Ess vt-535 kit owners...

[Kenyon]

AJ, can we purchase and use the ESS Direct Flash instead of sending out the ECU to you guys when installing the VT535?

[AJ@ESS]

Originally Posted by Kenyon

AJ, can we purchase and use the ESS Direct Flash instead of sending out the ECU to you guys when installing the VT535?

No, it can be used for mapswitching after the ESS SC software is loaded on ECU.

[AJ@ESS]

Originally Posted by g2

Do the SC cars pass emission inspections with stock cats?

What about these high flow 100 cell cats?

Stock cats are no problem, race cats varies widely in function.

[powertrip]

AJ, what is the usual difference in intake temperature that you see when comparing the 535 kit to the 575 kit?

Originally Posted by AJ@ESS

Quite easy: You replace the intake manifold, install the IC circuit, change pulley/belt and load new software. Around 5K in cost.

Personally I am a big VT1-535 fan, the kit is so simple to install and provides a massive power gain at reasonable cost. Since it is only 4.5PSI, and our SC air intake system is very efficient, heat development is not an issue at all.

[chris s]

Originally Posted by powertrip

AJ, what is the usual difference in intake temperature that you see when comparing the 535 kit to the 575 kit?

I'd be curious about this as well!

[DublinM3]

I have had a chance to spend some time with my VT1-535 kit and can tell you the following.

-The kit performs without issue on the track. Never had any temp issues or performance issues.

-The car drives like factory, very smooth and predictable performance during WOT and partial throttle. Tuning on the kit is spot on.

- Silent operation, very little sound from the blower. Most people have no idea my car has a SC unless I tell them.

-The motor makes power like a standard NA motor, no lag or hesitation. Throttle response is razor sharp at all RPM's.

-100% bolt on with no drilling or cutting into the factory engine bay, oil pan etc.. changing the blower oil is a snap takes about 10 min.

-Big difference in power over NA.

-Customer support is top notch.

I will be posting some videos soon of my car VS a friends stock M3 for comparison. Anyone considering the VT1 should just buy it, you won't be disappointed.

[chris s]

DublinM3....where are you located...what type of outside temps is the car being exposed to generally? Dublin?

[AJ@ESS]

Originally Posted by powertrip

AJ, what is the usual difference in intake temperature that you see when comparing the 535 kit to the 575 kit?

VT2-575 under full load is 8-15C over ambient.
VT1-535 under full load is 20-30C over ambient.

During VT1-535 testing we ran the intercooled VT2 manifold on the VT1-535 boost level and compared performance. The difference was less than 10whp, and it could not be felt in the car at all. In our experience the point where chargecooling really starts to matter is ~7PSI, below this boost level the benefits are marginal.

This is of course heavily dependant on a proper cool air feed to the SC inlet. If you run a SC with engine bay mounted air intake, intercooling becomes much more important as the air you start out with pre-compressor is usually much warmer.

[AJ@ESS]

Originally Posted by chris s

DublinM3....where are you located...what type of outside temps is the car being exposed to generally? Dublin?

We have tested the VT1-535 up to 125F. No overheating problems whatsoever.

[ssabripo]

Originally Posted by DublinM3

I have had a chance to spend some time with my VT1-535 kit and can tell you the following.

-The kit performs without issue on the track. Never had any temp issues or performance issues.
................

Dublin,
can you expand on this comment? One of my biggest gripes/fears with this kit is track use, specially here in florida with very hot weather 10 months out of the year, and pretty chaotic heat in the summer.

I can see no issues with daily driving and an occassional spirited driving during the hot months, but in may or september when I'm still in the track, and temps are still in the 90's (100's at track level), I'm not sure how it would behave with continuous use.

any insight from you or ESS reps on the vt-535 in track use with hot temps would be appreciated, not just the usual sales spill.

[sales@ESSTuning]

Originally Posted by ssabripo

Dublin,
can you expand on this comment? One of my biggest gripes/fears with this kit is track use, specially here in florida with very hot weather 10 months out of the year, and pretty chaotic heat in the summer.

I can see no issues with daily driving and an occassional spirited driving during the hot months, but in may or september when I'm still in the track, and temps are still in the 90's (100's at track level), I'm not sure how it would behave with continuous use.

any insight from you or ESS reps on the vt-535 in track use with hot temps would be appreciated, not just the usual sales spill.

There are several factors to take into consideration with the design of the VT1 that allow it to be perfectly reliable in all conditions.

First the heat generated by 4.5 psi even in 120+ deg ambient temps would never cause the car to overheat unless the factory cooling system failed. There is nothing obstructing the factory cooling system with the VT1-535. The Vortech blower used is self lubricated and does not share oil with the motor, this allows engine oil temps to be unaffected. All versions of our VT supercharger kits draw air from the front of the vehicle which allows the system to start with the lowest intake air temps possible. We run richer AFR's during WOT on the VT1 kit which allows the fuel to work as additional cooling for the cylinders. All of these factors play a roll in our VT1's performance. In reality you could run a VT2 at the track on a hot day with the cooling system disabled and still be fine. Will increased ambient temps affect performance? sure but this same rule applies for all NA cars also.

Just because a system has chargecooling does not mean it is guaranteed to work properly in all conditions. A poorly designed intercooled kit with higher boost on this car could very easily run hotter on the track than our VT1-535.

[smmmurf]

Originally Posted by Rom3n

There are several factors to take into consideration with the design of the VT1 that allow it to be perfectly reliable in all conditions.

