Korman Engines

A word about horsepower claims...

Unfortunately, the race for profits has led many BMW performance "specialists" to greatly exaggerate their horsepower claims. Our claims may be modest, but they are real. At club driving events, and in actual racing, it is not uncommon for cars equipped with our engines to easily accelerate past competitors who have been led to believe they have more power. We won't try to win the paper and pencil horsepower race, but on the road or track, we can put you up front. No BMW tuning firm anywhere in the U.S. has prepared as many winning BMW's for professional, national races as Korman. Whether you need a stock, stage 1, stage 2, stage 3, stroker, club race, full race, street turbo, hybrid turbo, or a performance engine designed to pass state emissions testing, call us first!

Stock and Performance Rebuilding

Customers from around the world ship their engines to Korman for rebuilding. Below are some of the reasons why.

Expertise

More than 35 years of BMW street, rally, autocross and racing engine experience goes into each Korman engine. Our R & D on the track results in improvements that add reliability on the street as well.

Reliability

Quality parts, precision machining, exact blueprinting and expert craftsmanship are our key ingredients for reliability. Where we add extra power, we build in additional strength. Our customers offer the best testimony as to the reliability of our engines, just ask one!

Value

Our Engine Plus program provides you with additional parts which are usually needed at the time of rebuild. Our inclusion of these parts is meant to save you time and inconvenience when reinstalling your engine. You will find our stock rebuild pricing comparable to that of BMW reman units even with the inclusion of Engine Plus parts. Additionally, we clean and reinstall external engine parts (intake and exhaust manifolds, injectors, wiring harnesses, pulleys, brackets, ignition system, coolant hoses, air hoses, vacuum hoses, thermostat housings, etc.) saving you even more time and money. This can represent up to 8 hours of additional labor savings over purchasing a bare long block

Craftsmanship

Our engines are hand assembled one at a time by dedicated, experienced technicians. Closer attention is paid to small details than can be lavished on an assembly line engine. The same technician who builds our full race engines is responsible for the assembly of our most modest stock rebuild, and he takes the same pride in each one. All aluminum external engine components (valve covers, intakes, front engine covers, etc.) are glass peened providing a better than new appearance, and all hardware and brackets are zinc plated with a gold tone finish which also helps prevent rust and corrosion. Blocks are finished in Korman blue. Your Korman engine will be almost as attractive on the outside as it is on the inside!

M10 Stock RebuildM20 Stock

Warranty

Our warranty on most rebuilds exceeds that of a BMW reman unit. Most Korman engines are supplied with a 2 year/24,000 mile warranty. (BMW offers 12/12,000) This warranty does not extend to engines and parts used in competition in on track events. Also excluded are failure due to abuse, neglect, or normal wear items. Full warranty terms are provided on the back of each invoice.

Added Value

If you should need to part with your BMW at some future date, how much value is there in an ad that reads:

"Engine rebuilt by unknown mechanic in unknown garage using unknown parts and assembled to unknown tolerances"

You've seen the ads that simply read "Korman Engine," with no further explanation necessary. Our customers are proud of their Korman engines, as are we!

 Machine Work

Boring and Honing with Torque Plates

Cylinder walls are slightly distorted by the tension of head bolts. Boring and honing with the cylinder head off will produce a block with round bores when un-assembled, but slightly out of round when assembled. In serious race engine preparation solid torque plates are bolted onto the block at factory torque specs to simulate the cylinder head bolt loads. Boring and honing is performed with the torque plate installed to produce a bore that will be more perfectly round when the cylinder head is installed. This produces better ring sealing and longer ring life. All Korman engines, from stock to full race, are machined using a torque plate.

Valves and valve seats

Valve seat grinders in common use are not appropriate for BMW cylinder heads. BMW valve seats are so hard that they spoil the surface of the grinding stones causing rough and imprecise seat surfaces. We use special valve seat equipment which cuts rather than grinds the seats. Very smooth and precisely machined seats are obtained. We use three or more angles to improve flow on high performance heads. Valves are also "cut" in a similar manner, providing two completely new mating surfaces.

Blueprinting

We carefully check clearances and tolerances throughout each engine to ensure that all will be within BMW factory specifications, or in certain high performance engines, within our tested, proven specs for these applications. The strength and durability of BMW engines comes from the excellence of their design, form the exactness that BMW demands in the size tolerances of the parts used, the precision of their machining processes, and diligence in measuring and assembling to very precise specs. This extraordinary attention to detail is what distinguishes BMW engines. It is why they were able to win a Grand Prix Formula One Championship with a production block. It is the secret of their success in their Formula 2 and Group A M3 engines. This is the reason BMW engines produce more horsepower per cubic inch than most other production engines and why you can drive them harder and longer.

Our engine building success comes from our thorough understanding of the technical requirements of BMW engines and our diligence in applying this expertise in our inspection, machining, and assembly of your engine.

Getting your engine to Korman

Engines are easily shipped truck freight. The best way to package your engine is to strap it to a pallet and wrap the exterior in plastic or bubble wrap. Palletized engines will usually stay right side up in transit, where boxed units may be put in a variety of positions.

A few of the more popular LTL National Carriers are:

If you prefer to ship your car to us, please see our list of car transport companies and phone numbers under CONTACT INFORMATION. We will be happy to provide transportation to and from the airport (Piedmont Triad International) or arrange a rental car for you.