How many supercharged M3's are tracked regularly? Thoughts?

[radiantm3]

I've been tempted by the extra power from a supercharger for awhile now. What's really holding me back right now is 2 things:

1. My car's engine (bottom end) was rebuilt because the bearings were going bad (at 16k miles). New bearings and crankshaft were installed under warranty. So far the car has been running great, but I'm worried that any extra power could cause issues with an engine that was rebuilt by a local dealership (can we ever trust that they did the job right?). I guess I'm afraid they would instantly try to blame the supercharger even if the problem is from the rebuild.

2. I've been doing quite a few HPDE's and track days and have been having a blast. I've done 6 events total (4 at laguna) and have been running a consistent 1:50 or so with my car there. The fun part is now finding ways to improve my time another 5-10 seconds. I drive with traction control off and feel very comfortable with the limits of this car on the track with the current power.

What will adding a supercharger do to my driving at the track? I know my times will be faster, but it almost feels like I'm just cheating myself into a faster time. From what I've read, power delivery is just as smooth as stock. So can I assume that I'll be able to safely drive with DSC off with the supercharger as well? I'm pretty smooth on and off the throttle. I guess I'll just be much faster on the straights.

Anyways, would love some thoughts from those who have a supercharger and track their car as well as those who track their car and purposely do not want to get a supercharger. I'm truly torn at this point.

[THE-FN-MAN]

I guess you just have to trust that the dealership did their job correctly and move past that man, because once you get a supercharger you don't always want to have that feeling in the back of your head that something might go wrong. That being said, you will absolutely love the extra power. I have a Gintani stage 2 kit and the thrust and sound it provides is soooo intoxicating!! I look for any excuse to get out and drive my car lol. At tracks it never gets hot and I never feel any decrease in power after numerous laps. I personally drive with M mode on because I like that security blanket but I had them reprogram my tranny so it shifts faster and I'm not sure if that would up-set the rear tires mid-corner on an up shift but they have a ton of different options you could go with, it's all really what power lever you would want I suppose. Good luck with which ever way you decide to go

[Brosef]

I think that situation is a tough call. I have an ESS VT2 and have tracked it in 100 degree weather without a single problem. However, I'll leave it up to the people smarter than I to opine on this one. I like your sig btw.

[Mbauer]

I'm am quite happy with my VF620 kit. The power is smooth and manageable. The torque is enough to accelerate faster but not so torquey that you are always over steering. I think you will find that you will be faster in the straights and your exit speed will be much faster. However your stock brakes probly will be the week point on the track if you haven't upgraded already.

The bottom end.... Is your car a 2008? Did you have the ticking noise at idle?

[m33]

Tough call only because you had that issue but what I would do is change out oil every 5k and have the oil tested for metal to get an idea of your current wear before you actually take that step towards SC'ring

[radiantm3]

Thanks for the input guys. Would love to hear from someone who has a supercharger and does at least 6-10 track days a year with it.

Originally Posted by Mbauer

I'm am quite happy with my VF620 kit. The power is smooth and manageable. The torque is enough to accelerate faster but not so torquey that you are always over steering. I think you will find that you will be faster in the straights and your exit speed will be much faster. However your stock brakes probly will be the week point on the track if you haven't upgraded already.

The bottom end.... Is your car a 2008? Did you have the ticking noise at idle?

My car is a 2011.5. The ticking noise never happened at idle, but at around 2000 or so rpms when the engine was fully warmed up. The only way I could hear it is when I'm cruising in traffic next to a divider wall or some similar situation where i could hear the sound reflecting back at me.

[Mbauer]

Originally Posted by radiantm3

Thanks for the input guys. Would love to hear from someone who has a supercharger and does at least 6-10 track days a year with it.

My car is a 2011.5. The ticking noise never happened at idle, but at around 2000 or so rpms when the engine was fully warmed up. The only way I could hear it is when I'm cruising in traffic next to a divider wall or some similar situation where i could hear the sound reflecting back at me.

