Carbon airbox + Alpha N

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m3ben05
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Post Wed Nov 30, 2005 8:31 pm

Hi guys,

For some reason a spare carbon airbox turned up in the post this morning from BMW motorsport for our Group A car :D

My question is - If i fit it to my road M3 along with an Alpha N setup, what sort of power gain should i expect?

I would also need some bigger throttle bodies, so in all it would cost around 2k to buy and fit the parts needed. Im really tempted seeing the airbox is surplus but is the extra power worth the Ԛ£Ã”šÃ‚£

What do you guys think?
maxfield
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Post Wed Nov 30, 2005 8:39 pm

TBs airbox and alpha N shout gain 30-40hp depending on how its tuned
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m3ben05
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Post Wed Nov 30, 2005 8:43 pm

Nice, worth the Ԛ£Ã”šÃ‚£ then! Oh well, something else to save up for then!
Better not tell the insurance company, im only 20 and they have me over a desk with my trousers down as it is :(

Hope i can get it done before the ring trip tho :D
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Post Wed Nov 30, 2005 8:47 pm

I want to get my dad to get 2.5 stroker and things before the ring
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m3ben05
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Post Wed Nov 30, 2005 8:51 pm

Hell yea mate, i want my brakes and engine done before then, got plenty of time to get it sorted tho!

I think a 2.5 conversion is a bit extreme for me only because we use the the DTM car for serious track days so it would be a waste.

Are you driving at the ring maxfield?
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HarkyM3
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Post Wed Nov 30, 2005 8:53 pm

I built a new 2.5 S14 last year with carbon fibre airbox and alpha N and it rolling roaded at 319bhp. Bear in mind the engine was built using a lot of Group A parts (not cheap !!!).
maxfield
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Post Wed Nov 30, 2005 8:54 pm

No i aint got the guts i'm only 15 my dad wants to get me into track racing
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m3ben05
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Post Wed Nov 30, 2005 8:56 pm

HarkyM3 wrote:I built a new 2.5 S14 last year with carbon fibre airbox and alpha N and it rolling roaded at 319bhp. Bear in mind the engine was built using a lot of Group A parts (not cheap !!!).
WOW, 319 on a road car! NICE!!

You dont need to tell me how expensive group A parts are, our group A car needs an engine rebuild every 8-10 track days ( once a year on average) which costs between 3-6k a time.

How is your car for reliability? do you use it every day?

Any pics of your engine?
maxfield
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Post Wed Nov 30, 2005 8:57 pm

where can you get group A parts from ?
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m3ben05
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Post Wed Nov 30, 2005 8:58 pm

Maxfield, take a racing lisence mate, i did mine at 16, its well worth doing if you want to get into track action
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Post Wed Nov 30, 2005 8:59 pm

I will if my dad pays :D
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tim_s
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Post Wed Nov 30, 2005 9:00 pm

20 with an m3 and a carbon airbox. awesome :cool:
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2.1 318is, MS, LPG. 200bhp, 175ft/lbs GONE!
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m3ben05
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Post Wed Nov 30, 2005 9:01 pm

Well BMW motorsport have some, but you need to give them a valid group A chassis number to get the parts. A mate of mine was the heaad mechanic at Munich Legends, so we get the parts through there with the discount.

If you want any for your dads M3 let me know, im sure i can get old of whatever you need.
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m3ben05
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Post Wed Nov 30, 2005 9:03 pm

maxfield wrote:I will if my dad pays :D
LOL, im sure he would if he wants you to get into it. I think you have to be 16, but i might be wrong. Only cost around Ԛ£100 when i did it
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Post Wed Nov 30, 2005 9:04 pm

How much would it cost for a 2.5 group A rebuild?
maxfield
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Post Wed Nov 30, 2005 9:05 pm

If it costs that much he can buy me a racing car aswell
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m3ben05
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Post Wed Nov 30, 2005 9:06 pm

Depends where you had it done but LOTS!!! Also they are not road legal and can only do around 1000 miles before another rebuild.

Thats for a full group A running the full 10k redline and 360bhp (ish)

Better off asking Markus (s14shop.de) or the guy running 319 on a road car, thats totally amazing!
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Post Wed Nov 30, 2005 9:09 pm

wow how much hp could you get out with stroker headers wild cams and 8k redline
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HarkyM3
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Post Wed Nov 30, 2005 9:17 pm

m3ben05 wrote:How is your car for reliability? do you use it every day?

