![]() When BMW blows an engine at the test track or even at the race track, it doesn't mean they don't know what they're doing. While nobody wants to experience an engine failure, this is sometimes the only way to know where the actual limit lies. US cars.Įssentially, they wanted to see what the highest limits were on the lowest common denominator of US fuel (91 AKI). G-Power does have access to 95 RON (91 AKI) in Europe, but they still wanted to see how different the actual fuel quality was and how that would affect the programming and boost settings they have calibrated for European cars vs. Whether employed by BMW or a tuner like G-Power, this always creates challenges for engineers when developing high-compression engines and forced induction applications. It's no secret that America is known for having some of the worst fuel in the world. In the US, the main problem is fuel quality and octane availability. Some of his qualms are valid and I don’t intend to say that everything was always handled as it should have been, but at the end of the day these were test mules and both cars were fully repaired on G-Power’s tab (that should say something about G-Power as a company).Īs with any new product, there are always going to be "bugs" that need to be worked out, especially when dealing with different types of fuel. I know Josh has voiced his displeasure at times about the service he received all I will say is there were a lot of people involved and communication did break down at times. He also understood his car was a "tester" and would be used to evaluate the kit under different fuel grades, different compressor sizes and different software programs with more aggressive timing tables (he was also fully sponsored by G-Power). The second car belonged to Jon Martin and was boosted in May. Part of the deal included him receiving various hardware and software upgrades throughout the testing process (including larger superchargers, different intake systems and software updates). Josh received a large discount on his SK2 kit and knew full well that his car was going to be one of the first "test mules". Now to the 2 cars that experienced engine failures, as many of you know, the first car belongs to Josh Shokri (tightie) and was boosted in April 09. The car has been running flawlessly and recently did a LA => Frisco => LA test run without a hitch (roughly 800 mile roundtrip). So far, I have not experienced any reliability issues nor an engine failure. I know 9K miles doesn’t sound like much, but these haven’t been “babied” miles in the least. G-Power’s new 91 AKI program has yielded additional gains of 20-30WHP in Germany and should be good for 500WHP+ on a Dynojet (I’ll be able to verify this once I flash the map I currently have with their latest 91 AKI file). As of now, the M3 has about 9,000 miles on the clock with the SK2 kit and put down ~ 480WHP on 91 AKI and ~ 545WHP on 100 AKI 0.5bar of boost (about 7.5psi). With respect to the E9X S65 SK2 supercharger system that ASA/G-Power developed for the US market, I purchased an E92 M3 back in January 09 to test it out and get an idea of the quality, reliability and overall performance (I’m also running their bi-kompressor system on my M6 and have not had any issues with it whatsoever). Clearly, that’s not the case since over 100 kits have been installed on E9X M3s around the world over the past 2 years (most of them in Europe, the UK and the UAE). If there was something inherently wrong with the product, every engine would have given up the ghost by now. I can assure you that the hardware and software of G-Power's M3 production kits are not an issue at all. I do this to verify the quality of the products I develop, import and distribute. I don't sell or develop products that I wouldn't install on my own personal cars, hence I've always tested ASA's (and now G-Power's) products on my own cars (whether it was an E46 330, E46 M3, E63 M6 or E92 M3). I’ve been an importer of ASA supercharger products since 2002 and have a close working relationship with the owners of ASA/G-Power (these companies merged not too long ago). Please note, this has nothing to do with the SK1 systems or any SK2 systems running outside of the US. Since the misinformation being spread around the boards has gotten out of control, I would like to give a clear account of what happened with both of G-Power's US test cars and clear up any remaining confusion about the reliability of G-Power's E9X M3 SK2 supercharger kits. It seems some people felt the need to throw G-Power under the bus a while back in order to settle a personal dispute with other forum members. Perhaps the title of this post is wishful thinking, but I wanted to give an account of what actually happened since I was involved with supplying the kits for both cars.
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