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The world horsepower record for the E9X M3 S65 V8 currently stands at 773 wheel horsepower and belongs to Gintani as well as BimmerBoost.com, just do not expect it to stand for very long. At Bimmerfest 2013 Gintani had the BimmerBoost.com project E92 M3 on display. They worked tirelessly to get the car ready for the event and took it to the dyno the night before. On MS109 race gas and 18.5 pounds of boost the car was able to hit 773 wheel horsepower with the completely stock DCT transmission slipping at 7250 rpm. Looking at the dyno graph below it is easy to see where the clutches begin to slip. At about 4750 rpm the clutch slips a bit then grabs as the pull continues up to 7250 rpm where it slips again and is unable to hold the power as the car is run to its 8500 rpm redline. Regardless, 7250 rpm was enough for a new world record on the S65 V8 platform and overall on the E9X BMW platform. Gintani will be rebuilding the cars DCT transmission and once that is complete the car will be back on the dyno for a clean run to redline and another world record. Looking at the graph, the car should conservatively be capable of ~830 wheel horsepower at 18.5 psi with MS109. What will it do on FTW Purple and 24 psi? We will eventually find out. Enjoy the picture and graph below. There is a video included of the car at Bimmerfest 2013. A huge crowd was gathered around it. For some reason the announcer at Bimmerfest never notified the crowd that the world's most powerful E92 M3 was in the house and that a new world record had been achieved on the platform. I waited for hours for the announcement which was hand written and delivered to the announcer but to no avail. Additionally, the car did not win a single award despite being the E92 M3 on display that had the most work done to it. Perhaps it needed some tacky neon green trim and red roundels? Definitely odd and awkward considering the years of engineering that have gone into it and that Gintani was a sponsor of the event. Perhaps if a competitor was not the headline sponsor Gintani and this car would have received the acknowledgement that was deserved and earned? Congratulations to Gintani on raising the bar to where nobody else on the platform is able to tread. This car is just getting warmed up.

Sad, sad day indeed for the BMW community. The aftermarket tuning game is not an easy one. Especially when it comes to BMW's these days with ever increasing sophistication of their electronics and BMW doing everything in their power to prevent modification. Thankfully, there are some companies that simply do not give up and do what many say can't be done. For quite a while on the E46 M3 platform, HPF was forging ahead into territory nobody else was willing to tackle. The S54 engine in the BMW E46 M3 early on had a reputation of being made out of glass due to bearing failures. People said stock motors could not hold together let alone forced induction examples. This was quickly dispelled as the motor more and more often showed incredible gains with forced induction. HPF themselves pushed the motor to over 700 wheel on stock internals. Recently, people have been doing in the high 6XX wheel range on stock internals as if it no sweat. Basically, HPF helped pioneer the turbo market for the E46 M3. There are new options coming just now (over a decade after the car hit the market) which goes to show just how difficult it is to do this. HPF had options to turbo the E46 M3 when nobody else had options to turbo the E46 M3. They were the main game in town and deserve respect for it. But... even the mighty can fall and a single platform can not sustain anyone forever. Unfortunately an employee stole from HPF something over $200k (who knows what the real amount truly is and just how much he got away with) and unfortunately Chris made a poor choice with his new insurance company who only covered $25k in theft. The insurance company and HPF went to court and HPF lost. BimmerBoost is somewhat surprised a quarter million can sink a ship of this size but clearly there were other issues at play. Whether one wants to put the blame on the owner Chris or not it's hard to say what frivolous spending might have gone on. Chris did reach a high point in the BMW tuning market in the USA and nobody can take that away from him. Numerous magazine spreads, hundreds of turbo kits sold, and a household name on BMW forums. That deserves respect and is a level few can or will reach. Sustaining that is another thing entirely though. Busty young women don't come cheap. Dedicated drag cars for forum boasting aren't cheap. There is a reason rockstars tend to burn out fast. Is that what happened here? In retrospect it's easy to say this and that should have been done instead but Chris also did get somewhat of a second chance with a forum member investing cash into the company recently. Unfortunately, it seems that amount was not enough and now the doors are closed and people are laid off. What will happen to current orders? Members on this site are waiting for their parts. What will happen to the cars still there? Some have been removed, some remain. What will happen to Chris Bergermann? Is this it? Not going to be easy to climb back up after already being at the top of a platform for quite some time with little capital to work with and he certainly isn't getting younger. I for one want to thank HPF for their support. Chris was always kind to me, always supportive, and always wished me well. He always wanted me to succeed and I wasn't even a customer of his. To him I was just some random kid building a forum. I did an interview with Chris back in 2010: http://www.germanboost.com/content.php?426-BimmerBoost-Interview-with-Chris-Bergermann-Owner-of-Horsepower-Freaks I suggest any interested party take a look or listen to it (audio is posted). It shows how far HPF came in just 9 years at the time of the interview. I wish you well Chris, I wish all your employees well, and I hope you move on positively. It's a rough and cuthroat business. When you are on top, people just want to tear you down. It's easy for people to talk down sitting comfortably behind their monitor without realizing how many peoples lives this affects. Hopefully there is a learning lesson here that makes everyone stronger and hopefully nobody is going to bed hungry at night as a result of this. You'll land on your feet Chris. Good luck and thank you, from BimmerBoost.

So you know that awesome BMW S85 V10 revving over 8000 rpm giving somewhat of a direct link to the Motorsport division that seemed equally at home in an Italian exotic as it did under the hood of a BMW sport sedan? Yep, that one with the individual throttle bodies, over 100 horses per liter, that won all those awards, and that you could not get anything like it in a 550i, 545i, 535i, 530i, 528, or 525i? You know, a real unique M motor made specifically for an M car and only available in an M car? Say goodbye to ever seeing that again. From now on, every M motor will simply be based on an engine already in production. That means whatever cylinder count and block is already available in a chassis is all you will ever get standard model or M model be damned. The M purist has been moaning about this for years that BMW M motors will essentially just become their standard counterparts with some different software but the head of BMW M (Friedrich Nitschke) finally officially confirmed the days of the unique M motor built from the ground up by the M division are quite simply, over: So the engines will be closer to the standard engines. We already see that in the N63/S63 motors a good example being the X5 50i and X5 M. For BMW this means huge cost savings and that certain internal parts do not even need to be changed. For example, the same pistons can be used for both an M and non-M motor now: This is obviously a cost saving measure. BMW can share blocks, internals, and change software yet charge a huge premium. They can even offer performance software as a quick cash grab without having to change any hardware. The cost for the consumer doesn't become more affordable (M models are actually getting more expensive) but the profit margin for BMW increases. You get less, both for your dollar and in hardware choices, yet they make more. Hey, BimmerBoost tried to warn you. So don't expect to see anything made by the M-Division like an S54 ever again. Or an S38. Or an S65. Or an S85. Or an S14. Those are not motors you can just slap different software on and simply call M engines. The M division is officially dead kids along with BMW's pride, get it through your heads. This information all comes from an intereview by Car and Driver with head of M Friedrich Nitschke. It's quite amusing to see him believe the garbage he is spewing to Car and Driver. Some great lines to read: The M5 and M6 are on a level with the competition weight wise? All wheel drive is too heavy? The competition has all wheel drive and weighs the same as BMW with rear wheel drive if not slightly less. A recent comparison of convertible GT's had the F12 BMW M6 come in last place because of poor driving dynamics and the heaviest curb weight by far with the car not offering much more than straightline acceleration. What the hell is Nitschke talking about? Game over kids, BMW M has buried their heads so far in the sand they can't smell their own BS.

Wow. That is exactly what came out of my mouth when I saw this supercharger kit at Bimmerfest. In all honesty, it was my main motivation for attending the event once I heard it would be there. Some people may be reading this and wondering what the big deal is as superchargers already exist for the M3. That is true, superchargers do exist, but they are all centrifugal style blowers. This is the world's first positive displacement supercharger for the S65 V8. Why is that a big deal? Because it's a completely different type of blower with completely different power delivery. This is the solution for those who complain about the M3's torque or for those who do not like the response down low of a centrifgual blower which needs rpm to make boost. This style of supercharger is always making boost, from anywhere in the rev range. That is what makes incorporating it on the S66 V8 difficult with its independent throttle bodies as positive displacement blowers usually are set to pull air through a throttle body not blow into it. The centrifugal blowers send air into a manifold. If a positive displacement were to use a similar setup it would be blowing air in while the throttle bodies attempted to close as it is always making boost. See the problem? The solution Harrop Engineering came up with was a manifold that fits in between the throttle bodies with a bypass valve fit that relieves pressure as needed and makes sure boost is not made as throttles are closing. Pretty trick setup eh? You can see the design in the photos and also how tight the packaging is. I do not even want to know how many hours were put in trying to get this all to fit. The blower employed is a TVS1740 unit from Eaton. This is a roots blower and likely will be set to 5.5 psi or so initially. Boost from this blower is different from a centrifugal and will be harder on the stock rods since it is at full boost right away. Expect horsepower in the low 500's to the wheels. Oh and see that little black box to the left of the manifold off a metal area at the inlet? There will be electronic boost control which is likely the first of its kind on a positive displacement setup although I am not able to confirm this. Different maps with different boost levels for different fuel? A possibility, yes. This is a big deal and an engineering feat for the S65. My complete and utter respect and that of this network to the guys at Harrop. There is still work to be done here. It is not quite ready although pricing is initially set at $12,990. There is still a lot of tuning to be done but this will be coming eventually. Pictures below, much respect Harrop and it was a pleasure meeting you guys at Bimmerfest. You were incredibly nice and answered all my (MANY) questions. Thank you:

With all the discussions as of late regarding upgraded turbo options for N54 inline-6 twin turbo based vehicles the stock N54 turbos have not been getting a lot of love. Well, in comes BMS to remind us just how much power the stock turbos can make these days. The N54 has come a long way and BMS was able to squeeze out 461 rear wheel horsepower on a dynojet in STD correction. Also 510 pound-feet of rear wheel torque. Mod list for the car is as follows: B4 G5 ISO BMS back end flash -- "race" file BMS downpipes CPE intercooler CPE chargepipe w/ tial valve BMS DCI BMS OCC Spec clutch w/ steel single mass flywheel BMS 2.2g meth kit w/ 80% ethanol / 20% water, CM12 nozzle E40 fuel (40% E98, 60% pump 91 octane) "Option2" inline booster pump At the 20.5 PSI of boost on the turbos necessary to hit these peak figures it is doubtful the turbos would last long. This would likely need to be dialed back for any extended use as the turbos are simply being pushed past their limit. Still, nice to see just how much can be extracted from the N54 stock turbos. Nice work by BMS, graphs below.

