E36 EVO - what chip for 320bhp

[rmn]

Hi lads after months and probably annoying people with the E36 questions(which one 3.0, gt or 3.2 etc) i have decided on one to buy, yay

its a 1997 evo, totally standard with good service history and spec, all its missing is a sun roof but i can live without that i am sure

now i know they made 320 bhp on 100 ron petrol, so whats the best chip to make it get that on the lower octane petrol we can only get?
not too concerned about a power hike but just to get the 320 would be enough.

Thanks

[RobbieM-Evo]

Hello mate, ask the boys over at www.e36coupe.com

[StuB]

Get your car dyno'd and checked by a proficient M fettler first as it may already produce 320 if sensibly modded, or it may be making poor numbers due to a component not working properly.

Does it have any fault codes stored already? Recent plugs? Why not run it on higher octane fuel (V Power/Tesco's 99 etc)?

I test drove an E36 Evo and thought it had less power than my old 328 made, so passed on it. I've also driven a number of MZ3's which seem to make varying amounts of power, so I think the power these motors is very sensitive to their general state of health/tlc.

[rmn]

thanks for the help, i know about the higher octane, but in Ireland we dont get 99 etc octane, its all 95!

As for the maintance on the engines, it does make a difference, and a big one at that.

I will pop onto e36coupe.com and ask the boys there.
Thanks

[oola]

For starters you'll be lucky if it kicks out the BMW claimed 321bhp. For an Evo, you will need a custom remap, not a chip which will increase power, fuel economy and iron out any flatspots.

Don't go down the cheap route either as you can do more harm than good.

PS if you are buying the car to be cost efficient, don't get an M3! Not being negative but having spent £7k in the past 12 months on mine, they're not cheap cars to run. Granted, some of my spend was on some track related upgrades, but I'd still want about a good £4k per annum in running costs, on top of fuel, insurance etc. An inspection 2 won't leave you any change from £800 PLUS parts and any labour ...

[naetype]

oola said:

An inspection 2 won't leave you any change from £800 PLUS parts and any labour ...

Where are you going to pay that! I've yet to break £400 for an inspection 2 (incl consumables and labour)

[rmn]

cheap is relative lol
no i am not buying it as a cheap run about, i am buying it to have some fun and not cost the earth to make 300 bhp,
why start with a slow car and make it fast when you can start with a fast car and just improve it

as for the 321 bhp i know it wont happen, its based on different fuel and everything, so it will be something to aim to get

[M3John]

naetype said:

oola said:

An inspection 2 won't leave you any change from £800 PLUS parts and any labour ...

Where are you going to pay that! I've yet to break £400 for an inspection 2 (incl consumables and labour)

I'll agree with the top qoute here. Sytner's and coopers quoted me the same, even if i shopped around i could get it for just over £700 but then there was a problem in getting back from the dealerships.

So where are you going for £400.

[M3John]

rmn said:

Hi lads after months and probably annoying people with the E36 questions(which one 3.0, gt or 3.2 etc) i have decided on one to buy, yay

its a 1997 evo, totally standard with good service history and spec, all its missing is a sun roof but i can live without that i am sure

now i know they made 320 bhp on 100 ron petrol, so whats the best chip to make it get that on the lower octane petrol we can only get?
not too concerned about a power hike but just to get the 320 would be enough.

Thanks

Give these guys a try www.thorneymotorsport.co.uk . They are very well known in BMW and especially BMW ///Motorsport tuning. Haven't looked at chipping/tuning mine (as i think its quick enough - although a supercharger may be on the cards ) but i honestly don't think it's going to work out that cheep/cost effective. You'll be better off going through the supercharger route....BIG bang for realitively small bucks.


M3John.

Edited by M3John on Monday 20th November 19:15

[mr_oversteer]

www.bexleymotorworks.com/ never heard a bad thing said about them, plus they know m-cars

[pentoman]

oola said:

For starters you'll be lucky if it kicks out the BMW claimed 321bhp. For an Evo, you will need a custom remap, not a chip which will increase power, fuel economy and iron out any flatspots

Out of interest (and not specific to this car) in an ideal world wouldn't it be better to work out the reason for the flat spot rather than adapt the engine management to work around it? Or not?

[M3John]

pentoman said:

oola said:

For starters you'll be lucky if it kicks out the BMW claimed 321bhp. For an Evo, you will need a custom remap, not a chip which will increase power, fuel economy and iron out any flatspots

Out of interest (and not specific to this car) in an ideal world wouldn't it be better to work out the reason for the flat spot rather than adapt the engine management to work around it? Or not?

Vixpy.

[maahny]

Different Dyno's will give different readings. When my car was standard it made 278bhp on one dyno and 290bhp on another. After a remap it made 308bhp and with an induction kit it made 318bhp on Bexley Motor Works dyno.

I think the flat spots are inherent in the way which the car is mapped as standard as all s50's have 2 noticable flat spots. A good remap will iron these out. Just make sure whoever does it can alter the vanos profile.

Edited by maahny on Thursday 23 November 12:00

[mansfa]

my ZMC (s50) has a flat spot at 2.5, I quite like the way it really starts to pull after that. My E36 EVO Coupe had the same flatspot, I think it's a trait of the engine.

Will get it remampped and induction kit fitted when I get bored, goodthing that is it's so silly quick, it's going to be a while...

[naetype]

M3John said:

naetype said:

oola said:

An inspection 2 won't leave you any change from £800 PLUS parts and any labour ...

Where are you going to pay that! I've yet to break £400 for an inspection 2 (incl consumables and labour)

I'll agree with the top qoute here. Sytner's and coopers quoted me the same, even if i shopped around i could get it for just over £700 but then there was a problem in getting back from the dealerships.

So where are you going for £400.

My bad, I wouldn't consider going to a dealer for an E36 service (though I'm sure I saw Chiltern BMW doing them for about £5-600). Any good indy would charge in the region of £400 and I use Ronnie Weaver in Glasgow. Have a look at this page - www.unixnerd.demon.co.uk/garages_scot.html - find R.W.Weaver on it and read the reviews

[rmn]

thanks for the input lads, got it last thursday
driven it all i can
there is a small flat spot at 2.5 like has been said but it pulls right to the line

going at lunch time to get all the filters for it(vanos included) to give it a full going over.
It needs some small tidying but what 9 year old car doesnt

out of interest what oil do people use in these engines?

[brady]

hows the car goin?

i use castrol rs(edge) 10w60, make sure to do the vanos bolts too, change the oil regularly and it should be fine as long as u let it warm up before givin it to it!

a mate of mine has an e36 m3, puts out 321bhp after remap with martin treacy

[taffyracer]

If you're upping the power you really should also look for a better oil, there is no better than Royal Purple, it's the only oil I run in the racer and in my daily driver, it's also what is being used in the BTCC and most of the Britcar BM's

[jp7152]

It's worth getting the valve clearances checked as when they are set up right it makes the engine feel just that bit more responsive.

My 3.2 Evo has a supersprint exhaust, live remap and induction kit and made 335bhp on optimax.

The Evos perform best after being driven hard, something to do with the control software apparently, so give it some beans for dynoing it.

[gatster]

name said:

£4k per annum in running costs

Seriously, what is this for? I'm getting an M3 EVO in the New Year, but can't afford this level of costs p/a!!!