Superchargers

[david]

To all of you fellas with a supercharger,
if you don't mind, can you all reply and tell me how you got them installed?
if you did it yourself, how long did it take, how hard was it? etc..
if you had it done, how much did it cost...etc.
Thanks fellas, i really appreciate it a lot.
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FORD MN12 PLATFORM HISTORY (http://www.ford-wiki.com/wiki/Ford_MN12_platform)

[MarvelPhx]

I installed mine myself in my garage...

When I sent the DME out (first thing I did), I knew I had a week to work on it, so I spaced it out over the next few days. I spent maybe 2-4 hours a night on it, but with many smoke and BS breaks...

It wasn't very difficult, but I have a fairly high mechanical understanding...

[david]

yeah, thanks todd! :D i knew about your experience from the my garage section...anyone else??? thanks fellas!!!!!!!
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Teen Vid (http://teenvid.org)

[Darius]

To all of you fellas with a supercharger,
if you don't mind, can you all reply and tell me how you got them installed?
if you did it yourself, how long did it take, how hard was it? etc..
if you had it done, how much did it cost...etc.
Thanks fellas, i really appreciate it a lot.


I installed it myself with the help of Todds DIY. It took me about 2 and a half weeks working daily 1-2 hours. It wasn't that difficult with the help of DIY and friends on this site.

[david]

ok come on guys...anyone else?
i know a bunch of you have it :lol:
Thanks, very much appreciated...
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MEDICAL MARIJUANA (http://dispensaries.org/)

[pkoenig]

I installed an ESS on my '00 323CiC Steptronic in Sept '01. Unfortunately, I didn't have the benefit of Todd's excellent DIY guide -- I just had the crappy (original) ESS docs.

It took me 2 weekends. The biggest pain was the wait for the DME to go to Sweden and back.

After that, no problems or issues.

PS -- I sold the car to my brother-in-law. He now has over 62000 miles on it ! If you see an Orient Blue cabriolet w/o a badge in the SF Bay Area watch out -- it's gobbled up more than it's share of 330s!

- Paul
I have the Ultimate Garage
'02 M3 Cab SMGII (Jet Black/Cinnamon)
'03 X5 4.6is (Sapphire Black / Black Comfort Seats)
'98 Air Nautique (Black/Gray/White)
http://members.roadfly.org/pkoenig/cars.JPG

[david]

what's that last thing in your garage?

[morcheeba]

The Air Nautique is a french-made blimp, the only 2-passenger version capable of making the voyage over the Mediterranean to French Tunisia (hence, the name "Nautique").

[morcheeba]

Oops, sorry, I think I was wrong about the blimp. It seems to be 2 or 4-wheeled boat-like car of some sort - here are some pictures. (http://www.whitelake.com/noa.htm) I mean, it can't be a water-faring boat - all the owners are proudly standing on ground next to these things. Ok, here's a real link to the manufacturer. (http://www.nautique.com/)
http://www.skinautique.com/images/air%20210/air210_boat.jpg

[pkoenig]

You're too funny.

Yes, it's a boat

[pkoenig]

http://members.roadfly.org/pkoenig/x5andBoat.jpg

[morcheeba]

Ha ha - hypothesis confirmed!! You've got the 4-wheel version!

The two vehicles make a nice pair - the boat looks like a lot of fun.

[sv650rr]

Hi all,

Don't know if this is of mutch help but anyways...

Got myself an ASA Supercharger-Intercooler
Had the installing be done by a good tuner (I don't have a garage, or tools or the understanding of electronics) got 2 years full waranty with it.
Before I had Measured 240BHP afterwards.. measured 315BHP.
Car electonics are NOT altered, just an additional device plugged in.. So no sending in ECU's and stuff.