So the "successor" to the E82 1-Series in the USA will be the F22 2-Series. Yes, the new 1-Series hatback will not be coming over to the USA so the 2-Series coupe will fill that void as the spiritual successor. This car will compete with the Mercedes-Benz CLA as well as the Audi A3 sedan. The M235i version you see here will likely share the exact same drivetrain as the F10 M135i which means a 320 horsepower N55 3.0 liter turbocharged and direct injected inline-6. The styling of the car looks to be a bit of a blend of F30 3-Series and F32 4-Series although smaller. The headlights takes F30 inspiration but do not go all the way to the grille giving an edgy look to the corners that is aggressive. This will be a pretty good looking car and a great entry level BMW especially if the weight is kept fairly low. It may end up being the most fun car to drive in the BMW lineup. Photos below.

This is a bit of a perplexing run video. What we have here is two cars claimed to be stock, A C6 Z06 and the new F10 M5. The two cars do several runs from a roll on the highway from speeds of 80 kilometers per hour (50 miles per hour). The Z06 is just over 1000 pounds lighter than the F10 M5. It does not give up a ton horsepower wise showing around ~450 wheel horsepower stock versus the F10 M5 which sits at about ~60 wheel horsepower more. So the F10 M5 makes more power but has another 1000 pounds to carry around. The F10 M5 has also lost to a stock P31 C63 AMG in a roll on race which weighs 700-800 pounds more than the Z06 and makes roughly 35 less horsepower at the wheels than the Z06. So, BimmerBoost is left scratching its head on this one. Even magazines routinely get ~125 miles per hour of the C6 Z06 in the 1/4 mile whereas the the M5 is in the ~120 range trap speed range meaning the C6 Z06 is favored from a roll, favored from a stop due to its weight, favored basically everywhere. The fastest 1/4 mile trap speed recorded for a stock F10 M5 is Car and Driver with a 122 mile per hour trap but Car and Driver got 126 for the Z06 so... these races make no sense. The Z06 simply has a much better power to weight ratio so why the result is what it is I have no clue. The M5 clearly pulls up top in multiple runs whether it gets the jump or not. Let's just hope F10 M5 owners don't start thinking their car is now a Z06 beater as this will no doubt inflate some egos. From the looks of things though the M6 may have a shot to at least make it a race against the C6 Z06 with how it has shown against the Nissan GTR recently. Video is below, you make sense of it.

MHP. Modern Horsepower. Andrew Cluck. These names are all known on the Mercedes-Benz forums but for the wrong reasons. For years, MHP has used forums to try to push their products stating they are the best and using drag racing records as the reasoning for this "supposed" superiority. The truth of the matter is, MHP was not doing their own M156 / 63 AMG tuning others were doing it for them which Mr. Cluck would then essentially re-sell at a premium and take credit for. If one went to the source they could get the exact same thing for less money. There literally is no reason to pay any extra money so that Andy can take his cut to then spend on forum advertising to try and get more and more people to fall for this same trap. Modern Horsepower has been thrown off several forums due to their tactics including this one. Andy is simply too difficult to deal with and uses dirty tricks to get his way. This includes multiple screennames trying to sway a discussion his way as well as asking to have an ability to pay to ban users implemented. Don't believe it? Take his own word for it then: What makes this latest episode most amusing is the tuner that MHP had to ask for help. That tuner is BenzBoost premier vendor Weistec. Yes, the same Weistec that has the record for the fastest Mercedes-Benz vehicle as well as the first company to supercharge the 63 AMG V8 motor. An accomplished tuner at the top of the Mercedes game. So what makes this funny? Well, how Andrew Cluck / MHP would put Weistec and their customers down behind their backs only to have to result to begging them for help once his other tuner told him essentially to kiss off after being sick of dealing with him just as basically anyone else who has dealt with him has: So Andy calls Weistec's work garbage, says they screwed over their customer (this same customer who claims MHP owes him something around a couple grand which has not been paid to this day), that they don't know what they are doing, and then ends up turning to Weistec to bail him out. Unbelievable really, isn't it? But hey, that's who Andrew Cluck is. It's right there, in his own words and actions. So why was Andy forced to work with a tuner he bashed behind the scenes? Because everyone else was sick of him. Literally, EVERYONE. People just had their fill of his BS and this is why he was banned from MBWorld, removed from here, and even forums that have nothing to do with Mercedes motors. Techtec is who Modern Horsepower used previously and they simply told him to get lost: When you go after just about everyone yelling and screaming on forums you eventually burn every last bridge. That is exactly what MHP managed to do. Makes you wonder how they even had business in the first place? Well, it's this use of "record" 1/4 mile runs that get people's attention. MHP specifically targets cold weather with the best possible negative density altitude to get record runs that don't apply to areas with warm weather. This is the selling point though and it worked for quite some time. Numbers make eyes light up and wallets open up. When MHP called out EVOMS to race, it ended up never happening even though EVOMS accepted due to MHP not wanting to deal with the Arizona weather which is a level playing field for two cars at the same time. MHP didn't go because the times would not match what was achieved on the East Coast: Ladies and gentlemen, this is being brought to your attention for several reasons. First of all, I wish to commend Weistec for helping out enthusiasts in need of tuning help. They could have easily just washed their hands of MHP and its customers hanging the "record holders" (one of whom was trying to get tuning for his aftermarket cams) out to dry. Instead, they helped him. That's just the way Weistec is, they will help you and do their absolute best no matter who you are. With it finally becoming public knowledge (Where are these M156 "record" holders to tell the truth about who really did the tuning? Where is their honor?) that Weistec did the tuning this matter can be publicly discussed. Also, credit can finally be given to the real record holders. Secondly, it is way overdue for the Mercedes-Benz and AMG tuning scene to move on from MHP. Andy has failed, been thrown out of basically every forum he tried to advertise on, and it's time to just move on. After meeting Andy in person last year I finally understood the mentality that caused so many issues for so many people. He even tried to take credit for my work on BenzBoost basically claiming his presence built it (claiming credit for the work of others seems to be a pattern). The man literally said he could throw me and anyone he wanted out of a window and then get them put in jail because "it's Ohio" and he knows the right people. This is not a mentally balanced person and yes this really happened. There is no reason to go to a middleman for a markup on tuning products that can be purchased directly. Exhaust products, tunes, whatever really. There is no reason to deal with MHP. Enough is enough (and believe me there is a TON more that can get posted but is it even necessary at this point?), good riddance Andy. Karma can be a you know what. Good thing you have plenty of diapers to dry those tears with. It's over.

So let's see here, some random Russian garage is claiming 1370 wheel horsepower (seriously) with an ESS-Tuning supercharged E63 M6 and nitrous. The claim is with 98 octane fuel and a stock motor no less. I mean if you are going to lie at least make it somewhat believable. The most powerful S85 V10 in the world is V.S. Motors twin turbo S85 V10 with an output of 1850 horses on methanol with a 4.8 liter block whose bore was decreased for more material. Now you are telling me some random Russian garage with an ESS kit running a tiny V3si blower (That the 4.0 liter S65 V8 in the M3 is capable of easily maxing) with some nitrous thrown on top is making 1370 wheel horsepower on 98 octane gas with 14.5 psi of boost and nitrous? Oh that's funny. If this shop wants to prove this, run the dyno in shootout mode please. What you see here is dyno manipulation at its finest. It's a load of crap ladies and gentlemen. First of all, RPI on a Dyno Dynamics with a full bolt on M5 plus the ESS supercharger kit only managed 576.8 wheel horsepower. So another 800 wheel horsepower is just some more boost and nitrous away? That isn't an optimistic dyno the Russians are just running, it is full on capable of miracles. The V3si due to the volumetric efficiency of the S85 likely won't even hit 14.5 psi without being severely overspun. The blower is only listed as capable of supporting 775 horsepower at the crank anyway by Vortech: ESS-Tuning themselves claims on 93 octane AKI (98 RON, like what the Russians are claiming to use) 640 horsepower at the crank with 6 psi of boost. Independent dynos have shown up to 560 wheel horsepower in STD correction or 540 wheel horsepower in SAE on a dynojet. That's a hell of a long way from 1370 wheel horsepower. Ok, let's give the benefit of the doubt. Let's say 6 psi of boost gets the car to 560 wheel horsepower. That's about 23.3 wheel horsepower per psi of boost. Let's go all the way to 14.5 psi which would be roughly 757 wheel horsepower and beyond the capability of the blower but let's just ignore that. That still leaves over 613 wheel horsepower to be generated by the nitrous and nothing under the hood there shows the type of direct port setup with a good amount of race fuel being fed in to supplement the nitrous necessary to even approach a 1/4 of that output. Ladies and gentlemen, this is simply someone with a Dyno Dynamics who played with the settings and is essentially trolling everyone. One has to be completely naive to believe some random tuner took an off the shelf kit, added some nitrous, and hit close to 1400 horsepower. If anyone for some reason believes this ask them to do this again in shootout mode. It will never happen. Let's just put it this way, see that 729.8 number from the previous pull in the vidieo? It's still optimistic but at least closer to what the car is really putting out. We have the Miracle on Ice. The Russians now have the Miracle on the Dyno.

