what kind of numbers are you looking to make?

 

I AM HOPING FOR 250 CRANK.

 

HP numbers

I just want more power I am told with my combo I should be able to hold 10 psi nicely with no problems I think it should be around 230 to 250 crank.

 

I actually met someone a few years ago near where I go to school who had a turbo E30 318i. It was a budget build and he claimed that he spent no more than $1,000 on the entire setup. He sourced the turbo from a Saab and did all the work himself.

This image is straight from my Facebook and dates back to 2007

Personally, I think the M42 is a great candidate in the BMW family for some F/I love and it is a very strong motor in stock form. Small boost (under 10 pounds) seems to be very reliable on this motor from most threads I have read.

On the issue of water injection, it will definitely allow you to make a little more power by cooling down the intake temps. It will also help the engine run cooler too when driven hard. One of the forum vendors is actually a supplier for water/meth kits so I would contact them.

It seems that most people run low boost in the 6-8 pound range off of the factory DME with no tuning. Obviously, that is risky and personally I would pay to have the car tuned properly (or tune it myself if I had the time and patience). I would also look into upgrading some elements of your fuel system as well in order to accommodate the needs of the turbo a little bit better. There is a ton of info all over the net on turbo M42 setups. This is not a huge F/I forum but we'll help you in anyway we can. :thumbs

 

Build has started!

I started the turbo build on my 318, I had the new head machined, received the W.A.R Chip, 42lb injectors, I got an ebay turbo kit the mani looks like it will last a long time but only time will tell, the turbo i have is a 57 trim which i plan on rebuilding with Gerrett guts, and everything you can think of to support the build.

I had planned on working on my car for the three day weekend i had from work but others needed my assistance, I put a clutch in a e34 and help my sister move. I only had time to mount the head. The head is stock cams are stock the only mod to the engine would be the .120 Cometic gasket and ARP head studs 2000 series. they say it will take compression from 10:1 to 8.5:1. I have heard of others running stock compression with stock motors running 10 and 12lbs. I am hoping with my setup i could run a full bar.

I understand i would need new cams when I hit 15psi the cams I am looking at will cost 1000 bucks so i think i will have a motor built fully over the winter
and put the cams in that motor.

Plans for the fully built motor is not in stone but what i would like to do is have a block sleeved and look into the diesel crank i see floating around on the forums and of course address the rod bearings. I been looking a the stage 3 head from VAC motors sports and i would have the turbo cams put in there.
the pistons i do not know which route i will go custom or shelf turbo pistons.
.70 Cometic Head Gasket. I would like the compression to stay around 8.5 to help with the low end grunt, the turbo i am not sure which brand or size but i would like to have a turbo the can support 700hp seamlessly. ( my goal is 500whp) so of course a RRFPR pressurizing 750cc injectors and dual fuel pumps one secondary and one full duty. I have not made the call yet to see what materials can be cryo dipped but i am hearing i can dump a whole motor for $750 which i think is not bad considering the tensile strength of the motor will be crazy so it will last a long time provided i do not abuse it.

till then i will be running around in my stock turbo setup and i feel confident that it will be a lot of fun. i am hearing the if i can run 1 bar i could see crank HP to be around 280 to 300hp. That would be great!!!!!

 

I am almost done! i have the turbo installed and now putting the cams back tomorrow i still have to run the boost gauge, turbo timer, vacuum hoses, fuel pump, and W.A.R chip. The oil drain was a pain i spent the whole day on it rotating the turbo to get the best fit. i think i will have to redone it with a scavenger pump. I am hopping i can get it to crank by tomorrow night. Just i run down on what is installed. OBX turbo manifold 57 Trim turbo (Chinese) if it burns out i will have a garrett rebuild kit waiting for it, 42lb (440cc) Injectors, 95 318 MAF, intercooler, Fuel pressure reg, NGK irumiaum IX plugs!

 

hopes and dreams

I wanted to meet someone with the ARP head studs and Cometic head gasket, I have a .120, i was told it took compression 8:1 or 8.5:1, with the war chip i am hoping to tune it to the edge for maximum fun on one setting then moderate, and then wife mode.

I want to know what degrees some of you all are setting spark atdc? would -10 be too extreme? the thing is Miller dose not have any maps in an e36 with the 990 ECU, I have to modify the chip so i can run the USB out the top on the case, they say it will still work but with the 990 i have to solder the chip to the board and tune it from scratch. once i get it running good enough to drive i will take it to the dyno to dial it in. i am hoping to squeeze 250 to 300 crank, I think with 8:1 compression i can squeeze 1 bar into it, what do you think?

 

Mate it sounds like you are pooring a lot of effort into this project. I look forward to hearing the end result. Good luck with it all, and make sure you put up some pictures of the final product.

 

One more day! I Think...

Today i got the motor back together, now on the ECU. It is hell to de-solder the chip. worked on it for 2 hours and still has not released from the board. i will try again tomorrow. i am hoping to crank it up tomorrow. I still have to strap up the exhaust,wires, and oil feed. still have to run vacuum, and install fuel pump. cross your fingers.

