BMW M3 CSL V10, BMW wheels, tuning

Direct-injection engines

2008-03-29T09:54:00.000-07:00

The astute engine aficionado will notice a couple of minor technological lapses here. The first is the old-fashioned indirect (into the port, not the combustion chamber) fuel injection. While BMW has several four-, six-, and twelve-cylinder direct-injection engines, that technology has not yet graced the company's gasoline-powered eights and tens. Another venial crudity is the use of speed-density calculations for airflow, versus the more precise mass-measurement method. Calculating in-stead of measuring intake flow, however, avoids the restriction imposed by a mass-air meter in the induction system.

The M3's powertrain control computer will offer two control programs: normal and extra spicy. One innovation BMW developed for the V-10 and passed on to the new V-8 in second-generation form is ion-flow detonation-sensing technology. Fluctuation in the flow of charged particles across the spark-plug gaps at the onset of detonation causes variations in ignition coil current. When those variations are detected by the powertrain controller, it retards ignition timing a few degrees to halt premature combustion.

The exhaust headers that evacuate spent gases from the cylinder heads also have that unmistakable F1 look. These tightly nested, thin-wall, stainless-steel pipes are hydroformed for low restriction and minimal heat absorption. Four catalysts cleanse any nastiness that exits the engine.

While the M department's V-8 and V-10 share most of the above features, these engines differ in certain areas. A double-row chain drives the V-8's intake cams, compared with the V-10's single-row chain, and the eight-cylinder's variable valve timing mechanisms are simpler, so the V-10's complex high-pressure oil system isn't needed. The V-8 is an even-firing design while the V-10 is not. (Equalizing the intervals between power pulses in the 90-degree V-10 would necessitate a split-pin crankshaft, an inherently weaker design that is unsuitable for ultrahigh power and rpm applications.) Thanks to the V-8's shorter, stiffer crankshaft, it benefits from an 8400-rpm redline versus the V-10's 8250-rpm limit. Power and torque peaks are spread farther apart, meaning that the 4.0-liter V-8 is the overachiever, with a torque peak of 295 lb-ft at 3900 rpm and a maximum 414 hp at 8300 rpm. (The 5.0-liter V-10 crests with 383 lb-ft at 6100 and 500 hp at 7750 rpm.) Eighty-eight percent of the M3's peak torque is available from 2400 rpm to its redline.

All this bodes well for stunning performance. Since the new V-8 is 33 pounds lighter than the 333-hp, 3.2-liter in-line six it replaces, the power-to-weight ratio is clearly moving in a positive direction. To maintain its svelte balance, the new M3 continues with a domed aluminum hood and nineteen-inch forged-aluminum wheels. The front fenders and side sills are molded plastic, while the roof is carbon fiber. (A similar panel installed on the M6 coupe saves twelve pounds.) As these factory photos reveal, the new M3's body is well-ventilated by three hungry intakes below the front bumper, two slots in the hood, a gill in each front fender, and a large diffuser in back. The dual-strut mirrors consumed hours of wind-tunnel time. The headlamps, taillamps, doors, deck lid, and glass are the only exterior parts shared with standard 3-series coupes.

BMW's transmission lab also is throwing a bone at the iconic Bimmer. The SMG six-speed, which prompted intense love-it/hate-it reactions upon its arrival five years ago, is gone. Take your pick between a conventional stick-and-pedal six-speed and BMW's first dual-clutch automatic. While purists will cringe at the thought of an automatic anything in their pet M3s, they won't whine about this new seven-speed's uninterrupted flow of power during upshifts.

So take a seat where you're safe from collateral damage. When the new M3 arrives next spring, the V-8 bombs will fly.

Twenty years ago

2008-03-24T09:51:00.000-07:00

Never mind that the confrontation is a year away; the shooters are already vying for high ground. Knife fighters know better than to show up at this bazooka battle. Contenders armed with anything less than a hot V-8 will be blown to smithereens.

