, hes a real engineer- not just a computer programer, tell him I sent you (e-mail me off line for my real name- he will think you are mad if you say Iguana sent you
) and the old bugger might give me a nice discount on some brake bits I need to get from him Think he is charging something like half DMS prices on the M3.
You've just got to do it really, coz Im fed up with all those slow E46 M3's getting in the way of the mighty V8 when its on a mission, 370bhp will at least give you a fighting chance
Guys, testing an M3's power output at the wheels is a known problem on the E46 and there's no simple answer. Anyone who says they've measured it without reciting the complex route they took to achieve it is telling you what they think you'd like to hear. Visit any M3 forum around the world and you'll find the same point discussed time and time again. Only way seems to be bypassing the DSC control (no you can't just press the button) and this involves doing things that most owners wouldn't wish done to their pride and joy.
Secondly as far as releasing more power from the E46 M3 engine, you may not be aware of a little problem that blighted the early years of this S54 engine whereby the big-end bearing were prone to wear and brake. I know becuase mine was the first in the UK to do so. Problems were traced to the oil supply within the crankcase and with such thin walls in the block there is a perpetual issue of overheating that can occur in the S54 engine if mucked around with. Most well respected BMW tuners are understandibly unwilling to offer significant performance improvements because it's just not possible without compromising reliability. The M3 engine is already running at a BMEP figure that would be not out of place in a race engine. The CSL produces 111bhp/litre and whilst more could be obtained by removing cats/silencers and good old fashioned tuning (i.e. cams, improved breathing, etc) the S54 does not respond very well to fiddling with timing advance or simple fueling changes.
Race engines developed by teams such as Mardi Gras Motorsport and also those that compete in the Australian GT series are said to produce around 370bhp (on an engine dynamometer). That's for an engine that will be perhaps rebuilt a couple of times in a season, not one that will be serviced every 12,000 miles.
If you'd like to talk with hundreds of other E46 M3 owners that have asked precisely your question then log on to bm3w.co.uk where you will find that most have settled on mainly exhaust and induction upgrades.
Feel free to try the ECU chipping route if you wish, but you have been warned...
Secondly as far as releasing more power from the E46 M3 engine, you may not be aware of a little problem that blighted the early years of this S54 engine whereby the big-end bearing were prone to wear and brake. I know becuase mine was the first in the UK to do so. Problems were traced to the oil supply within the crankcase and with such thin walls in the block there is a perpetual issue of overheating that can occur in the S54 engine if mucked around with. Most well respected BMW tuners are understandibly unwilling to offer significant performance improvements because it's just not possible without compromising reliability. The M3 engine is already running at a BMEP figure that would be not out of place in a race engine. The CSL produces 111bhp/litre and whilst more could be obtained by removing cats/silencers and good old fashioned tuning (i.e. cams, improved breathing, etc) the S54 does not respond very well to fiddling with timing advance or simple fueling changes.
Race engines developed by teams such as Mardi Gras Motorsport and also those that compete in the Australian GT series are said to produce around 370bhp (on an engine dynamometer). That's for an engine that will be perhaps rebuilt a couple of times in a season, not one that will be serviced every 12,000 miles.
If you'd like to talk with hundreds of other E46 M3 owners that have asked precisely your question then log on to bm3w.co.uk where you will find that most have settled on mainly exhaust and induction upgrades.
Feel free to try the ECU chipping route if you wish, but you have been warned...
iguana said:
You've just got to do it really, coz Im fed up with all those slow E46 M3's getting in the way of the mighty V8 when its on a mission, 370bhp will at least give you a fighting chance
Still got it then?
Didnt see you at VW mate and I had a CD full of videos for you.
I'll take it to work and post it tomorrow ifI still have your address. (and if I can find the CD amongst the junk on my desk)
(Infact finding the desk would be good!
)DustyC said:
Still got it then?
Didnt see you at VW mate and I had a CD full of videos for you.
I'll take it to work and post it tomorrow ifI still have your address. (and if I can find the CD amongst the junk on my desk)
(Infact finding the desk would be good!
Actually dusty not got her anymore, she has just gone
A mate has taken it on board, and he will be spending the right cash to bring it up the standard it really should have been done to in the first place & that I just really couldnt justify spending on it.
Looking forward to seeing the vid's at last........
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