Looking for a supercharger kit for e92 m3

[gucci_79]

Anyone know of a supercharger kit made for e92 m3 that is not too much money?

[J08M3]

http://www.m3post.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=294

[AJ@ESS]

ESS VT1-535, complete SC systems starting at USD 8595.

http://www.esstuning.com/categories/...252dSeries/M3/

[SV Concepts II]

ESS / AA. Nuff said.

[sehrgut]

I've heard great things about Gintani. Should look into that!

[rAdzM]

Originally Posted by AJ@ESS

ESS VT1-535, complete SC systems starting at USD 8595.

http://www.esstuning.com/categories/...252dSeries/M3/

had a ride on this set-up and it's

[Ferre86]

This RPI full system chance to throw a cel light ? its a pretty straight system though..

[EAS]

Stay tuned for the VF- Engineering kit

[Raz@Gintani]

Here is a video that one of our customers Drew (DLSJ5) made for our stage 2+ S/C kit. We also offer a stage 1 and 2.

[E90///M3`]

Originally Posted by AJ@ESS

ESS VT1-535, complete SC systems starting at USD 8595.

http://www.esstuning.com/categories/...252dSeries/M3/

yeah, i've had this kit for about a month now and i LOVE it! for an entry level kit and for the price... i'm definitely satisfied, for now

Originally Posted by radz182

had a ride on this set-up and it's

[Bimmer Nerd]

Originally Posted by Raz@Gintani

Here is a video that one of our customers Drew (DLSJ5) made for our stage 2+ S/C kit. We also offer a stage 1 and 2.

+1 for gintani, heard nothing but the best !

[Jscopus]

AA is just releasing their Stage 1 kit and it makes mad power for a stage 1 (580 HP) but it is not cheap compared to the ESS at $13,500. But a much cleaner look and much more power. The Gintani makes crazy power too but I think has to rely more on its personality than looks. Not a real pretty OEMesque look. I am looking for moderate power as well as I am more concerned with becoming another blown forced induction M3. I think if AA would put out a 525-540 HP with good torque boost (like the 500 HP G-power unit) that was a group buy, it might get some people that are on the "don't boost (or at least run high boost) a high compression engine" fence. There is no doubt the built NA engines are more bullet proof. But you can't get anywhere near the kind of HP for the dollar kick you get from forced induction. Really a quandry.

[termsheet]

I just installed the ESS VT-575 a few weeks ago. I was doing the same research you are about 2-3 months ago and this is what I found. There are basically 4 kits out now. GPower from Germany, ESS from Arizona/Norway, AA from Florida and Gintani from SoCal. VF is also developing a kit, but I don't believe you can buy it. There may be more. Again, this is my research and it may not be completely accurate.

Several GPower owners around the world have reported motor failures including a couple in SoCal. I do not know if the flaw in this kit has been remedied but I read enough stories on the topic that I decided to stay away from GPower simply because I value reliability above all else.

If you read enough posts, including other forums, you will learn that there is a lot of drama between the ESS camp and the Gintani camp. In short, the Gintani camp accuses the ESS camp of inflating dyno numbers arguing that their kits don't produce as much power as advertised. There is also some dispute from Powerchip that the Gintani software was developed as a derivative of the GPower software. This arises out of a former Powerchip employee leaving to start OE Tuning who provides software for Gintani. Some believe that a couple of Gintani cars had failed motors and attributed the failures to the Gintani kits or the OE Software. There is more, but my version of someone else's bad drama won't help you find out which kit is best for you so I'll leave it at that.

The amount of time people spend on these forums defending the kit they bought and attacking the others led me to the realization that no one on these boards will probably ever agree on the "best kit". So, I made a few phone calls to try to develop my own opinion.

The Gintani customers on this board rave about their service. I am in SoCal so I liked the idea of doing business with a local shop that has a good reputation. I had a good conversation with Gintani about their kit. They have a meth option which I like because it means more power on our crappy 91 gas. The negative takeaways for me were 1) They had installed less than 10 kits 2) They tune all sorts of cars besides BMW (I like focus) and 3) At the time they didn't even have a website (they did have a facebook page). For me the lack of a website made me question just how serious they were as a company. I just checked and they do have a website now.

I also called ESS. I liked that all ESS did was BMW. During our call Roman said they had over 60 e90/92/93 kits installed and had not had one reported engine failure. That one statement carried a lot of weight with me because again, I value reliability.

After speaking with both companies I feel like I could have done business with either one. Both seemed very knowledgable, Gintani perhaps a bit more enthusiastic. I think both companies will stand behind their products. I just had a little more confidence in the ESS kit because of their BMW only focus and the number of installs. I just wish they were local. Also, I was not trying to squeeze every last HP out of the car. My thinking was that even if it is true that the Gintani kit produces a bit more power and the ESS numbers are inflated, I didn't care because I value power less than I value reliability. This is why there are different kits for different people.

Shortly after I purchased the ESS kit, AA announced their kit. Again, I like the fact that they have a meth option. I also know they thoroughly test their kits having had so much experience supercharging e46s. I would have given AA a hard look had the kit been available when I was ordering. Specifically I would have probed on how many kits had been tested, installed, etc. to gauge what kind of reliability I could expect.

