Quote:
Originally Posted by dkdo
Hi everyone,
I'm a still happy owner (after 18months) of an E92 M3 6MT and my only modds until now are the full Akrapovic exhaust and an ECU upgrade. I drive the car with these modds for almost a year and generally i'm very satisfied. One thing though that could really be better is the acceleration especially in low and mid revs. So i'm thinking seriously about the ESS S/C system and have some questions about it.
I'm new to this thread so please forgive me if some of my questions have allready been answered before.
1. Is the system trully reliable and did anyone had any problems with it? (from a blown engine, to safe mode, a check engine light, or anything else).
2. What's the system's weight and if this thing adds extra weight to the front side of the car how does it affect the road behavior of the vehicle?
3. Especially in cars with 6MT and during heavy accelleration (from a standstill or during roll), does the car behaves smoothly during gear shift changes or does it just spins like crazy prohibiting a real fast drive and finally being slower than OEM?
4. Does the car remains friendly, predictable and overall fun to drive (like a genious M machine, or is it transformed into a nervous, grouch and dangerous vehicle?
5. How seriously does the S/C kit affects/reduces the life of the engine?
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Let me try to help as I was the first customer in the U.S. with their VT2-575 kit. Also, please keep in mind that I also have the DINAN 3.62 Diff and DINAN race mid-pipe and exhaust.
- I have had the kit on since October and installed the kit with less than 3,000 miles on the car. I now have over 6,000 miles on the car without any issues. I have not had a check engine or any other indications that anything with the engine has malfunctioned. The engine is working completely as normal. ESS Tuning performed a true "custom" tune for my car's specs, which included the DINAN diff, mid-pipe and exhaust. There have been no issues what-so-ever!
- I am not sure of the system's weight, but it has not affected the behavior of the car that I can tell. I am no race car driver, but even on a twisty section of road I am not able to tell the difference in handling due to added weight.
- I have a DCT car, so I can't speak directly to your 6MT question. However, in the lower gears with cold tires you have to be careful not to spin. It takes some throttle practice, but you get the hang of it within a few days. When the tires heat up there is less spin, but it still takes some practice.
Also, the DCT software upgrade that ESS offers makes the DCT shift even faster and behave better than stock. It reduces the lag and delay that is in the stock DCT software, which I and several others have hated.
- The M3 with the SC installed acts like a normal M3, but with a ton more power. It is still very normal driving around the city, but when you want the extra power it is there!
All you have to do is mash the gas pedal for instant exhileration! 
There is no nervousness or grouchy feeling about it. It is just pure pleasure taken to another level! 
- I can't only speak to the mileage on my car with the SC, but I know that ESS Tuning has three different test cars that have logged over 100,000 miles combined... and that was before my kit was installed. They have not had any issues with any of their three test cars. One of their cars is the GS Bildeler race car that has been driven very hard, also without any issues.
As for my kit, I have maintained the same fuel economy. I drove to Phoenix from San Diego and averaged 19.2 mpg for the trip. I drove anywhere from 70-100mph the whole way to Phoenix! 
I can only speak to the ESS Tuning SC kit, but I absolutely love mine and have been completely happy with it.
It is a complete pleasure every time I drive it. It turns heads and people are amazed at how fast it really is! I have a E90, so it is even more fun to watch me blow by some 2-dr high-dollar sports cars!
Let me know if you have any other questions I can help with!