Modest power upgrades to the 3.2 S52?

[LastOne]

Greetings,

Newbie M3 owner here. Recently acquired a 99-estorial/dove (perhaps one of the last 10 built). Really enjoying the car, but when I redline at 6300 or so, I can't help but feeling I'm leaving some power on the table. Yes,I am aware of the manifold swap, but it seems like such a forklift for a little more power.

Any experience/thoughts on modest upgrades to the 3.2's?

(I've done some Dinan software, throttle-body, cold air in my 2.8 with nice results.)

Thanks in advance for your input

[Jim E.]

one of the last ten?

[Greenday694]

99 M3 would have the s52b32 engine.
The s54b32 has individual throttle bodies. The M50 manifold swap would be a downgrade on that engine.
Since you have the s52, the M50 manifold swap would be a good upgrade. Especially in the higher RPM range. Add in a good cold air intake, and a good free-flowing exhaust headers back , then a good tune.

Sent from my VS995 using Tapatalk

[MauiM3Mania]

one of the last ten?

The last seven of the VIN could be revealing.

[pbonsalb]

If changing manifolds is too much work for the OP and he is happy with just a tune and intake and TB on his 328, then do the same mild mods on the M3 and be happy with the mild gains.

Most tunes come with raised redlines in the upper gears so you would be able to go past 6300 in 4th and 5th (I think stock redline is 6750 in 1st through 3rd). Your power peak will still be at around 6100 and it will still drop fast beyond that. The manifold swap you don’t want to do would probably double the high rpm gains from the mods you are willing to do.

[sirhodjibob]

one of the last ten?

Are you implying there are factory S54 E36 M3s?

[Jim E.]

lol. That’s what you got out of my post?

i’m saying this is a troll thread while enjoying my popcorn.

can we please shut this nonsensical thread down and move on??

[blckstrm]

So let's see. Power drops off before redline, but OP doesn't want to do the single most effective thing to add top end to the car.

Why do I feel like this is relevant?

https://youtu.be/-4EDhdAHrOg

[LastOne]

No ind throttle bodies; US spec.

- - - Updated - - -

That's what I was thinking especially with such favorable pricing on the dinan software...

[LastOne]

"Doesn't want to" are your words...

I'm just seeing if there are some incremental options before turning what I would consider a big job for not a lot of ponies....but I don't even know that, so that's why I am asking.

[MauiM3Mania]

Thread Subject corrected.

[Carpy2]

Don't be turned off by a manifold swap, it is not a big job. Get one of the tried and tested kits and it takes a couple hours. No special tools required. I used Eric's kit like 8 years ago or something and everything is still holding up just fine. Turner has one and some others have one, they're all good, just go with what you're comfortable with.

Redline increase is really not necessary. You will notice power loss after 6300 making it not worth running to 7000, and running above stock redline is harder on the engine. It's somewhat nice if you track your car and have a few sections of corners where the increased limit allows you to stay in a gear before braking, versus shifting up for 1 second then braking, but I can tell you in general I lose time on track straights while going all the way to 7000, not to mention run much hotter if I do.

3.38 diff from an automatic will make acceleration faster, but if you drive long distances above 65mph you may be annoyed (I'm at 3,000rpmish at 65mph, 4,000rpm at 80mphish in 5th). Yes, I noticed a difference even going from a 3.23, and I love it (still daily my car, no not annoyed lol).

Other than that you can do all the bolt ons to get you somewhere around 230whp (tune, manifold, intake, exhaust, headers, power pullies, etc), but it gets expensive for maybe 10-15whp (manifold is arguably best bang for $ before cams). Cams would be your next bet to get an actual power boost, but I get a feeling you don't want to mess with removing your cams, which is fine.

The mods I like are ones you can really feel, even if they don't necessarily add big numbers to your dyno, they just make driving more enjoyable. Ones I felt were the above mentioned diff swap, intake manifold, big bore throttle body + ASC delete (noticed throttle response, probably minimal gains), and a tune for all of that. Basically what you've done to your 328, but add the intake manifold. A quality short shift kit goes a long way as well adding to faster shifting and just feeling nice to drive. My favorite is the Bear Motorsports SSK w/ AKG DSSR. No idea where to find one or what it's called anymore... Motion Motorsports used to sell it, but haven't for a few years.

If you want to be in the 300whp to 450whp range on stock internals, forced induction is your only bet.

[QtheGenius]

While I don't have a dyno sheet to back it up, a bunch of bolt ons can make a mild difference. 3.5" intake, 3.5" MAF, M50 Manifold, 24# injectors, long tube headers, any tune (helps if customized to the mods you've performed). throw on a lightweight flywheel and upgraded clutch, and my ass tells me I'm up about 20-30 HP from baseline. I did have a baseline dyno and I was at 220/220 at the wheel.

[Carpy2]

While I don't have a dyno sheet to back it up, a bunch of bolt ons can make a mild difference. 3.5" intake, 3.5" MAF, M50 Manifold, 24# injectors, long tube headers, any tune (helps if customized to the mods you've performed). throw on a lightweight flywheel and upgraded clutch, and my ass tells me I'm up about 20-30 HP from baseline. I did have a baseline dyno and I was at 220/220 at the wheel.

If you really got 20-30whp from just those bolt ons and a lightweight flywheel I'm pretty jealous, give me your engine! I can only think of a few S52s on here that got over 240whp with just bolt ons, most were running 3.46 or shorter final drives though.

I'm dynoing at 230whp with virtually full bolt ons, epic tune, light weight flywheel, 3.38 diff, refreshed VANOS, etc, no cams, no 3.5" MAF.

[NeilM]

my ass tells me I'm up about 20-30 HP from baseline.

Sorry, but we're going to need you to post your ass's calibration sheet to evaluate that claim.
Wait — on second thought, please don't.

Neil
96 M3 — ITG CAI/3.5" HFM/M50 manifold/ASC delete/Riot Racing BBTB/Schrick cams/shorty headers/Supersprint cat-back/Conforti tune

[LastOne]

Thanks Carpy2, I appreciate the learning

[blckstrm]

If you really got 20-30whp from just those bolt ons and a lightweight flywheel I'm pretty jealous, give me your engine! I can only think of a few S52s on here that got over 240whp with just bolt ons, most were running 3.46 or shorter final drives though.

I'm dynoing at 230whp with virtually full bolt ons, epic tune, light weight flywheel, 3.38 diff, refreshed VANOS, etc, no cams, no 3.5" MAF.

I don't have a BBTB or pulleys, but aside from that I'm almost identical.

My sense has been about the same, though I've never dynoed the car.

Did you dyno with the ARC8s?

For OP's benefit, it's worth mentioning that some nice lightweight wheels make an ENORMOUS difference. You can shed 20lbs of unsprung, rotational mass and it makes a huge difference in how the car feels (both power and handling). Similar to a lightweight flywheel, I don't know if or how that would show up in dyno results, but you can really feel it.