BMW z4m supercharged

[Beedub]

ok ok ok so today i got my "new Intake" from ess, and i just had to fit this immediatly, i took some nice shots of the further upgrades ive done to the Ess kit... im so pleased the new intake came in as my old one really looked rough, you guys buying one maybe, make sure you get your shop to treat this piece with extra care as you can damage it by simply running you finger nails down it!! and it looks horrific once its scratched up.... anyhow shes FINALLY back to how it should look........

new intake



Super strong braided Hose, i replaced the rubber one that ess use as its looks terrible on the top of the engine but also i could see abrasion marks where it has rubbed, so i went for this extra strong hose.... i had to cut this with an angle grinder it was so strong(i tried every pipe cutter on the market which made a mess).....On top of everything it also looks great in the engine bay.


Brand new Supercharger


completely re routed wiring for s/c intake temp sensor/gauge sender wiring (using stock sheathing)


vortech v3 Si Trim unit


new intake all blacked up and looking great (note 85mm pulley)


overall engine bay shot



Now this is the the s/c braid hose line, this piece wasnt touching the chassis rail but was close so i used some of the braided line protector from my AP BBK install, i then added some heavy duty black tape to further protect the braided line and chassis rail paint in the extemes of use.....




The devil is in the details :-)
first trackday with the VT2 happens in 2.5 weeks, camera lady is back and ready to record so expect some great footage of this thing being used properly.... A massive thankyou for simpson motorsport for being top sports with the damaged bits and together with ESS replacing the s/c and intake.... we all make mistakes and these guys made these niggles painless!! thanks!!

ESS continue to show me why i made the choice i did!!!

Edited by Beedub on Tuesday 21st June 15:26

[Beedub]

white90 said:

Looks Superb
have you considered getting some nice Stainless clamps rather than Jubilee clips?
as the pipe you chopped with the angle grinder would benefit from a nice stainless clamp IMHO.
Lovely Car BTW.

definatly....... but later maybe the jubilee clips supplied with the kit perform well and hold boost perfectly, i priced a whole change to mikalor tension clamps and were talking £200+ for clamps... with my new baby boy here ive got to be alittle more careful with what little money i have left!! lol

[Beedub]

BlackEyedPease said:

love the wheels!

The csl wheel is imo one of the best designs in bmw history imo..... even better that are lighter than the stock 18s that come with the z4m. The wheel the z4m should have been released with from factory imo.

[Beedub]

update, got some new clips of the car moving, boost has completely changed the noise this car makes......

here she is moving........ please excuse the crap quality, i had to get spectators to record for me ;-)

(Cut and paste from z4 forum)
I was invited last week onto a caterham and lotus test day, so out comes the little z4m and woooooww.. what a day, early morning the carfelt very very strong, DSC off all day from the first run, taking the first sweeping long left hander @ 75+mph is enough to give a man nightmares with no run off AT ALL!!!! so speeds gradually building throughout the day until i reached the limit and ermmmm went oever it, had a very scary moment entering flagpole @ 80mph.... tyres overheated and my car tried to swap ends, not only did my young passenger crap himelf, i did also but managed to rein things in and keep on the very narrow tarmac... phhheeewww!!! after this i backed of considerably......Simpsons aggressive alignment added significant turn in benefits, much more predicatable car, and much less track time tyres wear, but this has its downfalls in terms of normal road driving wear and also you need to be real quick when she steps out now!!!again very pleased.......

the car itself absolutly proves to me why i did what i did, 24 deg c here and consistant power, the kit performing faultlessly and the car really being the star of the show today which made me feel rather proud, my powesteering fluid overflowed as i overfilled it slightly... whooppss!! lol luckily a very minor issue that made no mess thankfully, i tied a rag round the tank to absorb the small amount that was overflowing, i then drained alittle and she was good to go....... the superchager jut pummeled curborough to a pulp, fradly hairpin was drifted nearly all day, my poor tyres MELTED!!! lol... wheel spin in the first 2 gears was a problem and as the tyres seemed to sweat and get dangerously slippy which meant i had to pit and let them cool down. oil temps were bang on all day, raising above the middle mark and keeping nice and steady, also cooling very quickly, water temps again perfect..... i did managed to get some pics and videos, please bear in mind these were taken by spectators so the quality sucks.....i really need that go pro set... ill try and order when i can afford the whole kit...