Audi made that clear by rolling out its direct-injected 4.2-liter RS4 packing 420 hp. Lexus is finally mounting a serious challenge with the upcoming "more-than-400-hp" IS-F sport sedan. Mercedes-Benz recently retired its C55 AMG to clear the decks for a new C63, scheduled to bow later this year. Cadillac's second-generation CTS-V, powered by a strapping 6.2-liter V-8, is due next year.

That leaves BMW. Twenty years ago, when this brand mustered the gumption to offer a sport coupe equally at home on road or racetrack, a tide of elation washed over every car enthusiast in the land. Two years ago, the buzz about a new M3 with V-8 power began.

Those who worship the Bimmer bible saw it in the scriptures. The second-generation E36 upped the cylinder count from the original four to six in the early 1990s. A displacement boost from 3.0 to 3.2 liters arrived for 1996. BMW's M department began shipping its incendiary S54 six--333 hp, 8000-rpm redline--in the third-generation E46 M3, launched in 2001. It didn't take a prophet to deduce that the E92 coupe, which rolled forth last fall with a muscular twin-turbo six under its hood, was also engineered to host a V-8.

At the Geneva show, BMW finally ac-knowledged what everyone already knew by presenting a supposedly conceptual M3 and hints about its engine. The new 4.0-liter V-8 is a derivative of the remarkable 5.0-liter V-10 that powers today's M5 and M6. Both powerplants share an architecture that includes aluminum-block-and-head construction, a 90-degree V-angle, a 3.6-inch (92-mm) bore, a 3.0-inch (75-mm) stroke, 3.9-inch (98-mm) bore spacing, and a 12.0:1 compression ratio.

Like the V-10, the new V-8 block is a low-pressure die casting made of an aluminum alloy with a high silicon content. The lowly Chevrolet Vega used the same material thirty-six years ago for the same reasons that BMW selected this approach. The weight and complexity of iron cylinder liners are avoided because silicon is sufficiently tough to serve as the bore surface. A honing procedure polishes the hard silicon crystals that precipitate out of the molten aluminum during casting. To improve the wear resistance of the oil-cooled, cast-aluminum pistons, their skirts are plated with a thin coating of iron.

The V-8 block's bottom is reinforced by a stiff aluminum and iron bedplate that keeps the forged-steel crankshaft happy at its work. Under that, there's a dual-sump oil pan straddling the car's steering and structural components. An extra pump transfers lubricant from the front reservoir to the main storage sump at the rear, where the oil is sucked up to serve as the engine's lifeblood with no loss of pressure when the driver flings the M3 through the inevitable high-g maneuvers.

Cylinder heads embody Formula 1 practices, in no small part the result of BMW's team-ownership role in top-echelon motorsports. Two chain-driven hollow camshafts bear directly against the hydraulic bucket-type tappets that open four valves per cylinder. Computer-controlled drive mechanisms vary intake and exhaust event timing on cue to optimize smoothness, output, and combustion efficiency over the full operating range. Each pair of short, straight intake ports is fed by one fuel injector, one close-coupled servo-activated throttle, and a molded-plastic air trumpet.

2008 BMW M3

2008-03-19T09:45:00.000-07:00

Thanks to our tester's Electronic Damper Control, ride quality is phenomenal. On Spain's smooth roads, it seems far more complaint than the previous M3's, and yet body motions are perfectly controlled. The new M3 understeers mildly, but that's easily fixed with a nudge of the right foot: in second gear, the rear will easily step out into a controlled power slide. In faster corners, lots of throttle induces gorgeous four-wheel drifts.

The biggest letdown - and it's a huge one - is the steering. Whereas other 3-series (and all previous M3s) read the road surface to your fingertips, the M3 is frustratingly numb on center. It transmits only the largest of messages, and effort is too light and doesn't build naturally. The ratio is wonderfully quick but, to add insult to injury, the M3's turning radius feels vastly larger than any other 3-series.