In case you needed any more convincing regarding if the Maximum PSI turbo kit for the E46 M3 is the real deal this should alleviate any and all doubts. How does a 10.868@131.08 with a 1.71 60 foot sound? That's exactly what the Stage 2 Maximum PSI E46 M3 S54 turbo kit was able to achieve just a few days ago at the ATCO drag strip. 10's are very impressive especially on the E46 M3 platform that has a weak rear end and is tough to launch but the kit was shown putting down 697 wheel horsepower in Stage II trim as it is said to be running at the track. With 697 wheel horsepower BimmerBoost expects a much faster trap than 131 miles per hour and a quicker ET than 10.8. E92 M3's with superchargers run these same times with over 100 wheel less horsepower and much less torque so why isn't this quicker/faster? Obviously this is just the beginning and congratulations to Max PSI for already getting into the 10's but this is not indicative of 697 wheel horsepower or a Stage II that car was trailered in to the track. We're guessing power was turned down to preserve the driveline but there are no supplemental details indicating so.

Foreword by admin: Gentlemen, many M3 enthusiasts and car modification enthusiasts in general tend to get this wrong. Active Autowerke put up a quick article explaining that one can not compare superchargers especially for the M3 platform simply by looking at the PSI figures. 7 psi on a Vortech T-Trim and 7 psi on a Rotrex blower do not tell the whole story as far as how much air (measured in CFM, or cubic feet per minute) is getting into the motor and at what rpm. PSI does not explain the torque curve, max CFM the blower is capable of, or the compressor map. A good read by Active Autowerke explaining this below even for those familiar with boost being a measure of backpressure. One other thing to remember, a car can make more power and torque even when boost or PSI drops with changes to the exhaust system such as the headers, manifold, heads, or a multitude of other areas. BimmerBoost members, I have been getting tons of questions regarding Psi and power output lately and it seems there is a ton of misinformation out there and it is spreading like wild fire. Below I will try and explain to the best of my knowledge how this all works. So Here it Goes! Things to know before reading: The boost (psi) you have come to know and love is being read at the intake manifold only. PSI does not tell you how much air actually makes it into the intake ports during their short open interval. It's only a measurement of force exerted on the intake plenum. With that said Lets get started! What is PSI ? First you need to understand 1PSI = 1LB force per square inch and not Pounds of air per square inch. A square inch is a unit of area, and not volume. 7 PSI = Seven pounds of force exerted on every square inch of internal surface area of the intake manifold and intake ports only. This says nothing about how much air is actually getting into the engine If this were the case it would be read as pressure per cubic inch. Psi is just how much force the air is exerting as it gets force fed from the Supercharger compressor. So to sum it you can calculate the air density based on how much pressure is exerted, but PSI is not a measure of volume. Comparing Superchargers: There are many misguided comparisons regarding blowers floating around on this forum so to start lets talk CFM "Cubic feet per minute." CFM is a non-SI unit of measurement of air-flow that indicates how many cubic feet of air pass by a stationary point in one minute. Or to simplify it is a unit for measuring the rate of flow of air volume into or out of a space. The wheel size and outlet volume of a supercharger compressor has a great impact on the CFM ( speed the air is actually traveling through the manifold" A large supercharge can flow much faster and requires less psi to make the same HP. This large volume of air leaves the Supercharger and enters the bottleneck which is the intake tract speeding up just as water speeds up just like in a river when you hit a bottle neck. You white water rafters know what Im talking about. The air flowing from a smaller supercharger on the other hand is flowing into the same size river, but this time the river is large in relation to the charge volume so the air just creeps along and will require more psi to hit the same hp. Notes: A larger supercharger can show less manifold psi compared to the smaller blower which needs higher Psi but the flow into the engine will be the same and make the same hp. All things being equal in this example temps,tune ect.. Heat Soak: Heat soak is the systems lack of ability to get rid of excess heat much like having too small a radiator for a car. We measure Heat soak from the manifold in the form of Intake air temperature "IAT". When a gas "air" is heated, it's molecules get farther apart and it's density decreases while it's volume increases. However, if it is heated and has no room to expand, density will go down and volume stays the same, but it's pressure will increase. This is a generic property of all gases." So basically if you get heatsoak, and your boost doesn't increase, you're losing efficiency and in turn flow. This will result in lower hp numbers until lower Iat temperatures return. Conclusion: The air coming from the smaller blower will travel forward into the intake ports with a lower velocity than that from the larger blower for the reasons that we established in our "river bottlnecK" example above. So while both superchargers are exerting the same amount of force on the intake ports/ manifold the air from the larger blower is approaching the intake ports at a much higher velocity and therefore more will get in before the port closes. --And this ladies and gentlemen is why you cannot compare Psi from blower A to blower B. If you have any questions or if I left anything out please let me know.

The last time we saw these two cars do battle it almost caused a world forum war. Nissan GT-R fanboys could not believe their precious robot (excuse me, "Godzilla") got beat down hard and BMW fanboys rejoiced that the M6 was seemingly much stronger than the F10 M5. BS flags were thrown around, Nissan guys said it wasn't possible, and BimmerBoost took the stance that the race should be much closer. Something was fishy with that previous video and this new video answers some questions. The very first race shows that from a slow roll, the GT-R will have the advantage. Although the M6 does make up ground showing it pulls harder up top the race is very close with the GT-R edging the M6 which is forced to try to run it down. From a stop, this would have been ugly. The other two races are higher speed rolls and these favor the M6. The M6 does not run away easily as previously seen but in one of the runs where it gets a jump it continues to increase its distance. The GT-R is simply not able to catch or close distance against the car up top. So, this is a better video that better shows the cars respective strengths. The M6 is a highway monster whereas the GT-R excels more from lower speed situations where its all wheel drive and short gearing pay dividends. It would be interesting to see how a 2013 GTR which traps a little bit more mile per hour in the 1/4 mile than the 2012 model would fair against the M6. A wash? Maybe. This certainly isn't the end of the debate.

The Toyota 2JZ motor. The engine out of the Toyota Supra that has reached legendary status in tuning circles and was every teenage boys dreams ever since its "iconic" scene in the Fast and Furious movie. Some BMW enthusiasts go so far as to compare their six-cylinder motors to it as if that is some kind of badge of honor. Regardless, here is someone who took their 2JZ love a bit too far and decided to swap the motor into an E30 3-Series. Is this cool? Is this different? Sure, but a BMW with a Toyota heart just feels wrong. Especially when there are several BMW motors to choose from that can make this same power and then some. An S38 turbo E30 for example just feels more at home and is more impressive in my own opinion. Same thing goes for an S50, S54, S52, M50, M52, etc. Yep, it's fast. Yep, it's powerful. But one might as well just swap in a LSX V8 when going this far. You just can't transplant a soul.

Here it officially is, the Renntech M157 turbo upgrade package which will retail for $11,850. Several dynos has been posted showcasing the strength of this package including a 691 wheel horsepower run on 93 octane pump gas which they when were able to raise to 725 wheel horsepower being the first and only tuner to crack the 7XX horsepower barrier on pump gas. Very impressive results and huge gains over the stock cars. Pictures and graphs below. Key Features: RENNtech Ball Bearing Garrett derived turbo chargers Larger impeller (inlet) and turbine (exhaust) cartridge Cartridge shaft is larger and stronger to support larger wheels Entire cartridge is fine balanced as an assembly Lightweight forged billet wheels Less rolling resistance offers quicker spooling Virtually no lag with impressive throttle response Precision machined impeller and turbine housings Leak proof, high quality lines and fittings with heat shielding 833 Hp and 980 TQ @ crank

