Hi and question about SK Plus SC

[gwatson]

Hi guys,

Just joined on the recommendation of a few people on the BMW Drivers Forum.

Firstly I drive a 2003 BMW Z4 with the 3.0 M54 engine.

http://www.autj71.dsl.pipex.com/Z4/aero3.jpg


I've been thinking about a SC kit for a wee while, but I am worried abut reliability, fuel consumption, insurance hassle etc. I realise it's probably the best way to go for around 300bhp, which is enough for the road I think.

It looks like the SK Plus from CA Automotive is the best £/bhp out there. Does anyone have any comments to make. I need to find a copy of the May edition of BMW Car Magazine, I believe there was review of the kit in there. Spoke to CA yesterday and he was very helpful, £3500 full fitted seems good to me. Shame there is no upgrade path from there.

I don't like the idea how the ECU doesn't need to be remapped with this kit mind you.

Anyway, while I make my mind up I am gonna go for a full Milltek exhaust system which should release a few more bhp and then maybe the DMS remap, then if I am not happy then I'll go down the SC route. Between the two I should get around 35bhp which I think/hope will make a difference.

Graeme

[Chaos]

Welcome to the nuthut. [hiya

Ali is the man to speak to about Z4s and Miltek systems, and his has the pot noodle HORN! :)

SK+ is pretty tried and tested now, and Roy is no stranger to SC installs. A few people on here have plenty of experience running them too, so you shouldn't be short of feedback.

[Juber]

Welcome mate.

Nice car you have aswell!

Roy is the man to speak about SC's.(CA) There is a few people on this forum now with superchargers, and no one has really complained about problems!

Come to the big meet (Bimmerfelx, Evotechnik's big meet in July) get to meet all the nutters!

[gwatson]

Hi Chaos....


Yeah I've spoken to Ali on Z4um.com about his exhaust. I am sure it will give me the sound I want, but not the performance increase, good place to start mind you. :)

Looking forward to all the feeback on the SK PLus..... anyone got a scanned copy of the review in the BMW car magazine :) If so my email address is graeme.watson@gmail.com

Ta.

[gwatson]

Come to the big meet (Bimmerfelx, Evotechnik's big meet in July) get to meet all the nutters!

Would love to, but it'll be a bit of a drive from Aberdeen :) :)

[Ali]

Hi Graeme,

I'd go for either the remap and exhaust OR SK plus. If you decide to get the SK plus after the remap, then it renders the remap useless (and a waste of £600!).

I've driven the 3.0 Z4 with SK plus at Infinitas in Germany and can vouch for how amazing it is to drive.

Go for it! ;)

[gwatson]

Hi Ali,

Thanks for that..... it's getting more and more tempting. The only problem with the SK plus is I live up in Aberdeen and they need the car for 2/3 days :( Can any reasonably qualified mechanic fit them?

Would you go for the SK plus first and then the exhaust or the other way round. Getting the SC will need to wait mind you, whereas I can get the exhaust now :)

Anyone got any SC insurance companies they's recommend. The cheapest I have so far is from http://www.greenlightinsurance.com £853.00. Not cheap but I am only 26.

G

[gwatson]

Where are CA-Automotive based by the way, no address details on their site, not that I can see :)

[Chaos]

Portsmouth, so about as far from you as you can get. :D

A good mechanic could probably do an SK+, but I'd get it done by the experts if I were you. I wouldn't want to stamp on the floor without being very sure of how it had been fitted... Roy has got a dealer network, so he's bound to have someone further up the country, although I don't think he's got one quite that far up.

[gwatson]

I think he has somewhere in Chester which is a bit more like it :)

I guess I could make a holiday out of it and got to Portsmouth, early next year.. hire a car for a few days. I guess there is probably enough to do down there..

[marksg]

Glad you found us [hiya

Where are you based by the way - noticed you mentioned Chester - I'm not far from there in Northwich - if you want to check out an SK Plus set-up give me a shout.

Good luck with your plans.

Gary

[peppernick]

Hi Graeme, welcome. When I supercharged my old 330, I have so much faith in ASA/Infinitas products that I went all the way to Schrobenhausen to bring the first SK+ back to the UK. What really amazed me was drive home from Germany, power increase is one thing, and pretty much expected, but the reliability of the unit and install. Absolutely spot on and it felt as is the car came with the SC from BMW.

Ali is right, if you plan to supercharge, you need to plan in advance because certain mods you simply would not do, such as re-map, air induction kit, shorter rear diff and camshafts just to name few. If you have your sight set on S/Cing, I would suggest you prep your chassis as much as you can, ie free flow exhaust, uprated rear shock mounts, brakes (TBH Z4 brakes are pretty crap), maybe an uprated clutch (you can use the stock clutch with the SK+ kit, but if you can stretch to it, get an uprated clutch) and a short shifter. This was what I did with my 330 and the S/C went in when everything else was sorted. The car was sublime.

Good luck and have fun :)

Some pics of my SK+ 330 Clubsport

[Chaos]

Where are you based by the way - noticed you mentioned Chester - I'm not far from there in Northwich - if you want to check out an SK Plus set-up give me a shout.I think "Would love to, but it'll be a bit of a drive from Aberdeen" was a fairly heavy clue Gary, lol :D

[InvIs Inc]

welcome dude [hiya this could be the first sc z4 on evo :cool:

any1 have any ideas of how many zc z4s are floating around uk?

