VF620 Self Install

[VF-Engineering]

Great job on the DIY! Congrats!

[Longbow64]

Originally Posted by VF-Engineering

Great job on the DIY! Congrats!

Thanks for the support over the weekend or I wouldn't have made it through it. I'll try to get some datalogs this week to send to you.

[info@trinityautosport]

congrats =)

[SHADY1]

Congrats on your VF620 good job on your install Thanks for posting the pics

[Longbow64]

I am now taking recommendations on KW V3 settings. I feel that the KW V3 recommended settings are too hard.

Recommended settings (from memory, I don't have the instructions in front of me):
Front:
Rebound: 6 clicks
Compression/bump: 1 full turn
Rear
Rebound: 9 clicks
Compression/bump: 1 full turn

[datninja]

good job, I too did a self install and pretty sure i got hung up on the spots that you described, instructions definitely need an update. So far its been great, just did the first oil change on the supercharger.

[Chriskm3]

Great job with the write up. Congrats on the self install

[Longbow64]

I've done manual fuel calculations for the fill-ups since I installed the kit. On the highway with an average speed of "80 mph" I get about 19.3 mpg. In and around town I average about 11-13. The car thinks I'm getting 30-35 mpg on the display. Not so much. Each gallon is so much more fun to drive though.

[Superfly_M3]

great job on the self install. One suggestion: Throttle bodies should have been temporary covered with a rag to prevent crap from possibly going in.

[Longbow64]

Thought about that; definately a good suggestion. We wiped them down and hit it with compressed air before putting the plenum on.

[thegeneral101]

nice writeup, glad it worked out. more rewarding building it out yourself.

[datninja]

yeah my car thinks I'm getting like 31 mpg haha, I got excited at first, but did my own calculations and I get about 14.9. Before I got about 17, oh well much more fun now.

[RingMeister01]

Huge respect!

[rjd598]

Amazing job!

[Orange fever]

welcome to the Fam///

[Longbow64]

I swapped out my spark plugs this weekend. Not too bad. I followed the DIY here on the forums and had the coil pack remover tool that was sold on here in other forums which is a must for install. It was slightly more difficult to get to some of the plugs due to the supercharger components (bypass valve tubing, coolant hoses, etc). To get to the passenger rear spark plug, take all of the panels off down to the ECU cover and remove the rubber housing for the forward wiring harness. Then you have a straight shot to use a 10" extension. Tape your spark plug socket to the extension elbow so you don't lose it down in the spark plug hole.

The spark plugs are a little over 10k miles old. In those 10k miles about 2.5k were on the Vishnu with meth tune, 2.5k were on BPM Sport tune, and the last 5k were on the VF supercharger tune. Those 10k miles include about 5 autocross events and a trip to Vegas with a track day. I replaced the spark plugs with the Amazon version of the BMW spark plugs NGK Laser Platinum LKR8AP stock no. 4471 (considerable price difference and they are the exact same spark plugs).

[SYZ]

I am surprised that BMW recommends and uses platinum plugs. Is there a copper or iridium alternative for these?

[DLSJ5]

Good work, I normally find it rewarding doing it yourself, and the E9X M3 is an amazing machine, the S65 is a work of art, etc., but no doubt there are times while working on the car that I yell out loud, "why the f*** did BMW do it this way!!!" lol. Congrats on getting FI.

[Longbow64]

Just got my oil sample back after my first oil change running solely on the supercharger. I have 70,243 miles on the car. I've had the supercharger on since April and for about 7k miles. The last oil change was before MFest about 5500 miles ago. I'm running Castrol Edge Professional TWS 10w/60 and did not have to add any oil in between changes. I drove to Vegas from El Paso and back. Ran a track day in Vegas and a couple autox events.

The comments on the oil sample:
"It would be hard to ask for much better results than these. Universal averages for the M3's S65 engine are based on ~5,800 miles of oil use; your oil run was very similar, and the engine produced wear metals that were nearly identical to our average levels. In fact, aluminum and iron were exactly the same, while copper and lead were reading below average levels, so your bearing wear is better than most we've seen. No moisture, dirt, or insolubles were found, and the TBN is good at 3.4, showing plenty of active additive remaining in the oil. Try 7,500 miles next. Nice!"

[motortrend]

Originally Posted by The_Dude

The shop dogs.

Are those australian cattle dogs?

[Longbow64]

The one on the left is. The other is a catahoula.

[motortrend]

Cool, I have an Australian Kelpie and love her to bits


Also, great job on the clean install, hope that you're enjoying the car