BMW’s 4th generation M3 has almost all the best traits of highly desirable enthusiast cars. Even as early examples approach 15 years of age (at the time of writing), their value has remained relatively stable, thanks to their unique offerings. But with that uniqueness comes bespoke parts...

Now you’re driving and flying in style! Whether you’re a movie star, a famous executive or any other V.I.P., there’s no better way to travel than by taking your very own stretch limousine to your very own private helicopter for an exclusive and luxurious flight to exotic destinations around the world! Features removable limo roof and spinning helicopter blades. Includes driver, pilot and 2 passengers.

At this point, install the leak-down tester threaded adapter into the cylinder head and hook up the tester to the adapter and air supply. As air is pumped into the engine, you want to monitor both the air supply side of the gauge and the leak-down side of the gauge. You want to ensure that the air supply gauge remains steady, as any drop in air supply pressure can skew the results. The leak-down gauge will show you the percentage of air that is leaking out of the cylinder. The nice part about this test is that the leaking air only has a few places to escape from. Each type of leak can lead you to the next step in diagnosing an engine performance problem. Here are a few examples of leaks that you can detect with a leak-down tester:

Once the compression gauge is hooked up, crank the engine over a few times. If you have an extra person around, have them watch the compression tester gauge for the peak reading. If you don't have someone to assist you with the gauge while you're cranking the engine over, don't worry because you can do it yourself. Five to six revolutions of the engine are all you will need. Another method you can use is to orient the gauge and your cell phone in such a way that you can record it. Then you have an easy reference that you can go back to later. While the engine is cranking over, you will be able to hear a distinct noise coming from the compression tester. I use this as the cue that the cylinder went through one full revolution.

You don’t need to own a top-level performance model to have a reliable car that can keep up with one. Underneath the wide arches and carbon bodywork is often a platform shared with every variant on the model line and heavily related to others from the same manufacturer. Standardized parts keep...

All engine coolant is not created equal. In a similar fashion to engine oil, coolant is a complex mixture of chemicals and minerals designed to keep your engine running as cool as possible. Aluminum and cast iron, the most common engine block materials, require different properties from the...

BMW, the Ultimate Driving Machine. For decades BMW has been synonymous with selling sporty sedans and coupes that tread a fine line between luxury, performance, and practicality. No BMWs have combined those traits better than those sporting the now-iconic ‘M’ badge. BMW has built the legacy and...

The numbers above tell me that my engine makes good compression in each of the cylinders. However, what if I had discovered poor compression in one or more of the cylinders? Compression is everything in an engine—poor compression can cause misfires as well as poor ignition. Poor compression can also have an effect on engine performance in regard to the balance of power across each cylinder. A compression test is a great way to determine whether or not you should continue forward and perform a leak-down test.

Compression testing is one of the most common procedures for checking the relative health of an engine. After all, engines are air pumps, and without compression, they tend not to work well. If you ever want to know where you stand in terms of the overall health of your engine, a compression check is the first place to start. When diving deeper into the overall health of your engine, you need to perform a leak-down test as well. A compression test determines the relative compression between individual cylinders, while a leak-down test determines the sealing ability of the valves, head gasket, and piston rings.

My E36 leak-down test results were pretty strong, and I'm satisfied that the engine is still in good health. It really shouldn't require any major work to bring it back within specifications. For reference, under 5% leak-down is amazing, 10% is good, 15% is just acceptable, and 20% means you'll be spending a lot of money in the near future. The exact results of my test were:

The inline-six engine has been a staple in BMWs since its introduction, and few have commanded more respect and admiration than the S54B32 found in the E46 M3, among others. The high-strung, naturally aspirated mill screams motorsports pedigree at rest and shrieks its way to a 7900 rpm red line...

Injector replacement is part of owning an N54 powered BMW. The Autel MX808 makes the calibration process of your new fuel injectors a little easier with no special software necessary.  Calibrating the flow rates for direct injectors is a requirement on some vehicles when installing new injectors....

One of the most universal experiences as a car owner is paying for fuel. Whether that be electricity, gasoline, diesel, or yesterday’s fry oil, there’ll always be complaints about the cost unless it were free. Because of a changing climate, we now have a large offering of vehicles that, with the...