I attended Bimmerfest 2013 and this was my first time at Bimmerfest. Why you ask? Well, because Tim who owns BimmerFest banned me from the BimmerFest forum once I started BimmerBoost. Well, bygones are bygones (plus BimmerBoost is too big to try to freeze out now) and this year BimmerFest invited BimmerBoost to attend as a VIP Media Sponsor. I accepted the invitation and drove down to the Rose Bowl to check it out. I am glad I did and I simply have to admit the event is phenomenal. The sheer size of the event is difficult to capture. It's big, much bigger than I expected. It's bigger than any other BMW event I have ever been to. Honestly, it dwarfs them in the amount of cars, vendors, people, you name it. I was told to go to a special side media only entrance but since I showed up at around 11:30 AM due to all the traffic that entrance was closed by that point. So, I squeezed my way in the side of the general entrance and was told to pay $20 for parking. Tim told me my entrance was free so I promptly told the guy at the gate I'm Sticky from BimmerBoost.com. After signing a few autographs I was in. The event was packed. I mean packed. People everywhere. Cars everywhere. Vendors everywhere. It was an awesome sight to behold. I was impressed and almost a bit jealous. I would be quite satisfied if BimmerBoost or a BimmerBoost event got this big one day. I will be going again but there are some things that can definitely be improved. $5 for a soda? Really? And cash only? That means I had to use the ATM which then on top of that charged me $3.50 to get my own money. So I paid $8.50 for a soda. It's definitely a blatant cash grab which somewhat hurts the grassroots community feel it should have. Perhaps getting a bit too commercial for its good? Then there was the guy on the loudspeaker reminding everyone to buy T-Shirts every 5 seconds. RELAX. How about talking more about the cars? Instead of informing the crowd what cars were where and what to see we were constantly being told to buy merchandise at every second. Gintani and I waited for hours for him to announce that a new E92 M3 horsepower record was achieved which he promised to do but instead all we kept hearing was where the ATM's were. I thought this was a car show? Additionally, the awards were a bit of a farce. The winning modern BMW was, surprise surprise, ESS-Tuning supercharged. Not that there is anything wrong with that but a bit suspect with ESS-Tuning being the headline sponsor. Especially when the BimmerBoost.com M3 which set a new horsepower world record that has been three years in the making does not even get a mention? Or any kind of award? But a dime a dozen ESS supercharged car is rated the best? What kind of judges are these and what do they really know about BMW's, tuning, or the aftermarket? These are my only complaints. Other than that, a fantastic show and I look forward to attending next year with BimmerBoost hopefully playing a bigger role. Thanks for the invite Tim, Bimmerfest has come a long way. Congratulations! Pictures and further details below. Additional articles regarding products and vendors at Bimmerfest will follow. When I say huge I mean huge, tons of cars and people: The classics were representing. The silver E9 is just jaw dropping: I have dreamt about a swap like this and it seems someone had the same idea and beat me to it. A Honda F20 motor with displacement increased to 2.3 liters with a 9500 rpm redline swapped into a 2002 BMW. Props to you good sir. And check out that plate! This guy has a point... Of course 1M's were everywhere: Very impressive matte paint job on this F10: Dakar yellow is a great vintage color but sadly in person on the E92 it is a bit dull. It is just one of those colors that perhaps should stay retired. Still, definitely different and definitely nice to see: An awesome E90 M3 until you see the neon green trim that sticks out like a sore thumb. What was this guy thinking? A tastefully modded car that is then marred with a few elements of poor taste: The red accents are a bit much on a white car. When it starts to look clownish you took it too far: Now this is a beautiful E92 M3 showing sometimes less is more. Ericsson trunk, BBS LM-R's, good looking carbon accents under the sideskirts, well done. The German flag colors on the grille may be a bit much for some people though: A pristine 2002 turbo and a posing "M2" : Lot's of E30 M3's: Self explanatory: The widebody work on this E60 M5 was the best at the show in my opinion. Clean, perfectly fitting, just absolutely gorgeous. The shop that did this body work deserves major respect: This blue foil style wrap was very, very eye catching. Definitely not for someone who does not like attention: Reminded me somewhat of an M3 GTS: Remus was there with an F10 M5 rear section exhaust: Not only BMW's attended: BimmerBoost vendor ModBargains in attendance: Completely original BMW 2002. Flawless: Akrapovic showed off their titanium F10 M5 exhaust which is a beauty to behold: Matte X6: BimmerBoost vendor Vorsteiner in attendance showing off their BMW body pieces available for the F30, F10 M5, and F13 M6: BimmerBoost vendor HRE Wheels in attendance. This car just flat out popped, hard to explain but the effect in person was awesome: Dinan was showing off their N63 intake which seems to be a ram air style for the N63 funneling air in from the grille. Looked great: Never seen fully carbon headlight covers before. Only works on a track car obviously: BimmerBoost vendor IND-Distribution in attendance. You know it's IND from far away when you see the most colorful BMW's. The attention to detail on the yellow M3 is amazing. Tasteful yellow accents everywhere from the stitching to seatbelts. This is why IND is who IND is: Of course there were Active Autowerke blowers representing: N55 and S63 motors on display but somebody switched the labels. The people at the booth were surprised when I pointed it out. Was a rather obvious mistake: Hey! Cameo by BenzBoost vendor Weistec Engineering: This Hamann widebody X5 simply is overdone: Beautiful weather and yes, tons of BMW's: The prices are a bit ridiculous and the show is cash only. Come on now, be reasonable: You look fine sweetheart: Ariel Atom cameo. Need to get me one of these: Cash only food stands and $9.50 hotdogs. Quite the racket: Techno Violet. Quite simply one of the most beautiful colors BMW has ever put on a car: Cameo by my future ex-wife: Interesting E92 M3 widebody: Whatever the hell this is, it's cool: That's all folks:

Now this is what a BMW M car is supposed to sound like. A slight raspy growl down low with a tinge of that high pitched exotic whine as the revs rise and hell is unldeashed. This is a sweet sounding M3. The type of sound that adds another element to the M ownership experience. No need for fake or synthetic engine noise to be piped in to try to make the car more exciting like what BMW has to resort to doing in the new F10 M5 due to the poor engine note. Set the video below to 1080p, turn your sound up, click play, and enjoy. A dynograph of the Level III system on this E92 M3 is also included below. Very, very solid power.

Nice dyno results here showing how potent a tuned N63 V8 can be with just bolt on modifications. The car has Dinan Stage 3 software which although more aggressive than the standard Dinan software is not the most aggressive software available for the platform. Still, the software alone versus the baseline provides 45 horsepower at the wheels which for conservative Dinan is definitely a solid gain. This is then combined with the Active Autowerke exhaust and downpipes. The final result is 406 horsepower at the wheels for a gain of 81 horsepower at the wheels on the more conservative reading Mustang dyno. Solid power and gains. Those with N63 V8's have a lot of power sitting there just waiting to be unleashed. Graph, pictures, and acceleration videos below.

One thing BMW does well (and seemingly better than anything else these days) is market themselves. Tons of advertising, teaser videos, and basically propaganda designed to make us all think they still build the Ultimate Driving Machine. Enthusiasts of course know better as BMW has fallen from grace quite a bit but this does not change the fact that the general public buys into what BMW is selling them and Forbes agrees placing the brand as number 1 in the automotive world and 9th overall in the world. Keep in mind this same list has Apple listed as number one and McDonalds listed at number 7. Being "powerful" does not equate to being the best by any means. Still, BMW being number 1 is impressive and ironically enough the next automotive brand behind them is Toyota. Seems fitting almost that Toyota and BMW stand side by side as BMW continues to go after sales volume above all else... just like Toyota. Mercedes-Benz is third and number 16th overall.

Wow. Quite simply, wow. Talk about a car that just right out of the box impresses. Close to mid 10's and 130 in a stock car, incredible. The 997.2 Turbo S simply is a epic achievement. The launch control and PDK transmission clearly help as a 1.58 60 foot is mind boggling for a stock car on street rubber. The launch control system works and works very damn well. The result using it is a 10.672@129.80 for what is a new stock 997 Turbo 1/4 mile record. A tune and some drag rubber and 9's are within reach. GIAC already showed that was possible with a 9.8@135 run in a bolt on 997.2 Turbo S. The PDK transmission simply makes the most of the horsepower and launch. With some upgraded turbos these cars are going to be running absolutely insane 1/4 mile times. Congrats to owner here. Now get a tune and experience that rush all over again.

Now this is what you call fast. Congratulations to Budler Motorsports for improving on their record (previously a 7.69 elapsed time) with a 7.48@184 1/4 mile run. This vehicle is a 5-speed manual E30 with an S38 swap that is turbocharged. Horsepower is somewhere in the ~1300 range. The world's fastest E30 BMW? Yep. Also the world's fastest manual BMW? Unless anybody can mention another BMW with a manual gearbox that is faster this E30 would appear to have that record. Much respect to Budler Motorsports for continuing to push the envelope. Pictures, video, and specifications below. Specs: Body work fibre glass fenders and hood custom rear wing and simpsom chute custom cage liberty 5spd box custom made prop shaft competition eng diff (locally made) 35 spline side shafts also made by competition eng bilstein front suspension Strange multi link in the rear m5 s38 3.7 liter motor Pauter rods arias pistons Oem crank,mains,head and valves 264 degree billet cams full methanol setup 6 1200 cc injectors 6 1000 cc injectors 2 Go-tech pro x management systems 29 psi boost from a custom T66 turbo also known as T66 + vat 1300+ horses

This is starting to get sad especially considering the M6 is the highest performance car BMW has right now. Car and Driver decided to do a comparison between the new F12 M6, Porsche 991 Carrera S, Mercedes-Benz SL63 AMG, and the Jaguar XKR-S. All of which finished ahead of the BMW M6 which came in last place a position BMW is getting accustomed to being in as of late in automotive magazine comparison tests. The M6 has impressed with its acceleration as of late but acceleration is only one part of the story. The numbers Car and Driver gets for the M6 are pretty much inline with the numbers achieved for the F10 M5 which makes sense when one considers the difference we have witnessed of the M6 coupe and M5 going head to head and the added weight for the convertible model. 12.2@119 in the 1/4 mile? Sounds about right. The fastest car of the bunch ended up being the SL63 AMG with a blistering 11.8@124 1/4 mile sprint, wow. The fattest car of the bunch ended up being the M6 with a curb weight of 4496 pounds. Wow is it a fatty. The SL63 AMG even with its folding hardtop undercuts the M6 by 368 pounds. Once again, that is with a folding hardtop people. The Benz also gets closer to 50/50 weight distribution than BMW with 50.9/49.1 versus 51.2/48.8. And what about when the weight of the Carrera S is factored in versus the M6? How about a whopping 1069 less pounds to move around. Ok, what about handling? Every single car went through the slalom faster than the M6. The M6 achieved 42.0 mph while the Jaguar hit 42.1, the Benz 43.6, and the Porsche 47.3. How the mighty have fallen, Jaguar is beating up on BMW too? The problem here is the BMW is no longer the most exciting to drive. BMW never was the fastest, or offering the best skidpad numbers, but the most fun. Everything just came together perfectly for an amazing all around driving experience. The M6 scores last in the fun to drive and steering feedback factors compared to the other cars by an eye-openingly wide margin. This just isn't the same BMW people and don't just take my word for it: "Even with all its many driver-adjustable settings for steering effort, throttle response, and suspension stiffness, it’s impossible to make the M6 fully at home on winding roads. The steering is duller than the others, and the body wallows and leans more as the mass pushes the suspension around. An overriding sense of isolation meant the clearest feedback we got came from our drivers, complaining that they felt less confident driving hard into corners, unsure if the grip would hold. There’s an artificiality to the M6, from its soft-then-hard brake pedal to the way the engine sounds more like interstellar gas eruptions than internal combustion. We know BMW plays engine sounds through the audio system’s speakers, and the M6 is the only car here in which the engine note gets quieter and more distant with the top down. Hmph! The M6 is not horrible, but it’s not really an M, either. It’s too girthy, too soft, and too ersatz. If only it were as good at generating emotion as it is at generating test numbers. BMW needs a separate badge for these ultrafast luxury barges, the M5 and M6, to separate them from the M3. Until then, we’ll just rate it a “U” for uninspiring." Results below.

