I've been reading the threads and people talk about adding a supercharger but nobody says where to get one or who has one?

So does anyone have a supercharged/turbo'd on their stock 550i block and SMG transmission and where did you get it?

Who installed it?

Problems?


PowerDevice

 

ESS N62B48 550i/650i TVS1 Supercharger System - ESS Tuning | BMW Tuning Parts | BMW Racing, Tuning, Aftermarket, Performance Parts | Engine Power Chips | Performance Upgrades Chip

afaik, no one has installed/purchased one yet...

 

As a previous owner of a 550 with the manual transmission (and I'm totally jealous of your SMG) I'd suggest getting the turbo mod that I got. To get it you take your 550 to the dealer, trade it in on a 535 and then add a JB4, intakes and E85 for a solid 450hp. As a pleasant aside you get better gas mileage, probably better reliability (it's hard to tell since there's few documented installs of a supercharger on the 550) and the same amount of power with a healthier torque curve. Oh, and the 535 is lighter in the nose by 200lbs and it's a very noticeable 200lbs.

The only downside is if you love the SMG (I did) you can't get that in the 535 but the sport auto transmission is very quick shifting, rev matches on downshifts, etc.

 

Gene, did you forget about member West? I believe that was the supercharger he installed awhile ago. Here's the link
https://5series.net/forums/e60-parts...ournal-122311/

 

guess I missed that thread....thanks..

 

I prefer the idea of a SC 550 as opposed to a turbo car. For one, it is more unique, and I HIGHLY doubt that reliability will be affected that much considering the ESS kit provides 120 HP/80 TQ on just 6 PSI of boost. With that little boost reliability shouldn't be a problem.

 

Everyone has been a big help.

Thank you.

PowerDevice

 

A twin turbo inline 6 making 400+ who is pretty unique... Not as rare as an ESS supercharged 550 but not exactly as garden variety as your neighbor's Mustang.

For me the math was easy... Spend a bunch of money on a supercharger kit for the 550 or spend that money upgrading to a newer, lower mileage 535 and then putting $1000 into mods for the same power. Different strokes for different folks. The 550 with boost would be fun... I just wouldn't want something with what essentially consists of a very rare, very expensive low production kit when I could have something with easily replaceable stock parts.

 

.....or just buy an M5 This is what I did and while I loved my 545i, even if I supercharged it, it still wouldn't compete against the power of the M5 nor the intoxicating exhaust note. Seems like I can never get what I want from a non-M based on my purchase history...

99 540i > 00 M5 > 04 545 > 06 M5

 

For the money, there's no way I'd SC the 550. The cost difference between an 550 and an M5 is barely as big as parts/shipping/labor to install, and the 535i option is really the way to go if you're going to be beating on it and/or daily-driving the car.

535i with JB4 makes great torque down low, hits it's torque peak sooner, and pretty easily can make as much peak hp as the M5. Parts are cheaper and easier to get, reliability is better, and it gets better MPG.

And I'm laughing at the idea that the SC won't affect the reliability of the car - you're adding a ton of complexity inside the engine bay, and adding positive pressure (5X ambient pressure) to things that weren't intended to take anything but vacuum. Also adding a lot of weight to the nose of the car ,so handling will suffer.