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BMW Blog, Performance, Tuning, Motorsport, and Modification News
Published on 12-23-2011 07:37 AM
First of all, we would like to welcome our newest vendor Evolve Automotive! As an introduction to Evolve, here are the details on their valved exhaust system for the E9X M3. A valved exhaust for those unfamiliar with it means you can either open or close valves inside the exhaust to alter the sound. If you do not want to wake all your neighbors up for example when you decide a Vegas trip at 3 AM is absolutely necessary or happen to be driving by a police car this feature can sure comes in handy. The only other option for an electronic valved exhaust was really Kreissieg who costs and arm and a leg. The Evolve system is much more affordable, full details below. ...Published on 12-22-2011 08:52 PM
Here it finally is. It may be the last of the major players to market but this supercharger kit has been making waves being the first to run 10's boost only in the hands of VAC Motorsports. Very impressive results and clearly the development time was well spent. MSRP is $13,900 and the limited sale price puts it at $12,510. If you have an E9X M3 I know what I would put on my holiday gift list if I were you. ...Published on 12-21-2011 11:32 PM
Many 1 series owners would like to get a 1M but it likely does not make sense to trade their car in and spend a bunch more money in the process. Especially considering the 1M really is just a 135i with some new body work, M3 pieces, and a slightly more aggressive tune (go ahead, flame away 1M owners but it's the truth). A better option for many rather than picking up a new car payment may be to grab this body kit, get a tune, exhaust, a limited slip differential, and look just as good and be faster than the new 1M. Definitely something to consider since that is basically what BMW did anyway. ...Published on 12-21-2011 06:16 AM
The BMS versus Vishnu N54 tuner fight is one of those never ending wars with battles fought again and again with victories on both sides often leaving fanboys crying and disoriented. It is great to see actual comparisons in the real world instead of the typical forum flame war and we have such a comparison right here. The E90 in the video has a JB4 on map 3 16 psi, BMS meth kit, ER charge pipe, Synapse BOV, AR catless downpipes, HPF intercooler, and BMS DCI. The E92 has the Procede aggressive map at 18 psi, PWM meth kit, AR Downpipes, Vishnu charge pipe, muffler delete, and Stett CAI. ...Published on 12-20-2011 09:56 PM
Still trying to get used to the idea of a 4 series BMW? So are we and we don't exactly like it. No reason to throw away the 3 series coupe but BMW will do what BMW wants to do. The 4 series convertible was spotted testing (the designation/chassis prefix for it is F33) and it looks pretty good. We'll reserve judgement until we see the final product but if it is anything like current BMW designs it will likely play it safe. Expect the 4 series in 2012, possibly as a 2013 model. ...Published on 12-20-2011 09:42 AM
Russians do weird things with their cars. Not too long ago we showed you an X6 they wrapped in leather. Before that they wrapped an X5M in gold foil. Well now we have an F10 5 series that is wrapped in green chrome foil. The execution isn't all that bad with an interesting and different result which stands out. The black plays off the green well and the add-on body pieces add a bit of aggression. It is not subtle, but green chrome does not exactly ever fly under the radar. ...Published on 12-20-2011 02:42 AM
Way to go BMW, another step downscale and another disappointing decision. We were excited when M said they were considering producing their own supercar. BMWNA M product manager Matt Russel stated in an interview that BMW ruled out the idea of a supercar to rival Audi's R8 or the SLS from Mercedes. He stated that the M3 and M5 are already supercars. No word on if he was drunk during the interview. ...Published on 12-18-2011 11:10 PM
It's great to see more built motor M3's in action. This is a rematch from a previous race and the M3 is now running 15 psi of boost on a Vortech YSI blower. This vehicle belongs to BimmerBoost member EugeneTaiwan who we are very happy shared the race with us. Even though his M3 is a manual which is important to point out he absolutely walks the LP-560 up top which is a very fast car in stock form. We look forward to seeing more from the Stage 3 setups and this certainly is an impressive display of the power potential with the bigger blower and built motor. ...Published on 12-17-2011 06:41 PM
There is something about Fifth Gear's Vicki we really like. Probably the same thing that turns us on about Sabine Schmitz. We rarely pay attention to women's thoughts on cars (sorry ladies) but we take women who can drive these cars to the limit like professionals very seriously. Vicki mentions there is a slight bit of lag in the F10 M5 which is no surprise as BMW themselves admit the new motors do not match the response of the previous naturally aspirated motors. She mentions the turbos do not spoil the performance but there is an aural aspect missing which we are glad she pointed out. Check out the video below. ...Published on 12-17-2011 04:00 AM
Expect the BMW hype machine to be in full attack mode until the official revealing. Here is second teaser coming shortly after the first which we brought you earlier this month. This one does not exactly give us all that more info except that BMW states this vehicle deserves the M badge as if to defend their decision. Brian Watts, head of M global sales and marketing, stated, "The BMW X6 M50d is a new kind of car. On every road, you feel like you’re on a race track. It deserves the M-badge." ...Published on 12-16-2011 11:19 PM