Ya if it's been a few thousand miles i would say your in the clear by now. I would change my oil and inspect the filter for anything abnormal just to be sure. If a bearing wasn't installed correctly you would have heard it or had a failure after a track session for sure by now.

[akh23456]

tracking the M with a Sc is soo much fun. Just gotta be careful coming out of turns because last year i mashed the throttle out of the turn and car went sideways lol. Other than that might need tires quicker and i do oil changes at like 3-5k miles depending on how much you track.

[CSanto]

Save your money. Buy a dedicated track car or when the time comes get into something more purpose built than the M3.

[Verify]

I've seen LOTS of Facebook posts from VAC from having their VF E92 on the track, they should be able to give you a better idea of track use

[radiantm3]

Originally Posted by HREM3

Save your money. Buy a dedicated track car or when the time comes get into something more purpose built than the M3.

I bought the M3 to be a dual purpose car. That's what it does best. I've only done 6 track days in my life so getting a dedicated track car is overkill. It's just a hobby and the M3 is providing me with a great learning experience at the track.

Obviously saving my money for something better out of the box is the sound thing to do, but I really love this car for everything it does. I'm just tempted by the ability to add a bit more power to the car I already love.

[tom @ eas]

Originally Posted by radiantm3

I've been tempted by the extra power from a supercharger for awhile now. What's really holding me back right now is 2 things:

1. My car's engine (bottom end) was rebuilt because the bearings were going bad (at 16k miles). New bearings and crankshaft were installed under warranty. So far the car has been running great, but I'm worried that any extra power could cause issues with an engine that was rebuilt by a local dealership (can we ever trust that they did the job right?). I guess I'm afraid they would instantly try to blame the supercharger even if the problem is from the rebuild.

2. I've been doing quite a few HPDE's and track days and have been having a blast. I've done 6 events total (4 at laguna) and have been running a consistent 1:50 or so with my car there. The fun part is now finding ways to improve my time another 5-10 seconds. I drive with traction control off and feel very comfortable with the limits of this car on the track with the current power.

What will adding a supercharger do to my driving at the track? I know my times will be faster, but it almost feels like I'm just cheating myself into a faster time. From what I've read, power delivery is just as smooth as stock. So can I assume that I'll be able to safely drive with DSC off with the supercharger as well? I'm pretty smooth on and off the throttle. I guess I'll just be much faster on the straights.

Anyways, would love some thoughts from those who have a supercharger and track their car as well as those who track their car and purposely do not want to get a supercharger. I'm truly torn at this point.

We track our VF620-equipped M3 regularly, just spent the weekend dominating in 107F degree heat in Vegas at MFest.



Boost is only beneficial as long as you are equipped to handle the power on the track, it sounds like from your description that this should not be a problem.

The straights are the best part.

[per]

[QUOTE=radiantm3;11827355]Thanks for the input guys. Would love to hear from someone who has a supercharger and does at least 6-10 track days a year with it.

I am tracking my car at least 5-6 days a year, and i havent had a single problem.
I use a 10-60 race oil and shift the oil every 5000km.
My car is a 2007-2008 model and i have been running the ESS VT625 kit for 20000 km.

[sales@ESSTuning]

Many of our customers on this forum track their cars and have no issues. If you do a search you will find several reviews. We have many customers in the US and around the world that have had great success with all versions of our kits with track use. You should never have a problem taking one of our kits to the track, this is of course taking into consideration that the motor is in good shape before you supercharge.

One of our original development cars was the GS Bildeler car that runs what is now the VT2-625 kit. This car has seen many track and drift events over the years and has not had issues, other than traction

[kiloil]

As you can tell not many track the car with S/C. I don't know if anybody has truly fixed the cooling concerns and the lack of lubrication in the rod bearing area when s/c.

[stefan]

I would say just run the least aggressive intercooled S/C kit.. the VT2-575

[VCMpower]

Originally Posted by radiantm3

I've been tempted by the extra power from a supercharger for awhile now. What's really holding me back right now is 2 things:

1. My car's engine (bottom end) was rebuilt because the bearings were going bad (at 16k miles). New bearings and crankshaft were installed under warranty. So far the car has been running great, but I'm worried that any extra power could cause issues with an engine that was rebuilt by a local dealership (can we ever trust that they did the job right?). I guess I'm afraid they would instantly try to blame the supercharger even if the problem is from the rebuild.

