Who makes the best S/C kit for a 99-01 540?

[RABIZ]

I'm going to purchase a 540 soon and was wondering which company makes the best supercharger kit in terms of power, reliability and cost. Any input is appreciated.;)

[Dark Helmet]

generally, I'd look to Dinan for this one.

ESS is a good company, but seeing as they are in europe.....

I'd stick with Dinan for this one.

BUT... I should also ask what exactly you plan to do with the car?

[BimmerDawg]

I agree, go with Dinan. Best reliability, and they throw their warranty on top of it. Plus you know you're getting good stuff, not Manny, Moe and Jack building it in their basement:D

[RABIZ]

Thanks for your input guys. I just want to build a 540 up to M5 performance levels both in acceleration and handling. What is your opinion on the RMS kit? I was thinking of going RMS simply because they are located 10 min. from my house and could easily provide technical support. :)

[Dark Helmet]

I have no knowledge of any RMS kit for the 540... if it exists, it might be worth a try, a LOT of my Z3 buddies are running RMS blowers and are VERY happy (and throwing 400hp to THE WHEELS) but I do not know how much experience they have with the V8s.

again, Dinan is ALWAYS a good way to go. Mrs. Dinan herself drives a blown 540... so you KNOW they have that car sorted.

[jzdinan540i]

ESS is set up in FL now, but do to the fact they use reworked Powerdyne units I would run away.
Bottom line you get what you pay for. The Dinan SC will set you back about 15K, but its the only kosher set up on the market.

[Kevlar]

you're going to need an LSD... 540s don't come with one.

[SilverStreak]

Kev's right, and with that kind of power, I'd go Quaife LSD with some 3.46's....

[jzdinan540i]

LSD is nice, but not required. I know a couple 540's running SC's without it. The LSD from dinan is around 4k for the 3.15. The 3.45 is 4k plus core charge.

[Dustin540/6]

or you could buy the oem 3.15 for a few hundred bucks...

[jzdinan540i]

the 3.15 for 400 is an open diff (no LSD) and I am fairly close to burning it out after 2 years of abuse LOL:buttrock

[DanB]

I'm running a Dinan S/C with an open 2.82 and I have an M5 rear LSD sitting in my closet. I bought it mostly for the benefit of higher gearing, however the LSD will also come in handy... in other words you don't NEED LSD, but it's probably helpful if you drive your car like you should..

As far as S/C kits themselves, I was the beta car for the E39 non-vanos Dinan kit... I haven't had any problems with my setup post-beta. I HAVE however recieved a personal email from an ESS customer with a "trans failsafe" message - asking if Dinan would take a look at it, and I have a personal friend in LA whose car keeps dying - for which ESS is shipping out a new MAF... Sure it was 8K less, but at what price in terms of reliability? That 8K delta will seem like a lot less of a big deal in 100K miles... promise.

-DanB

[CSBM5]

FYI....

http://www.quaifeamerica.com/

[jtanoyo1]

By the way, ESS will replace their old s/c unit with the new better quiter vortech unit at the end of the year. So it might be worth checking it out.

A lot of folks have ESS with no problem and now that they are based out of Florida, it should be easier getting to them.

[Kevlar]

Originally posted by jtanoyo1
A lot of folks have ESS with no problem and now that they are based out of Florida, it should be easier getting to them.

ESS is based out of Florida? Where?!?!?:eek:

[Dark Helmet]

basically its a remote shop to shorten ECU shipping times.... or thats what it looks like.

[cam540]

dinan also costs twice as much as ESS

[Frank528]

I would go with ESS right now, although the DINAN warrantee can be a factor. The ESS just costs less, and with more and more people buying them, they are becoming a greater presence in the US. They also seem to have pretty good customer service.

[Dark Helmet]

are they using a vortech on that thing yet? if its the powerdyne, ask simeon what he thinks about them.