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      04-11-2018, 09:06 PM   #1
NeverL8
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Question Pre-purchase inspection...Supercharged?

Hi everyone! Is there a way to check if the car has been supercharged prior to purchasing it? Is there any specific items to check for? I’m assuming not, but hopefully someone might shed some light on this.
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      04-11-2018, 09:43 PM   #2
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Hi, I am curious of that myself. I just bought a 2009 m3 myself. Owner told me car was unmolested bone stock, however ppi found intake duct missing, which i didnt think until after i purchased it that the seller could have had an sc on it and removed it before selling it and calling it "unmolested". Car appears to drive fine however so far.
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      04-11-2018, 10:19 PM   #3
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Check service history. If car ever been to BMW they would have noted. However unlikely but good place to start.
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      04-11-2018, 10:37 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by glacket View Post
Hi, I am curious of that myself. I just bought a 2009 m3 myself. Owner told me car was unmolested bone stock, however ppi found intake duct missing, which i didnt think until after i purchased it that the seller could have had an sc on it and removed it before selling it and calling it "unmolested". Car appears to drive fine however so far.
I was just about to buy a R35 GT-R, the night before going to visit the dealer after talking on the phone I thought this has to be too good to be true.

I indepth look at every picture then it hits me.

The damn thing is missing its airboxes.

It had modified intakes which after research require a tune, so either A. it was modded secretly and tried to be sold without mentioning or B. no tune and potential problems because of an intake that needs a tune that does not have one
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      04-12-2018, 06:16 AM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dkracing View Post
I was just about to buy a R35 GT-R, the night before going to visit the dealer after talking on the phone I thought this has to be too good to be true.

I indepth look at every picture then it hits me.

The damn thing is missing its airboxes.

It had modified intakes which after research require a tune, so either A. it was modded secretly and tried to be sold without mentioning or B. no tune and potential problems because of an intake that needs a tune that does not have one
You can run 2.75" intakes on a GTR and not put a tune in it. FYI.
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      04-12-2018, 07:45 AM   #6
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Depends on the supercharger kit. I am not sure about the harrop kit and AA kit. As for the ESS and VF kits, the smallest kit offered doesn't have an intercooler so I cannot think of any way to identify to identify if it had that kit.

Most cars get the larger kits (ie 595,620,625,650). These kits run an intercooler and you have to cut out and permanently remove some trim in the front of the car behind the front bumper around the oil cooler. There is vertical slats that get cut out. I will see if I can source a picture. That's the best thing to look for.

In my opinion, I wouldn't be worried if the car was previously supercharged as these motors have just as many failures N/A as the do supercharged. A good PPI should tell you everything you need to know. You could pay for a Blackstone report if you are paranoid that MAY pick up an internal engine issue.
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      04-12-2018, 08:33 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by thetastelingers View Post
You can run 2.75" intakes on a GTR and not put a tune in it. FYI.
They were 3 inch intakes.
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      04-12-2018, 09:16 AM   #8
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A thorough PPI, including compression tests, will give you a pretty good idea what condition the engine and ancillary components are in. This is your principal concern with repect to a car that has been supercharged. If the wear appears excessive, walk away.
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      04-12-2018, 09:56 AM   #9
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Certainly not conclusive, but check the condition of all four tires and the date codes!
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      04-12-2018, 11:24 AM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by eatsleepboost View Post
Depends on the supercharger kit. I am not sure about the harrop kit and AA kit. As for the ESS and VF kits, the smallest kit offered doesn't have an intercooler so I cannot think of any way to identify to identify if it had that kit.

Most cars get the larger kits (ie 595,620,625,650). These kits run an intercooler and you have to cut out and permanently remove some trim in the front of the car behind the front bumper around the oil cooler. There is vertical slats that get cut out. I will see if I can source a picture. That's the best thing to look for.

In my opinion, I wouldn't be worried if the car was previously supercharged as these motors have just as many failures N/A as the do supercharged. A good PPI should tell you everything you need to know. You could pay for a Blackstone report if you are paranoid that MAY pick up an internal engine issue.
Thank you for the reply, I’m little bit worried about the main bearings condition after a supercharger, from what I’ve read on here, most of main bearing Failures happen on a SC engines due to too much load on #1 main. As for the RB, I will get that replaced within first week of purchasing the car.
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      04-12-2018, 02:13 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by UPSROD View Post
Certainly not conclusive, but check the condition of all four tires and the date codes!
How would this indicate supercharged history?
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      04-12-2018, 02:15 PM   #12
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Simply abusing the car!
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      04-12-2018, 03:07 PM   #13
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For ESS kits, you drill an extra hole in a water hose bracket to relocate it a little lower. You could pull the airbox (very easy) and look for this:



For VF kits, you have to drill out the front right airbox mounting tab to mount the intake pipe. That would be easy to spot.

These signs would be present regardless of whether an intercooled or non-intercooled kit was used. Any intercooled kit would have required cutting of the front clip so you could look for that.
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      04-12-2018, 03:12 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TheRussski View Post
Thank you for the reply, I’m little bit worried about the main bearings condition after a supercharger, from what I’ve read on here, most of main bearing Failures happen on a SC engines due to too much load on #1 main. As for the RB, I will get that replaced within first week of purchasing the car.
There is a handful of mains on here that have failed at as low as 30k miles on a completely stock engine. I have read about more mains on stock engines than charged ones. Just buying a s65 main and rod bearings are a concern. Appears to be less than a 1% failure for both but it's talked about so much due to the high cost of the engine.



Lyzmi good point on the coolant line. That's a great check.
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      04-13-2018, 08:00 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by eatsleepboost View Post
There is a handful of mains on here that have failed at as low as 30k miles on a completely stock engine. I have read about more mains on stock engines than charged ones. Just buying a s65 main and rod bearings are a concern. Appears to be less than a 1% failure for both but it's talked about so much due to the high cost of the engine.



Lyzmi good point on the coolant line. That's a great check.
The N/A sample size is so much larger than the supercharged sample size. So, just comparing the total number of occurrences within each isn't giving you an accurate picture.
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