Recap: Performance Technic's Spring Open House

Once a year, we like to open our shop doors to all of the wonderful friends, family, and customers (both current and new) who support us. It’s a time for anyone to come and explore the shop and the builds we display. One of the best parts of the automotive community is gathering with likeminded enthusiasts who genuinely share your passion for cars. This year our Open House took place on a sunny Saturday at the end of April, and the turnout was fantastic.

The shop floor was staged thoughtfully, with Malcolm’s new M2 set as the centerpiece. Surrounding it were the shop F80, Shafique’s M3 (recently featured on StanceWorks), Greg’s RZ M4, and Chris’s track purposed E46 M3. Each build was selected to demonstrate all that we do at Performance Technic. The newest build on the floor, the M2, is in its early stages, and we are very excited to watch it progress. It appeared to be popular with our guests, and inspired a bulk of conversations around the event.

The morning started off light, as our regular M5 group showed up together. As the afternoon crept in, we saw a variety of cars come and go; everything from the ever popular F8x chassis, to an incredibly well preserved black E31, to a couple of E30 M3s. BMW wasn’t the only make to stage an appearance, though. A fiery GT3 RS and a comparatively cool GT4 posted themselves about the event, and attracted quite a bit of attention.

Outside in the shop parking lot, one of our good friends brought by his M2 for all who were curious to photograph, sit in, and explore the options that the car yields. It was a great contrast to Malcolm’s M2, which has already been modified.

In our Race Shop, Dynamic Detailing had set up a display to demonstrate the effects of ceramic coating, as well as showing what other detailing services they offer. Behind them was an array of race cars, from the red widebody E36 and its matching spec E30 counterpart, to Teague’s customized SMG E46 M3.

One of the biggest hits of the Open House was the catering, which was provided by The Lumpia Company! They crafted their usual unique creations, one of which was a vegetarian lumpia stuffed with kale, mushrooms, and sweet potatoes. They offered chicken rice bowls and other variety of lumpias, and everyone seemed to be a fan.

The event drew in an exceptional crowd and we feel so grateful to have the support of so many. We’d like to thank each and every one of our guests who attended; it’s the people who make these occasions special, after all. We look forward to hosting more Open Houses in the future, and we hope you will continue to enjoy them as much as we do. 

Luxury, Class, Speed: Randy’s E60 M5

Randy’s love affair with his M5 began back in 2011 when he first acquired the car. When it came to making his decision on what car he wanted to build, the answer came rather easily. He considered the E90 M3, but felt that it was just a bit small for his taste, and the S65 bored him. He wanted a powerful sedan that could produce high strung yet manageable power, and he found that in the M5. The V10 added an enormous element of allure. 

In its early stages, Randy’s car was still under warranty, so he didn’t want to jump straight into anything completely insane. He chose the Dinan Engineering S1 package to start. “I liked Dinan because it’s a very reputable company,” he explained. Also, with Dinan’s products, he wouldn’t be breaking his factory warranty.

The M5 ran with this S1 package for a period of time until the cherished BMW warranty came to an end. As he was no longer bound by the stipulations of a warranty, Randy decided it was time to delve into deeper modifications. These inevitably would bring the car to its current state. As time went on, he moved into a combination setup between Dinan and Evolve parts. Evolve came in with their tune, intakes, and headers to complement the original Dinan parts. “[The] combo proved to be a very good setup for street and was decent for track,” he said. However, after so many days at the track, he found himself wanting more from the car. He knew it could perform better. To compensate for what the M5 was missing on the track, Randy upgraded his suspension with Bilstein B16 coilovers. Also added to the mix were Dinan monoballs, a StopTech Trophy Kit, and an altered gear of a 3.91 LSD.

Randy’s goal was to essentially create a monster that could be held down. The whole idea of an M5 is to combine power with elegance, isn’t it? If you modify too much, at some point, part of the luxury is lost. With this car, the idea was to never compromise horsepower for comfort, or the other way around.

