BMW M3

BMW M3

Alpina V12 in an E30

E30 with a V12!

Robert Stelzenberger´s brutal E30. From the beginning it was just a 325i, but after 8 months of intensive work the car should be renamed 350i. The car got done in september 2000, it got a couple of months to get it approved, and now the car rolls legally on the streets.



Technical facts:

Engine: Alpina B12 5.0 who produces 257kw/350hp, and the engine is modified.
6 speed manual gearbox taken from the 850CSi.
E36 suspension
servo from bmw 750, breakes from M3 E36.
Exhaust system from 750i.

Dinan to boost 2008 Bmw M3 to 628 hp

Since its launch, the 2008 Bmw M3 made quite a buzz, but now Dinan is pushing it to its limits. Dinan, a well-respected BMW tuner known for working miracles on the Bavarian cars, said today that its new version of the M3 will be powered by a 5.7-liter engine capable to develop 628 hp. The “standard” M3 is powered by a V8 engine developing 420 hp and can go from 0-60 mph in just 4.8 seconds. With a boost to 628 hp, the Dinan M3 will beat out its brothers, the M5 and M6. No launch date has been set, but of course we’re going to stay on top of this hot M3.

Source: Top Speed

BMW 335i Coupe & Cabriolet Get M3’s 7-Speed Double-Clutch Gearbox

Parallel to the market launch of the facelifted 3 Series sedan and touring models, BMW announced the availability of its new 7-speed semi-automatic gearbox with double-clutch for the 335i Coupe and 335i Convertible models. Named DKG, the new double-clutch transmission was introduced for the first time on the M3 Sedan. It offers the driver the choice of controlling the gearbox changes through a shift lever on the centere console or via paddles on the steering wheel.
Equipped with this gearbox, the 335i Coupe with the 306Hp twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter straight six completes the sprint from 0 to 100 km/h (62mph) in 5.4 sec or 0.1 sec faster than the model fitted with the 6-speed manual transmission and 0.3 seconds faster than the 335i Coupe with the previously available 6-speed automatic.

Furthermore, the double-clutch gearbox helps drop consumption in both the 335i Coupe and Cabriolet by up to 5% compared to the equivalent models with 6-speed manual or automatic transmissions. In particular, the 335i Coupe & Convertible models with the DKG achieve an average fuel consumption in the combined EU test cycle of 8.8lt /100km (26.7 mpg) and 9.1lt/100km (25.9 mpg) respectively.

30 Years of M Power

Thirty years have pased since the first “M” series production model, the legendary M1 rolled of the Bavarian car maker’s assembly line in 1978, the BMW M GmbH has now delivered 300,000 M vehicles all across the world. The 300,000th model is an alpine white BMW M3 Coupe that was sold to a customer in Regensburg, an East Bavarian town located near BMW’s “M” plant.

Although the M1 marks the beginning of BMW M model history, it was more of a race car than every day driver. The first real-world car to wear the “M” sport badge was essentially the 1979 M535i which was followed by the 286Hp M6/M635CSi in 1983 and a year latter, the 286Hp M5.
Today, the vehicle portfolio of the BMW M ranges in over nine models, the Z4 M Roadster and Coupe that boast a straight six with 343 bhp; the M5 Sedan & Touring, the M6 Coupe and Convertible that all feature a 507 bhp V10 engine and last but not least, the M3 Coupe, Sedan and Convertible that are equipped with a 420 bhp V8 engine.

According to the Bavarian automaker, in the year 2007, BMW M GmbH automobiles accounted for around one percent of the BMW Group's overall turnover worldwide.

The most popular M model is the M3 with worldwide purchases of the new version having surpassed the 4,000 mark in the first four months of 2008. The USA is the most important market for BMW M automobiles, and on the European continent the high-performance sports cars are popular in the UK, Germany and Italy.

The Need for Swede - 1988 BMW E30 Turbo

Think Sweden and what pops to mind ... meatballs, IKEA furniture, and the Swedish bikini team? Meatballs: Italians do it better. IKEA: they provide stylishly disposable furniture for the masses and more Allen wrenches than any other entity on earth. The Swedish bikini team: well they might have one up on us there. Those ladies definitely rev our engines.

Although Mikael and Erik Kilander of Falkoping, Sweden, surely appreciate their home-grown bikini team, they're focused on revving engines of the traditional kind: the kind you make with pistons, fuel and boost. They're such huge fans of horsepower that they follow the imaginary Ten Commandments of Tuning, especially the first two: "Thou shall swap in bodacious engines at will;" and, "Thou shall boost the bejesus out of said engine without hesitation." The Brothers Kilander have followed these two axioms with impressive results, making us wonder if their next miracle will be something like walking on water or parting the Baltic Sea.

Their story begins in a typical fashion: two 20-something brothers are looking for a project car. It starts as something innocuous, but is morphed into something obnoxious. The platform in question is a well-worn 1988 325i and the post-morph product has an M3 body and M5 soul.

