help me pick which m3 e92 supercharger

[StevOm3]

Hey guys im looking for some guidance of which superchrger to install on my 08 m3
1- ess kit stage 2
2- gintani stage 2
3- Active stage 2

honestly theres not much of a diff in price , theres just as much diff in rwh
i cant find enough info bashing one or the other so i really need some help because obv i wana avoid most of the problems and malfunctions.

also if u guys have any suggestions as a whole package for example
active suprchrger with meisterschaft gts exhaust and gruppe m intake or wtvr that works really well together , pleaseeee let me know im moving on this asap and im really back and forth with vendors because everyone wants the sale but i dont know who to trust ..
ur typical modding problem lol
thanks guys i really appreciate it please let me know
Steve

[DOUT]

First and foremost, when you install a supercharger eliminate the need of an airbox/intake because one is already bundled with the supercharger and manifold.
The three companies you mentioned are all respectable and have produced great kits.
For some people, they choose whichever company is closest to them out of convenience (ESS=Arizona, Gintani=Los Angeles, Active=Miami)
Only Gintani and Active offer water/methanol injection but that is for stage 2+, however I don't recommend running methanol unless you want to suck every last bit of power from your motor. (either safely or dangerously)
The pros and cons of methanol have been discussed to death on this forum.
I say go for whichever kit you can get installed for the least amount of money and invest the rest in a coilover suspension (KWV3, KWCS, Moton, etc.) and a fully catless or high flow catted header back exhaust. (Akrapovic, Gintani, RPi, etc.)

By the way, in terms of problems and malfunctions.
One car with the Active Autowerke supercharger kit installed has blown its motor. No one knows why or what happened exactly. However, many others have had the kit for many miles with no issues.
One car with the Gintani Stage 2+ blew a rod bearing because of what seemed to be a methanol failure coupled with high boost (9psi).
ESS has no blown motors to date and has probably sold the most kits - seems like a great option but they have a lot of annoying fan boys who go and bash everyone else on the forums

Good luck!

[StevOm3]

wow i was really going for that stage 2 but after that...i dunno man i guess ill just go with the stage 1 but what else can create that big diffrence.

[CBS]

The Supercharger Companies you mentioned are all respectable companies. There has been a lot written here about each of them.

For me, the installation company (and support) was just as important as the supercharger itself.

I'm biased toward ESS. I understand they have several authorized installation companies throughout the Country. I am sure the same is true for the other supercharger companies as well. Ask for references (satisfied customers) and contact them.

As for your other mod questions: Depends on what you want to do with your car. For me, I track my vehicle and chose the mods accordingly.

Good luck with your decision.

[m3heaven]

I'd go with ESS tuning without hesitation.

[akh23456]

For active their stage 2 doesn't come with meth its a option for people to add. thats what i was told when i order my kit.

[m3heaven]

Just think of it like this. ESS Tuning specializes in supercharger kits and from what I believe is the oldest company out of the 3 you listed. In addition, many of their supercharger kits have been on dedicated track cars on different BMW platforms. They also produce the most supercharger kits for BMWs in the world.

But I don't think you can go wrong with the AA kit as well. I wouldn't even consider Gintani just because of all the drama that is going on with their company and because of how new it is.

[Meff]

Originally Posted by StevOm3

i cant find enough info bashing one or the other so...

You have obviously spent no time reading this forum then have you.

[E90///M3`]

Originally Posted by Meff

You have obviously spent no time reading this forum then have you.

lmao

and to keep things on topic... I'm bias as well since i have an ESS kit. But from the research i did in talking with each company i was personally interested in... knowing people who own or have owned ESS or Gintani... talking to those owners... talking with the tuners... i made my choice and it was an obvious one for me from the way each side presented themselves and the things we discussed.

[m33]

#1 ESS
#2 AA
Hmmm that about sums it up..

[atalladega]

I think if you ask on this board there will be overwhelming support in ESS's favor. I am also still up in the air. My uncle runs Gintani and is happy with it and guys there, regardless of all the bashing that goes on here. Those who have the ESS kits seem to have nothing but good things to say about their kits. I haven't heard much from the AA owners. I'll be going with Gintani or ESS.

