Z4M Supercharged Engine and Transmission Build

[tikamak]

Originally Posted by gmd2003

Thanks for the kind words guys , I really appreciate it . Here are the last of the pics showing the timing adjustment , Vanos install , then the whole shebang ready for shipping . The motor is on its way back to Charleston as we speak .

It's great that you decided to go with the C300 vanos exhaust hub, great peace of mind item

[gmd2003]

Originally Posted by tikamak

It's great that you decided to go with the C300 vanos exhaust hub, great piece of mind item

Yep def don't have to worry about those tabs breaking .It will be nice to just drive the car it's been since October . Rebuilt engine, rebuilt transmission , mason engineering clutch arm kit , a new race clutch , flywheel , only one day on my new MCS suspension . It will be like driving a new exotic lol !

[gmd2003]

Motor being lowered back into place

[sabbanick]

I think we are more excited then you. Lovely build ...

[gmd2003]

Picking her up today ! She is done !!!!!

[Beedub]

video video video!!!

[inTgr8r]

cant wait to hear about the results

[gmd2003]

Had to work all night on call so need a nap before I pick it up , but soon ! First track day is next weekend so plenty of vids from then incoming . I'll be sure to write my first impressions later though .
George

[gmd2003]

Back where she belongs . Heading to the track for the weekend full report to follow . But briefly this is what I can say so far .
1.) engine : Much more midrange power and faster response ( must have had significant cylinder leak down ) . I'm sure the response is the result of the lighter rods and Pistons combined with faster rise of boost levels in each cylinder due to the tighter seals . The top end 7-8 k in gear is faster than my tuned TT M6 , you can see feel the head work here as it pulls hard to fuel cut now . Just a massive improvement in driveability and performance of the motor .
2 . The Diffsonline rebuilt Transmission
Again a major change . I can now shift 1-2 as quickly as I like , the grind is gone , all the syncros were rebuilt as well and I am very happy with the results.
3.the end result is a much more enjoyable car to drive on the street and I'm looking forward to getting it back on track this weekend !
George

[Finnegan]

Nice work!

[seank]

Andrew did the engine work?

[gmd2003]

Originally Posted by seank

Andrew did the engine work?

He did , I went with his wider rod bearing rebuild . It took awhile bc Carrillo had to make custom spec rods but apparently it was worth the wait !

[seank]

Originally Posted by gmd2003

He did , I went with his wider rod bearing rebuild . It took awhile bc Carrillo had to make custom spec rods but apparently it was worth the wait !

Very nice. I like the Andrew.

[seank]

George, what 1 part had the biggest affect on lowering oil temperatures? Or was it the tune. Did the Zion radiator really make much difference? I have found that stock M radiators are efficient for race use. What are your findings for FI?

[gmd2003]

Originally Posted by seank

George, what 1 part had the biggest affect on lowering oil temperatures? Or was it the tune. Did the Zion radiator really make much difference? I have found that stock M radiators are efficient for race use. What are your findings for FI?

The biggest effect was stepping up to the 34 row Setrab oil cooler that reduced temps ~ 20 degrees . The radiator did help but I'm talking 5-10 degrees tops . In the end the thing that was causing the limp mode on track wasn't temp after all it was undersized injectors /tune.

[ZStig]

good info George. Thanks for contributing

[seank]

Originally Posted by gmd2003

The biggest effect was stepping up to the 34 row Setrab oil cooler that reduced temps ~ 20 degrees . The radiator did help but I'm talking 5-10 degrees tops . In the end the thing that was causing the limp mode on track wasn't temp after all it was undersized injectors /tune.

Any pics how you mounted it? Is the attachment points custom? What model is it? They seem to have a few 34 row models.

[gmd2003]

Originally Posted by seank

Any pics how you mounted it? Is the attachment points custom? What model is it? They seem to have a few 34 row models.

It is model number 50-934-7612. It has the same lateral width as the 525 kit cooler so I used the top mounts from the kit but obviously extends down much much further . It actually extends down behind the intercooler so the bottom is a custom mount . I had pics of it in one of my other threads , I believe it was the 525 trouble shooting one . Obviously it would better if I had ducting sending clean air to it , but it does the job even on hot SC track days . No matter how hard I flog it I can't get it over 250 degrees. The testing session with the new motor at Roebling was a wash , I had the post charger clamp fail and went to NA power ( all t-bolt clamps for me now lol ) which was fine as I was learning my new suspension . But thanks to the dealer over torquing my wheel bolts to 130 plus ft pounds ..... when mounting some new tires for me I had 3 of 5 break off my drivers rear in turn 9 at 105 mph . Fortunately the wheel stayed on but my weekend was done . New habit for me , don't just check to make sure if they are at least 88 which is our spec , make sure they aren't way over ! Motor was doing great before the boost leak , def going to be faster despite going to the 82mm charger pulley . midrange is beastly now , Andrew builds a damn good motor .

[gmd2003]

Some pics of the wheel and the guilty culprits along with the T bolt clamp I'm switching to.

[Cortes2141]

So I have been reading through several posts on here, as well as other sites, and I am interested in doing a similar build. I had a couple questions regarding your setup. First off, I will start by saying that I am by no means a mechanic so my technical knowledge isn't quite as high as some others in here.

