Billy Johnson posted on Sunday, April 13, 2014 7:17 PM
by Billy Johnson
E36 M3s are notoriously difficult to make power out of while staying naturally aspirated and we are constantly in search of the best bang for your buck since a lot of money can be spent for little to no gains in power.
While this E36 M3 was previously used to test various intake components and eventually cams, the quiet 15 year old stock exhaust was left untouched. With help from our friends at Borla, we dive into the exhaust half of the equation to free up some more ponies without breaking the bank while making our car sound more like an M3 should to better reflect its performance.
Mike Bonanni posted on Tuesday, March 11, 2014 9:56 AM
by Mike Bonanni
If you haven’t noticed, things are moving quickly with us and the Yost Autosport Project #YAE92 M3 endurance race car build! It seems like yesterday this car was sitting on a set of rollers with everything removed but the engine yet in this part of our build journal it actually looks like a race car! Over the past few weeks our lives have been absolutely consumed by this project as the racing season bears down upon us. If you’ve never built a full blown race car before let me tell you this, there are a lot of small things that need to be done that are seldom on the front of your mind.
Colin Holte posted on Wednesday, February 12, 2014 10:58 AM
by Billy Johnson
We continue our difficult quest to extract more power from our S65 V8 without hurting the daily drivability of the car. Since cat-back exhausts don’t really make any power for the E9X M3 and since there really aren’t any aftermarket headers on the market because the equal-length factory headers are that good, the only real performance gain is in the removal of the stock cats. We test the Macht Schnell “Bypass Track Pipes” (Test Pipes) and European Auto Source 80mm exhaust tips to give our stock mufflers a sportier appearance to match the improved performance and sound that the Bypass Track Pipes should deliver.
Colin Holte posted on Tuesday, February 04, 2014 9:27 PM
by Billy Johnson, photos by Brian Humphries
Unfortunately, when a motor is as well-engineered from the factory as the S65 in our E90 M3, it leaves little for the aftermarket to improve upon without spending big bucks building the motor or going forced induction. However, ESS Tuning has years of experience with BMWs and provided us with their E-Flash ECU Software as well as their Performance DCT Transmission software to squeeze out even more performance from an already highly-strung motor.
Jonathan Lawson posted on Monday, January 27, 2014 7:31 PM
by Jonathan Lawson
I remember the first time I strolled onto a BMW lot back in the mid-90s to see the new E36 M3 in person. I fell in love with everything about it, including some of the factory wheel offerings. The wheels were considered large at the time, with 17" diameters, and no one knew that APEX would have their 18" x 9" Arc-8s within wheel wells. The M3s were also delivered from the factory with the then-impressive Michelin Pilot MXX3 tires, with no one ever thinking that the "all-season" Pilot Sport A/S 3 would not only perform even better, but allow you to drive in all but the most foul of winter weather conditions.
Pablo Mazlumian posted on Sunday, January 26, 2014 3:11 PM
by Pablo Mazlumian
At the heart of any engine is the engine management system. We install AEM's latest and greatest and are blown away not only by the performance, but by all of the features that transform this car into so much more!
Pablo Mazlumian posted on Tuesday, November 19, 2013 8:29 PM
by Pablo Mazlumian
In Part 4 we witnessed an aesthetic transformation and a dramatic improvement in all performance categories, especially braking. Going from 60-0mph in 10 less feet, or experiencing a 0.14G improvement in deceleration, after all, is hardly going to go unnoticed. What will go unnoticed--until pad failure or fluid boil--is the increase in heat throughout the brake system, which we tackle next!
Pablo Mazlumian posted on Sunday, November 10, 2013 6:21 PM
by Pablo Mazlumian
We test a wheel and tire package with eye opening results! The M3 is now quicker, handles better, stops on a dime, and also turns more heads. Check out our numbers!
Jonathan Lawson posted on Wednesday, November 06, 2013 7:06 PM
by Jonathan Lawson
Now we’re getting into the exciting bits of Project E36 M3. It’s been a joy to drive in mostly-stock form, but it’s time to get into the real fun: Suspension!
The groundwork for our suspension project began a few months ago when I had a meeting with Brian Hanchey of Hanchey Vehicle Technologies (HVT) while we were at Kansas Speedway’s GRAND AM race weekend. The prospects of our discussion had me bouncing off the walls with excitement.
Jonathan Lawson posted on Wednesday, October 23, 2013 5:51 PM
by Jonathan Lawson
We managed to get the handling of our E36 M3 back up to a stock-like feel in Part 1, so the car has been feeling almost new. With some exciting parts on the way, we decided to keep ourselves busy while we wait by adding a bit of convenience which the Germans didn’t seem to have as a priority. We also wanted something a little fun to help us pass the time, so we increased the crisp feel of our chassis with a simple but effective part from the BMW Motorsport division...