M4 F82 Planned Modifications

[M4Ops]

I'm planning the following mod's on my 2015 M4 and would like to get some feedback on the parts I'm considering; the good, bad, ugly etc. I understand each person's vehicle and goals are a bit different.

My ultimate goal is BM3 Stage 2 or 2.5 tune and upgrades to support it properly; high performance, race capable but still preserving daily drivability.

Radiator:

• CSF High Performance Radiator

Charge Air Heat Exchanger:

• VRSF FRONT MOUNT HEAT EXCHANGER

Charge Pipes:

• SSR Aluminum Charge Pipes

Turbo Intercooler:

• CTS Turbo Air-To-Water Intercooler Upgrade | BMW F8X M3/M4/M2
• CSF TOP MOUNT DUAL-PASS CHARGE AIR COOLER - F8X M3/M4
• VRSF Turbo Intercooler
• Project Gamma Turbo Intercooler

On the list of intercoolers, I'd like to get feedback on people's experiences with them. Their price points are everywhere from the $500's-$2,000 (CSF) Just wondering if the CSF and Mishimoto's are worth the extra price tag.


Air Intake:

• SSR Dual Cone Air Intake with Aluminum pipes

Mid Pipes:

• VRSF High Flow Single Mid Pipe

Spark Plugs

• 1 Step Colder Plugs

Eventually I plan to have additional upgrades done like the crank hub, heads, and internals of the engine. I welcome any input, experience one can share with these changes or experience with specific items I've listed. Thank you in advance.

[heitzke]

Honestly all looks pretty good but our factory intakes and intercooler are REALLY efficient pieces and you don't NEED to replace them.

If you're looking for the sound of an intake, then makes sense, but I wouldn't preemptively replace the intercooler unless you have a problem with the factory unit.

[M4Ops]

@heitzke what about the claims that aftermarket turbo intercoolers are 60% more efficient? If it's not needed as part of the road go stage 2, I'm game for leaving the OEM one in place.

[heitzke]

Based on reading here alone from what I can tell no one has really produced good data to suggest the aftermarket top mounts are significantly better than the OEM unit besides Mishimoto - https://www.mishimoto.com/engineerin...ler-2015-2020/

The OEM units do appear to have a decent failure rate and then most go to aftermarket after that. I do believe the factory HX is the component that has shown to produce results though.

IMO I wouldn't swap unless it's leaking as the factory unit is quite good at what it does when it's working as expected. I'm stage 2 and I did nearly back-to-back-to-back dyno runs and there was basically no power loss between.

[TopJimmy]

What kind of racing and how often, and how hard/long are drags/sessions?

Where on East Coast, or how hot is summer?

[M4Ops]

Originally Posted by TopJimmy

What kind of racing and how often, and how hard/long are drags/sessions?

Where on East Coast, or how hot is summer?

Maryland. Summers are 80-92 degrees. Humidity up in the 70% area in summer. Winters in the 20s-30s.

As for racing, 6-8x a month and some routine highway drag for a couple miles.

[TopJimmy]

For track use I'll leave comments to our track boys. I'm a drag rat. Their track suggestions will also cover your highway sprints.

[slaughter.mode]

I would not get anything on the list except the colder plugs (97506s I am assuming), the mid pipe, and a front mount heat exchanger (I have CSF but I'm sure they're all pretty similar). The rest of it isn't going to do anything for you for performance with or without a tune. Downpipes are a huge benefit if you're running anything above a Stage 1 tune.

Charge pipes = perfectly fine unless they crack (low probability)
Charge cooler = perfectly fine unless it's leaking (low probability)
Intake = Factory is incredible and I haven't seen a single aftermarket one give any improvement over stock until you're in the 30+ PSI range. Remove the charcoal filters and maybe drop some BMCs in and call it a day.

@TopJimmy is right it depends what your performance goals are and ambient temps (location) will play a big part in all of it.

Suspension is another key component depending on what you mean by 'race.' I have Bilstein B16s with GTS coding (EDC, steering, differential) and it's incredible. My Car is a daily, I have 94K and it was bought brand new by me in 2018.

[RugbyBro]

I wouldn’t buy anything CSF out of principle - the owner’s response when called out here was garbage.

If you want cooling upgrades from a company with legit race pedigree, I’d check out C&R. They sell some stuff thru Bimmerworld but it ain’t cheap.

[TractionControlDelete]

Originally Posted by M4Ops

Maryland. Summers are 80-92 degrees. Humidity up in the 70% area in summer. Winters in the 20s-30s.

As for racing, 6-8x a month and some routine highway drag for a couple miles.

For 6-8 track days per month (sounds like every weekend basically - 80+/year) I'd suggest starting with suspension, brakes, tires, and heat exchanger.

1) KW V3 Coilovers (Corner Balancing as well)
2) Ferodo DS 2500 Brake Pads
3) Motul RBF 660 Brake Fluid
4) Michelin Cup 2 Tires (200TW or lower if you have the budget for it) *I really like the BFGoodrich G-Force Rivals too*
5) Dinan Heat Exchanger

[slaughter.mode]

Originally Posted by RugbyBro

I wouldn’t buy anything CSF out of principle - the owner’s response when called out here was garbage.

If you want cooling upgrades from a company with legit race pedigree, I’d check out C&R. They sell some stuff thru Bimmerworld but it ain’t cheap.

I agree with this statement. I'd have gone with Mishimoto but it was just in the shop where they were installing my crank hub and it was free to tack onto my job so I did it.

[MJ6]

Anything but CSF, not only out of principle but proven results. Kies Motorsports was able to show that the CSF top mount actually performed worse than the stock unit, which is likely why CSF continually lied about providing dyno proven results over and over again.

On the principle side of things, their owner is a joke that only cares about taking your money. Feel free to read it straight from the horses mouth:

https://f80.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh...8;postcount=32


I personally went with Mishimoto as they have no qualms with presenting factual data on the performance of their products, unlike some other douche-canoe organizations.

[mike@x-ph.com]

Good luck OP, let me know if i can help

[Info@mad-us.com]

op,

We have all the parts you have listed instock at an unbeatable price . https://mad-us.com/m3/

If you have any questions please let me know.

[theweebabySeamus]

Originally Posted by M4Ops

Maryland. Summers are 80-92 degrees. Humidity up in the 70% area in summer. Winters in the 20s-30s.

As for racing, 6-8x a month and some routine highway drag for a couple miles.

Side note- this weather sounds a lot better than I expected Maryland to be.