Great video here of three runs at the PBIR (Palm Beach International Raceway) between a McLaren MP4-12C and a Porsche 911 Turbo S PDK. Oddly enough, the McLaren seems to rip the 911 Turbo out of the hole on the runs despite not having all wheel drive. It's fast, very fast in the first run turning a 10.6@134 to the 911's 11.0@125. On the second run the McLaren gives the 911 Turbo the hit and seems to just barely run it down but the times are similar with a 10.6@133 for the McLaren and 11.0@126 for the 911 Turbo. The 911 Turbo S is a terror on the drag strip having shown a 10.7@127 in stock form and even a 10.6@129. That was in seemingly better weather though and the Florida PBIR strip isn't the fastest when temps start to heat up. This MP4-12C likely has the new software update which bumps output by 25 horsepower. On R-Compound rubber we have seen a 10.3 1/4 mile out of the car completely stock. It's simply quicker and faster than the 911 Turbo S, video below.

Just a little over 30 days ago PorscheBoost posted an article showing the 991 Turbo basically undisguised completing its final testing. The car appeared ready for its debut and well here it is. Porsche decided to show the car off before its official "public" debut at the Frankfurt Auto Show in September of this year. What is interesting to note is that just like its 991 GT3 sibling the new 991 generation 911 Turbo has no manual option and is PDK only. What is also interesting to note is the very high starting price of $149,250 (Almost $11,000 more than the 997 Turbo) for the 991 Turbo and $182,050 for the Turbo S (a $20k bump). With options the standard turbo can easily get in the $170k range. The Turbo S should have no problem crossing $200k with options. Used 997 Turbo models sure look like a hell of a bargain right about now and depreciation likely won't be kind to the 991 Turbo. Both models get a 3.8 liter twin turbocharged flat-6 and direct injected motor. Both also are PDK only, no manual offered at this time and possibly never again. The Turbo is at 520 horsepower and the Turbo S is now at 560 horsepower. Those saying numbers would be in the 520-550 horsepower range were in the right range but it seemed nobody expected the Turbo and Turbo S to debut at the same time. Porsche does what it always does and steps its game up gradually but the 991 Turbo just does not seem to have quite the same impact the 991 GT3 managed with its debut both from the specs and styling. Pictures are below. Turbo S model now capable of accelerating from 0-60 mph in 2.9 seconds Atlanta. The Porsche model offensive in the anniversary year of the 911 is reaching new heights. Fifty years ago, the 911 made its debut at the Frankfurt International Auto Show - and just ten years later, the first 911 Turbo prototype was at the IAA. On this 40th anniversary of the 911 Turbo, Porsche is now presenting the new generation 911 Turbo and Turbo S – the technological and dynamic performance peak of the 911 series. A new all-wheel-drive system, active rear axle steering, adaptive aerodynamics, full-LED headlights, and up to 560 hp from a flat six-cylinder engine with twin-turbochargers underscore the role of the new generation 911 Turbo as an ultra performance car, every day car, and technology flagship. Playing an equally crucial role are an entirely new chassis and lightweight design with a 3.9-inch longer wheelbase and larger 20-inch wheels. The Porsche Dynamic Chassis Control (PDCC) active anti-roll system, which is being offered for the first time in 911 Turbo models, increases dynamic performance even more. This system is standard equipment in the 911 Turbo S, as is Sport Chrono Package Plus with dynamic engine mounts, and Porsche Carbon Ceramic Composite Brakes (PCCB); all of these features are also available as options in the 911 Turbo. The result: The new 911 Turbo S shortens the lap time for the North Loop of the Nürburgring to well under 7 and a half minutes – with standard production tires. Improved Performance and Efficiency The new engine and refined PDK transmission is partnered with a new Porsche Traction Management (PTM) all-wheel drive system. The turbocharged 3.8-liter six-cylinder engine with direct fuel injection produces 520 hp in the 911 Turbo and 560 hp in the S model. Porsche continues to be the only carmaker to offer two turbochargers with variable turbine geometry on a gasoline engine. Power is transferred to the drivetrain via a seven-speed dual clutch transmission (PDK), which now enables an auto start/stop function with engine shutoff, which activates earlier while the car is coming to a stop as well as when coasting at speed. A new combined thermal management system for the turbo engine and the PDK transmission are projected to result in real world fuel economy improvements when final U.S. EPA label values are calculated closer to the time the car is on sale in the United States. Induction and engine sounds are transmitted to the passenger compartment via a speaker diaphragm. New all-wheel drive with electro-hydraulic control For even faster and more precise power distribution to the front and rear axles, Porsche developed a new PTM all-wheel drive system with electronically controlled and activated multi-plate coupling. The system is equipped with a new water cooling function, which allows for more strength, and therefore more drive torque to the front wheels, than the system in the previous 911 Turbo. Simultaneously, the optimized interplay of the engine, transmission and all-wheel drive systems results in significant improvements to the acceleration capabilities of the 911 Turbo and Turbo S. The 911 Turbo with the optional Sport Chrono Package Plus accelerates from zero to 60 mph in 3.2 seconds, on its way to a top track speed of 196 mph. The 911 Turbo S handles the sprint to 60 mph in just 2.9 seconds, with a top track speed of 198 mph. Widest body of all 911 cars Visually, the two new top variants of the 911 lineup are set apart from other models more than ever. The characteristic expansively wide rear body panels of the new generation 911 Turbo are a further 1.1 inches wider than on the 911 Carrera 4– the fenders feature a nearly level surface, about the width of a hand, between the C-pillar and the outer edge of the car body. Other differentiating characteristics include forged two-tone 20-inch aluminum wheels. On the 911 Turbo S they have center hub wheel locks. The Turbo S is further differentiated by new, standard full-LED headlights that feature four-point daytime running lights and camera-based high/low beam control, which can be ordered as an option for the 911 Turbo. Rear wheel steering notably enhances responsiveness The introduction of rear wheel steering in all turbo models immensely improves both track driving capability and everyday performance of the two new sports cars. The system consists of two electro-mechanical actuators, instead of the conventional control links, on the left and right rear axles. The steering angle of the rear wheels can be varied by up to 2.8 degrees, depending on vehicle speed. At speeds up to 31 mph, when the front wheels are turned, the system steers the rear wheels in the opposite direction. This actually corresponds to a virtual shortening of the wheelbase by 9.8 inches, which gives the 911 Turbo unrivalled performance in curves. The system lets the car turn faster into corners and offers more dynamic steering response. This noticeably simplifies maneuvering and parking. At speeds above 50 mph, the system steers the rear wheels parallel to the front wheels. This is equivalent to a virtual lengthening of the wheelbase by 19.6 inches and gives the car tremendous directional control capability. At the same time, the steering input by the driver leads to significantly faster build-up of lateral force at the rear axle, which responds to steering commands even more quickly. Active aerodynamics improve efficiency and performance Porsche developed an active aerodynamic system on the new 911 Turbo models for the first time. It consists of a retractable three-stage front spoiler, whose segments can be pneumatically extended, and a deployable rear wing with three adjustable wing positions. This makes it possible to tune the aerodynamics of the 911 Turbo to fulfill driver wishes for either optimal efficiency or top dynamic performance. In the performance position, all segments of the front spoiler are fully extended, and they generate considerable down force at the front axle. Similarly, the rear wing is extended to its maximum height with the greatest angle of attack. This also generates more down force at the rear axle. Dynamic performance is improved to such an extent that lap times at the North Loop of the Nürburgring are improved by up to two seconds due to this system alone. New interior with high-end features The interior was completely redesigned in both 911 Turbo models, and it builds on the 911 Carrera family. The S model is particularly well equipped, offering such features as an exclusive interior in a black/Carrera red color combination and standard Sport Seats Plus with 18-way adjustment and memory. In addition, the seat back shells are upholstered in leather with double cap seams and various elements in carbon look. As on the previous models, the Bose® sound system is installed as standard; for the first time, a Burmester® system is also available as an optional feature. A radar-controlled cruise control system, camera-based road sign recognition, and speed limit recognition are other new options being offered. The new top models of the 911 model series arrive on the market at the end of 2013 in the United States. The 911 Turbo is priced from $148,300 while the 911 Turbo S begins at $181,100, not including a destination charge of $950.