the AP brakes??? ohhh wow, the aps, insane stopping power, absolutly bang, the brake rotors were completly bright blue by the end of the day an still provided insane stopping power without showing a single sign of fade.... no knockback was experienced at all.... i have ended up with a lovely even pad transfer layer across all 4 rotors, on the way home the brakes were silent and that lovely rock hard pedak im used to!!! This is by far one of the best braking systems ive had the pleasure use or abuse in this case lol........

i really enjoyed riding out with the caterham, louts 7 guys, fabulous people, fabulous weather, what more could i ask for??? The car was then cleaned back to its normal garage queen condition (another 4 hours in total) and put away..... so 10am-5pm driving and a tank full of the go juice!! what a day to be alive....

all in all awesome day, the car behaved perfectly and continues to show me i made the right descision....... please excuse my Grammer, im tired and bored typing this.....

enoy the pics and clips :-)


Taking a breather.... note rag absorbing overfilled fluid

rotors super hot






Rear 4 pots and rotor, again nice even transfer layer







my beauty...






exhausts..... 11.5 AFRs... nice and safe..... creates flames and soot :-)


her best angle??, notice HUGE brake dust.... wheels look matt but are infact gloss powdercoat gunmetal




this drift ended in a death.... :-(


tyres looked melted after a full day, still plenty of tread and for a road tyre, simply awesome......


peak boost??? 8psi Note this was a clean run, not rev limiter bump at all ;-)



peak oil pressure?? 80psi


bug splatterd front bumper


noticeable camber -2.5 upfront, the wheel is visibly diagonal, this significantly changed turn in, definatly a huge huge step forward, the simpson alignment blew my mind today.... much better tyre wear in the extremes also.


detailed and tucked up.......



VIDEOS ([please excuse poor quality, i tried) definatly need to get the go pro...

listen out for the bypass valve popping away :-) ohhhhhh and the noise.... truely gorgeous imo.


boost gauge operating
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQGJ08mYSZw
inside car...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bI7fNCfNhg
braking hard for flagpole, sidways under hard braking from 100mph
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYz8wbUU1tA
overshooting flagpole
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5Xd9-BImn4
nice clean double lap, drifting into woodside
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nH9w8t7HMg0
taking flagpole way to hot
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDtLFIeOaoU
This big moment???? loosing the caar at 75mph+, luckily kept the car undercontrol and on the tarmac!!!! yeeeeehhhhhhaaaaarrrr
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bM79gVcrGUs

105mph over the line??? caterhams/lotus's managing 90mph :-)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bM79gVcrGUs

car skipping sideays under hard braking...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=so5q1NVOIC4

finally getting flagpole rrriigghhttt
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mk5nqIbhTD0

one of the lotus's showing me how to do flagpole
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGglRdf8EPs

pleased to say the car is running absolutly bang on :-)

Edited by Beedub on Friday 9th September 19:59

Edited by Beedub on Friday 9th September 20:06

[Beedub]

Oh Behave said:

nice vids, you nearly lost it big style!!

more than big time...... that was a 75+ tank slapper!!! i can honestly say....... i completely cacked my pants!!!! luckily, i managed to control it and keep it on the tarmac!

pleased to report baby is now 4 months old and is fast becoming a petrol head..... my finest achievement yet.

some really cool bits in the works for this car..... next project?? get this car as close to 1200kg as possible and still retain the usuable nature of the car.

Edited by Beedub on Friday 9th September 22:17

[Beedub]

Carlique said:

Truly glorious sound ! Nicely held from spinning out too

thanks :-)

the passenger at the time was young guy who said " your fking mad"

[Beedub]

Japcarnut said:

Nice to see someone so clearly enthusiatic and giving it the proper beans and enjoying themselves (on a track!).

japcarnut........thanks mate, definatly enjoying the car after all the work, its definatly a garage queen and im seriously anal about it, but... it gets battered reguarly....

seeomg your profile i noitced a prelude..... my mates got one with a turbo conversion.... those v-tec motors with alittle work are insane......