 

Good luck with it!

 

As usual family duty calls, I am taking a break today I probably will not get back to it till Sunday.

 

Sounds like its coming along great. Hope to see photos soon.

 

I have been trying to upload photos but I may have to upgrade my membership for this action, let me read photo upload process and I will post some photos of the build.

 

Parts and Block

Just a couple pics of the block and parts

 

Manifold installed

This is a pic of the Mani before the turbo and after the turbo.

 

Manifold Pic

As you can see in the pic with the manifold only, The waste gate dose not have enough room to connect a pipe. I am planning to sheet metal this area.

 

W.A.R Chip and 990 ECU

Here are some pictures of the W.A.R Chip and ECU. Here you can see the chip is soldered in and how components block the USB port. I Called V.A.C and was assured that if connected to the board it will work. So what i will do once i remove the OEM chip I will re-direct the USB to point vertical. I found and forty pin connector at radio shack that i can cut and put in place of the OEM chip and will turn the 990 the a removable chip board.

 

Before installing the cams

This is just to get an idea how it will look all together, even-though i have it together now my phone was dead when i finished last night.

 

Wow that's very impressive!

 

Thanks! hope to have it back on the road next week at this rate.

 

I love all the effort u put into this man... Thumbs up for you hope it works out just the way you wished.

 

Thanks I appreciate the encouragement i am receiving, as i iron out the kinks i will upgrade the system entirely, but until then i do not mind being the ebay Guinea Pig for the rest of you. trust me most of my hard ware is ebay but the really crucial stuff i believe is good quality. Here are some pics of the newest development, I was able to install the W.A.R Chip and modify it to accept the USB interface on the 990 ECU and I also converted the board to be able to swap out chips. I will be able to install stock chip if necessary, Finally after four hours of work!!!

 

W.A.R Chip and 990 ECU

I recieved my 990 file from Miller yesterday! I like the customer service they provide. I will be loading the file and and install a new water pump fresh oil and anti-freeze and i should be bringing her home tommorow! I will wait to do the cosmetics when the summer comes back! don't laugh at my hub caps and the bumper has not been re-installed yet!

 

Very nice!

 

Thanks still a work in progress i can not wait till i turn to the body, I will keep it simple though!

 

( :


M42 ftw. great build. cant wait to see the finished product.

 

No power!

after getting the motor together I had no electrical power!.WTF!!! so i took all of the wires from the starter and the alternator off and i am getting 9 volts from touching my trunk post and negative battery post! wt.. so now i am tracing wires to see if i can find one pinched. I didn't find any. go back three different times, tracing wires, still didn't find anything. read a post with e36 wire problems,
located my trunk lid wires and spread them through the loom.
When back the next day touched the battery post terminal on and i have light! dash lit up and time popped up Disconnected the battery post after trying to upload the W.A.R Chip and it only works with XP like the guys at Miller told me! So now I am trying to find an XP machine before I buy the OS, which I will do once I get the car running.

 

XP only for the W.A.R Chip

This week i have not been able to work on my car, between my job and rain i have not had the time. I plan to Load the WAR CHIP tomorrow and hopefully drive away.I have not found windows XP yet, i am hoping to get it today. just a run down of what is installed and procedure. Used head i picked up from the junkyard (car-part.com) $350 delivered once it arrived i took in to my local machine shop and had it pressure tested milled and cleaned for $114. VAC Comectic head gasket .120 which is said to put CR around 8:1 to 8.5:1, ARP 2000 Head studs which i install the head with at 80lb-ft, Ebay turbo kit which included 57 tirm Turbo, Turbo mani, external wastegate, oil lines which i had to purchase fittings to connect it to the block, boost gauge, turbo timer, Fuel Pressure regulator, 3" down pipe which needed a little beating to fit around the Transmission, BOV which i replace for another ebay sequential unit,boost controller, intercooler and piping $1199 delivered, W.A.R Chip $350 from VAC and 42lb injectors from VAC, 255 Walbro for $80.

I am not sure as to what type of Whp i will get but i am all most certain that i can tune to 13 lbs of boost and my fuel injectors can safely supply 75hp per cylinder. I am shooting for 300 hp crank provided that the Dyno shop knows what they are doing. with the control the WAR Chip claims i should be able to fine tune the car for three different setups with the fourth being my base map or any map i choose as default.

The war chip allows you to adjust spark and fuel right where you want it I am told one knock out of five revs is the edge so the is where i will be running race gas at the other tunes will be zero knock.

 

Still not running

Yesterday i added the oil and re-install the starter and alternator wires, but still no XP laptop. The fuel pump is not even thinking about coming on with out the war chip programmed.
I also realize i have to re-install the original AFM because the plug did not match up, the MAF was for an m44 i did not research properly before i bought it, i was was sold on the price! I thought maybe i could slice the lines (the MAF for the M44 has four wires and the M42 has six wires) decided not to try the voltage was a concern when i asked the guys @ VAC. So i decided to re-install the old one. Installed to the air boot on the throttle-body and now have to re-run the inter-cooling piping.