Help me figure out what I have. (supercharged E36 M3 inside)

[Savington]

We purchased this car advertised as a Dinan supercharged 1997 M3. We took it to Dinan (unfortunately AFTER purchasing it) and they told us it was not their kit and they had never seen it before. Has anyone ever seen a kit like this? We took it to a BMW mechanic in the area and he said it was a 3.2 motor with a '95 intake manifold, and he'd never seen the supercharger setup before. I saw a similar supercharger on an E46 Alpina 3-series, which leads me to believe it may be either an Alpina setup or something based on an Alpina setup.

Any help would be appreciated. We're trying to figure out what we bought so we can find out whether we want to sell the car and look for something else, or find a shop that can support the car. Thanks!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v326/Savington/DSCN0020.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v326/Savington/DSCN0021.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v326/Savington/DSCN0024.jpg

[JetBlackE46]

I'm not sure but since you have the ASA blower it could be an ESS kit. I don't recognize the plumbing though...

[GG///M3]

You should post this in the FI section.

[M///BMW]

Just seems like a after market supercharger.

[E36M34life]

Sell it? Why in the world would you sell a SC M3? Someone please fill me in if I missed anything. :help

[Veriest1]

It does appear to be an s52 with an OBDI manifold but it's like no Dinan kit I've ever seen. What does it say on the superchargers blue tag?

I've seen, and have, pictures of that kit but I don't know where it comes from. However, all the pics I have of it show it installed on non-M e46's. As far as service goes any competent shop should be able to handle it as along as you know who manufactured the head unit.

Your ECU should be marked by whoever tuned it. Both the Dinan and AA ecu's I've had were anyway. That may yield some clues since even if the company who made the kit didn't tune it the company that tuned it should know something about it.

Oh, and nice radiator. What else has been done to the car and what kind of boost is it pushing? Basically... more pics please. :D

[honda954racer03]

maybe its an ebay kit

[rennfahrer]

turbomex, maybe it's made south of the border
:D

[Savington]

It's got wheels, lowering springs, possibly shocks, and a Dinan exhaust. I don't know how much boost it is running (which scares me). I am going to check the ECU tomorrow to try and find some sort of identification; I assume that you can't just throw 6-8psi into these motors and not adjust the ignition mapping.

I'll snap some more photos of the car tomorrow. I'm not sure whether this is allowed, but if someone might be interested in purchasing the car, contact me. My dad (the owner) is not a tinkerer or a tuner at all, and when we found out the car couldn't be serviced at Dinan, he began looking into other options, and he's fallen in love with his new-to-him '04 M3. If someone who knew these cars were to take a weekend or so and go through the setup to make sure it's all in working order, it could be a very nice car. I would do it myself, since I am a bit of a tinkerer (my toy is a DIY-turboed Miata), but I don't have the time. :(

[motorsports321]

looks like the same s/c that is on a euro motor seen in this thread

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=901840


http://www.onno.is/thordur/m3/M3_S50.jpg

[Veriest1]

First pic I have. Not much info or anything new here.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v473/veriest1/Pic174.jpg

Second pic.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v473/veriest1/Pic176mod.jpg

Now this isn't on an e36 but there is a Dinan sticker there and some company called Renn Sport on the radiator cover.

The plot thickens....

EDIT: Apparently Renn Sport makes a line of gems like these and has little, if anything, to do with actual performance. http://www.rennsport.co.uk/scripts/prodList.asp?idCategory=801

[E36M34life]

Good detective work "veriest1". lol :stickoutt

[Savington]

Awesome, veriest. Let's thicken the plot even more. My car appears to have the same sticker...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v326/Savington/DSCN0025.jpg

In addition, compare my intake pipe to the one veriest posted. It's the same, except mine's been rotated up further towards the engine, with a second pipe attached to it. It's almost as if someone took the kit from an E46, and put it into an E36. ??????

[pbonsalb]

http://www.caauto.reflex-hosting.net/single_prod-cHJvZF9pZD0yNjYmY2F0X2lkPTM5JmNvbXBfaWQ9MjI=.html

Do some of your parts look like the parts in the kit in the link above?

Not sure why the original owner did not just go to Dinan or RMS, but maybe he did his kit before they were offering kits and had to import one.

