• 

  April 16, 2011 2:00 p.m. Teh E36 M3 HalfDork

  I'm halfway in the market for a car. No real need, mind you, but we have one operational vehicle (and my MG Midget, which has never seen reliable operational status, sort of a constant B-12, with the occasional extended Charlie, in the military parlance). So I've been halfassedly looking at various options- mildly regretting the sale of my '95 E36 M3 with 65k on it. I made some cash, but it was a pretty good car. I really would like a four door manual M3 though. So I find this:

  http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/doc/cto/2324396670.html

  http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1626453

  Short story: 98 328i with M3 motor and VF engineering supercharger supposedly good for 350hp. Supposedly 70k on rebuilt S52. $6k. Apparently a few $5500 offers already. No rust, good black leather interior. Bald rear tires.

  I want this thing. But I sorta hope he sells it before I con the wife into it. Is this price silly? He sent some pictures that look pretty good, all around.

• 

  April 16, 2011 2:10 p.m. Duke SuperDork

  What's the compression ratio on an S52? That will tell you if the blower was a good idea or not.

  Junior Brown is my hero.

• 

  April 16, 2011 2:34 p.m. red5_02 Reader

  S52 is like 11.7:1 I believe. Someone should double check though. You'll be running into issues with that kind of squish though.

• 

  April 16, 2011 3:59 p.m. HStockSolo New Reader

  In reply to red5_02:

  S50US/S52US are both 10.5:1

• 

  April 16, 2011 4:27 p.m. Teh E36 M3 HalfDork

  I think it's a pretty well engineered supercharger system- I'm not really worried about that aspect. It only boosts to 6 psi. It's more- is this thing worth $6k? I don't think that's a lot of coin to drop, but it would have to be a pretty nice car for me to budge. I'm enjoying the $500/yr savings on car insurance, but wouldn't mind it if I had something like this. Problem is, I just don't drive much. I suppose I should just go and take a look at it.

  http://www.vf-engineering.com/

• 

  April 16, 2011 4:33 p.m. WilberM3 HalfDork

  i think that system is probably pretty good and reliable for typical non-asshat street use. I think that 10.5:1 number is correct, its definitely not over 11:1. we had a 98 M coupe in regularly at the garage i worked at i think with that blower kit or a similar low pressure one that ultimately wore the engine out, after about 60k hard miles. but it was driven by a driving instructor and saw a LOT of track time, so it spent a lot more time under WOT and boost than most street cars would.

  Dave

• 

  April 16, 2011 6:17 p.m. Teh E36 M3 HalfDork

  That's why I'd think the car was worth $6k without the supercharger.... I always appreciate the extra giddyup, but I'll take it. Seems like you could sell the supercharger setup for ~$2k.

You'll need to log in to post.