Thread: E46 M3: HPF vs. AA

I was wondering if I could get some opinions on reliability/performance as well as any issues that anyone has experienced with HorsepowerFreak's stage 1-3 turbo systems vs. Active Autowerke's Gen 6 Level 2 supercharger kit. Which would you suggest to be the better system for the M3 (without the issue of cost in the debate) and why?

I'd prefer an HPF car because I like a lot of power

How much power you trying to put down. I had an AA Stage 1 and it gave a nice little bump up top and drove just like stock until very high in the RPM band.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but you can always ask Active Autowerke to make a custom Turbo setup like the one found in Taza's M3. That has an insane amount of power!

Well what do you care about more?. Reliability or power?. W/ the AA supercharger kit it's safer for your engine and better in overall lifetime of the car. Putting a turbo kit on will definitely shorten the life of your car. The paper you have to sign on HPFs kits is pretty interesting. It basically states if your engine explodes it's not there fault. A turbo is a turbo and yes it may make more power. But with more power you'll need to start changing out internals to be safe. If you have a 6-8psi supercharger your hardly even putting any strain on your engine. More on the transmission if anything.

Personally if I had a low mileage E46 M3 I'd go HPF. But if I had a higher mileage E46 M3 I'd go with AA. That's my 2cents.

The I would like the power to be right around 500-600hp. I'm sure you can customize AA to have a similar setup to Taza's M3, but those are not plans for anytime soon

As for as reliability and power go, I'm much more concerned with reliability that's why I have been leaning towards AA kits that are right around 500hp for stage 1 and 600hp stage 2 for 2/3 the price of a HPF stage 2 turbo kit. More power can still be achieved regardless of what company and kit is bought.

I don't have an M3 yet but am planning to get one by next Christmas if things go as planned Though the use would just be for DD as well as occasional trips to the local track on weekends. Thus, don't need no stage 4 HPF or Taza M3 at the moment...although I do believe the aesthetics of that car are gorgeous!

MalibuMafia how has your VF engineering kit help up for you? Whats your input on it's power vs. reliabilty for the kit you have on your 328i?
Also thank you for your input!

Originally Posted by NickDominice

The I would like the power to be right around 500-600hp. I'm sure you can customize AA to have a similar setup to Taza's M3, but those are not plans for anytime soon

As for as reliability and power go, I'm much more concerned with reliability that's why I have been leaning towards AA kits that are right around 500hp for stage 1 and 600hp stage 2 for 2/3 the price of a HPF stage 2 turbo kit. More power can still be achieved regardless of what company and kit is bought.

I don't have an M3 yet but am planning to get one by next Christmas if things go as planned Though the use would just be for DD as well as occasional trips to the local track on weekends. Thus, don't need no stage 4 HPF or Taza M3 at the moment...although I do believe the aesthetics of that car are gorgeous!

MalibuMafia how has your VF engineering kit help up for you? Whats your input on it's power vs. reliabilty for the kit you have on your 328i?
Also thank you for your input!

The VF kit is built to last. And it's extremely reliable if you just want a little extra power. But it wasn't enough for me so I actually built a custom kit. In the BMW section you can see my thread about an intercooler kit. VF and well... any company with the Vortech V3 has never designed a intercooler kit for the E46 M52/M54 engines. So mines one of a kind and world only at the moment that I know of.

If I had to do it all over again I would of went with the AA kit stage 2. Since the intercooler kit and all that is all already fitted and built. The only thing that holds me back on AA and other companies is the type of superchargers they use. I only trust Vortech/paxton for superchargers.

HPF is very well designed yes it's $$$ but you PAY to play!!!

I'd go HPF either way. Just build your motor

I would go AA. HPF kits are incredible, honestly, but NO ONE keeps them. You can find them used all day with only 1,000 miles after the build. WHY does everyone sell them after they spend 30k building them up? They are impossible to drive on a daily or street basis. A.A has hardcore fans that keep them forever, higher reliability, great customer service, and still a bitchin' amount of power.