Brake feel is excellent, but pedal effort rose precipitously during lapping of the 26-turn Ascari racetrack in Spain despite aggressive (read: noisy) pads. Even though we had to pull into pit lane for a few minutes after each lap, brake fade set in after a few laps. The M3's hefty curb weight is to blame - we expect it to weigh more than 3,700 lb when it arrives stateside. And while BMW has gone to great lengths to keep curb weight down - the carbon fiber roof, a huge cost item, saves eleven pounds - the fact is that the M3 has gained almost a half ton in twenty years.

The list of 3-series parts redesigned and re-engineered for M3 use is staggering - the V-8 car shares surprisingly few parts with those with a six-cylinder under the hood. BMW isn't known for frivolous modifications, and all of the changes serve a performance purpose. Unfortunately, they seem to also dilute the driving experience. Once a direct, raw, and frenetic monster, the M3 has morphed into a polished and refined grand tourer.

The original M3 was a track-ready, high-strung performer that made no excuses in its performance. As fun in a 15-mph school zone as it was at ten-tenths on a race track, it dominated everything that came its way. And while it's likely that the new M3 is faster around the Nordschleife than its competitors, it's lost a good bit of the driver involvement that has made previous Ms legends.

At the end of the day, we don't just expect fast lap times from an M3, we expect it to put a big smile on our faces. And this time around, the smiles just aren't as big.

First Drive

2008-03-13T09:44:00.000-07:00

The 2008 BMW M3 is either a complete winner or a big disappointment. It all depends on your expectations.

If you're looking for a supremely fast, incredibly capable back-road stormer, you won't be disappointed; the E92 is even faster than the previous E46 M3.

If, however, you think the M3 should be more than just speed, you'll be disappointed. After only a few seconds behind the wheel, it becomes obvious that the M3's engineers traded some driver involvement in return for more speed.

More speed, in this case, comes from the retirement of the inline-six cylinder engine that has defined the previous two generations of M3s. As it turns out, there was no more power to be had from a block with six holes in it. The previous 3.2-liter developed 333 horsepower, and the only way to add more ponies would have been to add more displacement. That sounds easy enough, but it wasn't - the engine block was already bored to its maximum, and increasing the stroke would have reduced the engine's maximum RPM. Thus, the engineers had no choice but to add two more cylinders.

The new V-8 is anything but a half-hearted attempt at fixing the problem. It is, after all, based on the powerhouse V-10 from the M5. Whereas the old inline-six was iron, the V-engines' larger bore spacing allows them to be made of aluminum, and as a result, the V-8 actually weighs 33 lb less than the old six. We've covered the detailed engine specifications in previous stories, but the important numbers are very impressive: 4.0-liters, 414 horsepower, 295 lb-ft, 8400-rpm redline.

Press the start button, and the V-8 barks to life instantly with a tinny clatter from its thin-walled, equal-length headers. Eight individual butterflies minimize the distance between the throttle butterflies and intake valves, so the engine responds instantaneously to prods of the accelerator.

Though the clutch is a twin-disc design (the first in an M3), the pedal is soft and easy to modulate. The shifter is familiar 3-series, which is to say precise and satisfying, if slightly rubbery.

Mash the loud pedal, and the quiet V-8 turns into a screaming demon. Thrust builds gradually until 3900 rpm (the torque peak), but never falls off. In fact, the engine's note becomes more and more hysterical as the tach swings clockwise. From 6000 to the 8400-rpm rev limiter, it sounds angrier and more ferocious than any V-8 you've ever heard this side of Maranello. The soundtrack is nothing short of magic.

BMW M3 CSL Review

2007-09-07T01:42:00.000-07:00

With the BMW M3 CSL, northern German refiners G-POWER present a further exemplar for BMW series vehicles equipped with V10 motors. First time vehicle presentation was held June 2007 at the Salzburg-Ring in Austria during the M Drivers Club meeting; official partners of G-POWER. The modulation of the larger V10 aggregate to the significantly smaller M3 CSL engine compartment is mastered by G-POWER with flying colours. Directly consequential to the V10 series aggregate from the M5 is a substantial increase in performance alone, yet G-POWER would not be G-POWER if there wasn’t more to be had. Pertaining to engine tuning, G-POWER’s customers benefit from 26 years of collected experience. Balancing this experience, the V10 elicits 550 hp and catapults to an acceleration of guaranteed 580Nm. In contrast to the original six-cylinder in-line engine with 360 hp and 370 Nm, the results are really quite impressive.

