Stroker Kit or Supercharger for e92 M3? Cost for installation?

[Skiptomylou37]

So I recently posted a thread on here comparing the e92 M3 to some other cars that I was thinking about purchasing but the uniqueness of having an M3 with a supercharger or stroker kit is pretty appealing to me. So like the title of this thread states, should I go stroker kit or supercharger for the M3? I'm leaning towards stroker kit just because the s65 is an awesome engine and I feel like keeping it NA would be more fun plus a lot more guys go the supercharger route. As far as cost goes, I know the VAC stroker kit costs about $10.5k. Anyone have any idea of how much installation would be? I live pretty close to VAC and was thinking I could just have them perform the install. I would also love to see some performance numbers with guys who have gone the stroker kit route. Everything I have researched seems to lean towards a supercharger offering better performance than the stroker kit though. Also, can the DCT handle a stroker kit or supercharger?

[Someone?]

Well SC kit makes more power/Cheaper, BUT adding a stroker kit is cool for 2 reasons, 1st it would be a fast NA engine, 2nd you can take care of the bearing clearance issues as with a SC kit you would still have the issue that could cause engine failure.
Ultimate set up would be SC stroker, or at least Stronger Rods, LC pistons, Crank grinding, and then SCed.

[arter]

Parts might be $11000, but expect a huge amount of labor with that.

The Dinan stroker is about $ 26000.

Once you finish it, it will give you around 450 crank hp from what I have seen.
There were some dyno comparisons a couple of months ago.

[BMW Fanatic]

WTF! LOL! ROFL!

Man oh man, this forum gets more obscene by the minute. Why would people pay $25,000+ for a NA stroker engine? Yes, everybody has their own opinions and in that case, I have mine too then...so let's go over this;

STROKER

1) You will get between 450-500 CRANK hp depending on the age of your engine internals.
2) You will by default upgrade your exhaust for the claimed 527hp by DINAN. Don't forget the intake and all that other glorious stuff.
3) You will pay 30-50 hours of labour, depending on who does your install, if they have done one before, if you are going to change your rod bearings. I know of shops that charge $80/hour and shops that charge $180/hour so we will keep it real conservative at $100/hour...that could equal $3,500-$6,000 JUST FOR LABOUR.
4) VAC will be an instant void on OEM warranty. Dinan will just give you their warranty.
5) TUNE IS ON TOP of the already crazy amount of $35,000+

SUPERCHARGER
1) You will get 450+ to the WHEELS with the cheapest supercharger that will only run you like $8,000 incl. TUNE.
2) These systems are proven by 1,000's of people.
3) A LOT of companies provide free install if you buy the product from them.
4) I have friends that did the install themselves, with NO mechanical background, just followed the instruction manual and voila! Even if you had to pay a shop to do it, the average shop does it in 6-10 hours. So what, only $600-$1,000 for install.
5) You will STILL by default upgrade your exhaust, intake etc if you go VT2 (stage 2) or ABOVE. Nice to know with VT1 (stage 1) you can remain stock everything...lol!

I have been super conservative with all my numbers, on the stroker side and supercharger side so no bs'ing on what I've said. Again, my OWN opinion. I don't care if you agree or not...this is just how I see things.

[Skiptomylou37]

Originally Posted by BMW Fanatic

WTF! LOL! ROFL!

Man oh man, this forum gets more obscene by the minute. Why would people pay $25,000+ for a NA stroker engine? Yes, everybody has their own opinions and in that case, I have mine too then...so let's go over this;

STROKER

1) You will get between 450-500 CRANK hp depending on the age of your engine internals.
2) You will by default upgrade your exhaust for the claimed 527hp by DINAN. Don't forget the intake and all that other glorious stuff.
3) You will pay 30-50 hours of labour, depending on who does your install, if they have done one before, if you are going to change your rod bearings. I know of shops that charge $80/hour and shops that charge $180/hour so we will keep it real conservative at $100/hour...that could equal $3,500-$6,000 JUST FOR LABOUR.
4) VAC will be an instant void on OEM warranty. Dinan will just give you their warranty.
5) TUNE IS ON TOP of the already crazy amount of $35,000+

SUPERCHARGER
1) You will get 450+ to the WHEELS with the cheapest supercharger that will only run you like $8,000 incl. TUNE.
2) These systems are proven by 1,000's of people.
3) A LOT of companies provide free install if you buy the product from them.
4) I have friends that did the install themselves, with NO mechanical background, just followed the instruction manual and voila! Even if you had to pay a shop to do it, the average shop does it in 6-10 hours. So what, only $600-$1,000 for install.
5) You will STILL by default upgrade your exhaust, intake etc if you go VT2 (stage 2) or ABOVE. Nice to know with VT1 (stage 1) you can remain stock everything...lol!