Fast forward to the present, and Randy has already attended a handful of the well known Shift S3ctor airstrip attacks. These events, if you aren’t familiar, are exactly what they sound like: fast cars roaring across an airstrip, chasing their low times and looking to dominate their opponents’ vehicles in both power and speed. Randy says that his first event was a huge adrenaline rush. He thoroughly enjoyed being able to push his car at wide open throttle and not risk getting arrested. However, his first event proved that his car had a thing or two to learn in the 1/2 mile stretch. “From [Shift S3ctor] I have added different mods to increase my power, such as headers, intakes, tune, wheels, and tires.” The bug had bitten him hard, and he was determined to build his car more for each following event. The trick was, however, to do so while maintaining the element of “purity” that the V10 heart possesses. Randy explains this in a very simplified manner: "I wanted to push the raw power of the M5 without adding supplemental power from forced induction—keep it true to its F1 roots.” In other words, NA was the only option.

At his most recent Shift S3ctor run, Randy was extremely successful. He was leaving competitors in the dust—one a 500hp R35 GTR, and another a 997 Turbo, to name a couple. After his victories (which were recorded via GoPro and are very exciting to watch), people began asking what all he had done to the car. Commenters suggested he was running with a stroker engine, but there’s no stroker to be found (yet). He credits his wins to an incredibly well balanced, sorted setup, but also his ability to launch the car efficiently.

While it’s obvious that the M5 is pushing some serious power, Randy has not had the car on a Dyno in quite some time. He estimates a production of around 520WHP. He can’t be too far off, seeing as his Shift S3ctor runs were victorious against 500 - 600WHP cars.

The current view of the M5’s engine bay is, as mentioned before, a mash up of Dinan and Evolve. The S85 powerplant is equipped with Dinan throttle bodies, Dinan under drive pulley, a CF front strut brace, Evolve long tubular headers, the Evolve Eventuri Intake, and the Evolve Stage 3 tune. All of these mods work in beautiful unison to enhance the performance of this hefty engine. One of Randy’s favorite aspects of the car, in his own words, is “how the BMW engineers were crazy enough to stuff an F1 inspired V10 engine into a four door family sedan.” When you put it like that, it does sound pretty ludicrous. Just think: this car could be driven to the office every morning, be used to pick up the kids from school, and then taken to the track to barrel around the course. All the while, it looks aggressively classy and sounds violently angry.

When all is said and done, Randy’s M5 is an incredibly well sorted build. Its design is unmistakably German, its sound is viciously exotic; and that speaks volumes to what a well balanced street and track car should be.

M is for Multipurpose: Greg's RZ M4

This time last year, I shot a full set of photos with Greg’s newly acquired M4. Then, it was modestly equipped with a tune, factory aero kit, and Akrapovic exhaust. The car was leagues behind where it is today. As a matter of fact, there are few parts of this build that have gone unchanged.

The transformation this car has gone through over the last year is not to be understated. It is now a unique, multipurpose vehicle that stands out from the rest. From obvious accents like the RevoZport Aero Kit, to the intricate Klassen ID wheels, to the purposeful interior, Greg’s M4 has come a long way. 

Let’s start with this car at face value. There is a bit of layering happening with the aero; featuring both factory M Performance and a full RevoZport M4 aero kit. The RevoZport kit features an add on front lip, to work in conjunction with the M Performance frontal elements. It also includes brake cooling ducts for improved performance. Lastly, the side skirts, front and rear wheel arch accents, rear diffuser, and GT wing bring the entire package together to create something truly menacing in appearance. 

Under the hood we find an array of angular, perfectly accented carbon fiber bits. The RZ M4 is equipped with the full Dinan S1 package. When the hood is popped, the Dinan intakes create a beautiful line for the eye to follow from each side of the front end.

Over the course of the build, Greg found himself more and more interested in performance. It’s one thing to build a show or street car, but to have something equipped for the track requires a different thought process. The newest additions to this performance package are the Recaro Profi XI seats and Fall Line Motorsports harness bar. These pieces not only look great in the M4, but give the driver a much better sense of precision at the track. 

While Greg's car has changed immensely in the past year, there is still more to come. With a harness on the way, he still has a list of smaller modifications to complete. For the most part, however, the car is nearing what he says is a good resting point. We are excited to see what this car is capable of as it approaches a final build point, and it has been a great experience to see both vehicle and driver grow together.