[Beedub]

fridaypassion said:

Any idea where to pull the 300kgs? I must admit the Z4M doesnt "feel" like its 1500kg bulk but been a sensible weight will make a LOT of difference to it.

the seats are a HUGE weight like 45kg each in electric, heated form, so ill switch to the carbon shells found in the caterhams/lotus exige.....
already saved a massive chunk from the exhaust, the brakes are considerably lighter, the wheels are lighter, ive swapped to a motorbike battery in a custom holder... The wheel nuts are magnesium, im trying to save everywhere i can basically...

A carbon bonnet cooling bonnet is on the way, ill also replace the front wings with carbon items and get them painted so they look stock..... i may have to loose the wheels and go to a really light weight 18" but i love the CSLs so much i think they have to stay, they are also a really good weight for 19s, lighter than the stock 18s anyhow.
im trying to slow things down alittle at the mo and just enjoy the thing as money is tight with the new baby here...
i had planned to do the seats alot earlier but havent been able to find a proper solution to the airbag light... i will simply not do a mod if its no perfectly inkeeping with the car and fits seamlessly.

i know have a solution, its just going to cost more as i need to import quite a few parts from the usa.

hows things with you anyhow friday??

[Beedub]

look what ess sent me this morning...............

their new kits are just being completed for the m5 v10, stage 1 non intercooled is 600hp, the vt2 will be a watercooled 725bhp kit....... lol

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OyHC2eD7WQc&fea...

[Beedub]

The Spruce goose said:

Kudos to the car, they should make more cars like this, 500 bhp should be standard for a roadster..

100% agree with you, this car feels pretty much bob on with this power, time to loose alittle weight to make it count alittle more ;-)

[Beedub]

fridaypassion said:

I'm good fella. Miss my Z4M but I saved a lot of weight by getting another coule of VX220s since lol. LAst one was 240bhp supercharged. Now back to a near stock 150bhp with 875kgs to lug round.

I miss the noise!

weight is the killer really but by todays standards i think the z4m does well especially being so comfortable....... i had a good drive of a v220 turbo, holy st was that awesome, such a good car and i searche for a vxr model for a long while...

the key with this build for me is to keep the car as drivable and comfortable as the stock car........ theirs no point me getting the car to a point where its only useable on the track... im trying to make my idea of a great car.. so lightish weight, good power, front engine, rear drive = petrol head heaven....

[Beedub]

Dazz1871 said:

I just love the sound of that car

its a glorious sound!!! a proper mecanical noise... soo much better than the enhanced by exhaust valve sound that todays top end cars use...

Edited by Beedub on Thursday 22 September 08:48

[Beedub]

david_h said:

Thanks for the updates, always interesting to read. I watch this thread with great interest as you are my test bed for my own super charger decision.

On the weight saving the first thing I would do is junk the CSL's and buy some proper forged single piece alloys. What you really need is a set of Volk TE37 SL's in 18". Also I would be conscious of tyre weights as they can also make a surprising difference.

Have you changed your clutch or any of the other drivetrain components during the conversion?

What charger kit do you now have fitted to the car, you started with stage 1 I think, then upgraded to an intercooler, did you also upgrade the charger? (too lazy to look back through the thread).

Have you actually had the car on the rollers? Is it putting out the power it's supposed to at the wheels?

some te37sl would be perfection imo.... but i just simply LOVE the csl wheel and i love the fact its a genuine bmw piece, quality is bang on and offset wise a small spacer upfront makes these perfect fitment, i struggle to find jap wheels in the correct fitment for the z4m with its silly offsets.

Re the blower, this is an ESS kit.... the supercharger is a vortech v3si Trim, only about 50cfm away from the race spec blowers, this unit can make upto 750hp @ 25psi ;-) so the tiny 8psi i use isnt even breaking a sweat on this unit.... you are however correct i went from stage 1 to the 2 which included new oil coolers, a giant front mount i/c, i also did some sneaky internal work... but all the main internals are stock forged items so we'll see... so far its done over 10 trackdays being blown, and feels rock solid.... drivetrain wise the car is completely bone stock, i do however have an uprated clutch waiting BUT... the way the car makes power is very similar to stock, low Tq high rev power so drivetrain wise its not adding much more stress, my stock clutch is right at the bottom of the pedal and feels like its got years left..... mmm we'll see!!