The Downside I had mine done in Germany.. so a bit far for you guys. and it cost me 7500 Euros (at the moment $8800)

Don't know if ASA has any US dealers... Homepage www.A-S-A.de
U could try the Phone number, they might speak english. Otherwise try www.g-power.de or www.kelleners-sport.com

Would be glad to provide further information
Cheers

[330iZHP]

I have a fundamental question - I spoke with my dealer (one of the largest in the mid-atlantic region of the US) recently about adding components to my engine including a supercharger. The dealer staff said that adding superchargers to my 330i ZHP makes no sense because, over time, the BMW computer will adjust the engine so that any horsepower and torque gains created by the supercharger will be negated.

They said that initially there will be a good performance improvement but the computer will cause this gain to drop off dramatically over time. IS THIS TRUE?

Thank You in advance for any information you can provide.

[MarvelPhx]

Nope, not true. The DME doesn't have a HP goal, matter of fact, it doesn't know how much power it is making at all. It knows fuel trim, throttle position, O2 sensors, detonation, etc.

It looks at current conditions (RPM, water temp, mass air flow, and exhaust O2) and then takes what the driver requests (throttle position) to decide what to do. You floor it, it opens the throttle, then by measuring airflow adds a mapped amount of fuel then trims that fuel based on O2 sensors in the headers. It will put the largest amount of fuel and spark advance in the cylinders based on the O2 and detonation sensors.

When you add a supercharger, a couple of things must happen. First the added airflow is more than the sensor can handle (called clamping), so it must be adjusted to compensate. This is done with a new MAF (mass airflow sensor) or a recalibration.

Also, fuel must be delivered differently. Some companies use vaccum operated RRFPRs (Rising Rate Fuel Pressure Regulators) to control fuel trim, others use actual reprogramming of the air/fuel maps in the DME. The later, of course, being more reliable and predictible in performance. However, the piggyback (RRFPR) systems have shown to be tweakable to tune to your desire. Only ESS and Dinan actually reprogram the DME as far as I know. Regardless, the injectors must be replaced. The stock ones just can't provide the needed fuel rate.

Anyway, back to the question. The DME controls the operation of the engine to maintain clean emissions and provide requested power. If it has enough air and enough fuel, it would try to make 6,000hp before something blew (an exaggaration of course). The DME doesn't know the difference, it would try to do it until something broke as long as the fuel/air trims were OK and within RPM limit.

[330iZHP]

Thanks. I have been talking with ESS about the new unit they have for the 330 ZHP engines. They confirmed what you said although not in so many words; I appreciate the extra information. :)

Does anyone have any experience with the ESS superchargers? The specs look really good (http://www.esstuning.com/default.asp?c=shop&cat=93&subcat=101&subcat2=144&id=) and the company seems responsive and competent.

Finally - Is there any reason for concern about the internals of my engine holding up under long-term use with a supercharger?

Thanks!

[MarvelPhx]

I had ESS on the first Project Car and it now has almost 70k on it (over 30k on the supercharger) and it is still running strong. Matter of fact, the new owner is upgrading it to aftercooled and stage 2. I will post info and pics on that VT system upgrade as well.

As for "holding up", a well-built system is actually easier on your engine. Basically, internal combustion engines are big air pumps. They pull air into each cylinder from outside to compress, ignite, and pump out. That vacuum takes work.

Well, when you put the air into the engine under pressure, it works less. The dangers come from detonation, running lean, or excessive cylinder pressures. The first two can be handled by smart programming, tuning, and installation. The last is simply the limit of how much boost an engine can take. Most stock engines can take 6-8 psi without changing parts. Think about how many engines come with forced induction from the factory. If cost was not an issue, every car made would come with boost.

[bmw]

Here are a few pictures of my car. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v81/bmw320/Picture.jpghttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v81/bmw320/bmw.jpghttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v81/bmw320/M3_wheel_RK_shadow_shift_knob_and_e-brake.jpg

[jvrkic]

The install of the hardware is not too difficult.

I did it myself.

The problem is shippment of ECU to norway.

Install time for me all up was maybe 24hrs. But ECU was sent 29DEC 2004, still isn't back.

That makes it quite inconvenient.

[jvrkic]

The result is pretty awesome.