Yep, the usable powerband is 3,400-ish to 8,000. Hard to argue with modern small-frame turbos. I think the only thing I really want for is to fill in the (small) amount of lag at lower RPM, think under 4,500 RPM. The turbo comes on but it'd be great to have an electric assist to get the turbo up to speed sooner.

I daily drive a Speed3, 255,000 miles on that little nugget. Bone stock other than a "filter on a stick" intake, and I swapped in a 2.5L bottom end when the piston oil drainback holes clogged up in the original engine.

 

Did your E46 have the Mk60? Do you expect an improvement in braking distance or controllability? Or does the Mk60 allow some tuning or adjustability?

 

No, the E46 was a relatively early build and it had the Mk20 unit. It was good, I'd say on par with the RX-8 Sumitomo unit. It never gave me hard pedal or "ice mode" as some people call it, but it was occasionally slow to react in the way the Sumitomo unit is.

The Mk60 has some tuneability for sure, but my expectation is that I'll use it in its "out of the box" form for now. I expect it'll be quicker reacting particularly in heavy trail braking and in brake release