SSR Crank Hub + Cary Jodan E85 Dyno Tune = Is it worth it?

[whatnotsomuchf80]

Is it worth it?
If you are looking to drive your M3 / M4 on E85 and have the least amount of worry then I highly suggest you continue reading...

My apologies for the very long post in advance, but I think it’s equally as important to share great experiences as it is to share any negative ones, and if I’m going to do this I might as well do it right! If you are in the market for upgrading your F8X M3 / M4 I hope this helps make your path and decision a lot easier.

Additionally before I begin, I want to give a HUGE shout out to the guys over at SSR Performance in Orange County, CA and Cary Jordan (a man who needs no introduction) for getting me set up the proper way. Shah, Rod and Cary took great care of me and, as you will read in the following post, I am extremely grateful for their amazing customer service, top quality workmanship and for their help in allowing me to finally truly enjoy my BMW M3.

My first drive after SSR Performance and Cary Jordan worked their magic

THE CAR: 2018 BMW F80 M3
I picked up my M3 brand new back in September of 2018. It had been one of my dream cars for a long while and the moment I test drove it I fell in love. It didn’t take very long for the mod bug to bite me. Within just 3 months I had my car loaded with an off the shelf stage 1 map from a local company. After feeling what the stage 1 tune did for my car I decided that for my taste I needed more power. I wanted to go the custom tune route and also make sure it was safe. My ultimate goal was to be in the 550-600whp region. This car is my daily driver so I was looking for the maximum amount of reliable power that I could get with a stock engine and stock fuel system.

THE PROBLEM: Needed More power + S55 Spinning Crank Hub
The company that initially did my stage 1 off the shelf tune didn’t offer any custom tuning, so I began to look elsewhere. Although I wanted to upgrade immediately to a custom stage 2 tune and possibly even a custom E85 tune, after doing further research (which I probably should have done before even ever tuning my car on stage 1), I was hesitant to give the S55 a lot more power than stock and even more so hesitant to drive the M3 the way it was meant to be driven due to the spinning crank hub issue that I had begun to read so much about on the forums. Since hearing about tuned car after tuned car having this issue I began forcing myself to drive without ever downshifting and without hitting the throttle kickdown (even just on my stage 1 map) in fear that I would risk spinning the crank hub and end up causing irreversible engine damage. Given ANY chance of engine failure (however small it may be), I realized it would be stupid to downshift often and was forced to baby the car. I hated having the thought in the back of my head every time I drove the car that I COULD NOT DOWNSHIFT. This took ALL of the enjoyability out of the car for me. I knew I couldn’t just upgrade the power even further without looking into upgrading my crank hub and keep sane while doing so.

This is when I met Shah who is one of the owners of SSR Performance, and also one of the most genuine and knowledgeable individuals that I have met in this industry; especially when it comes to the F8X platform. I met him at a BMW car event by random chance and explained to him my goals with the car. He went completely out of his way and spent over an hour talking to me about everything with absolutely no commitment from me and not once did he try to sell me on any of his products or services. The passion and willingness to help that I felt from him that day led me to eventually find myself at SSR Performance.

THE SOLUTION: SSR Performance + Keyed 4 Pin Crank Hub + Cary Jordan E85 Tune


I let SSR Performance handle the project from beginning to end. We began by tackling the issue of reliability. Shah walked me through the concept of their new keyed 4 pin crank hub, which looked and felt great, and showed me a side by side comparison with a stock S55 crank hub. He made sure I understood 100% the concept behind the design and how it will help relieve my worries completely. We then worked out a power package with SSR Downpipes, SSR Intakes, and NGK step colder spark plugs. We accompanied all of that with a Bootmod3 tuning license (HUGE shout out to Pro Tuning Freaks for creating such an amazing tuning platform for the F series BMW community). We would later be using the BM3 license to do my custom E85 dyno tune with Cary Jordan’s expertise (done in house at SSR). Please don’t ask me about the price on all of these items. What I will say is that SSR’s pricing was very competitive and very reasonable for the quality of work and overall customer service, to say the least.

The entire installation of the keyed 4 pin crank hub and all accompanying performance parts took 4 days total from drop off to pickup. This also included the custom E85 tune that was done on the in-house Mustang dyno (BM3 Stage 2 OTS vs Cary Jordan Full E85 results posted below). I should also mention that, based on my research, Cary Jordan is seemingly a wizard when it comes to the S55 platform! Cary got the maximum power out of my car and even dialed in the burble exactly how I had requested and worked hand in hand with SSR Performance to make sure my car got done as promised and in the time frame promised. Communication with Rod, SSR’s shop manager, was extremely clear throughout the whole process and the entire job was finished in 1 day less than promised. Rod even sent me photos of my brake pads and rotors which were needing replacement and had the parts brought in and replaced upon my approval (saved me an extra trip!). All in all, the team at SSR Performance treated me right and I will be recommending anyone with a BMW who is looking for similar services, or any automotive services for that matter, to contact them immediately.



