Porsche turbo vs. BMW turbo

[Warren]

Ok well first off I just want to say that I have nothing against turbo BMWs, in fact I want to do mine, or at least supercharge it.

HOWEVER, I would like to point out that for the price of a name brand stage one turbo kit, like AA for example their stage I kit for an e36 M3 is $8,700; ( Active Autowerke - BMW Tuner delivering a powerful performance upgrade utilizing a Turbo system for your BMW M3 ) one could buy, in good condition, a complete 944 or 924 Porsche tubo (or a 928 but thats besides the point). (Look for them on traderonline.com .. or several other car sites.)

To supercharge is obviously less money, but in order to handle the boost on a daily basis most BMWs are going to need a upgraded clutch, maybe a rebuild or better internals, plus most people cant do all the work themselves.

Building your own turbo kit is of course much cheaper but then reliability is an issue. Plus, being a one car man I would have nothing to drive while the BMW is scattered all over the garage.

By the way, an Active Autowerke supercharger kit will run you about $4,500 and give you the same horsepower figures as the lighter 944 turbo.

Granted, a turbo e36 BMW is a newer car and will preform marginally better then the older Porsches. Although, if you spend the same ammount to turbo a BMW that you already have vs. buying a 944 turbo and spending the leftover $3,000 or so on performance parts the Porsche would be faster and you would own two cars instead of one.

So as a German car fanatic, card carrying member of the Porsche Club of America and e36 owner, herin lies my dilemma.

Now if a company like AA or VF Engineering developed a reliable low boost turbo or supercharger that made around 300hp for my 328is for around $3,000 and didn't require any internal modification I could justify it but as things stand right now I'm on the fence.

What do you guys think?

[LDORADO325]

I would turbo your 328, the m52 can handle 500-600whp w/ just a .140" mls headgasket and head studs. with the thicker headgasket and head studs you should be able to do 18psi on 93octane gas with a custom tune from AA. AA has plenty of custom tunes for the 2.8l m52. If you buy all the parts and find someone who can install them you would be set.

-Mike

[909SCUM]

Or go out and buy a 335i rocket and you can play with the 911's and GT3's...

[E30stain]

ive thought about that same problem but id much rather have the bmw right now and maybe save up and make a dedicated 944 race car later.

[Warren]

I' d just like to say...
SICK TOP MOUNT LORADO325!

a build your own turbo kit is getting more and more appealing...

[LDORADO325]

If you do enough research there is information for everything out there and tuning is getting better for turbo bmw's. i am just setting up a shop in chicago area where i can do custom turbo setups and tuning for people.

-Mike

[Warren]

Cool, turbo 328is it is...
thanks guys.

[bmwpowere36]

there has always been tuning for turbo bmw a motor is a motor and if you know what you are doing then its all good

[itsabimmerthing]

Why does everyone jump on the big name brand, expensive bandwagon? Let me ask you guys this, as an experiment.
If a new, grassroots shop had a, lets say e36 325/8 shop car, fabricated a turbo kit, with a great computer program with a great tune, on 93 octane, made as much power as the AA kit, with a nicer turbo, for lets say 4-4500 bucks, with proven reliability, longevity, and as nice, maybe nicer componets.... Wouldnt you buy?

[Warren]

I would definately buy it. Problem is that shop you speak of doesn't exist.

[itsabimmerthing]

Never say never.... Thats all I can say.

[fairweatherpunk]

I love bmw's. I've never owned a porsche but I do like the way they look and I know they can be fast but much of the porsche community are for the super rich. You'd be hard pressed to find one less than $20-$25,000 even old ones. So Turbo bmw's all they way. Which is still expensive but not impossible. I did see a blue slant nose porsche on ebay that didn't run for like $15,000, which looked pretty cool, but throw another $5,000 to get it up and running.

[fairweatherpunk]

By the way, I've seen Itsabimmerthing post quite a few times and it's always either good advice or something that i agree with. It's nice to see. Not that my opinion matters, just thought i'd say

[itsabimmerthing]

Thanks for the comment fairweather. I agree with the Porsche comment as well. They are most likely more to insure, as well as higher maitenence. I love the 944T (951) But I have heard they like to break.

[RogueM3]

Originally Posted by itsabimmerthing

They are most likely more to insure, as well as higher maitenence. I love the 944T (951) But I have heard they like to break.

I SERIOUSLY considered going this route (951) instead of buying my 332 Turbo. I joined Rennlist, paid my yearly due, and did ALOT of research. I have Excel sheets I made up for market prices (2005) and found a bunch of cars. The cars are well revered, but you have to remember the oldest and cheapest are now 22 years old and the youngest are 19 years old.

If you read Rennlist...its downright depressing how much crap can and will go awry with those cars. This is not to mention the 4cyl doesnt make power as well as will your 328. The highest HP that I know of in a 951 is 610whp or so..

So I read for awhile, and while I could have gotten a 951 and modded the crap out of it for what I have into my 332...It would still be prone to more mechanical and electrical failure and would never be as fast (I dont think I would be willing to push the 4cyl enough to make my current 535whp)

I would say DEFINTELY go with a turbo for your 328.