BMW 435I Gets Modded Up and We Got the Goods Too!

Even though we enjoy shipping parts all over the world, we still get some local Arizona customers to come in for their performance parts installs.  Fresh off the showroom floor is the new BMW 435I.  For those of you living under a rock, BMW decided to take the new F chassis and keep the 3 series as the sedan and make the coupe a 4 series.  Good marketing?  Sure why not, it now helps those coupe drivers identify themselves differently.  If you get a 435I or a 335I, you are getting pretty much the same car, more or less doors.  At the end of the day, BMW is charging hard with their new line ups of turbo charged models and this 435I keeps the performance going.  Unlike the first 335I coupe that came out, this one has really brakes.  The blue M brakes similar to what is seen on the M5 F10 make you feel like you can actually compete on the track instead of going to Just Brakes for a rotor resurface.  The body has that new short front bumper look and still keeps its clean lines over the previous E92 335I.  The dual exit exhaust is nice, but just wish BMW would go with the quad tips like on the M5 or 1M as the 2 little pipes are kinda lost in the new rear end.

However when it is time for performance, there is no waiting for parts as the aftermarket is on its toes.  As we installed on this customers 435I, Burger Motorsports has a JB4 piggyback ECU to boost up the power.  We had a chance to use the JB3 on our Project 135I and must say that these plug-ins really make some waves!  As always K&N makes a nice drop-in air filter to last you longer, give you better flow, and with one of these, you can hear those turbos spooling more.  This particular BMW 435I also got a custom Raceworks catless downpipe installed which the JB4 compensates for to not throw a CEL.  Other toys available for the BMW 4 series but not installed on this ride are exhaust systems from Eisenmann and suspension from H&R in both coilovers and springs.  Check out the entire BMW 435I parts store here.

BMW 435I Gets Modded Up and We Got the Goods Too!

10 Best Deals of the Week

We feel like our clearance section is a very under-utilized section of our website. We know everyone’s looking for the best deals on parts and sometimes they’re right in front of you. So instead of trying to give the horse links to where the water is, we’re going to lead you right to it. Once  a week we are going to shuffle through and find the 10 best deals we have posted in our clearance section. Keep in mind, most of these products are instock and ready to ship! On the other hand a lot of our clearance items are the last of their kind, so you gotta jump on them fast!

Here are our 10 Best Deals of the Week! 

1. Agency Power

 

2. Blouch Turbo for Mitsubishi EVO X

3. Clutch Masters

4. EBC Brakes

5. K&N Filters

6. Volk Racing

7.  Enkei Silver RPF1 wheel Set 18×9.5 +45mm 5×114.3 WRX|STI

8. aFe

9. StopTech

10. Puma

 

 

10 Best Deals of the Week

Panamera Turbo Dyno Tuned - 600HP is Better Than 500HP!

The Panamera Turbo is by far the BEST sedan I have ever owned for its function and form.  The 500HP monster does ok with a couple bolt-on parts.  But like all other Porsche Turbos, it would benefit from a ECU tune.  Annnnddddd…. the beat stops.  You cannot OBDII flash the Panamera Siemens SDI6 ECU.  It must be flashed outside of the car.  For many this is a concern or a process they might not want to do.  But step in our newest endeavor, VR Tuned.  We have not only put some serious power to the Panamera, but we have made the process pretty simple.  Pull your ECU with our basic instructions, Fedex it overnight on our dime, we flash it with a well configured tuned file, then we overnight it back to you.

Once flashed, the Panamera Turbo comes alive.  The turbos spool quicker, the mid-range hits harder spinning all 4 wheels, and the top end does not give up.  Whether you add a simple muffler or a catback exhaust, the ECU will adjust and the car will only benefit more.  The daily driving characteristics are not changed either.  Its there when I want it, its safe, and it does not ruin the beauty that is the Panamera Turbo as a daily driver.  I have had ours flashed now for just over a month and if I could change one thing, it would be that now I want more power with downpipes, intercoolers, etc!  Check out the video review below along with the dyno sheet and pictures.  You can also view all our other Panamera Turbo articles here.