At Custom Performance Engineering we are excited to be working with these great vehicles and in supporting the BMW platforms we constantly review our designs and products - bringing only the best to the market. The XI or xDrive 335i vehicles have quite a different design when it comes to the front sub frame. The tighter space, added geometry makes for a tight squeeze indeed, but its not impossible. We have taken our proven downpipe design and revised it to be compatible with both RWD and AWD 3-series BMW vehicles. Furthermore, the same design works on the 1-series cars with the N54 motor. This makes for more efficient engineering and manufacturing - allowing us to also revise the pricing. ...Published on 12-15-2011 07:12 AM
This is the same E39 M5 that previously ran 11.7@122 in the 1/4 mile. They took it to a dynojet and it put down 606 wheel horsepower in what appears to be STD correction. Impressive? Yes, when taken into account this was supposedly done on 91 octane pump gas. Blower used is a Vortech V2 SI pushing around 10 psi of boost. This would be the first and only S62 in the world to go over 600 wheel on stock internals. This level of boost on pump gas with 11.0:1 stock S62 compression shows a well tuned setup by RMS. ...Published on 12-14-2011 11:46 PM
Here is the first dyno sheet for the F10 M5 courtesy of PP-P performance. They have a MAHA dyno and since this type of dyno is not prevalent in the USA we are just getting familiar with reading these graphs. The green line shows the drivetrain loss which is calculated by this dyno at 19%. Red is power and blue is torque, fairly simple. The dyno automatically corrects out the BHP using the SAE J 1349 standard and it calculated the F10 M5 as underrated putting out 573.7 horsepower. ...Published on 12-14-2011 02:12 AM
The BMW S1000RR is a ridiculously fast bike. BMW raised the bar with their offering and it is routinely praised as one of the best the world has to offer. Now a bike like that usually has nothing to fear from a car, even one offering tremendous power like the F10 M5. The thing is, AutoExpress is located in the UK. Why does that matter? Because like almost every British comparison video it is done in the wet. The S1000RR is even given a 10 second head start due to the conditions. Watch the video to see what happens. ...Published on 12-13-2011 07:21 AM
We would like to welcome our newest vendor, VAC Motorsports. Many of you are already familiar with VAC but for those that are not here is some info on who they are. VAC has been family owned since 1984 and is basically your one stop shop for BMW tuning, performance, maintenance, and upgrades. From race prep, to forced induction, to engine builds, to cylinder heads, VAC Motorsports has you covered. They also have 2WD / 4WD in house dyno. ...Published on 12-12-2011 08:32 PM
Here it is ladies and gentlemen, 10 seconds boost only. And not just barely breaking into the 10's but getting close to mid 10's. What changed since the last time out for this car which set the boost only record? Launch control used with Mickey Thompson ET Streets. The 60 foot record was obliterated with the first 1.6x at 1.63. A major improvement over the previous 1.776. For those wondering if launch control is the way to go at the strip, this should be definitive proof. ...Published on 12-12-2011 06:26 AM
Good news scooter fans, BMW will be bringing two scooters to the USA in 2012. The first one is the sporty oriented C600. The second is a touring model, the C650 GT. The Vice President of BMW Motorrad USA when asked on how the scooters will do in the American market stated the US is, "a step in the dark." Both scooters have 647-cc engines putting out 60 horsepower. Pricing is expected in the $10,000 range when the scooters go on sale as 2013 models next fall. ...Published on 12-11-2011 07:23 PM
The BMW 6 series Gran Coupe 650i will have 450 horsepower and 479 pound-feet of torque. This is 50 more horses than the standard 650i coupe. The N63 V8 was revised for duty in the heavier Gran Coupe but we do not know what changes were made. It will be interesting to see if it is software only or if there are hardware changes which no doubt many 650i, 550i, X5 xDrive50i, and X6 xDrive50i owners will be interested in retrofitting. ...Published on 12-11-2011 07:21 AM
Well here it is, the BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe. The final product is... stunning. The car will come in two flavors initially with the 640i and 650i. All wheel drive is likely to be an option but it is unknown if it will be available for both motors. The interior of the car is especially striking with BMW simply doing a great job on the interior. There is far more leg room offered by the Gran Coupe by virtue of it using the F10 wheelbase. It will go on sale in late 2012, pricing yet to be announced. ...Published on 12-10-2011 09:49 PM
PP-P Performance put up a dyno vide of the new F10 M5 on their dyno dynamics. The car put down 444 horsepower to the wheels (we are trying to get the graph) and PP-P based on their baseline corrected this out to 573 horsepower. Is the M5 putting out more than the 560 horsepower BMW rated it at? We would think it pretty much has to as the X5M with all wheel drive, less boost, and lower compression is rated at 555 horsepower. The F10 M5 routing its power to the rear wheels through a more efficient dual clutch drivetrain with more boost is likely much stronger. This dyno run is just the first solid evidence we have to prove it. ...
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