I currently have about 75k on mine and I need to repair/replace a few things too. I have read all your posts regarding the clutch/flywheel combo and figured I would stray from the lightweight flywheel too. However, currently I am getting some really bad jerking, usually while in reverse. After talking to a local mechanic who worked for BMW for 20 years, he seemed to think my DMF could be bad. He said the springs that hold the tension and keep it from going in the wrong direction can go bad and actually allow the wheel to twist the wrong direction, then spring back and forth causing a perpetual jerking motion until I push in the clutch and let it stabilize and reengage it. I was curious if there are any upgraded DMF options to go with the clutch you recommended? Also, I was curious how much the tranny polish and rebuilt was, if you don't want to share openly would you mind PMing me. I ask because I stumbled across the Samsonas gear box on VAC for $7500 and was curious how it would be in comparison to your rebuild.

For my build, I am planning on the usual SS v2 headers and sport cats and the VF-570. I was also looking into the VAC stroker kit. I found one forum where A guy talked about doing it, but never posted results! I'm curious how the pistons and rods in the stroker kit would compare to the lighter weight aftermarket setup you ended up with or if the stroker kit is even a viable approach as part of the engine rebuild. Perhaps it would be money better spent to just upgrade the internals alone? Also has anyone ever confirmed that the 288 cams will NOT work with the SC? I stumbled across these that say "for supercharged, and they appear to just be the same as factory 280. Is there any difference what so ever in these vs stock cams? I was already planning on doing all new lifters and such too. I was also considering cylinder sleeves and perhaps the stage 3 head setup, but wasn't sure if it was really necessary or if I could get away with just upgrading the springs and what not. I don't want to waste money, but at the same time I want to build the engine so it is fully capable of handling the abuse. I fully intend to track the car regularly but want it to still be streetable.

Again, I am not as technically knowledged as others may be, but I am trying to learn as much as I can, so if I said something that is dumb or doesn't make sense I would appreciate tutoring rather than ridicule.
Thanks,
Brian

[gmd2003]

Originally Posted by Cortes2141

So I have been reading through several posts on here, as well as other sites, and I am interested in doing a similar build. I had a couple questions regarding your setup. First off, I will start by saying that I am by no means a mechanic so my technical knowledge isn't quite as high as some others in here.

I currently have about 75k on mine and I need to repair/replace a few things too. I have read all your posts regarding the clutch/flywheel combo and figured I would stray from the lightweight flywheel too. However, currently I am getting some really bad jerking, usually while in reverse. After talking to a local mechanic who worked for BMW for 20 years, he seemed to think my DMF could be bad. He said the springs that hold the tension and keep it from going in the wrong direction can go bad and actually allow the wheel to twist the wrong direction, then spring back and forth causing a perpetual jerking motion until I push in the clutch and let it stabilize and reengage it. I was curious if there are any upgraded DMF options to go with the clutch you recommended? Also, I was curious how much the tranny polish and rebuilt was, if you don't want to share openly would you mind PMing me. I ask because I stumbled across the Samsonas gear box on VAC for $7500 and was curious how it would be in comparison to your rebuild.

For my build, I am planning on the usual SS v2 headers and sport cats and the VF-570. I was also looking into the VAC stroker kit. I found one forum where A guy talked about doing it, but never posted results! I'm curious how the pistons and rods in the stroker kit would compare to the lighter weight aftermarket setup you ended up with or if the stroker kit is even a viable approach as part of the engine rebuild. Perhaps it would be money better spent to just upgrade the internals alone? Also has anyone ever confirmed that the 288 cams will NOT work with the SC? I stumbled across these that say "for supercharged, and they appear to just be the same as factory 280. Is there any difference what so ever in these vs stock cams? I was already planning on doing all new lifters and such too. I was also considering cylinder sleeves and perhaps the stage 3 head setup, but wasn't sure if it was really necessary or if I could get away with just upgrading the springs and what not. I don't want to waste money, but at the same time I want to build the engine so it is fully capable of handling the abuse. I fully intend to track the car regularly but want it to still be streetable.

Again, I am not as technically knowledged as others may be, but I am trying to learn as much as I can, so if I said something that is dumb or doesn't make sense I would appreciate tutoring rather than ridicule.
Thanks,
Brian

Man my biggest piece of advice is aftermarket isn't always better . What's your plan with this car ? If your going to drive it in the street and the motor has been well maintained I'd just change the rod bearings , install a catch can for adequate crankcase ventilation, add a supercharger and call it a day motor wise . Tuning on the Z4M is not as simple as the E46M3 , it's not even close and many people have had trouble with the out of the box tuning in VF kits . To take their most aggressive kit , AND throw a stroker AND cams into the mix is a 99% failure mode . It will take months and months and 1000's of dollars to get that sorted . Doing cams on a FI motor is a waste . If you want a stroker , I'd suggest just doing a stroker and keep it NA . Just replace the faulty ancillary clutch parts with OEM . The Sachs racing clutch has been fantastic , I highly rec that . If you have a failure down the line like I did after 30k supercharged miles (15k on track )
, then you rebuild it with forged parts . Just my two cents .
George

[Cortes2141]

Thank's for the timely response and the advice. My plan is to track the car. That's very unfortunate about the tuning issues with VF, is ESS having any better luck with the extensive tunes like FI with stroker and/or increased psi with cylinder sleeves? My goal was some where around 550-600whp and an engine that can maintain consistently higher rpms. I saw some videos where HPF built a 1000hp daily driver s54! How is it that he E46 is capable but ours cant?!