Get Blown

Flying down the highway at a mere 100 mph, and stomping on the gas only to realize you have more power waiting to pull you into a mind-boggling oblivion is an awesome experience. The adrenaline rush comes fast when your car is more powerful than most people can barely dream of, and you are able to scream down any alley, road, or highway with the confidence that your car will perform beyond the limits of reality. But bending reality comes at a cost. The first cost is the money required to make your car fast. The second cost comes in the form of upgrades in order to keep the car safe at indescribable speeds (Those pesky little components called brakes and suspension.—MAX). And there is yet another associated cost when you get caught trying to find out just what your car is capable of.

Getting unreal power out of a car was the first goal, and to accomplish this we tracked down a ’97 BMW M3 with an owner who was just crazy enough to let us try anything. We knew he was the right person for us when we learned of his big brake upgrade, where he ended up leaving his car on jack stands for months at a time, while custom parts were ordered and machined. We then had to decide how to get the M3 to achieve near-supersonic speeds. That part was easy. A supercharger was the obvious answer for neck-snapping torque and power that would be available throughout the entire rev band. As for the supercharger itself, we traveled to Race Marque Systems in Van Nuys, California, for a complete supercharger install.

We started off with a basic M3 with some major and some minor modifications already completed. The major mods were obvious—the brakes and suspension. The car sported rotors that measured over 14 inches, and the wheels had been custom-machined to fit around the insanely large calipers. The speeds we were going for needed to be controlled, and if these brakes couldn’t do it, we’d be damned to know what would. The aftermarket suspension lowered the car nicely, allowing the M3 to sit comfortably on its 18-inch wheels, while obtaining a lower center of gravity at the same time. At the speeds we were hoping to achieve, we’d need as much help as possible keeping the car planted, and this M3 looked like the perfect candidate. The minor mod was an aftermarket exhaust system, giving the engine a more devilish growl while offing the function of better breathing. All in all, the car was putting out slightly more than the 190 horses to the wheels that a stock M3 produces, but that’s not the kind of power we were happy with.

RMS went to work on the M3, yanking and pulling on every part of the engine even slightly associated with forced induction. All the while, the owner and the MAX staff kept inquiring about the progress of the project. It seems no matter how fast an upgrade can be completed, it’s never finished soon enough for those who live for the feel of pure acceleration and the rush of insane power trickling through the innards of an engine.

After strapping on the RMS supercharger and undergoing some simple computer reprogramming, we headed out to an abandoned road to see just how much power we had picked up. What we consider one of the best tests of an upgrade is the seat-of-the-pants test. Can the new power make us howl with enjoyment or fall silent with fear? We soon discovered the power was plentiful—too plentiful. Unfortunately, during testing the smell of fried clutch became slightly more potent than the smell of burnt rubber.

From the street we strapped the car onto R&D Dyno Service’s dyno in beautiful Gardena, California, to find out just how much power the M3 was pumping out. Dyno runs give bragging rights to everyone. As much as we love our road tests and being able to judge whether the upgrade was worth the money or not based simply on our perspective, a dyno sheet backing you up says so much more (It also allows you to talk smack to more people.—MAX). We discovered that there were now more than 90 extra horses running rampant through the M3, bringing the count to 284.1 hp at the wheels at 6,400 rpm with 251.3 lb-ft, tallying up at 5,400 rpm.

The power achieved is more than is needed on any street car, but then again an M3 isn’t just any street car, and we aren’t just any people. For those looking to build their own Bimmer that is just a hair short of becoming a low-flying object, we have a couple words of wisdom. Make sure you have self control—death can come fast in a Bimmer with too many ponies under the hood. Understand that with a supercharger install, many other upgrades will be needed to keep the car up to par with its power output. And most importantly, follow the directions (Have a pro do all the work.—MAX).

What follows are our adventures at the RMS shop, during the procedure of strapping instant power onto the eager M3. Try to follow along with the pictures and the text as to what is required to attach a supercharger to an engine that was not designed for it and in an engine compartment that fights back the whole way. By the end, we’re sure you’ll agree that this is a job for a professional, a very brave soul, or someone who has multiple spare car parts sitting around, when a slip of the wrist leads to an extra hole in a fuel line. Keep in mind that this install is not definitive and skips a couple of steps, such as the installation of various much-needed gauges. Two such gauges we highly recommend are a boost gauge and an air/fuel gauge. These gauges can be installed by most shops for a minimal cost but are invaluable when it comes to keeping your engine from exploding, if something should ever go wrong.