Cracking open the hood reveals an S38B38 3.8-liter inline six scavenged from a 1991-1993-vintage M5. These are the pristine E34 M5s hand-built in Germany with motors that are rated at 310 hp. That's 70 hp better than an E36 M3, and 28 hp more than an E39 540i with a V8. The S38B38s are rare birds and require diligent maintenance - especially where the valvetrain is concerned - but they're fast and will last. To prepare the M5 bullet for boost Mikael and Erik o-ringed the block and used a custom copper head gasket to enhance the sealing properties of the engine. The reciprocating assembly consists of a stock crank, Mahle 7.8:1 compression forged pistons produced to Kilander specs and stock rods modified by the Kilander's.

The brothers fabbed up a sweet turbo header that positions the turbo in such a way that it looks very much like a 2JZ Supra with a single turbo conversion. The first turbo to see duty on the Bavarian bruiser was a Volvo truck turbo. The home-grown Volvo turbo was soon replaced by a Turbonetics T72 that had a lot more on the ball. The remainder of the turbo system consists of a 50 mm Rosenkrantz wastegate, a custom downpipe, a 3.25-inch exhaust system and one of the largest intercoolers we have ever laid eyes on. The Kilander's took two gargantuan Iveco truck intercoolers, joined them together and then welded up custom end tanks to seal the deal. It looks like an intercooler with the front of a BMW wrapped around it. The unit, which measures 1080x140x250 mm, dominates the front of the car and sends a raucous message to the viewing public.

Fueling has been addressed with a SX Performance high-flow fuel pump, SX adjustable regulator and 960cc Rochester injectors. The system is fed via a 17-liter fuel cell mounted in the trunk.
Along with the M5 engine swap the E30 was fitted with an M5 transmission, a 325/535 driveshaft shortened for this application, 535 axles and a rear end with a 3.07 final drive and LSD that the Kilander's fitted with extra discs to withstand the brute torque of the pressurized powerplant. The clutch is a Kilander special using an OE single-mass flywheel, an organic disc and a harsher racing-spec sinter disc.

While the running gear was fortified with M5 components, the body and suspension received M3 hardware. A full E30 M3 suspension was swapped in and improved with Sachs coilovers. M3 front fenders add aggressiveness and 40 mm in the rear. Rieger GTS series front and rear bumpers further add to the car's visual impact. The front set-up has been opened up to ensure maximum airflow across the intercooler. Modified M3 rocker skirts, newer E36 side mirrors and smoked taillamps round out the body-tuning program.

While on the subject of tuning, the Kilander's rely on an Autronics SM2 stand alone ECU with an Autronics CDI ignition to pump out power and reliability. The SM2 can provide sequential injection for engine from two to eight cylinders. Tuning is programmed at 32 rpm-based sites and 16 load-based sites and the unit has auxiliary outputs that can be used for boost control, nitrous control and staged injection to name a few. Traction control, datalogging and launch control are also within the SM2's realm of possibility.

The brothers got the Turbonetics-boosted set-up for a street-tuned vehicle and had it shipped from Cali to the land of Swedish Fish candy. Next they yanked the motor and called on VM Performance for some engine-stand dyno tuning. The Motorsport powerplant dished out 700 bhp, but monitoring of backpressure indicated there was substantial power still on the table. So the Turbonetics hairdryer was replaced with a Holset/Schwitzer truck-to-car hybrid. DSM fans have used a Holset HX-35 off a 2002-up Dodge Cummins diesel with good results. The Kilander's wanted to keep their exact turbo set-up top secret (however, we speculate it is HX-55 based) and since Schwitzer has been acquired by Borg Warner Turbos it is difficult to get the proper information. But the bottom line is this turbo sings a siren's song indeed; and with additional laptop time, and some Swedish magic, the Autronic SM2 coaxed a jaw-dropping 875 bhp at 5000 rpm from the S38B38. Torque checked in at 932 lb-ft at 3900 rpm. The power pulls were made running 1.65 Bar (just over 24 psi) using VP CSP race fuel.

The interior of the E30 is fully streetcar in appearance with a custom aluminum center dash console housing some much needed gauges and boost control interfaces. A Cobra Monaco sport bucket, Sabelt five-point harness and a roll bar add edginess to the driving experience.
Driving this Bavarian beast is quite an experience. For kicks the Kilanders took the Bimmer out to the strip when it was in Turbonetics trim and clicked off a 10.44 at 141 mph. This impressive effort is really brought into critical focus when you consider the Mickey T drag tires were spinning for more than half the pass. With the 875 bhp set-up and some suspension tuning this could be a nine-second wolf in sheep's clothing.

Source: Interlink Media, LLC.

2009 BMW M3

2009 BMW M3 Coupe
The new BMW will surely be a head turner. For the first time ever an M3 will have a v8 powered engine. The slick design and power for the price will be a grabber for the car collectors, and car enthusiasts.

Engine
Type: V8
Displacement cu in: 244
Power hp at RPM: 420/8300
Torque at RPM: 295/3900
Redline at RPM: 8400
Driveline: Rear Wheel Drive
Exterior Dimensions & Weight
Length × Width × Height in: 181.7 × 71.6 × 55.8
Weight lb: 3648
Performance
Acceleration 0-60 in 4.6 seconds
Top Speed mph 155 electronically limited