Rantings of a madman (S54)

tamgoem

Well-known member
So it's a horrible idea that has been playing out in my mind for 2 years now.

I quite miss my C63 in terms of the engine, not much else but the engine. My partner keeps on harassing me to buy one again about the only car i am allowed to shall we say exceed the agreed upon car limit because there is nothing quite like plain old cubic capacity now is there. At the same time i miss my built S54 both will sufficient to execute properly.

C63 is a minefield of trash and finding what i want will require time and patience. Pre F/L Performance package (read LSD) with a woodgrain interior is what i want, if it can be red on the outside even better.

At the same time every time i drive the Z it is disappointing because the engine feels like a diesel. Now imagine that being said of a S54. Previous motor was done in 2015 and i think final bill landed just shy of 200k.

Finding the skills to do the mechanical bits is easy. Getting the parts is also pretty much click and collect (want to do lighter internals, sort the oil pump, balanced rotating assembly, chuck in a set of fun cams), but jirre tog the mapping. One thing that can absolutely ruin a car is dealing with tuning and this particular Z has a really annoying thing where sometimes it just decides 6k is it's redline. Most tuners are fine dealing with a S54 in a normal M3, but given the joys of the Z being on a different ECU it becomes a minefield of overpromise and under deliver. The thought of dropping 300k into a engine and then having melty pistons is what has been stopping me form doing it.

Anyone that can recommend someone in GP that has personal experience with a E85 with a hotter motor that was actually mapped where you did not need to run octane booster, tickle it with a peacock feather, kiss it on the left side tip and gently stroke the gearknob 3 times before starting it.
 

AshG108

///Member
Sorry for just jumping onto your thread for the S54 but did you have both pre-facelift and facelift W204 C63s or just one of them?

And I am sure if you didn't own them you must have experience in both, is there any major differences between them besides the aesthetic differences exterior and interior.

I had the W204 facelift and for some reason I cannot get a pre-facelift, I just cannot somehow "like" the steering wheel and especially the covered radio bits.
 

tamgoem

Well-known member
Sorry for just jumping onto your thread for the S54 but did you have both pre-facelift and facelift W204 C63s or just one of them?

And I am sure if you didn't own them you must have experience in both, is there any major differences between them besides the aesthetic differences exterior and interior.

I had the W204 facelift and for some reason I cannot get a pre-facelift, I just cannot somehow "like" the steering wheel and especially the covered radio bits.

There is some substantial changes between them the most notable one is the clutch setup. Pre facelift was a normal fluid coupling, facelift got a multiplate wet cluch. The Multiplate is a tad faster on up and down but still not a DCT or the current crop of 8/9 speeds.

You have different spring rates between them, the early cars had a different setup when it came to the performance packs (P30, P31, P31+) where a LSD was standard and then fell away but you gained even more power and some SLS developed topend bits. The early cars also had better heat dissipation via the vented front bumper supposedly. Ride on the P30 pack cars was so bad SA was not allowed a panoramic roof and the cost oem shocks allround for a P30 car is just shy of a 100k from the dealers.

I actually like that you could tuck the screen away and have a sterile interior on the pre facelift cars, steering wheel is meh for both of them so not particularity phased about it, but the infotainment/cluster was certainly superior in the facelift.
 

FiRi@Rennzport

Well-known member
Official Advertiser
So it's a horrible idea that has been playing out in my mind for 2 years now.

I quite miss my C63 in terms of the engine, not much else but the engine. My partner keeps on harassing me to buy one again about the only car i am allowed to shall we say exceed the agreed upon car limit because there is nothing quite like plain old cubic capacity now is there. At the same time i miss my built S54 both will sufficient to execute properly.

C63 is a minefield of trash and finding what i want will require time and patience. Pre F/L Performance package (read LSD) with a woodgrain interior is what i want, if it can be red on the outside even better.

At the same time every time i drive the Z it is disappointing because the engine feels like a diesel. Now imagine that being said of a S54. Previous motor was done in 2015 and i think final bill landed just shy of 200k.

Finding the skills to do the mechanical bits is easy. Getting the parts is also pretty much click and collect (want to do lighter internals, sort the oil pump, balanced rotating assembly, chuck in a set of fun cams), but jirre tog the mapping. One thing that can absolutely ruin a car is dealing with tuning and this particular Z has a really annoying thing where sometimes it just decides 6k is it's redline. Most tuners are fine dealing with a S54 in a normal M3, but given the joys of the Z being on a different ECU it becomes a minefield of overpromise and under deliver. The thought of dropping 300k into a engine and then having melty pistons is what has been stopping me form doing it.

Anyone that can recommend someone in GP that has personal experience with a E85 with a hotter motor that was actually mapped where you did not need to run octane booster, tickle it with a peacock feather, kiss it on the left side tip and gently stroke the gearknob 3 times before starting it.
Get in touch with @johndoe . He could guide you regarding tuning for the car as he did it on his previous Z4M, which we currently own, and it's a peach to drive.
 

sajk

Member
I have a stock s54 in my z but in a quest to get back some power lost to altitude engaged Josh at Severn Tuning to remote tune it. It's been tuned to run on 98 octane. I run a mic of 25l 95 and 5l toluene which gets you about right. It's a weekend car.

Josh has lots of experience with the mss70 and can remote tune with catalogs. The good thing about the mss70 and s54 in the z is that it has widebands built in so you get real not commanded afr in the logs.

Subjectively I am happy with my car although I have no hard data. Wot in 1st gear with dsc off now results in little progress but lots of wheel spin.

Take a look at his website https://www.severntuning.com/

I also had my lightly modded m52tu remote tuned by active autowerkes in the states using logging and a tailpipe widebank.it has schricks, bigger injectors and an m54 3.0 manifold. Again to try get back altitude losses.

Remote tunjng with good people works fine. Its not cheap however being usd priced but if you are going to drop 200k on a motor then thats the least of your costs.

For what it's worth...
 

tamgoem

Well-known member
I have a stock s54 in my z but in a quest to get back some power lost to altitude engaged Josh at Severn Tuning to remote tune it. It's been tuned to run on 98 octane. I run a mic of 25l 95 and 5l toluene which gets you about right. It's a weekend car.

Josh has lots of experience with the mss70 and can remote tune with catalogs. The good thing about the mss70 and s54 in the z is that it has widebands built in so you get real not commanded afr in the logs.

Subjectively I am happy with my car although I have no hard data. Wot in 1st gear with dsc off now results in little progress but lots of wheel spin.

Take a look at his website https://www.severntuning.com/

I also had my lightly modded m52tu remote tuned by active autowerkes in the states using logging and a tailpipe widebank.it has schricks, bigger injectors and an m54 3.0 manifold. Again to try get back altitude losses.

Remote tunjng with good people works fine. Its not cheap however being usd priced but if you are going to drop 200k on a motor then thats the least of your costs.

For what it's worth...

Noted. 98 and me not friends. I will keep the CR at the stock ratio.
 

sajk

Member
Noted. 98 and me not friends. I will keep the CR at the stock ratio.
Not sure I understand? What do you have against 99?

Depending on where you are and where you intend to drive the car you probably have some headroom. Up here in joburg the cylinder pressures are much lower as I am sure you know.
 

tamgoem

Well-known member
Not sure I understand? What do you have against 99?

Depending on where you are and where you intend to drive the car you probably have some headroom. Up here in joburg the cylinder pressures are much lower as I am sure you know.

I like ease of use. Not having to chuck in octane booster is a major plus.
 
Top