Quote:
Originally Posted by bruce.augenstein@comcast.
The days when you could get significant power gains (via a chip change) on a normally aspirated motor have been over since the old six-cylinder M5s from the early 90's.
Note that the E46 M3 claimed aftermarket chip gains were either non-existent or in the single digits, and believe me, BMW hasn't suddenly gotten stupid about this.
I believe you're going to be able to get reasonable power increases on these cars through intake and exhaust changes, primarily because the California drive-by noise standards are so tight for OEMs that the aftermarket can move into this area and make some money. However, the power increases will be all at the top of the rev range. Useful on track, but not so much on the street.
On the plus side, the additional aural stimulation will tend to give even the most discerning of us (seat of the pants wise) a fair bit more of that "Wow, what power!" feeling, and that's worth something. 
Bruce |
I respectfully disagree. When the guys at ///M took upon the job of producing the next M3, it wasn't all about squeezing every last bit of HP. They also had to consider how many MPG this car would get, reliability, emissions, ect....
As I'm sure you all know, BMW plans on selling the most M3's in it's history by a long shot. It's an ambitious goal that would never be met if the car was producing 9 MPG and a $2100+ gas guzzler tax. There definitely is a possibility of some serious gains........ but at what cost in reliability & fuel economy?