Supercharged 328Ci

Almost three years after we launched PBMW, we revisit the owner of the first cover car to discover he now drives a 300 bhp supercharged 328Ci

Some people just know how to create stunning cars. Messrs Pininfarina and Bertone have a pretty good idea, and our old mate Don Phattiyakul seems to have an eye for it as well. Not that we're suggesting he's in the same league as the great Italian styling houses but… well, take a look at his track record.
The first time we encountered the 24 year old from Arlington, Virginia he was driving a white 325i convertible. It was supercharged, wore Schnitzer styling and 18" Hartge alloys. It was also one of the lowest cars we've ever encountered.
The combination looked right and inspired us to plaster it over the front of PBMW 6/98 and even make a poster out of it. So when we heard Don had sold the E36 and bought an E46 328Ci, we were more than a little curious… and with good reason.
The boy has done it again and we felt obliged to reward him with yet another PBMW front cover.
While the E46 Coupe lends itself particularly well to almost any form of visual modification, we felt Don had reached its pinnacle with resorting to major alterations. When you consider he's created such impact using bolt-on parts, you have to applaud his efforts.
From the moment he decided to buy the car, Don knew he wouldn't be able to leave it alone. The first thing he did was to fit the clear indicators all round and the lower the car since his E36 had been such a belly scraper. Therefore he bought some H&H coilovers and set the rears at full drop but still has about 0.5" to go on the fronts (wimp!).
Having dropped the car, Don proceeded to fit 8.5x19 Hamann PG2 two piece alloys. It's a magnificent wheel which fills the arches well - almost too well, because Don felt they were so big he needed to fit a body kit to restore the car's proportions.
Unlike the mix 'n' match jamboree that was his last effort, the coupe is all Hamann Motorsport, right down to the pedals and keyring. So you can assume all the bodystyling is from the same manufacturer, via American supplier, Supreme Power parts in California.
The parts include the colour-coded chin spoiler, side skirts, rear apron and mirrors. He also the company's competition 'pre-spoilers'. These are the carbon fibre parts under the front spoiler we'd refer to as splitter.
In addition, our man obtained the small lip spoiler seen on the bootlid of the new M3 from Bimmerspeed in New Jersey.
While fitting the kit, the orange side markers on the front bumper were colour-coded to delete the offending items from the bodywork so only their outline could be seen.
Having fitted the bodykit to make up for the wheel size. Don was then forced to fit 320mm Brembo front discs and four-pot calipers to fill the embarrassing gap behind the wheel. That was before everything went full circle and Don eventually replaced the wheels themselves with 19" Hamann PG3 three-piece rims. These were the same size as before but offered a bigger offset and deeper dish.

Around this time, the interior had a number of minor upgrades, including Hamann steering wheel, pedals and floor mats. These round off the aluminium finish interior trim as well as the optional ally gear knob and hand brake that Don had ordered from the dealer.
While that represents the extent of the interior upgrades to date, it isn't the end of the story by any means. Indeed, Don had simply made matters worse because now he had a car that "looked fast but wasn't". searching around for an engine conversion, he was drawn back to the supercharging that served him so well on his 325i. Except he discovered that no-one had developed anything for his 328i. Eventually he came across a blower from ESS Tuning in Norway and the company was prepared to send somebody over to fit it.
The Norwegian kit uses a Californian blower - the Vortech VTSQ (Super Quiet). It's a gear-driven unit that produces 7psi boost pressure and is supplied with all the necessary brackets and pulleys. In this instance, the Norwegians had polished the superchargers casing and even colour coded the intake pipe as Don had mentioned that the car may appear in several magazines.
The new ECU software for the conversion is also provided but Don's computer had to be returned to Norway for programming (this is not always the case). Full details can be found on the company's web-site (see Data File.)
Other minor engine mods include Hamanns DTM exhaust and the same firm's carbon fibre induction cover. The latter directs cold air to the air box, although the air box was removed to make way for the blower. There's also a carbon fuel rail cover from Hamann for good measure.
The sum of all these parts is a dyno-proven 302bhp and 284lb/ft. While it might not be up to new M3 standards, it was king of the hill until the M-car arrived and certainly represents a smaller investment than the factory car. As for the power delivery, Don remarked: "I'm particularly pleased with it and haven't experienced any problem yet".
So, what does the future hold for the 328Ci? There's talk of de-chroming the window surrounds and possibly a change of bodykit. Don't panic, it'll be a Hamann product, but will be the company's more aggressive GTR conversion that has new bumper mouldings. Don reckons that since he built the car, many people have now latched onto the Hamann flavour and that means that his car is no longer as unique as he'd like. But there's one question he should ask himself: how many of those cars have made PBMW?
As a final note, BMW owners in the UK who are keen to obtain some of the Hamann Motorsport parts you've seen here should contact the German firms official importer, Autovogue, in Leeds. The details are in Data File or can be found on the Specialist Directory on page 92, of Performance BMW August 2001.

Data File
Engine :
2.8 straight six with ESS Tuning supercharger kit using Vortech VTSQ gear driven blower with polished casing, colour-coded intake pipe, reprogrammed ECU. Hamann Carbon fibre Fuel rail cover DTM exhaust, 320bhp 284 lb/ft at 7psi boost pressure.

Chassis:
8.5x19" Hamann PG3 three-piece wheels with 235/35 Pirelli P7000 tyres. H&R coilover suspension, Hamann strut brace. 320mm Brembo cross-drilled front discs and four-pot calipers, steel brake lines.

Exterior:
Hamann bodystyling including chin spoiler, side skirts, rear apron, carbon-fibre Competition pre-spoiler and mirrors. M3 boot spoiler. Clear indictors all round, painted side markers.

Interior:
Hamann steering wheel, pedals and floor mats. BMW ally gear knob and hand brake.

THANKS:
dtmpower.net Mike at Wagonworks, Hans and Michael at S Tuning, Art at ABS, ESS Tuning (www.esstuning.com) , supreme power parts. Autovogue (01785 220101 www.autovogue.com)

Article reproduced with the kind permission of Performance BMW, published by Unity Media Plc

Article written by Greg Emmerson
Photos by Max Earey