2. I've been doing quite a few HPDE's and track days and have been having a blast. I've done 6 events total (4 at laguna) and have been running a consistent 1:50 or so with my car there. The fun part is now finding ways to improve my time another 5-10 seconds. I drive with traction control off and feel very comfortable with the limits of this car on the track with the current power.

What will adding a supercharger do to my driving at the track? I know my times will be faster, but it almost feels like I'm just cheating myself into a faster time. From what I've read, power delivery is just as smooth as stock. So can I assume that I'll be able to safely drive with DSC off with the supercharger as well? I'm pretty smooth on and off the throttle. I guess I'll just be much faster on the straights.

Anyways, would love some thoughts from those who have a supercharger and track their car as well as those who track their car and purposely do not want to get a supercharger. I'm truly torn at this point.

Times will not necessarily be better. I was able to drive in many situations and tracks faster when NA. It is a tough call if you are looking for faster track times. No SC'd S65's in ALMS or Conti tire or Rolex series. I understand the rules but more power does not equate to faster track times. On that note I love my SC but do miss the driving on the edge fun of NA.

[arter]

I tracked my car 14 days last year and now that I have a supercharger expect to track it at least that many days this year.
Have three days down already and another 5 planned in May.

Sc doesn't change the handling or turning capability of the car, and you just have to be smooth coming on the throttle out of turns. You do get quicker acceleration once on the throttle. End of straight speeds are up 10 to 15 mph. Wonderful addition to the M3 in my opinion.

Also still a great DD and the highway gas mileage is actually better than stock. ESS VT-535 here.

[redline9001]

Originally Posted by radiantm3

I bought the M3 to be a dual purpose car. That's what it does best. I've only done 6 track days in my life so getting a dedicated track car is overkill. It's just a hobby and the M3 is providing me with a great learning experience at the track.

Not to take anything away from the SC companies but if you have only tracked 6 days in your life more power is not the thing I would be looking at first.

A lot more practice and some driving schools will do your laptimes a lot of good before adding the power, IMHO.

Have fun at the track

[radiantm3]

Originally Posted by Roman@ESS

...You should never have a problem taking one of our kits to the track, this is of course taking into consideration that the motor is in good shape before you supercharge.

This is my concern. My car's motor "should" be in good shape, but how do I know after it was rebuilt by my local dealership?

Originally Posted by VCMpower

Times will not necessarily be better. I was able to drive in many situations and tracks faster when NA. It is a tough call if you are looking for faster track times. No SC'd S65's in ALMS or Conti tire or Rolex series. I understand the rules but more power does not equate to faster track times. On that note I love my SC but do miss the driving on the edge fun of NA.

Yea the thing is I don't want to add a supercharger for faster lap times. I want to add one because just like most around here, I'd like a bit more power to occasionally play with. I'm perfectly content with the power of the car at the track, but I wouldn't complain if there was more.

[radiantm3]

Originally Posted by redline9001

Not to take anything away from the SC companies but if you have only tracked 6 days in your life more power is not the thing I would be looking at first.

A lot more practice and some driving schools will do your laptimes a lot of good before adding the power, IMHO.

Have fun at the track

Totally agree with you. As said earlier, I'm not looking at more power to be faster at the track. I've been reading "Going Faster" religiously and signing up for a few Skip Barber car control classes this year. That and more track days.

[CSMRX7]

I have tracked my car quite a bit with the SC. I did one season NA (about 2000km) and two seasons SC, on with the VT2-575 and one with the VT2-625. I have probably abother 3500km on the track SC, so over 5000km total on track and the car has performed flawlessly. I am slower in one spot as I have traction issues (2nd gear on to front straight), but everywhere else I am as fast or faster.

But as stated before the best way to better times is through seat time and training.