The remaining facts are no less spectacular. Despite a somewhat higher vehicle total weight of 1550kg, G-POWER with it’s “heart tranplant” sank the power to weight ratio from a good 3,9 kg/hp to a superior 2,7 kg/hp. Instead of 4,8 seconds from 0-100 km/h, G-POWER CSL V10 reached this mark in a breath-taking 4,2 seconds. Even more important in reference to super sports cars, is the speed acceleration to 200 km/h. With 11,6 seconds, the G-POWER CSL V10 leaves all others with scarcely a chance. Often the top speed of this bolide surpasses even those more powerful engines from Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen or Maranello, Italy: 335 km/h is a quantum leap versus the 285 of the original M3 CSL!

This V10 “operation” from G-POWER is available for the complete palette of the BMW models. Whether the current 3-series coupé, Z4, X5 or new M3, G-POWER rises and meets each challenge. Additionally, G-POWER is already working on a bi-compressor kit for the V10 engine and shall be setting further milestones in the higher divisions of the distinguished BMW refinement segment. The targeted performance of the first level lays by approximately 640 hp and for those especially power hungry, further levels can liberate up to a possible 750 hp .

Clearly, for more security even further alterations on the CSL technology are necessary. Based on brute performance, G-POWER took on the suspension as well. Working closely with suspension manufacturer KW automotive, which is very succsessful in racing at Nuerburgring-Nordschleife, the northern Germans compiled an extensivey tested suspension system. It is perfecty adjusted to the car´s power and is suitable for race track and road use as well.

G-POWER equips the otherwise externally unaltered M3 CSL with its newest wheels. G-POWER’s affinity to racing sports is clear to anyone by name alone: SILVERSTONE.

The new G-POWER SILVERSTONE DIAMOND wheel is provided a “concave” rim contour design specially developed for the latest BMW vehicle generation but suis older models such as the M3 E46 CSL perfectly as well. With this new, for G-POWER protected design, a pure BMW wheel was generated exclusively adjusted to the BMW brake outlines. Through this optimized spatial relationship, G-POWER improves additional brake ventilation. The special interpretation of multi-spoked design SILVERSTONE rims instantaneously makes the entire wheel unit exceptionally unique!

In addition, this wheel already more than satisfies the exacting safety requirements imposed by Bavarian manufacturer’s. They feature BMW stipulated run-flat capabilities in conjunction with approved tires! Furthermore, they are lighter in weight than the BMW factory M–wheels. The reduced unsprung weight has a noticable positive impact on comfort, even in conjunction with ultra low profile tires!

The new wheel, with ist striking appearance due to it’s unusual shaped 10-double spoke design, is manufactured in OEM quality. Naturally, they are “made in Germany”! Immediately eye-catching are the extravagant screw fittings that seem to signify a multiple pieced structure. Completely on the contrary though as it’s a one-pieced wheel that through its characteristics, is quite exquisite.

The latest G-POWER technique of surface coating SILVERSTONE DIAMOND wheels effectively prevents brake dust and dirt from “baking” onto the wheels. This makes the wheel particularily easy to care for. The silver-graphite-coated spider with its brightly shining “diamond cut” face, creates a fascinating and dynamic effect, blending harmoniously with all BMW exterior colours. Customers acquire a wheel with a classic and stylish appearance.

BMW M3 CSL Video

2007-09-07T01:36:00.000-07:00

Related comments:

leccy seats i can do without out - just need the A/C - which are all options on the CSL if you want them. second hand M3cls's have mostly extras added. thank god

It's a nice car but i'd want a radio lol.

i dont know carboard on a car you have to be kidding right.if someone buys it for me i will take it but i would never buy it carboard on a car it has to be a joke.

That was supposed to be a reply to the Rx-8 and 350z being half the price. :P

Where did that music come from during the time trial? Theres no radio!! Hahaha---Andy (very nice BMW)