Ready to flash your car?  Check out www.vrtuned.com!

Panamera Turbo Dyno Tuned - 600HP is Better Than 500HP!

Porsche 991 Turbo Project Car Begins... In Las Vegas!

What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, except our new 2014 Porsche 991 Turbo; it went from 10 miles to 350 miles as its first rodeo.  Why Vegas?  Well we wanted our car ASAP and coming from the awesome guys at Rector Porsche in San Francisco, the driver was stopping in Vegas to pick up and drop off more vehicles.  So rather wait a couple more days, we hopped on a plane for a 1 hour flight to drive back 5 hours to beautiful Arizona.  First off, the experience with Rector Porsche was amazing.  Dan the Sales Director and Paul the Service Manager are always helpful to us and our customers in the Bay area.  The process was effortless and the communication was always on point.  We were able to configure the car how we wanted in mid summer and it arrived in port just before Christmas.

Having owned and modified several Porsche cars, I have never actually bought one brand new.  The configuration process is pretty cool on the Porsche website.  Though if you actually add in everything you really want, you are soon driving a small house!  When I configured this car, I looked at it from a tuning point of view as well as a resale.  Certain super cool options we would end up replacing with performance parts where others were a must have for down the road when the next buyer gets to enjoy our creation.  So if we are talking options, here is what we went with.

• White color…  Why?  Because white looks amazing and gives you so many options for wheel color.  My first 996 Carrera was white and simply loved that look.  Our 997.2 Turbo S was white and we threw 3 different color wheels on it and with any setup, it looked hot!
• Carbon fiber…  Interior carbon fiber trim always looks amazing.  Its hard to out do what the factory does.
• Sport Chrono…  This is a $4000 option!  But having that sport button with the sweet clock on the dash is a must for driving and resale.  The exhaust tone change is nice, though we know that will be changed soon enough!
• Red seat belts…  $500 because paying $10K plus for the ceramic brakes was not happening so we had to match the red calipers .  No really we went with the standard brakes as we plan on a upgrade with a partner to show what can be done without the ceramics.  Our 997.2 Turbo S had ceramics and so does the Panamera Turbo.   They are without a doubt the most insane braking experience ever and the rotors weigh like paper.
• Centerlock wheels…  They look so good!  For the option price of $3500, you cant even get a good set of aftermarket wheels for that.  The centerlock setup looks serious and is unique to all other street cars.
• Some other options include Porsche crests in the headrests, 4 way sport seats, paddle sport steering wheel, and sunroof delete.

So back to the drop off…  We landed and took a taxi to the MGM Grand where within minutes, the driver had rolled up across the street to unload the car from his truck.  On top was the 991 and ironically below was a 996.  Kinda like the evolution of our Porsche career.  As the car was backed out and lowered on the lift gate, pure excitement started to run through me.  After a quick check and inspection, my co-driver and I jumped in and with 10 miles on the clock, headed out.  If you have ever driven from Phoenix to Las Vegas, it is a pretty fun trip.  The roads are full of curves, whoops, and straights.  As we headed out of Vegas we got all our buttons, dials, positions, set for a quick cruise.  So many new features are on the dash including a G-Force meter and a Torque Graph.  If you thought texting and driving was bad, trying to navigate all the new features is a handful.  So this car is definitely a read the manual and get situated before you drive!

So how was the drive you ask?  The 991 Turbo is a completely different look than the 997.2 Turbo S on the outside.  Sitting inside it, I felt the same size as the 997 but maybe having the Panamera skews it a bit with the center console.  The angled center console gives the car a more cockpit type of feel.  On the road the Pirelli tires do pick up a lot of pebbles if you are in a crap area.  On the highway, they are pretty quiet.   The factory suspension with PASM off is nice, not to cushy or wandering, but comfortable.  Past cars almost had to have sway bar upgrades because they would feel to loose at high speeds.  When you click the sport suspension on, it is definitely noticeable.  If only the suspension would also lower to get rid of the off road ride height, it would be a flawless setup.

