My friend just sent me an email as he knows im on a few forums, but I have never really latched onto the M3 forums.

His car is a 97 M3 with 134K KM on it. new clutch at 100k.
Silver with the black vader seats.

100% stock.

(his msg)
Craigger, I need your opinion on the AA Stage I c-38 supercharger for an E36....with potential for an eventual upgrade to the stage II. So far, the only issues I can see are that some people find, especially with the SII, that the stock clutch can't handle it...in which case the standard move is to a lightweight flywheel/E34 M5 clutch combo.

I can't seem to find any other problems associated with it, and the gains are insane...300rwhp for under 5$k...380 with s2 (another 2.5k) Stage II runs around a 12.2 1/4mile..

{/end]



what can you make of this?

 

AA can do wonders, and those numbers (power and prices) are awesome.

My only concern would be starting at 134K on the clock. But I'm not too sure.

Keep us posted.

 

My friend was running a Eurosport Twin screw set up on his M3 which is arguably better than the Stage 1 centrifugal AA. He dyno'd about 330rwhp with lowered compression as he was getting ready for a turbo so he would have made more if it was tuned for the Twinscrew. He also burnt through the M5 clutch very quickly and upgraded to a believe a 6 puck clutch which was all that would hold the power.

Tell you're friend to not even bother trying it with the stock clutch and I have to say that the great majority of people I know with boosted S52s have popped the motors. I have found in my experience the motors don't like boost unless that've been prepped for it.

 

so for a guy who just wants a bigger smile and a slightly smaller wallet, what would you suggest.

10K all in for everything.

 

Considering he has 134k on the clock, FI would not be a good idea without paying some attention to the internals. The motor might last 10-20k before he needs a rebuild. The motor will get tired really quick. I would drop the compression to 8.5:1 get some head work done. Basically make sure the motor is ready for boost. My e36 started its turbo life at 20k miles and lasted 50k @ 10psi before the rings and one piston went south with a stock clutch. I rebuilt the entire motor and dropped the compression to 8.5 and had a lot of head work done ran 15psi with a sachs sport clutch (handled the hp easily). I had a lightweight flywheel for a few months but could not stand the chatter noise. Plus he heavier flywheel put more load on the turbo earlier in the rpms. It felt quicker.

I have driven many sc e36 m3's including aa and dinan. Yes they were quick but could not compare to the turbo. The power delivery just takes awhile. I've heard a lot of good things about the twin screw the low end torque is what makes this system so attractive. But at the end of the day the turbo would get my nod for future upgrades.

 

Would he consider an engine swap? My buddy just finished putting in an LS1 in which is the most power, reliability and more upgradable in the future for the money than any FI application.

 

Tell him to go browse the F/I section on bimmerforums.com...it's a laugh riot especially considering the b.s. AA puts people through.