Well, no surprise here. Porsche continues to embrace the dual clutch transmission making the PDK standard and the only option on their new GT cars such as the GT3 and GT2. It started with the 991 GT3 getting the PDK transmission only with no manual option and now the 991 GT2 and GT2 RS will take the same route. Even the new 991 Turbo does not have a manual transmission option meaning the PDK dual clutch is the only way to get it. Purists may not like it but the GT2 is going to be a beast with 552 horsepower, rear wheel drive, and a dual clutch transmission. The GT2 RS is set to go up to 620 horsepower. 9 second car stock? With drag radials a high 9 second 1/4 mile certainly sounds within reach. Do not expect it until 2015 though. Source

After what seemed like years upon years of teasers and spyphotos Mercedes-Benz finally officially revealed the new W222 generation S-Class sedan. Was the car worth the wait? Definitely, an absolutely beautiful modern design that remains elegant and is not overdone. Inside, outside, the styling is just about perfect and is modern while at the same time reminding us it is a Mercedes-Benz. Great work Mercedes and you certainly are justified in showing pride calling this, "the best automobile in the world." The best or nothing? Yep, that's what the chairman of the Daimler board says, ""Rather than being about safety or aesthetics, power or efficiency, comfort or dynamism, our aspirations were 'the best or nothing' in every respect. No other car stands for the Mercedes-Benz brand promise more than the S-Class." The S550 model which will launch this fall will feature a 455 horsepower M278 4.6 liter twin turbo direct injected V8. This will be followed by the 4Matic version. The S63 AMG will then come after this featuring a ~550 horsepower M157 V8. It is unknown if all wheel drive will be an option on the AMG. The S600 and S65 AMG models with twin turbo V12's will then follow the S63 AMG. There are a ton of new features including safety firsts such as the seatbelts which feature airbags. The press release below delves into all the new features. Job well done Mercedes-Benz. The aspiration: the best automobile in the worldMay 15, 2013 - Stuttgart/Hamburg With the three engineering priorities "Intelligent Drive", "Efficient Technology" and "Essence of Luxury", the new S-Class extends the boundaries of technology on many levels. The S-Class is not just a technological spearhead for Mercedes-Benz but for automotive development as a whole. As with every generation before it, the customers expect the new S-Class to set standards across the board to retain its accolade as "the best automobile in the world". Dr Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler AG and Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars: "Rather than being about safety or aesthetics, power or efficiency, comfort or dynamism, our aspirations were 'the best or nothing' in every respect. No other car stands for the Mercedes-Benz brand promise more than the S-Class." Perfection to the last detail results in "The Essence of Luxury". This pursuit of the best is particularly noticeable in the interior: whether it is the seats or the air conditioning, the controls or the design, the infotainment or the comfort and safety in the rear – new ideas, their painstaking realization, and highest perceived quality underpin the high standards that the engineers have set for the Mercedes-Benz flagship model – and for themselves. The same applies to safety. What started with PRE-SAFE® ten years ago and continued with DISTRONIC PLUS has now resulted in a new dimension of motoring: comfort and safety are merged into one. Mercedes-Benz refers to this as "Intelligent Drive". A whole host of new systems makes the new S-Class even more comfortable and even safer. Design: a modern sense of status and sensual shapes People all over the world can recognize a Mercedes-Benz straight away. The classic Mercedes face runs like a golden thread through the brand's history. "The sophisticated design of the S-Class has always been an expression of luxury and automotive grandeur of its era. And our new S-Class continues this tradition. With its classic architecture and flowing silhouette, it is a modern embodiment of sensual clarity. The design draws a line from the sophisticated, progressive design idiom to the classic elegance of our 1930s cars – intelligence that speaks to the emotions. Stylish sportiness and sensual forms in synthesis with timeless clarity and effortless superiority make the S-Class a true design icon," says design chief Gorden Wagener. To underline the effortless superiority of the new S-Class, and its ambition to lead, the radiator grille is now larger, upright and distinctly three-dimensional in design. With its long hood, the flowing, domed roof line and the gently slanting rear end, the new S-Class has classic sedan proportions. The size and space have been fashioned in such a way that the S-Class appears prestigious, and the powerful roof line is also in keeping with the car's sporty coupé-style intentions. A character line descending discreetly from front to rear – the brand's hallmark "Dropping Line" – elegantly structures the side wall and generates additional dynamism even when the car is at a standstill. The subtly created convexconcave effect of the entire flank gives rise to an extremely powerful and elongated car body that demonstrates both excitement and calm. The pronounced shoulder above the rear wheel adds further emphasis to the car's athletic character. The positively exaggerated surfaces and lines of the side wall on the new S-Class generate excitement as they flow into the rear end. As well as being elegant, the slightly slanting form has aerodynamic advantages. Horizontal lines running from the trunk lid to the bumper emphasize the car's width when viewed from the rear. The hallmark signature of the Mercedes-Benz designers can also be seen in the rear windscreen, which cuts into the C-pillars. The upper area of the glass is rounded, lending it a coupé-like character. The real highlights are the new-style tail lights which are completely encased by the car body and, thanks to this solitarily integrated styling and meticulously crafted inner workings, complete the design right down to the last detail. LED technology: the first ever car without a single light bulb 100 years or so after the introduction of electric lighting in motor vehicles, Mercedes-Benz is now making a complete switch to LED technology – the new SClass is the first vehicle in the world whose interior and exterior do without a single light bulb, and sees Mercedes-Benz building on its pioneering role in the lighting sector. The lighting's multi-level functionality is another world first: out of consideration for any road users behind, the intensity of the brake lights is reduced at night or while waiting at traffic lights, for example. Almost 500 LEDs illuminate the road, the vehicle, the interior and the trunk. Depending on equipment, these include: Headlamps: each with up to 56 LEDs Tail lights: each with up to 35 LEDs (plus 4 for the rear fog lamp) Interior (including ambient lighting): approx. 300 LEDs Visibility is enhanced by two assistance systems that have undergone some key improvements – Adaptive Highbeam Assist Plus and Night View Assist Plus. Thanks to a new stereo camera and multistage radar sensors, the S-Class has 360-degree all-round vision and detects potential dangers on the road better. Suspension: the world's first suspension with "eyes" The new S-Class is the world's first car to be able to detect bumps on the road ahead. If ROAD SURFACE SCAN detects such unevenness by means of the stereo camera, MAGIC BODY CONTROL instantaneously sets up the suspension to deal with the new situation. This innovative suspension system is available as an option for the eight-cylinder models. Standard equipment for the new S-Class includes the continuously operating Adaptive Damping System ADS PLUS and an enhanced version of the full air suspension system AIRMATIC. Interior: visual breadth and calm solidity With its clear architecture, the interior design of the S-Class embodies a classic, superior, cutting-edge saloon. The interior's expressive character derives from a uniquely fluid, sensuously elegant style. Horizontal elements and lines create a setting characterized by visual breadth and calm solidity. High quality and elegance harmonize with clarity and functionality: the interior design of the SClass combines ride comfort, spaciousness and user-friendliness to the very highest standard. The perfectly coordinated use of materials and colours produces an exclusive interior seemingly cast from a single mould. There is generous use of wood trim, especially in the dashboard and centre console. Metallized switch surfaces with pearl-effect paint finishes in three colour shades to suit the interior colour particularly highlight the outstanding quality. Passengers in the rear are also seated in first-class – the design and exclusivity of the seats, door panels and all controls are to the same, high standard as the front. As an additional individualization feature, there are rear seat packages available in the Special Order Program which incorporate a Business center console combining personal comfort with practical convenience (additional storage compartments, folding table, two-place seating in the rear, etc.). Concept: the best for both worlds For the first time in the history of the S-Class, the development focus was on the long-wheelbase Sedan. Unlike before, the short-wheelbase version was derived from this. This is because the S-Class is not only firmly positioned as a prestige sedan in the large overseas markets such as the USA, China or Japan. Whereas in Europe and North America owners of an S-Class are frequently behind the wheel themselves, the flagship model in the Mercedes-Benz passenger-car portfolio is very definitely a chauffeur-driven vehicle in Asia. The logical consequence is the number of new features specifically related to comfort and safety in the rear – in the S-Class, there is no doubt that passengers in the rear are also seated in first class. Control and display concept: elegant new command centre Two high-resolution TFT colour displays in 8:3 format with a screen diagonal of 12.3 inches form the new information center in the S-Class. The left-hand display performs the functions of the previous instrument cluster, providing the driver with all relevant information. The right-hand display allows the convenient control of infotainment and comfort functions. For the new S-Class, the constantly increasing need to integrate additional functions into the vehicle led to a further development of the entire operating logic. Here ergonomics, operating convenience and safety along with attractiveness and aesthetics were the main considerations. The aim in designing the control and display features was to group controls and display functions together in a coherent manner in terms of both design and functionality. Apart from the new displays, the metallized switch surfaces and solid aluminium controls are visual highlights of particularly high quality. Thanks to the fine structuring on the metal surfaces, each individual control has the sound, feel and attention to detail that makes a Mercedes-Benz so special. The new control features include a touch-sensitive telephone keypad and an extended favourites function with twelve freely selectable memory places. The principal control element is the rotary pushbutton, with the usual direct access keys in the center console for the most important functions and a toolbar for the driving assistance systems. Voice entry with the Enhanced Voice Control System allows complete addresses to be spoken in one go, for example (one-shot input). The telephone and audio systems can also be voice-controlled. The option of having text messages (SMS) or emails read out is a new feature. Climate control: a wealth of new features for a pleasant atmosphere During the systematic further development of the entire climate control system, a particular focus was placed on the development goals of performance, air quality, precise regulation, noise level and efficiency. As a new feature, the AIRBALANCE package comprises perfume atomisation, ionisation and even more efficient filtration compared with the standard model. The automatic climate control in the rear has two additional zones to improve thermal comfort. Electric heating of the armrests is a completely new feature. As a world first, the new S-Class Sedan has an "active perfuming system" as part of the AIR-BALANCE package. 'Active' means that the perfuming system is switched on and off manually, with manual adjustment of the intensity. The perfume atomization system individualizes the smell of the vehicle interior. It neither changes the interior smell permanently, nor are perfume molecules deposited on fabric surfaces or clothing. The fragrance is discreet and mild, and dissipates rapidly. Seats: mobile office and centre of wellbeing With numerous world firsts such as the ENERGIZING massage function based on the hot-stone principle or active seat ventilation with reversing fans, Mercedes- Benz has raised seating and climatic comfort in the S-Class to a new level. The seat developers have paid particular attention to the rear seats. There is a choice of four different rear seat variants including an Executive seat with a backrest angle adjustable by up to 43.5 degrees, allowing occupants in the rear to concentrate on work or relax in comfort. These additional rear seat packages can be ordered through the Special Order Program. The ENERGIZING massage function on the hot-stone principle is a world first. The seat specialists at Mercedes-Benz have developed a unique massage function with 14 separately actuated air cushions in the backrest, as well as an integrated warming function. There is a choice of six massage programs, two of them using the warming function. The function is also available for the rear seats. For the first time, so-called reversing fans are used in the active seat ventilation system. When the ventilation function starts, cooler surrounding air is first drawn onto the seat surface. This enables the surface temperature of a heated-up seat to be reduced much faster than with the previous active cooling systems. After four minutes the fans are automatically switched to blower mode to reduce draughts. Four seat variants are available for the long-wheelbase S-Class and can ordered through the Special Order Program. The adjustment kinematics have been changed in the luxury and reclining seat variants. Unlike the conventional trailing backrest design, the backrest is adjusted separately so that the legroom and seat reference point remain unchanged. The cushion can be separately adjusted for angle and horizontal position. The maximum backrest angle of the Executive seat (reclining seat) behind the front passenger seat is increased from 37 to 43.5 degrees, giving it the largest backrest inclination in the luxury segment. The reclining seat features a calf support which is freely adjustable for length and angle. In combination with the heel rest on the folding chauffeur seat at the front and an additional comfort cushion, this allows a reclined position that sets new standards in the automotive sector with respect to sleeping and resting comfort. If the "First Class Rear" is selected (with rear center console), the front console on the transmission tunnel is visually continued to the rear. It is equipped with innovative thermo-cup holders which use Peltier technology to cool or warm drinks over a longer period of time. Like an aircraft seat, the centre console is available with two tables which can be easily folded in or out using one hand. Multimedia features: mobile concert hall A completely new multimedia generation with intuitive operation and particularly tangible functions thanks to visualization and animations celebrates its debut in the S-Class. Other innovations include the multi-user system, which allows independent access to the media sources of the entertainment system from any seat. The innovative Frontbass system developed by Mercedes-Benz-and used for the first time in a sedan car is a feature common to all the audio systems: the woofers are housed in the firewall, and use the almost 40-liter space in the crossmember and side member as a resonance chamber. Conventional woofers in the doors are therefore unnecessary. The mid-range speakers in the doors are relocated upwards. This improves the soundscape and allows additional stowage space in the doors. As alternatives to the standard sound system with ten loudspeakers, two very high-quality audio systems are available which were developed together with the high-end audio specialist Burmester: the Burmester® Surround Sound system and the Burmester® High-End 3D-Surround Sound system. The interactive presentation of content is a prominent new feature of the navigation function. The new navitainment functions include an animated compass, the "Driveshow" for passenger information as in an aircraft, and the display of Google Maps on the head unit and in the rear. Information on the traffic situation is shown with hatched lines (rather than with vehicle silhouettes as before). With the new Live Traffic Information service, traffic data is transmitted in real time. As a result, the navigation system is better informed about the situation on the roads. Body: maximum stability and high-quality lightweight design A high level of crash safety, outstanding rigidity for excellent handling with extremely low levels of noise and vibration. These were the aims when developing the bodyshell for the new S-Class – a third-generation aluminium hybrid bodyshell. The lightweight index – the torsional stiffness in relation to weight and vehicle size – has been improved by 50 percent compared to the predecessor model. Since the 220 model series was developed in the 1990s, with an optimally coordinated materials mix the hybrid lightweight construction has been further developed into an aluminium hybrid bodyshell. During this period the share of aluminium has increased to more than 50 percent. It has therefore been possible to maintain practically the same body weight for 20 years and even slightly reduce it, despite far more stringent comfort and safety requirements and additional functions. In addition to this, structural foams are used at specific points in node areas in the new model series. The entire outer skin of the S-Class, including the roof and the front section of the body, consists of aluminium. The high percentage of aluminium is possible thanks to the use of a complete range of semi-finished products (casting, extrusion, sheet metal). The safety passenger cell is made using an extremely high percentage of high-strength steel. This lightweight design by material and geometrical optimisation coupled with highly complex joining technology allows the new S-Class to further raise the bar in the demanding luxury sedan segment – without adding weight. With a torsional stiffness of 40.5 kN/degree (predecessor: 27.5 kN/degree), the S-Class achieves a new record in its segment. Extended PRE-SAFE® protection: prevention is better than cure Ten years ago, Mercedes-Benz unveiled a groundbreaking safety concept in the S-Class in the form of the PRE-SAFE® anticipatory occupant protection system, which has been undergoing continuous refinement ever since. Now, the safety pioneer is increasing protection levels once again. The new PRE-SAFE® functions can help to prevent collisions with pedestrians and vehicles in front in city traffic, defuse dangerous situations caused by traffic behind and enhance the protection offered by the seat belts. The PRE-SAFE® Brake can also detect pedestrians and initiate autonomous braking to avoid a collision at speeds up to 31 mph. PRE-SAFE® PLUS can recognize an imminent rear-end collision and warn the following traffic by activating the rear hazard warning lights at a high frequency. If the danger of a collision persists, the system can also firmly apply the stationary vehicle's brakes and thus minimize the risk of whiplash injuries by reducing the forward jolt caused by the impact. This additionally can reduce the risk of secondary accidents. Immediately before impact, the PRE-SAFE® anticipatory occupant protection measures, especially the reversible belt tensioners, are deployed. With PRE-SAFE® Impulse, the driver and front passenger are pulled away from the direction of impact by their seat belts at an early phase of the crash before the resulting occupant deceleration sets in. This can substantially reduce the risk and severity of injuries in a frontal collision. Setting the standard for safety in the rear: new features in the S-Class Mercedes-Benz has extended the safety system for rear seat passengers further with the seat belt buckle extender, the beltbag and the cushionbag. The first two of these developments are included in the “Rearseat Package”. With the illuminated seat belt buckle extender, an electric motor extends and retracts the belt buckle automatically. In this way, any belt slack in the area of the pelvis and thorax can be reduced so that passengers are secured more firmly in both the sideways and the lengthways direction. The beltbag is an inflatable seat-belt strap that is able to reduce the risk of injury to passengers in the rear in a head-on collision by lessening the strain placed on the ribcage. The reclining seat is equipped with a cushionbag under the seat cushion upholstery as standard. When the seat is reclined, it prevents the occupant from sliding beneath the seat belt (so-called submarining) in an accident. This has enabled Mercedes-Benz to design a comfortable reclining seat which provides a higher level of accident safety than a seat with a trailing backrest. Intelligent Drive: networked with all senses Avoid accidents and mitigate their consequences – this is the integrated approach adopted by Mercedes-Benz Accident Research under the heading "Real Life Safety". Mercedes-Benz is systematically pursuing this strategy in the SClass with numerous new assistance systems and greatly enhanced functions. Comfort and safety are enhanced at the same time. Mercedes-Benz calls this "Intelligent Drive". The new functions all rely on the same sensor system, comprising a new stereo camera together with multistage radar sensors. "Intelligent assistance systems analyse complex situations and better recognise potential dangers out on the road with the aid of improved environment sensor systems," explains Prof. Thomas Weber, Member of the Daimler Board of Management responsible for Group Research and Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars Development. "Figuratively speaking, the new S-Class doesn't just have eyes at the front, it has 360-degree all-round vision." A key factor is the networking of all systems, which safety experts call "sensor fusion". The aim is to ensure comprehensive protection, not just for the occupants of a Mercedes-Benz, but for all other road users, too. The support functions range from relieving the burden on the driver and therefore increasing comfort, to issuing visual, acoustic and/or tactile warning signals, to boosting the driver's reactions. Some systems are even able to take corrective action in an emergency, such as autonomous application of the brakes to prevent an accident or lessen its severity. Here is a summary of the new assistance systems and those with notably enhanced functionality: DISTRONIC PLUS with Steering Assist and Stop&Go Pilot takes the burden off the driver when it comes to lane guidance and is also able to follow vehicles in traffic jams automatically. For the first time, thanks to the stereo camera the Brake Assist system BAS PLUS with Cross-Traffic Assist is able to detect crossing traffic and pedestrians too, and to boost the braking power applied by the driver accordingly. If the lane markings are broken lines, Active Lane Keeping Assist can detect when the adjacent lane is occupied, especially by oncoming traffic, and reduce the risk of the vehicle leaving its lane unintentionally by applying the brakes on one side. Adaptive Highbeam Assist Plus allows the high-beam headlamps to be kept on permanently without dazzling traffic by masking out other vehicles in the beams' cone of light. Night View Assist Plus was further improved and supplemented by a thermal imaging camera. Night View Assist Plus can alert the driver to the potential danger posed by pedestrians or animals in unlit areas in front of the vehicle by automatically switching from the speedometer to a crystal-sharp night view image and highlighting the sources of danger. A spotlight function is furthermore able to flash any pedestrians detected ahead. This attracts the driver's attention to the source of the danger at the same time as warning the person on the side of the road. ATTENTION ASSIST can warn of inattentiveness and drowsiness in an extended speed range and notify the driver of their current state of fatigue and the driving time since the last break, offers an adjustable sensitivity setting and, if a warning is emitted, indicates nearby service areas in the COMAND navigation system.

