Quote:
Originally Posted by NickyC
Haha, thanks. I've had a ton of fun stuff over the years, but I'm really becoming more interested there days in cars which are just fun to drive. The Z4M is about the slowest car I've ever owned in a straight line, but I wouldn't trade it for any of my other cars. I absolutely love the thing, I could see driving one for years and years as long as it stays in good mechanical condition.
I had three MR2 Turbos back in the late 90s/early 00s. The third one was the beast, fully built motor with the 20G. I had the intercooler in the trunk, the whole shabang. You just had to be careful on sweepers because when the boost hit and the backend started to slide, your brain would always tell you "TAKE YOUR FOOT OFF THE GAS", which was the absolute last thing you'd do in that car. Unfortunately, the guy I sold it to destroyed it on the Highway about two months after I sold it to him. He broke an arm, both legs, and destroyed his jaw/teeth on the steering wheel. Apparently he lost control and basically went nose first into the divider at about 90mph. Incredibly lucky to survive, but from what I've heard he's pretty messed up to this day.
The Supra was just a whole 'nother level. I picked the car up in 2001 before The Fast and Furious Craze (I ALWAYS loved the Supra). Put a T88 on it, and hung with 1000cc bikes from a roll. The acceleration of that car is like nothing I had before, nor since. Looking back on it, it's completely ridiculous to have anywhere near that power on the street. There's just no use for it.
I'm really looking forward to the coming years, especially 2018. That's when the first MKIV Supras from Japan will be able to be imported, so hopefully I can get back into a nice Supra for a realistic price. I'd like to have one along with my Z4M. This time however, I'd keep it mild and just go BPU upgrades which are good for a little over 400rwhp. Buying a car from Japan, I'd have to imagine everything I would want to do to the car would already been done regardless.
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Sounds a lot like other MR2 stories lol. It's as if you're trying to balance a bucket of water. Seems in perfect balance when it's straight, but the moment you turn it, suddenly all the weight transfers on one side and that's when you realize, the MR2 has you now. Glad he's alive though it's a miracle. Maybe the next car he gets would be a Z4 lol.
Really, you're going to build a supra and stop at 400whp... really... It always starts with 400whp. Then 500... then 600... at this point you realize theirs just not enough road on this planet... but then 700 lol and so on. No but that's probably the best of both worlds. One that dominates straightaways, and the Z4 that dominates on everything else lol. Except for cup holders.
Quote:
Originally Posted by pokeybritches
Actually, at equal boost levels, a centrifugal supercharger generally puts out less peak torque than any of the major forced induction mods (centrifugal, roots, twin screw, turbo).
Horsepower = torque * rpm / 5252
To produce more power over time (horsepower), you can either increase the "boom" (torque) each time a cylinder fires, or increase the number of times that boom occurs (rpm). The reason turbo cars generally have more power throughout the rpm band is because they produce more torque.
The S54 gets its power (and character) through its the sky high redline. For years, BMW M division shunned turbos, and opted instead to design cars to handle increased rpm rather than high torque. This requires tight tolerances and exotic materials, and reduced engine reliability (rpm is an engine killer)... but makes for a very exciting and peaky car. They finally caved when rpm couldn't be realistically increased further, yet they had to produce more power to remain relevant and competitive. The S54 was the final, maxed out, ultimate iteration of the old school M division's high rpm vision.
Like most street engines, the S54 becomes less efficient the higher you rev it (torque falls off as rpm increases, because the engine isn't able to fully replace the used air in a cylinder with fresh air). A centrifugal supercharger adds torque back where it normally would start to fall off. It keeps with the character of the car. The traits that make it spectacular aren't lost.
The reason I think that Frankensteining the car into something it wasn't intended to be (like a 60-130 mph record holder) is a bad idea, is because you can get there so much cheaper with another platform, and you would have to give up most of what makes this car so awesome. It's like taking a guy who successfully competed in American Ninja Warrior, and putting him on a workout plan to bench 4 plates. He could get there with a lot of time and effort... but why? He certainly wouldn't be lean and agile enough to do what he used to do (which very few others could do). Once you swap to a clutch that can handle the torque, put on some massive tires and do suspension/body work to handle the power, and throw in some turbo lag... try and do an autocross. I'm not saying that a 650 whp car isn't fun, but I think there are better ways to get there. In this car, a lot of what you're paying for are the things other cars struggle to achieve.
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Great post! In conclusion, buy one Z4 that's either stock or supercharged, and buy another one for a turbo build that pushes 650whp
lol I'm just messing.
What are some of the drawbacks with superchargers?
Quote:
Originally Posted by whatcubed
Have you considered ditching the s54 and throwing in something bigger? Maybe an s65? s85? People might tell you they won't fit, but it just depends on how much youre willing to modify the frame/chassis and your wallet.
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[u2b]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-x2DcJnFdG4[/u2b]
Definitely possible considering it's a Z4 series, not even an ///M.
Personally, I'm a bit bias with engine swaps. It's no longer a Z4. With a turbo S54 you might lose some of the car's characteristics, but you don't lose the heart of it. You want to show what Z4's are capable of, not what M5 motors in a Z4 chassis are capable of. Plus, as Pokey mentioned, "The S54 was the final, maxed out, ultimate iteration of the old school M division's high rpm vision." Our s54's are part of the testament. Swapping one out is a sin!