I have been super conservative with all my numbers, on the stroker side and supercharger side so no bs'ing on what I've said. Again, my OWN opinion. I don't care if you agree or not...this is just how I see things.

So I would be looking at about 15-17k for the stroker engine vs. 8-12k for the supercharger? You would really have to want the stroker kit for it to be worth the extra money and even then, it doesn't make sense performance wise compared to the supercharger.

[Hujan]

As much as I love the idea of a stroker, it just doesn't make sense from a financial perspective. The one huge negative for the s/c for me is having to smog the car. Most of the kits would be an automatic fail on visual inspection. The only exception might be the Harrop kit (if it ever comes to market) since it looks very OEM from the photos I've seen.

[aus]

Last time VAC posted, they don't have a street stroker kit- only a race kit with an aftermarket DME. They also had NO plans for a street stroker kit.

.

[JHFW89225]

If money no issue, definitely stroker for me.

[Someone?]

Originally Posted by aus

Last time VAC posted, they don't have a street stroker kit- only a race kit with an aftermarket DME. They also had NO plans for a street stroker kit.

.

? this is there kit, 4.4L why would it not be a street kit? http://store.vacmotorsports.com/vac-...ock-p2929.aspx

These guys are Right tho, SC will be A LOT easier and cheapier for sure,lol.

Just sucks in all reality the engine should be removed, crank resized, and new bearings, rod bolts at the minimum, and with doing that mite as well do rods and LC pistons(<$3000 rods,pistons)

[aus]

Originally Posted by ibmike

? this is there kit, 4.4L why would it not be a street kit? http://store.vacmotorsports.com/vac-...ock-p2929.aspx

These guys are Right tho, SC will be A LOT easier and cheapier for sure,lol.

Just sucks in all reality the engine should be removed, crank resized, and new bearings, rod bolts at the minimum, and with doing that mite as well do rods and LC pistons(<$3000 rods,pistons)

I'm basing my statement straight from VAC. If they just need the tuning, ESS already has a tune for the 4.6L motors they have available.

http://www.m3post.com/forums/showpos...&postcount=136

You may want to go through this thread. Click in the right upper corner for the full thread.

.

[Irishace]

If you want to stay NA just throw a primary cat delete xpipe, intake, tune and underdrive pulley and you will have 430-450 crank hp at a mere fraction of the cost of a stroker.

Comparing stroker to SC is not even close from a cost/hp perspective.

[to///m]

Originally Posted by Irishace

If you want to stay NA just throw a primary cat delete xpipe, intake, tune and underdrive pulley and you will have 430-450 crank hp at a mere fraction of the cost of a stroker.

Comparing stroker to SC is not even close from a cost/hp perspective.

I agree with everything you said, with the NA modifications above, probably closer to 450+ crank

Its a no brainer for me, SC all day for best bang for your buck

[regular guy]

Originally Posted by BMW Fanatic

WTF! LOL! ROFL!

Man oh man, this forum gets more obscene by the minute. Why would people pay $25,000+ for a NA stroker engine? Yes, everybody has their own opinions and in that case, I have mine too then...so let's go over this;

STROKER

1) You will get between 450-500 CRANK hp depending on the age of your engine internals.
2) You will by default upgrade your exhaust for the claimed 527hp by DINAN. Don't forget the intake and all that other glorious stuff.
3) You will pay 30-50 hours of labour, depending on who does your install, if they have done one before, if you are going to change your rod bearings. I know of shops that charge $80/hour and shops that charge $180/hour so we will keep it real conservative at $100/hour...that could equal $3,500-$6,000 JUST FOR LABOUR.
4) VAC will be an instant void on OEM warranty. Dinan will just give you their warranty.
5) TUNE IS ON TOP of the already crazy amount of $35,000+

SUPERCHARGER
1) You will get 450+ to the WHEELS with the cheapest supercharger that will only run you like $8,000 incl. TUNE.
2) These systems are proven by 1,000's of people.
3) A LOT of companies provide free install if you buy the product from them.
4) I have friends that did the install themselves, with NO mechanical background, just followed the instruction manual and voila! Even if you had to pay a shop to do it, the average shop does it in 6-10 hours. So what, only $600-$1,000 for install.
5) You will STILL by default upgrade your exhaust, intake etc if you go VT2 (stage 2) or ABOVE. Nice to know with VT1 (stage 1) you can remain stock everything...lol!

I have been super conservative with all my numbers, on the stroker side and supercharger side so no bs'ing on what I've said. Again, my OWN opinion. I don't care if you agree or not...this is just how I see things.

These are very valid and mostly accurate points. Only two little nits. The amount of power made by the stroker won't depend on the age and shape of your engine internals, as all of the internals are brand new in the stroker. The full cost of the stroker won't be $35k. It will be closer to $18k-$19k without the tune, or $20k with the tune. But everything else you said is pretty much right on the money. Stroker isn't the best bang for the buck, but to some it's definitely the coolest.