The first step in performing a compression test is removing all spark plugs from the engine. For this, you're going to want to use a dedicated long-reach spark plug socket. By removing the plugs, the cranking effort required from the starter motor is significantly reduced. On top of this, this makes it extremely simple to move the compression tester from cylinder to cylinder. At this point, it's a great time to have a battery charger hooked up while you're continuously cranking the engine over. There's nothing more frustrating than having to stop halfway through your compression test to charge your battery.

Gareth is the BMW Make Level Marketer for FCP Euro and has been with the company since 2012. Gareth's BMW obsession started with a hand me down E39 528i when he was 17. From this car he learned how to do his own repair work while also learning more about BMW. When Gareth was at CCSU studying Marketing he had the opportunity to go to SEMA with the college car club. This is where he developed his love of the automotive industry. Since joining FCP in 2012 Gareth has sought out to develop one of the broadest and most accurate BMW replacement parts catalog. he can be reached at gareth1@fcpeuro.com

My compression numbers were all pretty consistent from cylinder to cylinder and well within the specifications of BMW. The tests across all six were:

Today’s performance SUVs and sedans have become a bit shouty about their purpose. Whether brightly colored accents, enormous calipers, or aerodynamic elements, they’re not very “under the radar.” But if you look beyond those models, or rather, below them, you can find a surprising crop of...

3222 Helicopter and Limousine is a City Airport set that was released in February 2010. It contains 267 pieces to construct a helicopter, a limousine and four minifigures.

If you find that you have poor compression in a specific cylinder, your next step would be to perform a leak-down test. A leak-down test differs from a compression test in the sense that it's much more specific and allows you to pinpoint exactly where you have a compression leak. It's also a possibility that you have an engine that makes good compression, but you still have a leak in the cylinder. To complete a leak-down test, you will need a leak-down tester, an air compressor with sufficient CFM, and a way to determine if your engine is at top dead center (TDC) or not. A leak-down tester forces compressed air into the engine. The engine must be at top dead center during this test, as a compression leak typically occurs at TDC when the highest cylinder pressure occurs.

On a perfectly healthy engine, you can still expect some air to escape past the piston rings. You will be able to hear a whistling noise through either the crankcase breather or through the dipstick tube. Overall, the leak-down test will give you detailed information to determine the health of your engine and help pinpoint a failure during the diagnostic process. Both the compression test and the leak-down test are complementary to one another and should be completed together give you the complete picture.

Helicopter and Limousine Item №: 3222 Pieces: 267 Minifigures: PilotDriverPassengerAir Hostess Price: $29.99 £17.99 €29.99 $49.99 Ages: 5-12 Released: In Canada October. February 5, 2010 (UK) Theme: City Subtheme(s): City Airport

The best practice is to have the engine slightly warm when you plan to do a compression test. The reason for this is that the piston rings expand when warm. In turn, this gives you a more accurate idea of the compression within each cylinder when the engine is at operating temperatures. Performing a compression test when the engine is cold is generally a less precise approach. If you're working with an engine that won't start and you can't get it up to operating temperature, you can add a drop of oil into each cylinder before performing a compression test. Adding just a drop of oil will help to lubricate the piston rings. This is a non-issue if you can run the engine first.

BMW has always done a good job with its oil scavenging system while retaining the wet sump setup on BMW M cars, and the S55 is no different. While the S55 engine shares a lot of its basic engine block architecture with the non-M N55 engine, it uses an entirely different oiling system which does a...

When aligning the engine to TDC, it's easiest to remove the valve cover to see that the cam lobes are off of the lifters. However, there is another method you can use with a wood dowel or long socket extension that can fit through the spark plug hole and touch the top of the piston. Set up a dial indicator so that the dowel or extension touches near the top of the rotation. Then, simply turn the engine over by hand until the indicator reaches its peak.

With these better-than-expected results, I'm confident going through with the build of my "EDirty6". If you'd like to keep up with my build, you can do so right here on the blog and by subscribing to our YouTube channel.

BMW’s N55 engine was the Bavarian’s powerhouse of the 2010s and has since become a tuner’s delight. The all-aluminum engine featuring a forged rotating assembly, direct fuel injection, and a twin-scroll turbocharger was a big deal for the company hardly removed from producing the screaming,...