BTW, there was a post on this thread that stated that someone knew of two previous ESS owners who had problems or blew their engines. What happened to that post? I need to find out some info on that? Did the mods delete that for some reason?

I think regardless of which company, if you stay in the stage 2 you are safe. When you start to really push with the "+" then it can get risky, from what I've read. Of course the "+" being the water/methanol as someone stated earlier.

[pandabo1]

The ESS kit seems very quality built, would definitely be one of my considerations.

[m33]

Originally Posted by atalladega

I think if you ask on this board there will be overwhelming support in ESS's favor. I am also still up in the air. My uncle runs Gintani and is happy with it and guys there, regardless of all the bashing that goes on here. Those who have the ESS kits seem to have nothing but good things to say about their kits. I haven't heard much from the AA owners. I'll be going with Gintani or ESS.

BTW, there was a post on this thread that stated that someone knew of two previous ESS owners who had problems or blew their engines. What happened to that post? I need to find out some info on that? Did the mods delete that for some reason?

I think regardless of which company, if you stay in the stage 2 you are safe. When you start to really push with the "+" then it can get risky, from what I've read. Of course the "+" being the water/methanol as someone stated earlier.

The reason the post was removed is because it was another classic example of a certain vendor fanboy using a fake account to create drama with false info. I think the mods here are smart enough to spot a fake account created to do nothing more than confuse people and take proper action when needed. It is actually a good example for the OP to see first hand the kind of business tactics some vendors employ in an attempt to market their products and to discredit their competition. If you really want to get quality info just PM the guys on this forum who actually own / have owned superchargers from these vendors and get some real first hand feedback. Don’t trust much of what you see from people who have never owned these products or just created an account to praise one vendor and bash another with over the top claims. These are usually common forum trolls sent out by the “Jokers” of the tuning world to confuse and misdirect you with fictional info.

[duk]

I would not run meth period. Thus it is ESS for me.

[rbk1115]

Originally Posted by m33

The reason the post was removed is because it was another classic example of a certain vendor fanboy using a fake account to create drama with false info. I think the mods here are smart enough to spot a fake account created to do nothing more than confuse people and take proper action when needed. It is actually a good example for the OP to see first hand the kind of business tactics some vendors employ in an attempt to market their products and to discredit their competition. If you really want to get quality info just PM the guys on this forum who actually own / have owned superchargers from these vendors and get some real first hand feedback. Don’t trust much of what you see from people who have never owned these products or just created an account to praise one vendor and bash another with over the top claims. These are usually common forum trolls sent out by the “Jokers” of the tuning world to confuse and misdirect you with fictional info.

+1

[biglare]

Originally Posted by m33

The reason the post was removed is because it was another classic example of a certain vendor fanboy using a fake account to create drama with false info. I think the mods here are smart enough to spot a fake account created to do nothing more than confuse people and take proper action when needed. It is actually a good example for the OP to see first hand the kind of business tactics some vendors employ in an attempt to market their products and to discredit their competition. If you really want to get quality info just PM the guys on this forum who actually own / have owned superchargers from these vendors and get some real first hand feedback. Don’t trust much of what you see from people who have never owned these products or just created an account to praise one vendor and bash another with over the top claims. These are usually common forum trolls sent out by the “Jokers” of the tuning world to confuse and misdirect you with fictional info.

+10000000


OP... I would recommend the ESS kit as they have several power levels to choose from and their kit has been installed on my car for over a year and a half with ZERO issues!

[LV-E92M3]

people are not stupid there's a reason why ess have sold most sc kit for e9x m3. Do some research before you make a statement

[Arthur]

G-Power FTW!

[UNNATRAL]

take a look at the thread titled "E9X supercharger owners list". you will see that there are about 40 registered members with ess, 2 with AA, and I think 1 with gintani..those numbers speak for themselves. Also, that whole "blown motor" issue, and I stress the fact that I KNOW NOTHING ABOUT IT FIRSTHAND, WHATEVER I SAY IS BASED ON THAT THREAD I READ, its very fishy that AA didnt discuss that issue and swept it under the rug quickly. not saying they are a bad company, but when there is a serious allegation against a certain company, it is that company's responsibility to clear it up or discuss it. that is all I have to say.

