ESS Supercharger for E46 M3?

[130R]

Has anyone here had an ESS Supercharger fitted to their E46 M3 or CSL? If so what do you think of the performance / driveability? I'm specifically wondering about the VT460 kit.

[chrispedoe]

Don't know if you've seen the site but log onto e46fanatics.com and there is tons of reviews on the ess kits. Flavour of the month seems to be the HPF turbo kit though

[130R]

chrispedoe said:

Don't know if you've seen the site but log onto e46fanatics.com and there is tons of reviews on the ess kits. Flavour of the month seems to be the HPF turbo kit though

Thanks there is some good info on there.

ESS are releasing a stage 2 kit in the summer which is the VT450 kit + 7.5 PSI IC on a stock engine. The VT450 costs around £5K installed I think and the stage 2 upgrade kit will be around $2K (or £1K) + installation, so it should keep the money pretty reasonable. The dyno I have seen for this kit showed 481 hp @ the wheels. To go more than that you need lowered compression forged pistons.

The HPF turbo kit is serious power but serious $$$$

[M5Pilot]

Active Autowerke kits are also excellent. Been around for ages and a very proven formula with genuine 500+ capability.

ESS are very popular also and seem to be more talked about recently but that's more to do with the fact that they are a newer alternative.