THE RESULT: BRUTAL POWER!!!

A safe and reliable 512 WHP / 576 WTQ on SSR’s “heartbreaker dyno” with Cary Jordan’s Custom Full E85 map. As you can see this was an increase in 96 HP / 138 TQ TO THE WHEELS!! This increase was with the only change being Stage 2 91 octane OTS vs Stage 2 Full E85 Cary Jordan map. I already know you’re all thinking exactly what I was initially thinking, “Those numbers seem low.” You have to realize that this reading was taken on a Mustang dyno (load based for best live tuning) and that these numbers with a Dynojet correction factor would be more in the region of 604 WHP / 633 WTQ. That Dynojet correction factor is based on multiple cars that have been tuned at SSR Performance and then gone to a dynojet for “glory numbers” and put down numbers in the region of +18%. Just in case you don’t believe me, I also requested a dyno sheet for any exotic car that they have had on their dyno and they happened to have a baseline dyno sheet of a stock 2017 Lamborghini Huracan 580-2, which I have also included below for fun haha.



My M3 put down approximately 76 WHP and a WHOPPING 271 WTQ more than a stock 2017 Lamborghini 580-2 (I understand the car is NA and I am not by any means saying my car is better than a Lambo, but that comparison is pretty cool in my opinion!).

Upon initial drive, the power my F80 M3 put down was incomparable to anything that I had felt before and absolutely BRUTAL! Once the pedal is down lifting your head off the headrest is now out of the question. I have driven both the McLaren 570s and Lamborghini Huracan 580-2, yet I can confidently say that my car is the fastest car that I have ever been in. There are only two problems. Firstly, it’s been almost a week and I still can’t seem to control my right foot at every open road opportunity. Secondly, I can’t seem to get rid of this smile. Hahahah. All jokes aside though, my next round of mods will definitely include a set of upgraded wheels and tires (not sure what setup yet, any suggestions are very welcome). Most importantly of all, I can now downshift without a single doubt on my mind. This car is better than the best version of my M3 I could have ever dreamt of.

OVERALL EXPERIENCE: 10/10 (I could not have been happier)
The answer to the question is YES. The keyed crank hub upgrade and Cary Jordan E85 tune is 100% worth it in my option for anyone looking to make safe and reliable power in their M3 / M4. As far as power goes I will probably leave it at the level that it’s at for a very long time (maybe forever). I hope this 15 minute read saves anyone who is in the market for safe and reliable power for their M3 / M4 the hours and hours of research that I had to do to get my M3 to its final form. If you’ve stuck around until now I’m very flattered and glad to know that this wasn’t all in vain. Hahah. Thank you for reading!

- A.M.

[FriedPiston]

Didn't read it all, but gave you rep for taking the time to share!

Happy Motoring!

[whatnotsomuchf80]

Originally Posted by FriedPiston

Didn't read it all, but gave you rep for taking the time to share!

Happy Motoring!

Appreciate it Some parts are definitely more interesting than others just wanted to share the whole story

[2SNAILS]

Did u upgrade top mount and charge pipes yet?

[THEROK]

Any mods done to handle the increased heat from all the added power or has it been determined stock components are up to snuff?

Thanks for sharing.

[///Mani]

Great post! Glad you love the car and the added performance. I've been hearing excellent things about SSR! I wish there is a reliable reputable shop like that in Florida, I've been contemplating the crank hub upgrade but I still need to go to stage 1!

Enjoy the car man!

[whatnotsomuchf80]

Originally Posted by 2SNAILS

Did u upgrade top mount and charge pipes yet?

They're not on the car yet but they're on the way! SSR chargepipes getting custom coated Ferrari Red right now to match my intakes! Going on as soon as they're finished.

[whatnotsomuchf80]

Originally Posted by THEROK

Any mods done to handle the increased heat from all the added power or has it been determined stock components are up to snuff?

Thanks for sharing.

No issues thus far whatsoever and based on my understanding since I won't be heavily tracking this car I shouldn't need any upgraded cooling. Most others with similar setups are not running it either but only time will tell. If anything changes I will update the thread with additional information.

[whatnotsomuchf80]

Originally Posted by ///Mani

Great post! Glad you love the car and the added performance. I've been hearing excellent things about SSR! I wish there is a reliable reputable shop like that in Florida, I've been contemplating the crank hub upgrade but I still need to go to stage 1!

Enjoy the car man!

Thank you man! Yeah definitely a blessing to have Shah and the rest of the SSR crew with me every step of the way! Nothing but great things to say about them.

