What BMW M3 E46 Supercharger gives the most horsepower?

[Bosnianbeemer]

What BMW M3 E46 supercharger gives the most horsepower. I know Dinan brings it up to around 450hp. Are there ones that give you more horsepower?

[witeshark]

I'm not aware of any that offer more power. But personally, I'd have issues with straying from the Dinan reputation.

[Teh Prof]

Google Horsepowerfreaks.

[BimmerE39]

That's a tough one. AA level 2 is rated for 525hp at the crank. VF Engineering is making a stage 3 which they claim will be good for 610hp at the crank. Dinan is also another route although their stage 2 is ridiculously expensive (like 17 grand) but it's 462hp. The ESS Tuning CFR550 system is rated for 550 DIN which would be like 540bhp SAE. I think VF Engineering is going to have the highest output supercharging system out of all 4, but for my moneys worth the ESS system is the best deal out off all of them for price you pay and power you get.

[BimmerE39]

I also forgot to mention the Dinan system is the most conservative out of all 4 I mentioned above in terms of power and boost at 5.5 lbs. I'd credit that to the fact that in order to keep a warranty under BMW they were forced to run lower boost. The S54 has been shown to handle a lot more with proper tuning. The VF Engineering stage 3 system is claiming 11 lbs of boost although I'm feeling some engine modification would be required for that system.

[Teh Prof]

BimmerE39, Dinan doesn't keep a warranty under BMW--they offer their own warranty coverage replacing the coverage voided by the modifications.

The primary reason that Dinan doesn't offer higher boost for the M3 is that the bearings of the engine are a weak spot, and more power greatly increases the chance that they'll spin.

[BimmerE39]

Originally Posted by Teh Prof

BimmerE39, Dinan doesn't keep a warranty under BMW--they offer their own warranty coverage replacing the coverage voided by the modifications.

The primary reason that Dinan doesn't offer higher boost for the M3 is that the bearings of the engine are a weak spot, and more power greatly increases the chance that they'll spin.

Thanks for clearing that up with Dinan warranties Teh Prof. As long as there is a warranty provided I'm not going to worry who it's through. I know that early S54's in the E46 M3 produced from 10/01-02/02 had weak bearings and apparently the issue remained in 2003 (probably from owners who didn't bring their car in on the recall), but past those dates I was under the impression the problem had been solved. From my understanding the bearing issue only became a problem in the E46 M3 and not the Z3M because the redline was raised to 8,000rpm from 7,500rpm.

[Teh Prof]

The problem was greatly assisted by the recall, but the fact is that a huge number of people didn't participate in the recall.