[Ryboy98]

Originally Posted by UNNATRAL

take a look at the thread titled "E9X supercharger owners list". you will see that there are about 40 registered members with ess, 2 with AA, and I think 1 with gintani..those numbers speak for themselves. Also, that whole "blown motor" issue, and I stress the fact that I KNOW NOTHING ABOUT IT FIRSTHAND, WHATEVER I SAY IS BASED ON THAT THREAD I READ, its very fishy that AA didnt discuss that issue and swept it under the rug quickly. not saying they are a bad company, but when there is a serious allegation against a certain company, it is that company's responsibility to clear it up or discuss it. that is all I have to say.

LOL, one Gintani kit? I think you looked at the first page and didn't
look at the updated lists as the pages go on. I think there are at least 20 Gintani kits out +\-

I have been happy with my Gintani kit and I'm running the 2+ kit. I think some of you are missing the fact that no one has had a problem with any of the kits without meth regardless of the brand. I have been away for a while from the boards but it seems as if everyone is hostile towards Gintani now. From what I have been reading I'm sure I'm going be called some names and be flamed for owning this kit here but, my personal experience with the kit and company has been good. Many of you say horrible things about companies other than ESS but have no first hand experience with them. Id never say the ESS kit or the AA kits are horrible because personally I don't know. But my opinions on them are they are good kits. I eventually chose the Gintani kit because I had the catless x and race exhaust already and was pleased with their product and cs.

It sounds like the OP is not interested in pushing the limit of the engine just a reliable increase in hp. So I would just advise him to stay away from the methanol and he'd be pretty safe with any of them. As far as i know ,and you can search for history, i dont think anyone has had problems other than with methanol.

I'd suggest you call each company and speak with them and go with who you feel comfortable. I really don't think it is a go idea to go off of forum member's posts especially if they have no experience with any of the companies. It's like some one telling you not to buy an M3 because they read on the forums they had lots of electrical quirks and yet they drive a corolla and never owned an M. Different than if you talk to someone and they say, "I've had an M3 and it was horrible! Too many problems with the electrical system"

Those of you who know me from before know how I feel about things and my philosophy and why it is that way. I don't think it's right to say negative things about a product especially if I have no first hand experience with it and I've only read others opinions. Based on my experience I can recommend the Gintani kit as good quality and performing as I like. If you want to really be safe go with one of the stage 1 or stage 2 kits.

Damn this is way too long. Sorry people, it's probably in everyone's best interest that I've been away from the forums. peace!

[M3_WC]

Originally Posted by duk

I would not run meth period. Thus it is ESS for me.

A little mis-leading.

AA and Gintani both have stages that don't inlcude meth.

[DLSJ5]

Originally Posted by duk

I would not run meth period. Thus it is ESS for me.

I think it's okay to run Water/Meth as long as you are not relying on it to keep the motor safe while running high boost on 91 octane. I think ESS might be okay with that too, but they most likely would never let a customer run it if the tune depended on it and I say this because they have never been a huge proponent of it, and with good reason. It's one more thing that can go wrong. If you look at their kit design, they also use that same philosophy with their components. What I think you mean is, you'd never run a car at high boost on pump fuel, where it relies on WM for safety. Having been through a Meth failure I can't blame you, many people feel the same way.

I think all of the kits on pump fuel, if set around 6psi, you should be in good shape, and engine damage is unlikely. To date I don't think there have been any failures at moderate boost levels, but I could be wrong.

It does appear based on past non US and now recent US dyno's that the ESS kit does make more power at a lower psi, compared to the others. I have been skeptical about this in the past, but it seems I was wrong in my initial doubts. Objectively there is no other way to look at it as well, ESS has sold far more kits than any other company, do those two factors mean that it's the best kit? That's up to you to decide.

Originally Posted by M3_WC

A little mis-leading.

AA and Gintani both have stages that don't inlcude meth.

I think at times this point has been a little misunderstood, all the companies have options to run low boost where no meth is needed.