Contact Shah, I wouldn't be surprised if he can refer you over to someone over in FL to help you with the crank hub. I know they ship them all over.

[ShoNufff]

Never been to SSR but have a Jordan e85 tune and extremely amazed on his tuning skills! Those are pretty big gains on a mustang dyno!

[SSR Performance]

Hey brother!!

Love the write-up and all the kind words!! It truly means a lot more than you can ever imagine to me. It was our pleasure getting you taken care of This is the stuff we live for man. Seeing the smile on your face when you drove the M3 for the first time and posts like this remind me why we started on this journey.

Truly appreciate you. Feel free to reach out for anything at all. Enjoy her.

Shah @ SSR Performance
Owner

[whatnotsomuchf80]

Originally Posted by SSR Performance

Hey brother!!

Love the write-up and all the kind words!! It truly means a lot more than you can ever imagine to me. It was our pleasure getting you taken care of This is the stuff we live for man. Seeing the smile on your face when you drove the M3 for the first time and posts like this remind me why we started on this journey.

Truly appreciate you. Feel free to reach out for anything at all. Enjoy her.

Shah @ SSR Performance
Owner

You're the man! Don't be surprised if you see a bunch of guys walking in there telling you i sent them! I'm sure I will be seeing you for more goodies very very soon

[DanMpower]

Originally Posted by SSR Performance

Hey brother!!

Love the write-up and all the kind words!! It truly means a lot more than you can ever imagine to me. It was our pleasure getting you taken care of This is the stuff we live for man. Seeing the smile on your face when you drove the M3 for the first time and posts like this remind me why we started on this journey.

Truly appreciate you. Feel free to reach out for anything at all. Enjoy her.

Shah @ SSR Performance
Owner

Hey Shah, would there be additional gains to be had if you combined full E85+100 percent meth injection with Cary tuning?

[aBMWfan]

Originally Posted by DumbAS55

Hey Shah, would there be additional gains to be had if you combined full E85+100 percent meth injection with Cary tuning?

I’ll let Shah answer this but imo the stock turbos get maxed on either E85 or Meth

[Laoschris]

Saw the review video on FB and the F8x page. Your face is like, holy hell I love this car! Lol congrats man. E85 in our cars on stock turbos alone is a blast!

[THEROK]

Originally Posted by whatnotsomuchf80

No issues thus far whatsoever and based on my understanding since I won't be heavily tracking this car I shouldn't need any upgraded cooling. Most others with similar setups are not running it either but only time will tell. If anything changes I will update the thread with additional information.

I would hope no issues so fresh into the upgraded power, dude.

Drive safe out there. Thanks.

[SSR Performance]

Originally Posted by DumbAS55

Hey Shah, would there be additional gains to be had if you combined full E85+100 percent meth injection with Cary tuning?

Yes there are more gains to be had! E85 with methanol even on stock turbos will open up some room since you're working against the hot turbo air and that's exactly what methanol is supposed to do for the charged air. You will also notice MUCH better consistency in hot weather.

Shah @ SSR Performance
Owner

[aBMWfan]

Originally Posted by SSR Performance

Yes there are more gains to be had! E85 with methanol even on stock turbos will open up some room since you're working against the hot turbo air and that's exactly what methanol is supposed to do for the charged air. You will also notice MUCH better consistency in hot weather.

Shah @ SSR Performance
Owner

[5ABIVT]

Anyone from ssr I can pm with a question ?

Awesome stuff op thanks for sharing ! 👍🏼👍🏼

[SSR Performance]

Originally Posted by 5ABIVT

Anyone from ssr I can pm with a question ?

Awesome stuff op thanks for sharing ! 👍🏼👍🏼

Absolutely you can PM or email us (email is usually a much quicker response) info@SSR-Performance.com

Thank you!

Shah @ SSR Performance

[CaryTheLabelGuy]

So glad you’re enjoying your new setup!! Thanks for the detailed write-up and the kind words! Have fun and be safe!

As for everybody else that might read this, I pray you are all safe and that your families are safe as well. Life will return to normal soon and we can all get back to the fun!

Much love to all.

[DanMpower]

Originally Posted by CaryTheLabelGuy

So glad you’re enjoying your new setup!! Thanks for the detailed write-up and the kind words! Have fun and be safe!

As for everybody else that might read this, I pray you are all safe and that your families are safe as well. Life will return to normal soon and we can all get back to the fun!

Much love to all.

Cary and Shah,

How much more power can you realize by adding 100 percent meth on top of full E85 would you guys guess. 20-30whp?

I am currently installing a water/meth kit on my car before my custom tune on 91 ACN as a daily map, but if there is potential to make more power over my E85 "kill" map, I would be interested in making an E85+Meth map as well.