Any pics of your engine?
No I don't use it everyday, it's a dedicated track car. At the last track day, people couldn't believe how smoothly it idled, approx 1500rpm.

I've got a couple of pics but don't know how to post them, any help ?
It looks no different to any other M3 engine except for the carbon fibre airbox.
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Post Wed Nov 30, 2005 9:20 pm

HarkyM3 wrote:
I've got a couple of pics but don't know how to post them, any help ?
Have a read of this thread :thumb:

http://www.e30zone.co.uk/modules.php?na ... opic&t=677
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Post Wed Nov 30, 2005 9:23 pm

HarkyM3 wrote:I built a new 2.5 S14 last year with carbon fibre airbox and alpha N and it rolling roaded at 319bhp. Bear in mind the engine was built using a lot of Group A parts (not cheap !!!).
319bhp!! would be interested to see the full spec of your engine. Thats has to be one of the most powerful s14's around.
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m3ben05
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Post Wed Nov 30, 2005 9:24 pm

Guess it would depend on how wild the cams were. Markus runs 284 degree cams with the airbox, alpha n with 2.5 conversion and a group A exhaust system and hes getting 280ish with good reliability.

The problem with the group A car is that you cant really de-tune it for extra reliability as all the parts fit together and will not accept anything else without major hastle! If we could we would reduce it a bit
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Post Wed Nov 30, 2005 9:25 pm

maxfield wrote:How much would it cost for a 2.5 group A rebuild?
Mine cost approx Ԛ£10k but that was using brand new parts on the bottom end ie. block, crank, rods, pistons etc. I'm running a Motorsport P12 chip with a redline of 9400rpm but I don't go over 8500 for reliability purposes. All my top end is genuine Motorsport parts, cams, valves, valve springs, shim under tappets etc.
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m3ben05
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Post Wed Nov 30, 2005 9:27 pm

Pic of our DTM engine here, sorry for the crappy pics

http://www.e30zone.co.uk/modules.php?na ... ic&t=22349
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Post Wed Nov 30, 2005 9:28 pm

Sorry forgot to mention, my cams are 318 intake and 292 exhaust.
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Post Wed Nov 30, 2005 9:30 pm

310 cams its havin erngine managment this wee which should take it upto about 24ohp i think so 300hp should be achievable
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m3ben05
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Post Wed Nov 30, 2005 9:30 pm

Who did that rebuild? They guy we use to look after ours did a couple of 'DTM' road cars
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Post Wed Nov 30, 2005 9:35 pm

Maxfield, what engine management are you installing? If your putting an alpha n type kit in, i doubt you will get much extra power with out an airbox
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Post Wed Nov 30, 2005 9:38 pm

I don't know what it is torque developmewnts are doing it and its the only one ever an a e30 m3
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HarkyM3
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Post Wed Nov 30, 2005 9:44 pm

I built the engine myself in my garage at home and a few members of the BMW Car Club came by to see it taking shape. Any machining was done by an Engineering shop that builds a lot of race engines. The most modifications went into the head, porting and machining the valve seats because the Motorsport SRD7 valve springs have to be 37mm when the valves are fully closed to prevent coil bind when using 3xx cams.
Last edited by HarkyM3 on Wed Nov 30, 2005 9:46 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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m3ben05
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Post Wed Nov 30, 2005 9:45 pm

WOW, you got skills my friend!

I wish i was even slightly mechanically minded!
maxfield
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Post Wed Nov 30, 2005 9:47 pm

My dad would do the rebuild but he's too lazy to do it
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m3ben05
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Post Wed Nov 30, 2005 9:48 pm

lol, neither me or my dad are mechanically minded in any way!

Thankfully we dont pay much of a labor rate for our cars at ML
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Post Wed Nov 30, 2005 9:50 pm

You going to donnington this weekend?
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HarkyM3
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Post Wed Nov 30, 2005 9:53 pm

m3ben05 wrote:WOW, you got skills my friend!

I wish i was even slightly mechanically minded!
Cheers mate, I do have a car trade background but I am not a mechanic. It is mostly self tought and picking up alot of tips from various mechanics I know and have worked with over the years.