Randburg-based tuning house RGMotorsport are celebrating 20 years in the business with a new, relatively affordable supercharged conversion for the BMW E46 330i.
While they offer supercharged conversions on many cars - the C63 AMG, Nissan 370Z and Toyota FJ Cruiser to name just three - BMW has long been their bread and butter.
Company co-founder Rob Green said: “I did my apprenticeship with BMW and 25 years down the line I still have a soft spot for them. They're very well-engineered and lend themselves to what we do best: making cars go faster!”
FITS ANY M54 ENGINE
The beauty of this kit is that it'll fit any six-cylinder E46 with an M54 engine - sedan, coupe or convertible, with automatic or manual transmission. A separate package caters for the M3 with the S54 engine.
Green says customers can expect a power increase of about 65 percent (up to 280kW!) and about a 41 percent torque gain, with a broad spread of torque for driveability, especially at altitude.
All of which costs just over R79 000, including a six month or 20 000km warranty, thanks to some clever engineering to reduce complexity and hence cost.
The intercooler and its water reservoir are fabricated as unit and maximum boost is restricted to 0.4 bar so the standard crankshaft pulley can be used along with a suitably longer version of the original six-rib belt width, as well as the original fuel injectors.
UNICHIP Q ENGINE MANAGEMENT
The heart of the conversion is an oil-lubricated and cooled Vortech V2 Si centrifugal supercharger and an additional fuel pump with a RGM rising rate fuel pressure regulator.
Fuel and ignition requirements are calibrated with the proven Unichip Q piggyback engine management computer, and part-throttle driveability is enhanced by an RGM Excell dump valve that eliminates surging on light throttle or when coasting.
The compact plumbing and minimal pipe lengths contribute to instant response.
As with all RGMotorsport supercharged conversions, the rev-limiter remains intact although 250km/h electronic speed limiter can be removed on request.