RE: <E36><M3) More Incremental Bang for the Buck

["Franklin W. Nelson" <fnelson@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

John,

Thanks for the well-considered reply.

You are the second person who has warned me about Turner, so I'm taking that
to heart.  They are not the only ones that sell lightened flywheels.

Regarding lightened flywheels, I'd appreciate it if anyone reading this post
who has one would give me their comments.  This modification makes intuitive
sense to me, but I'm still worried about idle characteristics.  I don't need
the car to be silent at idle, but I don't want it to sound like a
rattle-trap either.

One of the reasons the lightened flywheel sounds like such a good idea is
that the car, with the stock flywheel, is noticeably sluggish from 1 to
about 3.5-4krpm - takes forever to wind up. Based on what I've read/heard so
far, the lightened flywheel addresses this problem specifically.  If I'm off
base here, someone tell me, please.  I'm not expecting the problem to
disappear, but I am expecting noticeable improvement with this mod.

Moving on to the LSD, I'm not expecting it to be some sort of "poor man's
supercharger" but the physics make sense to me (what little I know of
physics).  The higher gear ratio will help the car launch more quickly and
accelerate more quickly in the low rpm ranges.  After that, I'll be in the
power band of the motor and won't need as much mechanical advantage.  Again,
if I'm missing something, someone please speak up.  In fact, speak up even
if I'm NOT missing something.  The silence from the ///Mavens out there is
starting to make me nervous.

Regarding the real vs. imagined effectiveness of aftermarket parts, I
suppose it all depends.  What I've done so far has certainly been
effective - and dramatically so.  When I installed the ///Motorsport
X-braces (upper and lower) on my car two years ago, the increase in
front-end stiffness was noticeable and fairly dramatic.  When I installed
the euro hfm, etc. just recently, the result was even more noticeable and
dramatic.  I'm not expecting the same increment of performance out of
subsequent upgrades.  However, I do expect some sort of noticeable
increment.  That's one of the reasons I'm sharing all of this stuff with the
Digest (you didn't think I was just being nice, did you?).  If someone has
information and/or experience that contradicts my conclusions, I would hope
they would come forward and post their comments.

BTW, John, maybe it'll make you feel better knowing that my wife HATES my
car (my 3-year old daughter loves it) and if she knew about even half of the
$ and time I have spent on it I would probably be single.

Frank Nelson
'95 M3, see above for mods


>>>
- -----Original Message-----
From: John Hart [mailto:JJINHART@domain.elided]
Sent: Thursday, May 18, 2000 6:15 PM
To: Franklin W. Nelson
Subject: Re: <E36><M3) More Incremental Bang for the Buck

  Yeah, you are definitely organized and well researched when it comes
to an issue that is a real sore spot for me:  I passed up an M3
convertible for 38K last fall because my wife found it too much money,
and got a 96 328i which is already nearing warranty end (is certified,
but so am I).
     The real pisser for me is the M3 absolutely kills the 3 in every
respect but body shudder (in convertible).  Every single modification
you mention is contraindicated by what you already know, that
displacement and total performance engineering beat the total of
performance improvements available from the aftermarket.
     Put that query to yourself and think on it, what you said at the
end about exhausts.  I really believe that this psycholocal state of
readiness to believe that these improvements will actually make your car
better than what it was will have you spending a lot of money and having
more mechanical problems.
    I would also like to warn you about Turner.  Although they are known
as among the best suppliers, they definitely could care less once you
buy from them...their return policy is as rigid as the Great Wall..and I
live near them.  it is simply not true that their RPM range will
eliminate weird, cheapening noises, once you've gone to the trouble of
installing it.  Caveat emptor!
    As for the LSD/RATIO, there's been a lot of traffic of late by
people who have them on their cars, about how it won't do you any good
in 0-60 except if you spin your tires a lot.  Sounds like a racing bred
part, not really street happy.   And please believe, you can skid your
car sideways, or into no traction on snow or slippery surfaces with
LSD..traction control is much more effective..kinda like a automatic
volume control, rather than a balance fader when you cant turn off
Britney Houston on the radio.
    I am going to save your posting for future reference.  I do wish to
ask you again, if you think the exhaust mentality is the essential worth
of all aftermarket stuff...made to make you think you've achieved much
greater gains in your head than on the roadway.
      I am really trying to hold off on any of your recommendations for
an M3 convertible.  Thanks for the research.
John, Massachusetts

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