Chaos ensued when the BMW M4 exploded on the dyno. Pieces of the car flew everywhere around. The team left the drama aside and started the race against time. They had only 48 hours left before the BMW was supposed to hit the drag strip, so they really didn't have time to whine about it.
The team has had the M4 since last year. The BMW M4 is every inch a sports car and a muse for tuners. Controversial grille aside, when it rolls off the production line, it is powered by BMW's 3.0-liter inline-six, which pumps out 473 horsepower (480 metric horsepower) and 406 pound-feet (550 Newton meters) of torque.
Those are enough to make the M4 flash from zero to hero (0 to 60 mph/0 to 97 kph) in just 3.8 seconds on its way to a top speed of 180 mph (290 kph). However, all these were far from enough for Maximum PSI.
Considering the name of the team, that totally makes sense. They got their hands on the BMW M4 last summer. Since the moment it arrived in their shop, they have been working on it, trying to reach 1,200 wheel horsepower. But still, it wasn't enough. They wanted more out of the poor 3.0-liter inline-six.
In January, they chopped the bumper off to make room for a brand-new intercooler setup and a different intake manifold and added a nitrous system to squeeze more power out of the 3.0-liter unit. All the driveline components received an upgrade, and they came up with a Stage 3 transmission.
Photo: Maximum PSI | YouTube
And then, they put the car up on the dyno. Everything seemed right. What could possibly go wrong? The M4 was making 1,300 wheel horsepower. Then, they started spraying nitrous and pushed it to the max. And that was the end of it. The engine exploded, and the room filled up with smoke.
They filmed the explosion from various angles. "Absolute carnage!" That is how the team describes the moment the car went boom. Oil flew everywhere. Pieces of the car flew into the ceiling. It was the last thing they expected at that moment.
The car went boom 48 hours before the event they were getting it ready for. So, it was a total disaster. They took it back into the shop and started the race against time. They had spare parts for everything. They just didn't have the time on their side. However, they did it. At 6 AM on the day of the event, they had a running car.
But at the drag strip, the car that was never tested on the street or trackshort-shifted and misfired. The track day turned out to be a total failure. But there are more track days ahead and the team says "We're definitely coming for that top spot!"
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