[G///ME]

haha turbomex...aye chihuahua!

[jmargo]

How did the mech verify the motor to be a 3.2 ? Oil filter housing does not match the car.
I don't remember seeing any other US E-36's with the ASA set up. Yours is one of probably less than 10 in the states.

[Veriest1]

How did the mech verify the motor to be a 3.2 ? Oil filter housing does not match the car.
I don't remember seeing any other US E-36's with the ASA set up. Yours is one of probably less than 10 in the states.

Good eye on the oil filter housing. That does raise some eyebrows.

OP: Did you check carfax before or after you bought the vehicle?

That's a very interesting sticker you have there. If you can pull some numbers off of it (I can't tell much because of the flash) then you might be able to get some information from Dinan. It does look like it says something about carbs and Dinan is the only company I know of that has been carb certified for any length of time in this market. Something is definitely weird because that does appear to be an ASA kit on your car as opposed to either of the two kits commonly known to be the work of Dinan.

[SKooT1027]

Good eye on the oil filter housing. That does raise some eyebrows.

OP: Did you check carfax before or after you bought the vehicle?

That's a very interesting sticker you have there. If you can pull some numbers off of it (I can't tell much because of the flash) then you might be able to get some information from Dinan. It does look like it says something about carbs and Dinan is the only company I know of that has been carb certified for any length of time in this market. Something is definitely weird because that does appear to be an ASA kit on your car as opposed to either of the two kits commonly known to be the work of Dinan.
I think I recall reading at some point another company that is carb certified. I can't recall what it was, or where I read it. I know nothing about FI on these cars either, just remember that term coming up bc of inspection or something in a state. Everyone mentioned only Dinan worked and thats when the 2nd brand was brouht up. Wish i knew more and could help me

[Savington]

We carfaxed pre-purchase. The car was originally from Georgia, spent about 6 months in Utah (previous owner claims that guy registered the car at his home in Utah but drove the car in this area), and then the car was registered in California. We are the 4th owners.

Is there a serial number somewhere on the motor that can confirm S50 vs S52?

pbonsalb, my intercooler is similar in shape. The unit itself is also similar, but it looks like someone added a bypass valve to the system after-the-fact.

[Tuff Guy]

thats a definetly interesting setup, but its prob a 3.0L with some junkyard shit and an obdII valve cover.

[fiveightandten]

The "TurboMex I" :rofl:

The real question is...what kind of power is it putting down? The pulley looks to be the about the same size as what i'm seeing in these other units. So there's probably not too much to worry about. But if you're breaking the rear end loose easily in 3rd gear, i'd look into it pretty soon. ;)

-Nick

[Savington]

It feels about as strong as a stock STI.

[jskibo]

http://www.rogueengineering.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=TECHNIK
http://a-s-a.de/htm/english/products/turbomex.html

[QuickSilver M3]

don't take this the wrong way but it looks like one of those junky ebay kits...

[Bud Brown]

http://www.rogueengineering.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=TECHNIK
http://a-s-a.de/htm/english/products/turbomex.html
winner?

[Savington]

don't take this the wrong way but it looks like one of those junky ebay kits...

Link? I did a quick search but didn't find anything. It wouldn't surprise me at all.

[QuickSilver M3]

when i was looking for one for my z28 it looked pretty similar. looks like the same thing just for the m3.

[Jrdeamicis]

Link? I did a quick search but didn't find anything. It wouldn't surprise me at all.

I dont think it is.

[Dispatch20]

It feels about as strong as a stock STI.

that's sort of depressing at thats about as fast as a modded M3 (M50, SW, intake, exhaust).

[M///BMW]

http://www.rebmw.com/Merchant2/graphics/00000001/supercharger/technik/sc_install1_900.jpg

Sure looks like it.

[Bengali86]

How did the mech verify the motor to be a 3.2 ? Oil filter housing does not match the car.
I don't remember seeing any other US E-36's with the ASA set up. Yours is one of probably less than 10 in the states.

e36 with the plastic OF housing caps are from more recent 328s and 323s. M's up until and including the e46 M3 comes factory with the aluminum cap. Sweet looking set up though, man...one day I hope to be FI :( :)