Finally, different people value different things.

Some want the absolute most HP because they are going to the drag strip, rocking vBoxes down the toll road or mexico, or some other reason. I think all other things being equal, meth equipped kits will make more power on bad gas. At this point no one really knows which kit makes the most power because no one has used the same gas on the same dyno on the same day with the same supporting mods on each of the different kits. It's all hearsay with uncontrolled variables. There is someone trying to organize a dyno day with representation from each company, but as one might expect even this has created loads of drama. You will be shocked to learn that getting all of the different companies to show up on the same day is proving difficult. Motives are being questioned by all parties and it's the customers that lose. It's too bad because we all want to know that the best mods are for the price and our individual tuning objectives. Since I would have loved knowing which kit does produce the most power, all other things being equal, when I was buying, I will try to make my car available if the dyno day ever comes together as one example of an ESS VT-575.

Some people are tight on cash and are looking for the most bang for the buck. I think the ESS VT-525 kit shines in the value category.

Some people care about how the kit looks. Appearance is subjective. I could care less what the kit looks like because I don't show off my engine.

Others, like me, care about reliability. At the time of my purchase, with the information I had, I felt like ESS had the best probability of being reliable. So that is the kit I bought. The right kit for you will depend on which factors you value. Do your own detective work. You may care about something I haven't even thought about. Anyway, hope that helps.

[Jscopus]

Have gone through a similar process and came up with the same usual suspects. Like yourself I am more concerned about reliability that maximal HP. Living on the East Coast, I have the benefit of readily available 93 octane gas, so I look at the meth option as unnecessary at the HP level I am looking for. It is just one less thing to be a problem if you don't need it. I was also initially interested in the G-power setup. Much of it because of there long history of making power for BMW's. It was not the blown engines that turned me off, everyone of those companies has blown their share of engines. Might have been their price point, as I had talked to them through email and initially thought things would work out. They had a promotion for their Stage 1 that passed and they would not honor the sale price after, etc. And the sale price was not that cheap. Appearance is not everything, but the Gitani is fairly butt ugly compared to the G-power and AA units. It is sort of a turn off that ESS is all over ebay. So, am thinking about the AA kit but would (really) prefer a Stage 1 kit that did not make 580. Perhaps in the 525-530 range. More torque and HP than stock, but as low boost as possible. Have friends that tell me I will have annoying problems on a regular basis with belts, unexplained stalls, etc. But don't want to put $25-30,000 to get a more reliable NA setup that puts out 500+ HP.

[AJ@ESS]

We do not market our products on Ebay, and to my knowledge none of our dealers do either. If you see any ESS products listed on Ebay, be very careful and double check listing accuracy and seller feedback before purchasing.

[sales@ESSTuning]

Originally Posted by Jscopus

Have gone through a similar process and came up with the same usual suspects. Like yourself I am more concerned about reliability that maximal HP. Living on the East Coast, I have the benefit of readily available 93 octane gas, so I look at the meth option as unnecessary at the HP level I am looking for. It is just one less thing to be a problem if you don't need it. I was also initially interested in the G-power setup. Much of it because of there long history of making power for BMW's. It was not the blown engines that turned me off, everyone of those companies has blown their share of engines. Might have been their price point, as I had talked to them through email and initially thought things would work out. They had a promotion for their Stage 1 that passed and they would not honor the sale price after, etc. And the sale price was not that cheap. Appearance is not everything, but the Gitani is fairly butt ugly compared to the G-power and AA units. It is sort of a turn off that ESS is all over ebay. So, am thinking about the AA kit but would (really) prefer a Stage 1 kit that did not make 580. Perhaps in the 525-530 range. More torque and HP than stock, but as low boost as possible. Have friends that tell me I will have annoying problems on a regular basis with belts, unexplained stalls, etc. But don't want to put $25-30,000 to get a more reliable NA setup that puts out 500+ HP.

Please do not buy ESS advertised products off Ebay ! We do not authorize the sale of our products thru Ebay. We get calls often from people being scammed that are often told they are getting an authentic and often brand new ESS product only to receive a box of random supercharger hardware. If you ever have a question on a dealer advertising our products please contact me directly. We only support and warranty products purchased direct from us or direct from an authorized reseller.

[termsheet]

If you are looking for 525 HP and you care about reliability and value I would steer you to that ESS-525 or 535 whatever it is. Its a great kit for the money. My 575 is quiet, so far dead reliable and it was easy to install. Even if there is one on EBAY I would buy direct from ESS or a solid dealer who will back you up in case there is a warranty issue. I failed to mention that I am really happy with mine.

[duk]

Originally Posted by termsheet

I just installed the ESS VT-575 a few weeks ago. I was doing the same research you are about 2-3 months ago and this is what I found. There are basically 4 kits out now. GPower from Germany, ESS from Arizona/Norway, AA from Florida and Gintani from SoCal. VF is also developing a kit, but I don't believe you can buy it. There may be more. Again, this is my research and it may not be completely accurate.

