bleudyno

I've been asked for the use of my car to fit a supercharger kit by VF-Engineering (they make a lot of s/c kits for porches and bmw's) The expected increase is somewhere in the range of 35-40% (439-455 hp) WOW! They'll need my car for a week while they test fit it. They will also be working on a 645i at the same time. For my kindness in letting them use my car, I will receive a SUBSTANTIAL discount off the $8k kit. I just wanted to ask you guys, what you guys thought. I just got my car so I don't know if I should go through with it because of the warranty issues and everything. They offer a 3 year unlimited mile warranty on the kit and if i need warranty work done, they would be able to unbolt the kit for me to take into the dealer. The kit doesn't require any cutting or welding - it is direct bolt on to the factory holes. Do you think the 545i engine will be able to handle the extra forces of the supercharger. I think he said that it would run at 6psi. I know what the pros are but do you think if i had any problems and had the s/c removed, would the dealer be able to notice that a supercharger was indeed added on and taken off? This is a big mod so hopefully I'll get a lot of help from you guys. Thanks

David

Guest

Since your car is a test mule you should get the supercharger free with a warranty from them!

m630

sorry, hit wrong button!

m630

it sounds nice, but i would never do it... if BMW service would see any signs of it, it would surely void the warranty which is worth at least the price of the kit, imho

be very careful as the car may keep a record of what you are doing, even if you are able to 'unbolt' the kit for service... im sure that iDrive will notice something is different and may cause a system fault that the dealer may need to clear... also, if this s/c causes the car to rev unnormally high, iDrive will track this too...

why do you want to s/c it anyway? what speeds are you looking for? perhaps a car upgrade may be better off?

soc_fans

Maybe you should wait for Dinan to come out theirs..

heezy545i

If it's a reputable company, I'd jump at the chance. A big discount gets me everytime. With a rather low PSI, I'd doubt that the engine would have any trouble.

With the kit removed, I'd be comfortable taking the car in for service, but don't think I'd want to go through the trouble each time. That seems to be the only con with the all the service updates and recalls needed for this car. Oh and I'm sure the gas mileage won't bother you.

markt540i

A friend of mine put a supercharger on his F-250 and had mega problems. For at least six months he couldn't drive over 3500 rpm and was constantly having them work on it. He finally had to get a new motor. I would not do it although it sounds tempting. I always considered adding a super charger or even nitrous, but didn't want to void warranty. The silly thing is now that my warranty is expired I plan to get a new car (550i??). If you have a good relationship with your service department, do you want to have to lie to them everytime you take your car in for service? Sounds awesome though, but you better just assume the warranty would be history.
Mark

Merzbow

Any more info on this? Been unsuccessful in attempts to contact someone who knows something at VF Engineering.

Guest

DO NOT do this to a new car unless you are prepared to pay some very large $'s in repair costs. Sure, they'll warantee their supercharger for parts and labor, but what are you going to do about everything else? Every component in the drivetrain will be subject to far greater stresses than it was intended for, and nothing will be covered under warantee. You will basically throwing away a large part of a warantee that covers everything that goes wrong on your car for 4 years.

If you have any engine, clutch, differential or transmission problems you will have to pay out of your own pocket. If you fail emissions, you will have to pay. If you have any suspension problems you may have to pay. If you have any accessory problems you may have to pay. Basically, your dealer can choose to void your warantee on anything that is remotely connected or associated with the entire drivetrain, all the way down to the brakes and tires.

Also, you are receiving a completely untested product, that hasn't been used by anyone else in the world before you. Do you really think everything will work perfectly the first time? I'm an engineer, and I can tell you the world doesn't work that way. You will probably spend a lot of time shuttling your car to and from their shop while they 'fine tune' their product. There is no way in the world you should pay anything at all for being their 'test mule'.

You may, on the other hand, be just fine. I doubt it, but it's possible. Good luck.

Merzbow

Granted, and I'm prepared to take the financial risk for 450+ HP. If I was spending the last dollar of my paycheck on this car with a 72-month loan then of course I wouldn't dare contemplate such a thing.