ESS VT2-650 Build

Azlondon · 09-12-2012, 07:13 AM

Heres my build thread of my 2008 M3 in April. It came with DCT, EDC and all the usual features.

As good as it was, I couldn’t help but miss the power from my charged E46 so got in contact with Roy over at CA to discuss which way to go about adding some more power. We decided to go with the ESS VT2-650 kit as I had an ESS kit on my previous M and were happy with reliability and the performance.
Whilst waiting for the kit to arrive, CA and I went on to look at the safety and handling side of things. Stoptech BBK front and back were decided upon as were Eibach springs.

With the extra power I felt I needed larger width wheels and ordered in some VMR 710’s, 9.5 up front and 11 in the rear.

ESS recommends using race cats with the 650 kit so the challenge street x pipe was ordered as well as an Eisenmann race back box to add some beefy notes.

The ESS kit arrived and CA took care with the installation of the parts and with giving a red look to the ESS plenum to match the Stoptech brakes. The work was carried out at Autoenhance and the guys did a great job.

With the main work now completed I then spoke again with CA about the cosmetic side of things. The budget would only stretch for me to get a front splitter, rear diffuser and carbon spoiler so the custom front bumper will have to wait until Xmas!

I was confident in ESS’s Kits reliability as I had already tested it on my previous car however this new kit provided me with supercar levels of horsepower and so what better way to test it than to take it on long trip around Europe so last week I took part in the Cannonball 2000 and it handled the task very well, surprising many supercar owners. It was a great trip.

Big thanks have to go to CA for spending so much time and effort in the build of the car and get it to the spec it’s at right now. Their advice has been indispensable and couldn’t be happier with the work that was carried out.

Thanks for looking

m33 · 09-12-2012, 07:21 AM

Big baller STATUS !
You looked like a super star pulling up to all those flashing camera'....

IMG · 09-12-2012, 07:22 AM

Looks great and sounds mean,enjoy the power !

GOLFFRR · 09-12-2012, 08:08 AM

Beast!!! awesome

THE TECH · 09-12-2012, 08:16 AM

Nice mods!

spdy330 · 09-12-2012, 09:11 AM

Awesome!

sales@ESSTuning · 09-12-2012, 10:49 AM

Nice looking car

tom @ eas · 09-12-2012, 11:27 AM

Congrats on the new kit! Thanks for sharing.

flipm3 · 09-12-2012, 12:24 PM

Nice! Great to see more VT2-650s around the world.

I think you have the Challenge Sport, not Street

Keep up the great build!

Azlondon · 09-12-2012, 02:23 PM

Thanks for the kind comments guys, much appreciated. It's a great car, they should have them leaving the BMW factory with one of these strapped on!

You are correct, it is the sport and not street. Thanks for the heads up.

Azlondon · 01-19-2013, 04:03 PM

Here's a few recent pics

Groundpilot · 01-19-2013, 04:16 PM

Nice. Very nice looking front end.
I didnt know that bumper was available for our cars. Who makes them?

m33 · 01-19-2013, 04:19 PM

looking good

Azlondon · 01-19-2013, 04:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Groundpilot

Nice. Very nice looking front end.
I didnt know that bumper was available for our cars. Who makes them?

In the uk mstyle make them but in the US I think I read that auto couture are making the 1m style bumpers.

Azlondon · 01-19-2013, 04:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by m33

looking good

Thanks, you're car looks awesome.

daviomaron · 01-19-2013, 07:30 PM

Nice. Very nice looking front end.

brava09 · 01-20-2013, 12:30 AM

How is traction with all that power? What tires you use?

jonasaurus · 01-20-2013, 02:57 AM

Nice one mate, must be one of the only ones in Ldn with a 1M/M3 front bumper. LCI tail lights would be a great addition

Chriskm3 · 01-20-2013, 07:55 AM

Very good mods. Congrats and stay safe

Longboarder · 01-20-2013, 09:01 AM

Awesome job with your car. I want to hear more about the Cannonball parties

Azlondon · 01-21-2013, 07:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by daviomaron

Nice. Very nice looking front end.

Thanks, I'm currently wondering what to do with the back end as not loving the spoiler. Was eyeing up an Arkym trunk although been reading about some poor fitments coming out of them lately.

Quote:

Originally Posted by brava09

How is traction with all that power? What tires you use?

