Thinking of ESS 650 kit

[k872]

Few questions before I pull the trigger

- I have been told that supercharging these motors causes main bearing failure early on and it's a high chance of happening...just wondering the legitimacy of this

-Im doing BE bearings and rod bolts at the same time, this is the best known combo now to insure a longer engine life as far as I know...is there anything better out there ?

- I was quoted $4100 to install the supercharger and do rod bearings/bolts is this fair or expensive?


-how many of you have been supercharged for more than 30k miles with no issues ?

[Patrón]

Originally Posted by k872

Few questions before I pull the trigger

- I have been told that supercharging these motors causes main bearing failure early on and it's a high chance of happening...just wondering the legitimacy of this

-Im doing BE bearings and rod bolts at the same time, this is the best known combo now to insure a longer engine life as far as I know...is there anything better out there ?

- I was quoted $4100 to install the supercharger and do rod bearings/bolts is this fair or expensive?


-how many of you have been supercharged for more than 30k miles with no issues ?

any kit on the market is solid, even with the canned tunes. really the only issue is traction and speeding tickets. in my opinion , that install price is pretty high. labor is about 6-10 hours depending on the kit and I believe the bearing labor i've seen on here is $1,000 to $2,000 depending on the area and the rod bolt. oem bolts are more labor vs arp (or similar that don't require the multi-torque steps)

[SYT_Shadow]

Hi

I don't know who told you it's a 'high chance of happening'. Main bearing failure is very rare, much more so than rod bearing wear which is also rare.
That said, you are putting more strain on the main bearings with higher output supercharger kits.

BE rod bearings are indeed the way to go.

Some shops run 'specials' and will install your supercharger for free. Usually rod bearings are 2500 all in.

The ESS kits are very solid, there are plenty running around with miles on them.

[deansbimmer]

Having dismantled a few S65's with failed main bearings that were once supercharged, I used to believe that superchargers were the root cause. Now that I've done more main bearing jobs on all stock motors that had nasty main bearing wear, I don't think that supercharging is going to guarantee main failure. The SC will certainly be more stressful to the motor and its bearings, but that's to be expected.

As posted above, $2500 is about going rate for a rod bearing job with BE/ARP bearings or similar. So your quote leaves about $1500 to install the SC which is not altogether out of line for the 625/650 kits. The shops that sell the kits sometimes run sales for free installation included but if you don't buy the kit from the shop that will be doing the installation, expect to pay for the labor.

[k872]

How many have you seen that have failed?

[nycplumber]

41 is high. That's over $200/hr at over 20 hours. I would definitely 'shop' around.

[k872]

Originally Posted by nycplumber

41 is high. That's over $200/hr at over 20 hours. I would definitely 'shop' around.

Well that includes price of bearings and bolts and gaskets required as well

[deansbimmer]

Originally Posted by nycplumber

41 is high. That's over $200/hr at over 20 hours. I would definitely 'shop' around.

While the quote indeed may be a little high, it's definitely not $200/hour when you consider the quote would have included the rod bearings, bolts, gaskets, and oil.

Going rate for quality rod bearing job is up to 2500. You're probably not going to find a qualified third party shop to install a 650 kit for less than 1000, many charge a couple hundred more than that. So the quote isn't very far off.

How many have you seen that have failed?

Four that I dismantled. Three others that I sent away.

[k872]

Originally Posted by deansbimmer

While the quote indeed may be a little high, it's definitely not $200/hour when you consider the quote would have included the rod bearings, bolts, gaskets, and oil.

Going rate for quality rod bearing job is up to 2500. You're probably not going to find a qualified third party shop to install a 650 kit for less than 1000, many charge a couple hundred more than that. So the quote isn't very far off.




Four that I dismantled. Three others that I sent away.

Discouraging....

[pbonsalb]

But there have been no problems yet with 58,000 of the 60,000 M3 sold. That said I changed my rod bearings and am seriously considering doing main bearings in the future as preventative maintenance

[k872]

Such a hard decision to make...i wish someone in my area had a 650 M3 I could take a ride in May be that would convince me hah

[L4ces]

Originally Posted by k872

Such a hard decision to make...i wish someone in my area had a 650 M3 I could take a ride in May be that would convince me hah

Originally Posted by k872

Such a hard decision to make...i wish someone in my area had a 650 M3 I could take a ride in May be that would convince me hah

I personally wouldn't do that without having the money, to move forward. Enjoy stock until then else you may not enjoy stock until you readjust. I had that experience recently with a 4.6l stroker. I was not happy for a few days.

[m3boost]

Originally Posted by k872

Such a hard decision to make...i wish someone in my area had a 650 M3 I could take a ride in May be that would convince me hah

I posted a good amount of videos about the 625 kit and also rod bearing videos.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCd_...tySPYV9CQqkAvQ