[M3-SC-AL]

Hi and welcome to the forum [hiya

Ive had my M3 supercharged for over a year now and its been a hoot, different car to drive. The fuel consumption is fine, were I live is a lot of stop start driving and only 40mph but I get around 26mpg, on the motor way consumption is brilliant cause it just cruises in 6th at 1500rpm

The ASA kit is excellent, I think thats the same one Lee has on his 330 (or am I wrong), and that thing goes really well. Try Adriain Flux for insurance, I know a lot of people have opnions on them but at the end of the day they can do good quotes to, and I never thought Id sat this but also try Tesco car insurance for young drivers, might sound stupid but there insurance bit is owned a regulated by the Royal Bank of Scotland, one of the 4th largest banks in the world. I know a few people who have nsurance on some nice cars with them and goot blinding quotes..

Anyway good luck with whatever route you take, You wont be dissapointed if you do it though trust me,

Alex

[CA Automotive UK]

Hi and welcome , I remember taking your call :)

a slight correction to some of the info given is that a remap will NOT be lost if you then add an Infinitas supercharger kit , as it will still enhance the overall conversion . The Infinitas kits do not offer a remapped ECU /DME you see , they use a device called ASA tronic which is essentially a sophisticated adjustable potentiometer that alters the signal from the MAF sensor to "fool " the DME into providing the extra required fuel .

A remapped DME will still offer a smoother power delivery and elimination of flat spots and top speed limiter to the s/c conversion .

We have recently worked on a Z3 with the sk1 conversion and it is a lovely drive indeed ..........

[gwatson]

Thanks for the welcome guys...

I drive a Z4M last night and jeeezzzz it was quick, to be honest too quick for the road. So I think in the region of 300bhp would be perfect. Plus my 3.0 car is around 100kg lighter from memory.


In a way not having an intercooler perhaps makes the system more reliable, sounds strange but if it doesn't need it then not much point is there, just something else to go wrong.

On the other hand if I am keep the car for another 4/5 years then what are the long term effects of "fooling" the ECU, it's just something which as worried me, I know a mates car which was turbo'd and was run lean.

To be honest I think a SC is the way to go, I would just prefer a system which gives me piece of mind in terms of the ECU remap, I am sure it would be 99.9% fine mind you....

Anyway,I am going to order a Milltek Full system next week, then the plan is to save over the winter then make my mind up which kit, perhaps go for the Sk1 kit. I am also interested to see what the new ESS Twin Screw SC is going to be like....

What psi does the SK PLus run at anyway?

G

[gwatson]

ny1 have any ideas of how many zc z4s are floating around uk?

There is a guy on the z4um running around 385bhp in his Z4 3.0 with a ESS SC, with a bit of internal work he's hoping for450bhp next year. He's actully starting his own business fitting these things...

See here...

Stage 1 (http://www.z4um.com/viewtopic.php?t=15391&highlight=x88racing+ess)

and here

More Info (http://www.z4um.com/viewtopic.php?t=13663&highlight=x88racing+ess)

[SarahJane]

Welcome to Evotechnik... :D
Have fun :)
Nice car too. Would be awesome S/C :D

[gwatson]

Also...

Does fitting a Centrifugal Clutch require taking the engine out, adding hugely to the cost. Is this acutally a new clutch, or just a part of the clutch mechanism?

I guess it's essential, but then how noisy is it without?

G

[marksg]

Also...

Does fitting a Centrifugal Clutch require taking the engine out, adding hugely to the cost. Is this acutally a new clutch, or just a part of the clutch mechanism?

I guess it's essential, but then how noisy is it without?

G

If you're referring to the centrifugal clutch that's part of the s/c arrangement then no it's not major or essential, it simply disengages the supercharger at low revs - normally around 1,200 rpm, and is housed (I presume) in the supercharger housing.

I opted not to have this fitted - I notice some 'gear lash' at low revs which disappear as soon as the s/c picks up - I wasn't keen at first, but to be honest, I don't notice it now, and most people are not concerned by it, or don't even notice it - to me it just sounds like a very slight rattle when ticking over - it can be retrofitted, which I may do during my next upgrade (!), but for the cost, I would recommend that anyone having this system opts for the centrifugal clutch - it's worth it IMHO.

I have got a video/sound clip of the sound at tickover if you want to hear it I can e:mail - you'll then see/hear what I'm referring to.

Gary

Gary

[gwatson]

Yeah Gary that would be great...

graeme.watson@gmail.com

[gwatson]

Here's a video of the above car....

See here (http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7935316846098407751&q=z4)

[girlpower]

Hiah and welcome...happy modding!!! :)

[mnathan]

Welcome gwatson [hiya

Used to own a Z4 before but only thought of supercharging it.......not sure why? :o I found it plenty quick apart from those horrible RFTs and electric steering :mad:

However, after losing the Z4 for a 5 seater 330, i somehow craved the need for speed and decided to go down the S/C route. Upon careful deliberation, i chose the ESS TX-1 kit ( 7psi and w/o intercooler) due to the fact that the power increase seemed great and it looked most DIYable. I know the chaps from Simpson Motorsport pretty well now !!
I`ve sold my TX-1 now ( after 4 months of glorious boosting !!!) just because i`ve ordered the new Twin screw form ESS..... :D
From what i`ve read and heard about similar kits in the e36, this kit is a serious e46M3 ass kicker ( some guys in this forum may disagree ;) ).

For the money value though, the SK+ is probably best bang for buck.

Good Luck in your decision.

[CA Automotive UK]

an intercooler will only add reliability , as well as the potential for further power upgrades

the centifugal clutch is a part fitted to the charger itself and not the engine , so does not require major installation . Most customers do not opt for this though .

The SK1 kit runs at about 0.4 bar .

You are right that end of teh day a fully remapped DME is preferable , having said that we have had no reported issues yet with cars running ASA tronic .
For mid power levels then we suggest Active autowerke , their kit will give you some 330 bhp , complete with larger injectors , intercooler and remapped DME , around £4550 .00 inc vat for the system . We have had one of these running in an E46 330 for 3 years now .

Agreed that the SK plus by far offers best value for money

best of luck whichever path you take