Traction is not a huge problem, I was expecting more issues but its not been so bad. Worst moment so far was going sideways on a drag strip with no DSC whilst pushing 90mph! But other than that it's mostly been trouble free.
I'm running pzero 295's but they measure a lot wider, more like 307 and I'm getting some rubbing so I'm thinking of trying some 305 conti's.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jonasaurus

Nice one mate, must be one of the only ones in Ldn with a 1M/M3 front bumper. LCI tail lights would be a great addition

You would think, when I collected my car it was one of four with the 1m bumper so i'm already eyeing up new options!!
I do need to arrange the LCI tail lights, think it really freshens up the rear end.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Longboarder

Awesome job with your car. I want to hear more about the Cannonball parties

Thanks. The parties were pretty good. Monte Carlo and Barcelona were amazing, would highly recommend going.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chriskm3

Very good mods. Congrats and stay safe

Always safety first.

Lalit@autocouture · 01-21-2013, 08:02 AM

Nice! Did you upgrade to the newer rod bearings?

09-12-2012, 07:13 AM	#1
Azlondon Enlisted Member 1 Rep 33 Posts Drives: E92 M3 ESS 650 Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: London iTrader: (0)	ESS VT2-650 Build Heres my build thread of my 2008 M3 in April. It came with DCT, EDC and all the usual features. As good as it was, I couldn’t help but miss the power from my charged E46 so got in contact with Roy over at CA to discuss which way to go about adding some more power. We decided to go with the ESS VT2-650 kit as I had an ESS kit on my previous M and were happy with reliability and the performance. Whilst waiting for the kit to arrive, CA and I went on to look at the safety and handling side of things. Stoptech BBK front and back were decided upon as were Eibach springs. With the extra power I felt I needed larger width wheels and ordered in some VMR 710’s, 9.5 up front and 11 in the rear. ESS recommends using race cats with the 650 kit so the challenge street x pipe was ordered as well as an Eisenmann race back box to add some beefy notes. The ESS kit arrived and CA took care with the installation of the parts and with giving a red look to the ESS plenum to match the Stoptech brakes. The work was carried out at Autoenhance and the guys did a great job. With the main work now completed I then spoke again with CA about the cosmetic side of things. The budget would only stretch for me to get a front splitter, rear diffuser and carbon spoiler so the custom front bumper will have to wait until Xmas! I was confident in ESS’s Kits reliability as I had already tested it on my previous car however this new kit provided me with supercar levels of horsepower and so what better way to test it than to take it on long trip around Europe so last week I took part in the Cannonball 2000 and it handled the task very well, surprising many supercar owners. It was a great trip. Big thanks have to go to CA for spending so much time and effort in the build of the car and get it to the spec it’s at right now. Their advice has been indispensable and couldn’t be happier with the work that was carried out. Thanks for looking
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09-12-2012, 07:21 AM	#2
m33 Banned 114 Rep 2,682 Posts Drives: E92 VT650 MCB Individual Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: CT iTrader: (5)	Big baller STATUS ! You looked like a super star pulling up to all those flashing camera'....
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09-12-2012, 07:22 AM	#3
IMG 1122 Rep 7,690 Posts Drives: E36 M3 Track car,Ess E90 M3 DD Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Location iTrader: (6)	Looks great and sounds mean,enjoy the power !
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09-12-2012, 08:08 AM	#4
GOLFFRR 10769 Rep 27,579 Posts Drives: GOLFFRR cart Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: we sell BMWs to "ALL" US states iTrader: (4)	Beast!!! awesome __________________ BEFORE YOU BUY YOUR NEXT BMW, EMAIL OUR GUY KOTE FIRST! Kote M Sales:Kotem@bmwofcamarillo.com Cell:805-368-9101 vipfinance@bmwofcamarillo.com for warranties!
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09-12-2012, 08:16 AM	#5
THE TECH BimmerPost Supporting Vendor 307 Rep 13,093 Posts Drives: BPMsport 2012 E92 M3 Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Kansas iTrader: (45) Garage List 2013 Nissan GTR [0.00] 2019 Sierra Denali ... [0.00] 1999 Nissan Silvia [0.00] 1999 Nissan Skyline ... [0.00] 1998 Toyota Supra [0.00]	Nice mods!
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09-12-2012, 09:11 AM	#6
spdy330 Major General 528 Rep 6,149 Posts Drives: 05 Tundra, 15 FIT, 17 CRV Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Chino Hills, CA iTrader: (163)	Awesome! __________________ If you will be purchasing ANY AT&T services online or in store could you mention that you were referred by me? My Employee Referral ID is eo4489. This would be a great help and it costs you nothing, thank you!