First the heat generated by 4.5 psi even in 120+ deg ambient temps would never cause the car to overheat unless the factory cooling system failed. There is nothing obstructing the factory cooling system with the VT1-535. The Vortech blower used is self lubricated and does not share oil with the motor, this allows engine oil temps to be unaffected. All versions of our VT supercharger kits draw air from the front of the vehicle which allows the system to start with the lowest intake air temps possible. We run richer AFR's during WOT on the VT1 kit which allows the fuel to work as additional cooling for the cylinders. All of these factors play a roll in our VT1's performance. In reality you could run a VT2 at the track on a hot day with the cooling system disabled and still be fine. Will increased ambient temps affect performance? sure but this same rule applies for all NA cars also.

Just because a system has chargecooling does not mean it is guaranteed to work properly in all conditions. A poorly designed intercooled kit with higher boost on this car could very easily run hotter on the track than our VT1-535.

How safe is this in terms of long term wear on the engine? What does the additional boost and power strain? Is it the revs that wear the motor or the extra torque or... help me understand.

How does the pressure affect the cylinders and compression ratio (the M3 has a very high comp motor for 91 octane in CA)?

Thanks!

[sales@ESSTuning]

Originally Posted by smmmurf

How safe is this in terms of long term wear on the engine? What does the additional boost and power strain? Is it the revs that wear the motor or the extra torque or... help me understand.

How does the pressure affect the cylinders and compression ratio (the M3 has a very high comp motor for 91 octane in CA)?

Thanks!

Obviously the more power you add to a car the more strain you put on the motor and the drivetrain. Based on our testing we have set boost / power levels on all of our kits and tuned them to allow the motor a normal life with proper safety margin. Trying to squeeze the absolute most power you can from a motor will always cause you a trade off in reliability. This is why we always try to find a nice balance between performance and safety with our products.

Unlike motors with lower CR these motors can only run a certain amount of boost safely before you run the risk of damage regardless of fuel quality. You can run slighty more boost with better fuel but to to push beyond these limits properly it will require a lower CR conversion.

[WERKE]

Personally I am a big VT1-535 fan, the kit is so simple to install and provides a massive power gain at reasonable cost. Since it is only 4.5PSI, and our SC air intake system is very efficient, heat development is not an issue at all.[/QUOTE]


Hi AJ

you'll soon be my ECU into your capable hands, make sure that I become your best advertisement for VT535 ... ESS will not regret it!

[AJ@ESS]

Hi AJ

you'll soon be my ECU into your capable hands, make sure that I become your best advertisement for VT535 ... ESS will not regret it!

You will absolutely love it, guaranteed..

[Darth335]

This is really making me want to pick one up.

Dublin,

Do you have a record of how many miles your customers of current VT supercharger kits have racked up on them? I am curious if we have any SC M3 owners that have the kit on the car for 40K miles+.

Like most here, I am looking to push some extra power out of my M, and the N/A mods are nice, but only getting 40-50whp max with a considerable investment can be hard to swallow. I am not planning to tracking my car every weekend, perhaps once or twice, but I could use a bit more torque and power, in the most reliable F/I way.

I would suppose my main question is that can I have the VTI-535 for 50K+ miles as a daily driver? Do we have any owners on this board that have hit that mileage with a ESS kit?

Thanks

[powertrip]

Great info there, AJ. Thanks!

Originally Posted by AJ@ESS

VT2-575 under full load is 8-15C over ambient.
VT1-535 under full load is 20-30C over ambient.

During VT1-535 testing we ran the intercooled VT2 manifold on the VT1-535 boost level and compared performance. The difference was less than 10whp, and it could not be felt in the car at all. In our experience the point where chargecooling really starts to matter is ~7PSI, below this boost level the benefits are marginal.

This is of course heavily dependant on a proper cool air feed to the SC inlet. If you run a SC with engine bay mounted air intake, intercooling becomes much more important as the air you start out with pre-compressor is usually much warmer.

[sales@ESSTuning]

Originally Posted by Darth335

This is really making me want to pick one up.

Dublin,

Do you have a record of how many miles your customers of current VT supercharger kits have racked up on them? I am curious if we have any SC M3 owners that have the kit on the car for 40K miles+.

Like most here, I am looking to push some extra power out of my M, and the N/A mods are nice, but only getting 40-50whp max with a considerable investment can be hard to swallow. I am not planning to tracking my car every weekend, perhaps once or twice, but I could use a bit more torque and power, in the most reliable F/I way.

I would suppose my main question is that can I have the VTI-535 for 50K+ miles as a daily driver? Do we have any owners on this board that have hit that mileage with a ESS kit?

Thanks

150k + miles would not be a problem as long as you did proper maintenance on the car. We have customers running 50k + miles on the E9X M3 VT kits currently without any issues. Our car here in AZ used for testing has 30k + miles of very hard testing and has been running perfect. We have many cars well over 100k miles that run our other BMW supercharger systems without issues. As long as you keep things safe and take care of your engine you can have normal engine life with FI.

[Scarafin]

The figure quoted of 535 hp, is that with a stock exhaust? With say an Akro full system do you modify the software to suit? And if so what ballpark figure is achievable with the VT1?

Scarafin

[m33]

I had 46k miles on my sedan without one hiccup .

[1cleanm6]

ess as you can tell theres a lot of interest...

get a groupbuy going pweeze

[BarryC]

one question regarding hp increase in combination with other mods - since I have hfc's/xpipe and an exhaust - will I get 110hp increase on top of what I have currently or just over stock? I would assume a free flowing exhaust would bump the hp above the advertised 535 correct?

Thx,
BC