I'm halfway in the market for a car. No real need, mind you, but we have one operational vehicle (and my MG Midget, which has never seen reliable operational status, sort of a constant B-12, with the occasional extended Charlie, in the military parlance). So I've been halfassedly looking at various options- mildly regretting the sale of my '95 E36 M3 with 65k on it. I made some cash, but it was a pretty good car. I really would like a four door manual M3 though. So I find this:
http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/doc/cto/2324396670.html
http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1626453
Short story: 98 328i with M3 motor and VF engineering supercharger supposedly good for 350hp. Supposedly 70k on rebuilt S52. $6k. Apparently a few $5500 offers already. No rust, good black leather interior. Bald rear tires.
I want this thing. But I sorta hope he sells it before I con the wife into it. Is this price silly? He sent some pictures that look pretty good, all around.
Duke
SuperDork
4/16/11 2:10 p.m.
What's the compression ratio on an S52? That will tell you if the blower was a good idea or not.
S52 is like 11.7:1 I believe. Someone should double check though. You'll be running into issues with that kind of squish though.
In reply to red5_02:
S50US/S52US are both 10.5:1
I think it's a pretty well engineered supercharger system- I'm not really worried about that aspect. It only boosts to 6 psi. It's more- is this thing worth $6k? I don't think that's a lot of coin to drop, but it would have to be a pretty nice car for me to budge. I'm enjoying the $500/yr savings on car insurance, but wouldn't mind it if I had something like this. Problem is, I just don't drive much. I suppose I should just go and take a look at it.
http://www.vf-engineering.com/
i think that system is probably pretty good and reliable for typical non-asshat street use. I think that 10.5:1 number is correct, its definitely not over 11:1. we had a 98 M coupe in regularly at the garage i worked at i think with that blower kit or a similar low pressure one that ultimately wore the engine out, after about 60k hard miles. but it was driven by a driving instructor and saw a LOT of track time, so it spent a lot more time under WOT and boost than most street cars would.
That's why I'd think the car was worth $6k without the supercharger.... I always appreciate the extra giddyup, but I'll take it. Seems like you could sell the supercharger setup for ~$2k.