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09-12-2012, 10:49 AM	#7
sales@ESSTuning 390 Rep 3,149 Posts Drives: ESS M3 / M4 Join Date: May 2007 Location: AZ iTrader: (6)	Nice looking car
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09-12-2012, 11:27 AM	#8
tom @ eas BimmerPost Supporting Vendor 8105 Rep 18,794 Posts Drives: BMW Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Anaheim, CA iTrader: (19) Garage List 2018 BMW i3s [0.00] 2010 BMW M3 [6.50] 2015 BMW M4 [5.25]	Congrats on the new kit! Thanks for sharing. __________________ Tom G. \| european auto source (eas) email: tom@europeanautosource.com · web: https://europeanautosource.com· tel 866.669.0705 · ca: 714.369.8524 x22 GET DAILY UPDATES ON OUR BLOG · FACEBOOK · YOUTUBE · FLICKR · INSTAGRAM
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09-12-2012, 12:24 PM	#9
flipm3 E46 + E90 + F80 192 Rep 2,894 Posts Drives: E46 + E90 + F80 Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Illinois iTrader: (1) Garage List 2009 BMW M3 [0.00] 2002 BMW M3 [0.00]	Nice! Great to see more VT2-650s around the world. I think you have the Challenge Sport, not Street Keep up the great build! __________________ F80 M3 DCT\|Alpine White . Black Leather \| My Build Thread E90 M3 DCT\|Melbourne Red . Speed Cloth \| My Build Thread E46 M3 6MT\|Jet Black . Black Nappa Leather \| My Build Thread
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09-12-2012, 02:23 PM	#10
Azlondon Enlisted Member 1 Rep 33 Posts Drives: E92 M3 ESS 650 Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: London iTrader: (0)	Thanks for the kind comments guys, much appreciated. It's a great car, they should have them leaving the BMW factory with one of these strapped on! You are correct, it is the sport and not street. Thanks for the heads up.
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01-19-2013, 04:03 PM	#11
Azlondon Enlisted Member 1 Rep 33 Posts Drives: E92 M3 ESS 650 Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: London iTrader: (0)	Here's a few recent pics
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01-19-2013, 04:16 PM	#12
Groundpilot Banned 476 Rep 1,711 Posts Drives: 135I DCT , e92 M3 DCT, Audi A6 Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: long island,ny iTrader: (0)	Nice. Very nice looking front end. I didnt know that bumper was available for our cars. Who makes them?
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01-19-2013, 04:19 PM	#13
m33 Banned 114 Rep 2,682 Posts Drives: E92 VT650 MCB Individual Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: CT iTrader: (5)	looking good
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01-19-2013, 07:30 PM	#16
daviomaron New Member 0 Rep 7 Posts Drives: bmw Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: lopo iTrader: (0)	Nice. Very nice looking front end. __________________
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01-20-2013, 12:30 AM	#17
brava09 Lieutenant Colonel 767 Rep 1,683 Posts Drives: M4C xdrive Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Europe iTrader: (0)	How is traction with all that power? What tires you use? __________________ 22 M4 Competition xdrive 19 M5 Competition sold 16 F-Type S AWD sold 11 Audi RS5 Misano Red--sold 08 E92 M3 Jerez Black 6MT--sold 08 E92 335i 6MT traded in for M3
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01-20-2013, 02:57 AM	#18
jonasaurus Brigadier General 76 Rep 3,178 Posts Drives: E90 M3 [Sold] Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: NYC iTrader: (0)	Nice one mate, must be one of the only ones in Ldn with a 1M/M3 front bumper. LCI tail lights would be a great addition __________________ ///M3 \| E90 LCI \| Space Grey \| Fox Red with CF Structure \| 6MT \| 260M \| My build
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01-20-2013, 07:55 AM	#19
Chriskm3 Colonel 59 Rep 2,186 Posts Drives: M3 Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: Toronto iTrader: (4)	Very good mods. Congrats and stay safe
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01-20-2013, 09:01 AM	#20
Longboarder Major General 3427 Rep 6,769 Posts Drives: 2016 BMW i8 Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Monarch Beach iTrader: (1) Garage List 2012 BMW e92 M3 [0.00] 2021 BMW X5M [10.00] 2015 Porsche 991 Tu ... [10.00] 2015 Porsche 991 GT3 [10.00]	Awesome job with your car. I want to hear more about the Cannonball parties __________________ Current BMWs: 2022 X5 40i, 2016 X5 50i 2015 Porsche 991 Turbo S 1979 Porsche 911 Turbo a couple others IG: longboarder949; YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCT1...eoFBszPIK0gf9w
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01-21-2013, 08:02 AM	#22
Lalit@autocouture BimmerPost Supporting Vendor 374 Rep 1,374 Posts Drives: Tributo, Superfast, M5cs Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: 201 iTrader: (2)	Nice! Did you upgrade to the newer rod bearings?
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