Upgrade advice needed

[RedAtom]

Hi guys,

I picked up my first ZHP or e46 for that matter a couple of months ago. Absolutely loving this car and I plan on keeping it for at least 3-5 years. I bought an autotragic because the car was just in too damn good condition, low miles (just over 80k), and had great maintenance records and upgrades. It was too hard to pass up.

Anyhow, I bought the car knowing I would put a 6 speed man into it at some point, I have a few leads on parts but they are scattered all over North America and shipping is gonna be a bitch.

I am feeling the need for more power and am currently debating what to do first.

Supercharger!!

Or manual conversion?

Any feedback is appreciated, especially if you have had a step and moved to manual or have upgraded to the supercharger.

The supercharger is alot easier job and I could wait till a 6 speed shows up locally. And to be honest the auto is kinda nice in the complete crap Bay Area traffic. I am stuck wondering if the manual upgrade will completely wake the sweet inline 6 up, I find myself driving in step manual mode and it is definitely more fun.

Thanks for the responses all!

[L0veZHP]

I've had my automatic ZHP for a little over 6 years now. And I've always debated on what to do with it for more power and a manual swap. To get to the point, s54 swap with M3 manual transmission. Would be cheaper than a Supercharger and pretty cool. Do it! [emoji7]


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[RedAtom]

I have put some thought in to the S54 swap, an lsd will also be done with the power increase either way. I don't plan on tracking the car much if at all and I will really spend most of the time in the twistys. After doing some research it sounds like the supercharger is more fun for daily driver use, not to mention the engine in my car is low mileage and has been gently driven and I would prefer to stick with it. An S54 is a shot in the dark on condition. I really want the crazy torque from forced induction

It might sound crazy to some people to drop 6k on upgrades but spending money on a car that is super fun to drive seems like a better investment than spending an extra 10-20 grand on something newer.

I just love the way this car feels, the steering is incredible.

[az3579]

Just ask yourself though: will the automatic be able to handle that kind of power? You don't want to blow out your tranny before you can get a 6-speed in there. I assume you're going for the Getrag 6-speed from the M3? I think a few people with superchargers have their stock ZF 6-speeds and they handle the power just fine, so even a 330 one would work.

[Simmsled]

I've looked into this for the Step...
Believe it or not, there is a guy near me that had one.
He gave me this advice:
Run a transmission cooler, bigger the better.
Let it come up to at least 95 degrees F before you beat on it.
Change fluid every 20k miles. All of it, with synthetic ATF
Don't do stage 2.
Get a transmission fluid temp gauge
Don't run it hard enough to overheat the transmission
If you are going to come close to overheating, have a water sprayer on a switch or thermostat for the transmission cooler... could save you lots of $
BUT...
With all the precautions, you wouldn't get to enjoy it as much as with a 6M

Sounded like too much of a pain in the ass to me, so I haven't pursued it.
I'd be cool with just having an M3 with my ZHP, and will once I find a house with more garage space.

[Sockethead]

Any supercharger you get is going to be boost limited so the transmission won't grenade itself. I think the max you can run with the auto is about 6psi. Not a big return for $$ spent.
I'd think you'd enjoy the manual transmission just as much. Also when you swap for the manual, you get the added benefit of the gear reduction of the auto diff... which I think is 3.46?

[cakM3]

I'd be cool with just having an M3 with my ZHP...

That's the best way then you can use the ZHP as your daily driver.



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[hcbeck2689]

I think IMHO the best case scenario for more power but still great DD would be sell your current car and get a comparable 6MT then add an ESS TS1/2. If you got a great deal on it then you should be able to make a profit. You can also remove some upgrades before selling.
Another option would be get the ESS ts2 and tune to 8psi against the advice of ESS until the tranny blows. Then buy a MT. Granted this is the worst option.


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