Remap for a 100k mile 3.0 m3 (E36)?

[TARMUNCHER]

Hi all,

Is it a wise investment, for a remap on a car with this mileage?
Anyone owned this car and had a remap?
Just wondering if it's worth the cash, some companies report a hike in power from 286 - 315!!!
Sounds a little optimistic to me from a NA engine. If not any other suggestions!

Appreciate your opinions if you've had the work carried out on a 3.0 M3.

Cheers

G

[rash_decision]

If the engine is still good, there is no reason why not to have it re-mapped. I re-mapped (or rather changed the chip back in the old days!!) an Astra 16v GTE years ago to use on track. Lifted the limiter to 9100rpm, if I remember correctly(?), with high lift cams. That car had 130k miles on it!! If this car can handle it on a track all day long, then I'm sure an M3 will handle it, they are pretty bulletproof! I had an E36 M3 3.0 years ago and had it on a rolling road as I felt it was quicker than my previous one. It was showing 308 BHP, the guy said he couldn't be sure if it had been re-mapped or was just a good engine, as he had seen before. Try and get it on teh rollers before and after to make a comparison. Go for it!!

[M3John]

Personally i wouldn't bother. I, like you, are always hankering for more power. Thought about a re-map but, if we're honest what am i going to gain. Probably very very little at all - maybe around 10hp if i'm lucky and have a following tail wind . I've had mine on the Dyno at Surrey Rolling Road and it came out with this :



Engine has never been apart. never blown up. 140k miles on the clock. Just well looked after with regular maintenance. If you want a increase in power (and trust me i'd love to) i think the only way your going to get a noticeable difference is to go down the route of forced induction.


M3J.

Edited by M3John on Saturday 10th April 17:01

[Neil.D]

On a highly stressed engine like the M3, you wont notice much. If anything then went wrong you would only curse the day you had it tinkered with - regardless of whether that was the cause.

My M3 evo made 323bhp on the rollers, which is probably way too high. A few months later it struggled to make 300.
I never trust Dyno's. They are OK for identifying flat spots and fueling but max power? Too many variables IMO. Fuel, ambient tempreature, operator error etc etc.

I seem to have digressed.

[TARMUNCHER]

Thanks for your posts so far!

[TheEnd]

In all fairness, you'd get to 300-ish, 14bhp is a bit more plausible and within reason.
You'll need a chip swap for a 3.0, if it is early, you can order a fit a chip yourself, if its a later car, you'll need the original chip read as it contains a serial number for the EWS immobiliser, or you get the immobiliser removed.

the changes would be felt more as sharper, more perky response, and more eager/connected to the engine.