Project BMW M3 - Heat Dissipation And Aerodynamics

The only thing I didn't realize (until too late) was how hard the motor was already being pushed, specifically with our ever-so-popular 91 octane here in California-the bad news. Like a power junky, I kept playing with more boost, thinking the enormous dips on Project M3's dyno runs would take care of themselves with less timing and more fuel-wrong! The car had been detonating so much in its early turbo life (remember those horrific 13 psi charts with 91 octane?), the damage was already done by the time I had already decided to "chill out" with only a 9- to 10-psi setting on street gas. The motor lasted just 6.5k miles with this kind of unintentional abuse. You guys out there with 93-94 octane for pump gas, start counting your lucky stars!

Under part-throttle acceleration, the motor suddenly began to hesitate, feeling as if one or two of the spark plugs weren't firing. The next day I drove the car to evosport's Huntington Beach tuning facility, and by the time I got there the car felt like it was running on only three cylinders. evosport used its graphing scanner device to locate the problem (I was hoping it was bad plugs, an oxygen sensor or maybe even bad spark power packs). But it wasn't until the compression and leakdown tests that we realized, sadly, the motor was truly on its last legs, revealing compression tests as low as 50 psi and over 80-percent leakdown in a couple of cylinders. It was either the head gasket or piston rings that fouled up; I'll report back with findings. All I know is I should have left it at 9 to 10 psi any time I used 91 octane.

But that's okay-this is what a project is all about, right? Let poor little me go through the hell of this time-consuming project, and you can read and learn about what not to do. Just know there is a light, a very bright light, at the end of this tunnel. In anticipation of this possibly happening, I made some arrangements months ago with some well-known companies. That said, by the time you read this, Project M3 should have a built-up 3.2-liter motor with forged internals, turbo-specific cams and a bigger turbo-the works. Read my words: "The fun is just beginning!"

Author's note: Special thanks to evosport for its diligent work on Project M3, including countless behind-the-scenes hours that I don't get a chance to talk about. It's nice to have a tuner like this always there for you and your car.