Turbo S50???

[Luis325]

Guys im thinking about going turbo for the track car.
I want 300whp . I know more is better buy i dont want to have traction problems or turbo lag.
Car is only a track day car so i wanted to get your opinions on what to get.

Anyone try the ebay kits? ( i know cheap but work? )
I dont know shit about turbos so dont know what sizes or if i need to get one with internal wastegate or external???

Less $$ the better lol
Thanks

[Luis325]

Also superchargers work fine for this??? Im seeing allot for sale on bimmerforums !

[Rsully70sev]

NO. Do not get an eBay "kit" plain and simple. Exile that from your mind.

Many people with S50's run GT35 turbos but they run a pretty penny. I'm currently piecing together my S50 turbo set up, so I'll shed some insight on what I'm doing.

Holset HX35: Bulletproof turbos, are built to handle 40+ psi, but obviously you won't reach anywhere near there. They are simple, plentiful, and cheap! (And very well built) not that Chinese eBay shit. And don't buy a FAKE Holset on eBay, many people are trying to pass them off as authentic Holset's but they aren't.

Wastegate: Most likely you'll find one with an internal waste gate, the trick with this is to weld it shut, and add on an external, it functions much better. And don't skimp out on a cheap one. Go Tial or something high end, I'd rather spend an extra 100+/- than have boost creep blow up my investment.

Turbo Lag: The bigger the housing, the longer it's going to take to spool. I would recommend a 12cm-14cm housing. I'm going to be running a 12cm so boost kicks in sooner.

Head Gasket: Many people say the stock internals and stock HG can handle boost, but I'm a preventative kind of guy. I'd rather do it once, and do it right. I'm going to be running an MLS head gasket with ARP studs for reinforcement. If you don't do this yourself, it CAN be costly most shops will charge for 12 hours of labor.

Intercooler: Get a properly sized one off eBay. This is one of the things that is acceptable to get off of eBay and it will function properly. Obviously the more boost, the bigger the IC you're going to want.

Engine Management: Lately I've been hearing a lot about TRM tunes, but I believe "Good & Tight" on here offers tunes as well, I believe they run around $500 but don't quote me. Otherwise you're going Mega Squirt which can be complicated, and definitely expensive from what I've heard.

Turbo Manifold Don't skimp out and buy some shitty one on eBay, get one from the member on here "Good & Tight"...I believe he offers two different ones, one hand welded, and another high production one made in China. Once again, don't quote me, but he's the one to talk to.

Lastly, READ, READ, READ, and when you think you've read enough, READ some more. The first thing you should buy is the book "Maximum Boost" by Corky Bell. It's very informative and lays down the basics.

Believe me, you don't want to skimp out and cut corners, it will only lead to problems in the future. It's not something you're going to throw together in a weekend, so take your time and do it right the first time. And if it's going to be low budget, sure you can find used parts and cut corners, but blowing up a 2k S50 is not something I would want to go through, especially after the build.

Just my I'm not a professional, nor am I claiming to be one, but here are some basics and a few good recommendations.

[Adrian_Visser]

The bimmerforums FI section has a wealth of knowledge I would spend some time there. Just rememeber that a good tune is as important or even more important than your hardware. TRM offers OBDI tunes so does NickG, Miller, there's a few others out there with good OBDI turbo tunes. Just remember that the tunes will usually be set up for a certain MAF/injector combo so it isn't a bad idea to buy all three things from the same place.

[Jalves619]

Good & Tight was working with TRM to get a set of off the shelf tunes to go with his manifold and the users chosen turbo/motor/cams. No tuning solution is going to be anywhere close to $500 though.

[Rsully70sev]

You're saying it's going to be more or less? I read a thread a while back about some sort of PnP tune for $500 that G&T posted. As I said, I may have been mistaken.

[Good & Tight]

You're saying it's going to be more or less? I read a thread a while back about some sort of PnP tune for $500 that G&T posted. As I said, I may have been mistaken.

I was selling a tune for a stock 2.5 draw through MAF setup for $500. I personally do not tune the 24V.
A TRM tuning package with blow through MAF, injectors, chip costs around $1300.

[Rsully70sev]

My mistake, just trying to show you some love and a referral. :D

[Luis325]

Thanks guys ! Looks like i have some reading to do..
Im just goong to finish the car NA first and star gathering good parts for the turbo or SC build... Good and tight ill pm you soon for a manifold!

[ScHpAnKy]

Otherwise you're going Mega Squirt which can be complicated, and definitely expensive from what I've heard.

megasquirt is the cheapest tuning option, not expensive at all.
As a result, it's my favorite method. It's also not difficult at all, but it requires a lot of reading, unless that's the difficult part.