Cruising at 80mph is like you are going 30.  Several times would look down and we would be doing 100mph like it was nothing.  The acceleration from 80-130mph is pretty damn quick.  One new thing with the 991 Turbo is pressing the button for the hydraulic rear wing also has the front spoiler change pitch giving the car more downforce, which on these roads and high speeds, it helps.  I think Porsche just set the bar for aerodynamics and we are going to see some interesting things from the aftermarket and OEM’s to compete.   Overall, the new 991 Turbo is pretty awesome.  You would expect awesome from $160K plus anyways!  But one reason we have never strayed the Porsche course to say Lambo or Ferrari, is simply because Porsche builds such as solid car.  As these become more and more advanced, it really makes modifying them become more challenging.  With that, we look forward to the challenge.  If you have not read our story, we are truly fortunate to even be working on and with such an incredible car.  We are really going to take a different approach to this car and the products we add to it, design for it, and promote.

Enjoy these pictures and video and stay tuned to our official Porsche 991 Turbo project gallery here.

Porsche 991 Turbo Project Car Begins... In Las Vegas!

Get the Exhaust of Your Dreams for Less

One of the first things we noticed when we got our M5 project car was that, although the M5 is a naturally powerful machine, the tone was not equal to the amount of power the car was putting out. As with most of our project cars, an exhaust upgrade is one of the first enhancements we make. If you’re an M5 owner suffering from the same, but didn’t have the cash flow to upgrade, you’re in luck! Eisenmann, is having a sale on their BMW F10 M5 and F13 M6 exhausts.

If you’re ready to have your BMW sound like it’s supposed to, call 480-966-3040 or email us at sales@vividracing.com and we will get you setup! If you’re looking to put some power behind

 

 

 

 

Get the Exhaust of Your Dreams for Less

BMW V8 M3 ECU Flash Tune Gives More Grunt

As part of the long list of BMW cars we have owned including the E46 M3, E60 M6, 135I N54, and F10 M5, is the BMW V8 M3 E90.  Our car was modded from stock and taken all the way to supercharged status.  But if you are not looking to spend $15K on your M3, you can definitely pick up the pace with a exhaust system and a tune.  We took this E92 M3 and gave it some love on our dyno doing before and afters to really see the VR Tuned flash gains.  In addition to a full exhaust system from Agency Power, the tune really woke up the V8 to give the RPM curve a full increase.  Unlike … Continue reading →
BMW V8 M3 ECU Flash Tune Gives More Grunt

Meisterschaft"s latest Franken Creation for the SRT8

If you’re a race, and outdoor enthusiast like myself, you will appreciate the new Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT 8. Yes, we said Jeep! We aren’t crossing into the 4×4 industry, but in actuality, it’s the SRT that’s crossing boundaries, into the Racing scene. The new SRT 8 still kept the heart of the Jeep, but was refined with race inspirations. A few of the race-like innovations the SRT 8 has to offer is the,

• 8 speed transmission
• Paddle shifters
• Launch Control
• 6 Piston Brembo Brakes with 15″ rotors in the back and 13.8″ in the front

Even the interior scream luxurious performance car. You get all of this and still keep to the hearty roots of an SUV with the 6.4L Hemi engine roaring under the hood. Even with all these awesome upgrades, the question begs, “What else can we do?” That’s where GTHAUS (Meisterschaft) comes in.

This is the latest addition to Meisterschaft’s ROAR racing series. With the help of a few other aftermarket mavericks this Franken creation looks out of control! Not only does it have the performance of a race car, but now, a thoroughbred sound to go with it. Even with the valves closed, this thing could startle a passerby. But with the valves open… You’re causing heart palpitations to anyone within an ear shot. Don’t take out word for it, check it out yourself.

When you’re done contemplating the financial moves you’re going to make to get this SRT in your garage. Let us know what you thought of it? Are we hyped up for no reason? Or is this thing really as bad ass as it sounds?

Meisterschaft"s latest Franken Creation for the SRT8