[regular guy]

Originally Posted by Skiptomylou37

So I recently posted a thread on here comparing the e92 M3 to some other cars that I was thinking about purchasing but the uniqueness of having an M3 with a supercharger or stroker kit is pretty appealing to me. So like the title of this thread states, should I go stroker kit or supercharger for the M3? I'm leaning towards stroker kit just because the s65 is an awesome engine and I feel like keeping it NA would be more fun plus a lot more guys go the supercharger route. As far as cost goes, I know the VAC stroker kit costs about $10.5k. Anyone have any idea of how much installation would be? I live pretty close to VAC and was thinking I could just have them perform the install. I would also love to see some performance numbers with guys who have gone the stroker kit route. Everything I have researched seems to lean towards a supercharger offering better performance than the stroker kit though. Also, can the DCT handle a stroker kit or supercharger?

Here's a link to some Stroker shootout results. I hope you find this helpful.
http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=849797

[regular guy]

Let me clarify my stroker costs estimate: $18k - $20k if you freelance the project by buying the new stroker parts yourself and are using your own guys or shops you trust to build it for you.

[Lucrecio84]

Doesn't a stock m3 have like 420 crank hp??? So a stoker kit gives you 450 crank? I'm a little confused here. Only 30 more crank hp from a stoker kit?

[kiln]

The only thing I would be worried about is prepping the Alusil bores. The process is actually quite different than machining cast iron. After honing is done you will want to lap it with AN-30 to etch the cylinder walls. You are actually taking out aluminum so the piston will be on a layer of silicon. This is why alusil bores have little wear for high mileage engines. If the alusil bores are not properly done (prep like cast iron) you will have scored cylinders and a messed up engine.

What machine shops would you recommend for this prep?

[regular guy]

Originally Posted by Lucrecio84

Doesn't a stock m3 have like 420 crank hp??? So a stoker kit gives you 450 crank? I'm a little confused here. Only 30 more crank hp from a stoker kit?

Think of it this way. A stroker adds 15% displacement to your engine. So you really shouldn't expect more than a 15% increase in power. The point "BMW Fanatic" is making is very relevant here. Most people will also upgrade their exhaust at the same time if they haven't done it already. For the stroker (not the supercharger) you can also upgrade your intake and add an underdrive pulley. So you may end up netting more than 15% gain.

This car went from bone stock to full bolt on stroker. In the process it gained 115 horsepower, or 36% power increase. Here's the dyno charts.

Stock @ 318whp: http://www.s65dynos.com/showDyno.php?recID=16
Full bolt on Stroker @ 433 whp: http://www.s65dynos.com/showDyno.php?recID=114

[Lucrecio84]

Originally Posted by regular guy

Think of it this way. A stroker adds 15% displacement to your engine. So you really shouldn't expect more than a 15% increase in power. The point "BMW Fanatic" is making is very relevant here. Most people will also upgrade their exhaust at the same time if they haven't done it already. For the stroker (not the supercharger) you can also upgrade your intake and add an underdrive pulley. So you may end up netting more than 15% gain.

This car went from bone stock to full bolt on stroker. In the process it gained 115 horsepower, or 36% power increase. Here's the dyno charts.

Stock @ 318whp: http://www.s65dynos.com/showDyno.php?recID=16
Full bolt on Stroker @ 433 whp: http://www.s65dynos.com/showDyno.php?recID=114

Thanks for clarifying that

[tightie]

I didn't read the responses but just think about it like this.

If your going to be tracking the car like a monster, build a stroker motor. If you drive your car around town, not into tracking, go supercharger.

It's really simple.

[aus]

Originally Posted by regular guy

Think of it this way. A stroker adds 15% displacement to your engine. So you really shouldn't expect more than a 15% increase in power. The point "BMW Fanatic" is making is very relevant here. Most people will also upgrade their exhaust at the same time if they haven't done it already. For the stroker (not the supercharger) you can also upgrade your intake and add an underdrive pulley. So you may end up netting more than 15% gain.

This car went from bone stock to full bolt on stroker. In the process it gained 115 horsepower, or 36% power increase. Here's the dyno charts.

Stock @ 318whp: http://www.s65dynos.com/showDyno.php?recID=16
Full bolt on Stroker @ 433 whp: http://www.s65dynos.com/showDyno.php?recID=114

That seems like a ridiculously low baseline dyno. I'm thinking that was a pre 240 software dyno?

.

[Villanofun]

Originally Posted by tightie

I didn't read the responses but just think about it like this.

If your going to be tracking the car like a monster, build a stroker motor. If you drive your car around town, not into tracking, go supercharger.

It's really simple.

Sorry, but why in the world do you need a supercharger to "drive your car around town"?