Well, well, well, BMW responds to the criticism as well as the competition to the F10 M5 with a facelift for the 2014 model which includes a Competition Package option. The standard car is 560 horsepower but the Competition Package option boosts this output to 575 horsepower which is a direct response to Mercedes-Benz and AMG with the facelifted E63/CLS63 AMG sporting an all wheel drive option and an optional 585 horsepower. The power boost is one part but the suspension is also revised with the Competition Package. New springs, dampers, and stiffer sway bars. The F10 M5 is lowered by 10mm. The Active M Differential receives revised tuning for better traction. The stability control programs have also been remapped. These are great improvement and it is nice to see BMW forced to acknowledge the F10 M5 was not exactly as good as it could have been out of the box and seemed lacking compared to previous M models. Will these changes improve it greatly? We will see, hopefully the exhaust sound is improved as well as the steering response. Definitely a step in the right direction, press release below. Newly-available Competition Package spearheads subtle refinement for 2014. Woodcliff Lake, N.J. – May 18th 2013, 6:00pm Eastern Time . . . For five generations, the BMW M5 has served as the reference standard in the special business of ultra-high-performance sedans. In each generation since the mid-Eighties, the M5 has joined race-bred chassis components and Olympic levels of power with linear control which can only be developed through years of laps around the legendary Nürburgring Nordschleife in the Eiffel Mountains. Now, paralleling the launch of the 2014 BMW 5 Series Sedan and 5 Series Gran Turismo, BMW M’s hot-rod sedan receives an exciting evolutionary impulse. Subtle styling updates, new color choices, enhancements to interior and lighting, and a new Competition Package with 575 horsepower (preliminary) are the key highlights of the 2014 M5 Sedan update. The essential BMW M5 is driven by a 4.4-liter V-8 engine with patented M TwinPower Turbo technology and a peak output of 560 hp in standard form. This power is managed through the standard 7-speed M Dual-Clutch Transmission (M-DCT) or optional 6-speed manual transmission (North America only), Active M Differential at the rear axle, and aluminum-intensive suspension, all of which are precisely tuned to perfect harmony by BMW M’s 41 years of race-bred experience. Competition Package: New for 2014. There are sport sedans, and then there is the BMW M5. For more than a quarter-century, the M5 has been the four-door sedan which provides levels of performance previously accessible only to super-sports cars. Perhaps this claim was best proven in reality when a production-based, second-generation M5 Sedan won the IMSA Bridgestone Supercar Championship not just once in 1994, but again in 1995. It was, of course, the only 4-door car in the entire field of racers. To celebrate the M5’s competitive driving spirit, BMW M GmbH will offer the new Competition Package as an option for the M5 and its M6 siblings starting with the 2014 model year. The Competition Package specifically distills handling properties under the principle applied to all BMW M automobiles: fine-tune the suspension to match the performance of the engine, and achieve responsiveness that makes the car precise and controllable in all driving situations. The Competition Package boosts output by 15 hp / 11 kW to 575 hp / 423 kW (preliminary) in the high-revving V-8 engine with M TwinPower turbo technology that powers the BMW M5, BMW M6 Coupe, BMW M6 Convertible and BMW M6 Gran Coupe models. At the same time, the developers at BMW M have extensively tuned the chassis set-up. Along with new coil springs and damper calibrations, anti-sway bars have also been stiffened. For the BMW M5, these adjustments have resulted in a lowering of the car by around 10 millimeters, which lowers the center of gravity (CG) and roll center. The potential inherent in the rear axle design – based on the race-derived principle of the rear axle subframe being rigidly bolted to the body – and the even more precisely calibrated bushings for the front axle are exploited with the Competition Package. 0.1 seconds have been shaved from the standstill to 100 km/h (0-62 mph) sprint time and 0.2 seconds are saved when accelerating from zero to 200 km/h (0-124 mph). Cornering dynamics and flexibility are also enhanced – something noticeable in everyday driving but best experienced on the race track. In particular in conjunction with the optional M Carbon Ceramic Brake system, also available on the M5 for 2014, all the driving dynamics attributes associated with BMW M automobiles are experienced at the highest level. The Active M Differential on the final drive – standard on all M5 and M6 models – receives a unique tune when the Competition Package is specified, resulting in further-improved traction. The new rack-and-pinion steering with the M-specific Servotronic variable assist function, moreover, has more-direct programming to enable firm and secure contact with the road while further increasing the agility of the vehicle during cornering. Beyond these enhancements, the M chassis control system has been adapted to the Competition Package suspension profile. With the Competition Package, the M Dynamic Mode (MDM) of DSC (Dynamic Stability Control) is re-mapped for even sportier handling characteristics and higher thresholds of intervention. The Competition Package additionally includes unique 20-inch M light-alloy wheels along with a sport exhaust system featuring M quad tailpipes finished in Black Chrome that lend an unmistakable look and the sound to the car. Design. A striking element in the appearance of every BMW is the “kidney grille”, which now features the M5 model designation and whose slats cite the double-spoke design of the M light-alloy wheels. In addition to standard Xenon Adaptive headlights, there is now the option of Adaptive LED Headlights which emit a particularly bright white light generated by a pair of LED units situated horizontally in the middle of each light ring. A standard feature on the BMW M5 are the new-design 5 Series tail lights with strikingly thin LED light strips that generate a high contrast and add to the unmistakable night-time look. The hallmark M feeling is also conveyed by the M leather steering wheel, whose new design likewise takes visual cues from the double-spoke wheels. The interior of the sedan has also gained an increase in volume of the storage compartment under the armrest in the center console area. The Central Display of the standard-fitted iDrive4.2 Navigation system now features chrome trim on the sides. The iDrive4.2 controller now features a touchpad surface allowing, for example, characters to be entered when programming a destination for the Navigation system. As of July, BMW Individual will be offering a range of new exterior colors for the BMW M5 including Pyrite Brown Metallic, Frozen Blue Metallic, and further BMW Individual Frozen paintwork finishes, as well as exclusive leather shades (Cashmere Beige and Nutmeg). The further extended range of features from BMW ConnectedDrive also ensures that the 2014 BMW M5 is in pole position when it comes to intelligent connectivity. Innovative driver assistance systems and mobility services optimize safety and comfort while driving as well as the use of infotainment programmers. BMW Apps is now standard on all 5 Series models for 2014.

