1552 v.2 blog #12 BMW M3 S50 Turbo

March 3, 2008 - Wheels & Tires

2008-03-01T10:19:00.000-08:00

We mounted up a set of super lightweight (16-lb/ea) LTW 17x8.5 wheels with 235/40-17 Sumitomo HTR Z II tires and we're quite pleased with the results. The ride has gotten a bit harsher (we weren't sure that was even possible), but handling response is vastly improved in every area.

Jan 20, 2008

2008-01-21T09:04:00.000-08:00

This past Friday our good friend and ex-1552 Design employee, Rich, drove the M3 from Maryland to Sarasota. He did it in a straight shot and began the trip with some hefty snowflakes falling from the sky. He told us the M3 was "scary as sh*t" in the snow, and we have no reason to doubt him. The car scrabbles for traction even in the dry.

Our M3 made the 1,000-mile journey with no incidents, minus a few loose 19mm lug nuts here and there (our car has a stud conversion and Rich spent a couple of hours searching for someone with a deep 19mm socket). Obviously, the engine swap was done correctly and the car runs perfectly. As a matter of fact, it runs so well it's got us rethinking our plans to add a turbo (not really).

The S50 in our car is really awake. Though none of the mods is wild on its own, the combination of them together adds up to an engine that revs forever, gets there quickly, and sounds amazing. Actual power won't be scaring any dynos, but the acceleration this car delivers, especially in 2nd and 3rd gears, is impressive. Big HP numbers are always a nice goals, but there's still something to be said about a lightweight car with a wide powerband and a close-ratio gearbox.

We'll get more pics up shortly. For now, though, here are a few engine shots:

Jan 15, 2008

2008-01-14T12:51:00.001-08:00

Say hello to our latest company project car.

We recently purchased a 1988 E30 M3 in Lachsilber Metallic. This car was built by the owner of reknowned UUC Motorwerks and we're plenty excited to continue on where they left off. The pics you see are very much lacking for any palm trees or other tropical foliage, so we should point out that as of this writing, the car is at Adrian J's house in MD and should be arriving later this week. (Take note of the sinister black Audi in the last picture - that's Adrian's S6 and we'll soon post up a blog for it. On a completely unrelated note, does anyone out there have a spare V10 engine from an '07 RS6 they'd like to sell?)

Though the E30 M3 purists won't approve, this car is already equipped with an S50 3.0-liter 24-valve 6-cylinder from a '95 E36 M3 in place of its original S14 2.3-liter 4-cylinder. Though an additional 50-hp (240 vs. 192) added to the 2700-lb M3 is more than a little noticeable, ours comes with a pair of Schrick cams, Supersprint header and exhaust, UUC underdrive pulleys, clutch and lightweight flywheel, Euro HFM (air-flow meter), 3" intake, 24-lb injectors and custom software. We estimate the S50 is now putting out about 275-hp at the crank, or close to 240-hp at the rear wheels.

Other mods to the M3 include a full Turner Motorsport J-Stock suspension and a Racing Dynamics front upper strut tie bar.

We still need to find out what rear end is in the car, but we do know it needs to be a bit higher (numerically lower), since the car wants to light up its rear tires at pretty much every opportunity.

As nice as the car is right now, we plan to not leave well enough alone. Plans include removing the cams and header to make way for a turbo system. What kind of system? What turbo? How much power? You'll have to follow along here to find out.