the main selling point for me about the kit is it simply require no modification to the car all at, ess disigned everything to bolt to existing points, other than that the since adding boost the car sounds COMPLETLY different... it really does sound pretty awesome, start from the stage 1 and have fun..... next year.... ill be builing this engine and doing vt3 :-) 15psi---- lol!!!

the car made 507bhp on simpson motorsports rollers :-) that was pre adaption as well, im pretty certain it'll make more now ;-) The tune will be updated soon, as i like to keep it upto date and keep the car running as good as possible, being alpha N management, data logging and updates go along way ;-) Other than that its been fabulous and i can honestly say im chuffed to bits with the kit and car, sadly it will be tucked away for the winter so im really hoping to get some runs out of her before its tucked away.

(please excuse spelling, using iphone)

[Beedub]

AB said:

I love it, absolutely love it.

I've said it before and I'll say it again... I love it!!

:-) thankyou.....

[Beedub]

david_h said:

Don't get me wrong, I bought OEM CSL's for my car for similar reasons, but they aren't quite as light as I had hoped so am now looking at the Volk's, they do them in E46 M3 fitment.
By "sneaky internal work", can you elaborate pls, I'm thinking I might do my head gasket as a preventative measure.
All of the videos on youtube, yours included, are rather disappointing wrt to the sound of the charger, I want more noise and this doesn't really give the old skool whine of a charger I'm used to.
Great news about the clutch and drivetrain, and like you say because it delivers its power in an OEM fashion it shouldn't overly stress the components.
I will go straight for stage 2 if I do pull the trigger on a charger. I cannot risk it over-heating half way up the alps, so an oil and i/c is mandatory for me.
You said it made 507bhp on the rollers, is that flywheel or wheel bhp?

Are Simpson's prices equivalent to the US ESS website? What are you talking for stage 2, £7k + fitting?

thanks in advance, and fantastic car. I would think it surprises a lot of machinary.

i do inspec 2 service at every service, its costly but as i use the car hard i feel that its needed......
Re in the internal work ess absolutly stand by the fact no mods are needed @ the 7psi stage 2 blows, my stage 2 makes 8psi... the rods, cranks and pistons are pretty awesome from factory and very very good quality..... i did gasket change and swapped out to ARP studs. centrifugal superchargers make a different sound to roots type blowers, its very much present inside the car and from outside, lots of pops and whistles/whines... i LOVE the sound level of the blower, perfectly in keeping with the car....

Re the costs..... im not sure Re simpsons as i brought everything on group buys from america to get things as cheap as possible, i do know however import costs and install costs are high, install in total took just under 2 weeks!!!! tbh i did lots of different changes and upgraded hoses ect ect while the install was being done.... just make sure you have gauges to monitor exactly whats happening, i watch my wideband AFR gauge like a hawk.... tells me exactly whats going on with the motor....

most importantly the car drives as if it was never modified...... MPG @ 70mph with a tiny 1psi blowing from the vortech is a very heathy 26mpg... and yes i had the obc re calibrated to the new injectors..... tbh when you get the kit their are ALOT of parts.....

oil temps are lower than stock with the new setrab unit and AITs are super cool, intercooler again can flow 700hp... overthing is designed for simple power increases when the times due... water temps are stock but the z4m has a different setup to the e46 m3 which is better....

1-2nd gears are ususually wheelspin so you have to meter out power, on a nice warm day it can just take full bore 2nd gear which lots of tyre squeal, if you listen as i set off in my vids a page back you can hear that i have to short shift in the lower gears to aviod wheelspin....The belt setup is really cool and eliminates all pulley slip.. Ess replace the stock crank pulley with a beautiful billet unit. The super charger oil needs to be changed every 7500 miles and costs £30 for 3 oil changes ;-) the s/c unit is completly independant of the engine oil so no heated oil, it has its own oil supply and even has its own dipstick... other than that i cant really recommend them enough, ess are awesome and customer service is second to none..... sadly i have to be quite active with the american forums as i the only blown z4m in the uk :-( scary actually as im on my own if problems occur.

if anything breaks long time happens as everything comes from norway or america.

hope ive been able to help you.