It is official, Quaife has a limited slip differential upgrade available for the C207 Mercedes-Benz E550 models. With the torque the M278 twin turbo V8 generates a limited slip differential becomes necessary to maintain traction and definitely will improve putting the power down in corners especially as well as the straightline or low traction conditions (rain, snow). The diff is a direct replacement for the factory open differential. It will not interfere with the electronics or cause any malfunction lights. The differential will also eliminate a degree of torque steer from the factory open diff. Quite simply, it's a great upgrade for the rear wheel drive E550 coupes. The diff comes with a lifetime warranty and will be available in July. Great of Quaife to take care of a definite need for C207 E550 owners.

It's great to see the 911 Turbo versus the R8 and Nissan GTR as they are all four wheel drive performance cars and now all also share having a dual clutch transmission available with the R8 getting its minor refresh. This is something enthusiasts want to see except that it isn't all that fair taking two stock cars, the 911 Turbo and the Audi R8, and putting them up against a 750 horsepower tuned GT-R. What fun is it if we already know the outcome and the other two cars have no fair chance? The 750 horsepower tuned GT-R ends up dominating all the tests, what a surprise. It's the fastest in a straight line and the fastest around the roadcourse. Yawn. The meaningful comparison though is between the R8 and the 911 Turbo S. Between the two, the Turbo S is the faster car in a straightline. The updates to the R8 V10 make it quicker and faster although not by much as Edmunds recently showed with test of it. Considering a stock 997.2 Turbo S recently went 10.6@129.8 in the 1/4 mile it is no surprise to see it the beat down the R8 in the drag race. Skip ahead to the 16:00 minute mark to see the drag race. The R8 wins around the track though with a 1:16.2 versus the 1:16.9 for the Porsche 911 Turbo. Subjectively, the R8 is car picked overall despite being the slowest in a straight line. Sometimes its now how much power you deliver but how you deliver it. The R8 seems to simply be the most enjoyable to drive.

The new batch of turbo motors from AMG make a lot of torque and those turbos combined with fairly large displacement produce quite a bit of heat. The factory cooling system features a water-air intercooler for this reason to keep temps down but the OEM Mercedes-Benz design has the intercooler system tied into engine coolant system. Not hard to see how this is not the most efficient setup possible and how the cooling system can become overwhelmed. Weistec improves the performance of the factory intercooler by separating it from the engine cooling system. The M157 cooling kit includes a dedicated performance heat exchanger, trunk mounted ice tank reservoir, and all the necessary fittings and lines. Essentially, this leaves the factory system now dedicated to just cooling the engine rather than the engine and intercooler. Also, the factory factory heat exchanger is positioned between the radiator and AC condenser meaning heat radiating from those elements will affect it. The Weistec unit is mounted where it can get cool air from the grille above the bumper beam. Another great performance product from Weistec Engineering for your AMG, get it here for $1999.99: http://www.weistec.com/m157cooling.html Key Features: Separates Intercooler from Engine Coolant High Performance Heat Exchanger Optimal Heat Exchanger Placement Weistec Trunk Ice Tank for Greatly Increased System Capacity All Hardware, Lines, and Fittings Included

Nice set of runs here showing a W204 C63 AMG Black Series with a Renntech tune and Renntech headers going up against a Ferrari F430, Cadillac CTS-V Coupe, BMW E63 M6, BMW F10 M5, and a W204 C63 AMG sedan. The C63 Black Series does incredibly well considering that there is not too much power to squeeze out of the aggressively tuned black series as Renntech showed with 15-19 wheel horsepower gains tunes only. The headers sure do appear to be making a nice difference. This was only a 1/4 mile runway event so very short for roll on races and the C63 Black Series owner appears to get on the throttle early in a few of the races. Come to your own conclusion. Easy work of a CTS-V coupe: F430 gets annihilated as the C63 owner appeared to just go WOT the whole time while the F430 owner rolled into it: Yet another F10 M5 taken down by a C63 AMG: E63 M6 destroyed: C63 AMG sedan taking the C63 Black Series Coupe down: