I am looking to get to 300 HP.
I have a limited budget so Turbo is OUT of the question. (sorry)
the budget is about 5-7 and 7 is pushing it.

I have a 98 M3 Sedan Automatic (Sorry again but I had surgery on my left knee and live in a high trafic area of Maryland so I cannot work the clutch without vikiden)

So I would like any ideas that can get me to the 300 HP mark or close.

I also like the Dinan free flow exhaust as they indicate that it is not extremely loud. But is there an equivilent exhaust for less money.

It seems that supercharger is the way to go. But do not know which one to go with.
1. The Dinan is expensive.
2. the AA looks great and I have read in the forums here that is has a "jet engine" sound to it. But how is it around town and at slow speeds?
3. the ASA is a clutched s/c which helps when you are just puttsin around.
4. Is there something else that I am missing perhaps?

Here is what else I am looking to satisfy.
1. reliability for my everyday driver.
2. not having to redue the head gaskets.
3. Purchase and install w/o suprises. Don't want to be down more than 3 days.
4. Dinan has indicated that I will also need to update my transmisssion chip?
5. IF i go with another system what software do I need if any?

Thanks for helping the Newbie out

Not really sure on the supercharger, but as far as exhaust goes they are all going to give you similar amounts of power and are all going to be relatively lighter than stock. So you basically have to find one that you think sounds the best, if you are looking for a relatively quite one I would probably go with an AA gen 3.

Well, if you want 300 hp to the crank, then just do a full cam kit. You will save 3-4 grand by not going with a supercharger. Plus, n/a horsepower imho is more reliable and you wont have any lag.

Turbo is not necessarily out of the question. Technique tuning has a kit that produces well over your 300 mark for 6,800.

http://www.techniquetuning.com/e36obd2turbo.htm


Its a matter of opinion, but I think a supercharger will be better for street applications. So if you do decide you must have this, I would check out the RMS stage II, and AA. Those are the two I like.

If you want to save money, you can buy a used FI setup and have it rebuilt. Thats going to save you about 2-3 grand.

I am looking to get to 300 HP.
I have a limited budget so Turbo is OUT of the question. (sorry)
the budget is about 5-7 and 7 is pushing it.

I have a 98 M3 Sedan Automatic (Sorry again but I had surgery on my left knee and live in a high trafic area of Maryland so I cannot work the clutch without vikiden)

So I would like any ideas that can get me to the 300 HP mark or close.

I also like the Dinan free flow exhaust as they indicate that it is not extremely loud. But is there an equivilent exhaust for less money.

It seems that supercharger is the way to go. But do not know which one to go with.
1. The Dinan is expensive.
2. the AA looks great and I have read in the forums here that is has a "jet engine" sound to it. But how is it around town and at slow speeds?
3. the ASA is a clutched s/c which helps when you are just puttsin around.
4. Is there something else that I am missing perhaps?

Here is what else I am looking to satisfy.
1. reliability for my everyday driver.
2. not having to redue the head gaskets.
3. Purchase and install w/o suprises. Don't want to be down more than 3 days.
4. Dinan has indicated that I will also need to update my transmisssion chip?
5. IF i go with another system what software do I need if any?

Thanks for helping the Newbie out

It's VICODIN, but anyways back to your question. As a former auto m3 owner, I understand where you are coming from in the desire for more power. I was thinking about going FI with my auto, but to tell you the truth, with an auto tranny, your options are really limited. The auto tranny is prone to slipping, and contrary to what some may say, it cannot handle a lot of power. Mine started slipping at around 90K miles only with a 3.91LSD, Euro HFM Kit, and Dinan Tranny Chip. The only tuner that makes a FI kit designed for the auto tranny is Dinans kit. Their kit comes with a Tranny Chip that is designed to help the tranny handle the boost.

If you want to make your auto m3 quicker, the number one thing you should do is swap your differential to a 3.91 LSD and sell your 3.38 LSD for a good $750. I did that mod to my m3, and it totally transformed the car into a monster. I could easily keep up with modded stick m3's.

So in all, I think you should save up for the Dinan kit if you are thinking about going FI. It may be expensive, but it'll probably be worth the money. You could probably make some good money off selling your 3.38 LSD which could go to your supercharger fund. Hope that helps.

i have a dinan exhaust and its pretty loud compared to some others out there, so if your looking for a quieter one look at AA

Thanks everyone for your reply's.
I have since realized that I am about 2 years away from the super charger. :cry

So I think the next best thing is to get:
CAI
EXHAUST
SOFTWARE UPGRADE

I think this can get me to about 260-270 HP?
Here is a question that I hope I can get feedback on:
1. what software is reliable and safe but less $ than Dinan?
2. I am planning to get a used Dinan CAI from Ebay ($279.00) or the cosmos
3. I plan to get the AA gen3 exhaust. How is the AA gen3 noise level compared to stock at crusin speed (75 w/ cruise control on)?

Thanks again for helping a newbie

Opps! I also have an automatic...... might not make a difference but with regards to software I thought this should be noted.

Thanks :cool

If you are going to buy a CAI, don't buy a dinan when there are soooo many others that are not as expensive. What is a CAI....? All it is is a bracket, heat shield, and K&N filter....no CAI is going to give you more than 2 to 3 hp and the ECIS one I bought cost $240 brand new....if I were you, I would buy a used one for like $150....you can always replace the filter for $45 or buy a $10 cleaning kit. Makes no sense to buy a Dinan one if you ask me...

As far as supercharger....RMS equipment and different tuning seems to be the answer...

I have had 2 superchared M3's. A 97 and a 95. Both had the AA supercharger. I highly recommend it !! Instead of 300 hp at the crank, you'll have 300+ hp at the rear wheels !! Yes, there is a "jet engine" noise above 3500 rpm. You will get used to it. Keep in mind that supercharging or turbo charging any M3 will dramatically change it's character. If you're not really into driving fast, the trade-off might not be worth it to you. You will have so much torque on tap that driving in the rain will require extra attention to keep the rear wheels from breaking loose. Also, the car will be louder. I went with the supersprint exhaust. To the best of my knowledge, it's the quietest aftermarket muffler out there. My 97 M3 had a dinan exhaust and I thought it was too loud for my taste. Remember that ANY muffler is going to be noticeably louder with a supercharger. If you're ever in the Atlanta area, feel free to come by for a free demo ride. 404-644-6020. Hunt Hodgetts

I have AA Intake, ECU, and Exhaust and i'm very happy with the complete setup. Performance, sound, and I also like the fact that they are all the same brand for some reason.

>>So I would like any ideas that can get me to the 300 HP mark or close<<

In order to better answer, are you talking about 300 Crank horsepower, or 300 Wheel horsepower? When it comes time to verify, you will use a chassis dyno, and all chassis dynos report results in WHP units. There is an approximate 18% difference between the two, so the difference is NOT inconsequential.

I would say listen to Jlac. But for intake, I would say get Cosmos. it is like $134 shipped to Bf.c members. You can't beat that.

For exhaust, I am biased toward Stromung (I haven't had any) but the clips I've heard I like. It is quiet at low rpms, just barely louder than stock, and then it screams WOT and no drone at all. (review by my friend who bought it).

i second the 3.91 swap idea.

OK.... So far I will go with the least expensive CAI. Probably a Cosmos.
I will review more about the exhaust: between AA gen3 vs stromung.
Has anyone have heard both?

BUT WHAT ABOUT SOFTWARE. If I get both a CAI and exhaust, would software be needed to take full advantage of these 2 upgrades? Is there an equivalent software to Dinan?

OK.... So far I will go with the least expensive CAI. Probably a Cosmos.
I will review more about the exhaust: between AA gen3 vs stromung.
Has anyone have heard both?

BUT WHAT ABOUT SOFTWARE. If I get both a CAI and exhaust, would software be needed to take full advantage of these 2 upgrades? Is there an equivalent software to Dinan?
lol you don't need software for cai & exhaust. Only thin gyou need software for, is to raise redline and remove speed limiter. If you don't have one already I guess there is the TMS chip or something. Or you can go to AA and they give you software programmed based off other peoples dyno tunes with similar mods or what not. it won't be matched ot your car, but pretty close.

I have had 2 superchared M3's. A 97 and a 95. Both had the AA supercharger. I highly recommend it !! Instead of 300 hp at the crank, you'll have 300+ hp at the rear wheels !! Yes, there is a "jet engine" noise above 3500 rpm. You will get used to it. Keep in mind that supercharging or turbo charging any M3 will dramatically change it's character. If you're not really into driving fast, the trade-off might not be worth it to you. You will have so much torque on tap that driving in the rain will require extra attention to keep the rear wheels from breaking loose. Also, the car will be louder. I went with the supersprint exhaust. To the best of my knowledge, it's the quietest aftermarket muffler out there. My 97 M3 had a dinan exhaust and I thought it was too loud for my taste. Remember that ANY muffler is going to be noticeably louder with a supercharger. If you're ever in the Atlanta area, feel free to come by for a free demo ride. 404-644-6020. Hunt Hodgetts

Just out of curiosity, which do you like better the SC 95 or the SC 97 and why?

I thought the software reconfigured the gas/air mixture also........

Hey AtlantaM3Hunt,

How much did your AA s/c setup cost?

I live in the Atlanta area too so i might take you up on a test drive :)

Take my advice man!

I've done the euro hfm kit before I did the 3.91 LSD swap, and trust me, I noticed a much bigger increase in acceleration with the 3.91LSD. The Euro HFM only helped my car a little bit performance wise, and that has been dyno proven for ~20-25 rwhp. If I were you, I'd go with an intake first, and then the 3.91LSD. Then if you wanna go FI, you can do it later. Just swap the diff first, I promise you, it will make it feel like a totally different car.

Will the 3.91 LSD give me higher RPM's while crusin on the highway?

What is the average cost for this item?

bump

Just to inform you, the car will be down for more then 3 days. Even if the shop gets it done early I wouldn't trust it. At the shop I work at, we don't want a car that has done any heavy modding to leave us before we make sure every thing is running up to par. And that takes a week at least.

Remember this isn't some small mod. It takes time to get it all right and running to OEM Spec with more power.