Re the Te37 SL... i WANT them... they look awesome, but the offsets are far from ideal for the z4m.

[Beedub]

trackdemon said:

Hi Byron,

Car is still looking awesome! Tried emailing a few times to get a shoot date fixed up but I'm not sure if the emails were getting through/going to the correct address. Can you drop me a note to [e-mail] to let me know if its something you'd still be interested in doing (or not)?

many thanks,
Steve

arhhh TRACKDEMON my AOL was disconnected after a dispute about the bill, i was paying for services i had not ordered and refused to pay the bill, they cut off my email and deleted ALL my saved emails from the last 10 years and all my contacts...... im now back with another ISP.... Really sorry matey especially as i had paid for the tracktime you see a page back :-( I have only just managed to get the time together to go through the painstaking process of changing all my emails from the old to the new :-( what a ball ache!!

Edited by Beedub on Thursday 22 September 15:16

[Beedub]

after a good few trackdays my car needed some serious TLC, which is probably what im best @ , so off came the wheels, off came some of the engine pipework, a good few hours later...... shes back to her best....

while i was their i did my usual engine/suspension tweeks, re torquing things, and generally giving the car a good check over.....

anyhow here she is... owned from baby fresh and being the cars only owner, now on 11600 miles, my pristine 2007 z4m Vt2-500.

Enjoy








my number plate is on the slant........ new plate is now on and Re aligned :-)




vortech megalflow BPV



s/c owners note top breather hose replaced with kevlar re-inforced braided hose, one of many tweeks to the s/c components ;-)

And the new love of my life, my baby boy :-)



photobucket has killed the quality of these pics sadly :-(

Edited by Beedub on Sunday 25th September 10:43

[Beedub]

ManOpener said:

For lightweight, forged wheels, how about SSR Type C's? 8.5kg a wheel, they do them in BMW fitment and offset and they even have the //M colours on them!

Woooooww!!!! You may have found my wheel.... Gorgeous wheel!! im on love, will definaly look into these ;-) thanks for the heads up....

Edited by Beedub on Sunday 25th September 17:43

[Beedub]

bit of an update..... managed to secure a very cheap perfect condition hardtop in Black sapphire met, all intentions to keep it black.....

after like 3 days of trying ive realised these top imo are definatly not a perfect fit and take some real patience to get fitted right, in the end i managed to get a 5.25mm gap... as opposed to bmws stated 5mm gap at the rear quarter panel, i now have as perfect as fitting top as possible, anyhow it looks fabulous imo..... i actually prefur it to the open top look...... no wind noise, no rattling, no banging at all...... the only problem im finding now is the top is trapping the exhaust noise which is made it pretty much unbearable now..... i simply cant wait till my DKF system is avaiable, ill definatly be going for a quieter setup...... heres some quick pics before she heads over to the bigger garage, ill grab some pics @ the other end also........... i did note however that the rear hartop window is so close to the boot lid i winced as it swung open...... those little plastic hardtop boot lid stoppers on my car were 100% needed, more pics later this evening...... im Very happy with the black sapphire metalic top and silver paint work.... it really does look unique..... ill call it my bi-colour z4m.

the hardtops worst angle imo....


perfectly aligned front gaps



side views




side gaps @ rear quarters.....



rear aspects



randoms









The WAT to close fitment of boot lid and rear glass of hardtop imo.... boot movement limiters are in place.






intercooler



meth injection coming soon and my custom spec 18s arrive next month hopefully.
with a new baby i havent seen this thing properly for 3 months, so its really nice to get some time in the sun to have a tinker!! Things have slowed down alot with this project as work and my little boy are taking up all my time, im hoping this year to really add some serious parts, i REALLY want to do the seats but no-one has a solution for the airbag light issue.

[Beedub]

to be fair, as this top is no discontinued, this thing came up at the right price and i kinda thought well for a car i plan to keep, this adds a new dimension, it feels like a different car now, all in all its 30 seconds to remove!! Sad thing is i think the car looks miles better!!! i love it however but thanks for the comments, i really dont mind constructive critism at all, its welcome!! :-) cheers guys!!