Several GPower owners around the world have reported motor failures including a couple in SoCal. I do not know if the flaw in this kit has been remedied but I read enough stories on the topic that I decided to stay away from GPower simply because I value reliability above all else.

If you read enough posts, including other forums, you will learn that there is a lot of drama between the ESS camp and the Gintani camp. In short, the Gintani camp accuses the ESS camp of inflating dyno numbers arguing that their kits don't produce as much power as advertised. There is also some dispute from Powerchip that the Gintani software was developed as a derivative of the GPower software. This arises out of a former Powerchip employee leaving to start OE Tuning who provides software for Gintani. Some believe that a couple of Gintani cars had failed motors and attributed the failures to the Gintani kits or the OE Software. There is more, but my version of someone else's bad drama won't help you find out which kit is best for you so I'll leave it at that.

The amount of time people spend on these forums defending the kit they bought and attacking the others led me to the realization that no one on these boards will probably ever agree on the "best kit". So, I made a few phone calls to try to develop my own opinion.

The Gintani customers on this board rave about their service. I am in SoCal so I liked the idea of doing business with a local shop that has a good reputation. I had a good conversation with Gintani about their kit. They have a meth option which I like because it means more power on our crappy 91 gas. The negative takeaways for me were 1) They had installed less than 10 kits 2) They tune all sorts of cars besides BMW (I like focus) and 3) At the time they didn't even have a website (they did have a facebook page). For me the lack of a website made me question just how serious they were as a company. I just checked and they do have a website now.

I also called ESS. I liked that all ESS did was BMW. During our call Roman said they had over 60 e90/92/93 kits installed and had not had one reported engine failure. That one statement carried a lot of weight with me because again, I value reliability.

After speaking with both companies I feel like I could have done business with either one. Both seemed very knowledgable, Gintani perhaps a bit more enthusiastic. I think both companies will stand behind their products. I just had a little more confidence in the ESS kit because of their BMW only focus and the number of installs. I just wish they were local. Also, I was not trying to squeeze every last HP out of the car. My thinking was that even if it is true that the Gintani kit produces a bit more power and the ESS numbers are inflated, I didn't care because I value power less than I value reliability. This is why there are different kits for different people.

Shortly after I purchased the ESS kit, AA announced their kit. Again, I like the fact that they have a meth option. I also know they thoroughly test their kits having had so much experience supercharging e46s. I would have given AA a hard look had the kit been available when I was ordering. Specifically I would have probed on how many kits had been tested, installed, etc. to gauge what kind of reliability I could expect.

Finally, different people value different things.

Some want the absolute most HP because they are going to the drag strip, rocking vBoxes down the toll road or mexico, or some other reason. I think all other things being equal, meth equipped kits will make more power on bad gas. At this point no one really knows which kit makes the most power because no one has used the same gas on the same dyno on the same day with the same supporting mods on each of the different kits. It's all hearsay with uncontrolled variables. There is someone trying to organize a dyno day with representation from each company, but as one might expect even this has created loads of drama. You will be shocked to learn that getting all of the different companies to show up on the same day is proving difficult. Motives are being questioned by all parties and it's the customers that lose. It's too bad because we all want to know that the best mods are for the price and our individual tuning objectives. Since I would have loved knowing which kit does produce the most power, all other things being equal, when I was buying, I will try to make my car available if the dyno day ever comes together as one example of an ESS VT-575.

Some people are tight on cash and are looking for the most bang for the buck. I think the ESS VT-525 kit shines in the value category.

Some people care about how the kit looks. Appearance is subjective. I could care less what the kit looks like because I don't show off my engine.

Others, like me, care about reliability. At the time of my purchase, with the information I had, I felt like ESS had the best probability of being reliable. So that is the kit I bought. The right kit for you will depend on which factors you value. Do your own detective work. You may care about something I haven't even thought about. Anyway, hope that helps.

this is an excellent write up

[m33]

I valued reliability and longevity that's why I went ESS VT2 600 , I put 15k miles on it and got better gas milage and not 1 hiccup and raw dog power !
Also I'm still on my stock clutch and holding strong with 42k miles on the car ....
My check list has been checked out and I'm a happy camper ...
So happy that I have opt to the upgrade kit VT2 625 =)
Termsheet wrote the most honest , accurate write up to date on M3 post !!!

[Eugene-TAIWAN]

AA, Gintani, ESS, Gpower, VF

take your pick.

Gintani is very fast

Gpower is good

ESS never seen head to head with Gintani (but also good)

AA just release (mani looks sick)

VF released for a while but no vids. no times, just pictures (no feeling the mani)

[Bob MG]

I heard that the ESS kits are unbelievably awesome!
Nothing but the best

[TheKosherStogie]

So far both gintani and ess have proved reliable...niterider has a gintani kit and i believe is around 20-25,000 on the kit w/ no issues...I had the gintani kit w/ no problems for around 7k miles but sold my car, but drove the he'll out of it, same goes for Niterider, with track days and canyon runs quite often. I'm sure gintani, ess, or aa can make you a kit that will put out the desired amount of power u want no problem.