Andrew's S54 Swap

[FredK]

Nothing wrong with the mss54hp, but yeah the hardware is the same, its just a different tune.

I think it has more memory? But I'm not sure. That was just what I was told.

That's cool. I've been curious if they can reflash the mss70 too, but I haven't asked. Do you also have the Z3M harness? I've been curious if it reaches into the E30 cockpit better. :)

The only difference I know of is that there's a ground for the cruise control interface on the Z3M ECU (X60004 #35). So that's not important if you don't want that feature, but if you did and you installed the brake switch I think you'd need one from a Z3 as well because I think the Z3 brake switch gives the same signals vs. alternating signals (i.e. open/open vs. open/closed).

I do have the Z3M harness. I didn't have to extend any wires, and it fits inside the glovebox as-is, and all of the wiring reaches fine. I saw the ground for the cruise control; I figure I'll put it to ground even though I don't plan on running it.

The wiring is certainly slightly different, like X6011 on the M3 has 8 pins, but only 2 on the Z3M.

[nando]

yeah, it's the same DME used in the CSL, it has 8mbit of memory instead of 4mbit, and some other minor changes. the CSL supposedly has a 25% faster clockspeed. I'm not sure if it's just the same CPU clocked higher or not, but I'm pretty sure it is. I want to experiment with CSL files but I'm not at that point yet..

all it means when he said "as long as it's not an MSS54HP", is he doesn't know how to modify the MSS54HP files yet.. :p

FWIW, Evolve said they can work on the MSS54HP as well. I think MarkD said the same thing.

[FredK]

Yeah, I got the flash in Sept 2010 :|, so it's entirely possible that things have changed.

[Andrew325is]

does the Z3 brake switch bolt up to the E30? that's one I've wondered about. how about the check panel?

I got one from a E46 and it's hall effect with no moving parts so I just taped it on top of the E30 switch. I think you'd lose your brake lights if you didnt leave the E30 switch intact. I believe the current for the lights goes through the E30 switch while the E46 switch controls a relay/sends info to the lighting control center.

[nando]

right, so you're only using it to satisfy the ECU.

[MarkD]

I've dealt with MarkD for my dme tune on my euro s50 and couldn't be happier, service was good and turn around time was great. Mark is a great guy to talk to about what exactly you want done and gives great advice. If anything else gets swapped in my car I'll be sure to return my business recommend anyone to do so. Couldn't be happier. Thanks Mark

Your welcome and thanks for the feedback here!

If anyone from the USA wants their MSS54 ECU flashed for a swap, I can have it done at Metric Mechanic so you don't have to ship it across the border.

Mark

[MarkD]

yeah, it's the same DME used in the CSL, it has 8mbit of memory instead of 4mbit, and some other minor changes. the CSL supposedly has a 25% faster clockspeed. I'm not sure if it's just the same CPU clocked higher or not, but I'm pretty sure it is. I want to experiment with CSL files but I'm not at that point yet..

all it means when he said "as long as it's not an MSS54HP", is he doesn't know how to modify the MSS54HP files yet.. :p

FWIW, Evolve said they can work on the MSS54HP as well. I think MarkD said the same thing.

Yes I can modify an MSS54HP, I've been doing it since 2004. I've got one here right now that is going into an E30 swap here in Toronto.

[ANDRÜ]

gaaah!

[e30 fa life]

congrats........and welcome to the e30s54 club...:)...........very nice job

[mr ilia]

Hey everyone,

Are you related to Wayne Gretzky by any chance?

[reelizmpro]

Shit man...I'm happy for you. I can see this swap in my future.

[Andrew325is]

Are you related to Wayne Gretzky by any chance?

lol umm maybe? :)

[Hatem]

anybody has idea about swapping e46 LCM on E36?
Thanks,
Hatem Reyad

[Andrew325is]

Here's the last video I took driving the car the day before I sold it. It had logged 4,500 miles at this point with the S54. Perhaps not very impressive, but keep in mind I did not shift lower than 4th gear while driving on the interstate.

http://youtu.be/a0hoyiMvY38

[Andrew325is]

Someone asked me some questions about the electronic gas pedal and throttle. I'll post my response here in case the info is useful to anyone else. :)

How do you mount the electronic gas pedal?

To mount the electronic gas pedal, first of all you'll just need to remove the E30 pedal (which can be a real PITA) and unscrew the pedal stop behind it (if its still there). The pedal stop is 8mm which is the same as the upper bolt for the electronic gas pedal mounting bracket. Use a high strength plastic epoxy (such as Devcon Plastic Welder) on the base of the bracket and secure where the base of the old pedal was and then screw in the upper mounting bolt. Let that cure overnight. In the morning, loosen the clamp that holds the steering column tube against the firewall so you have room to slide the pedal onto the bracket. Just rotate it out of the way and re-tighten it. The pedal should then slide onto the bracket. It might be kind of a tight fit. Make sure you attach the connecter on the the pedal before snapping it into place.

Why is the manual throttle an issue?

Manual throttle is an issue first of all because the S54 was not designed to utilize a manual throttle. The geometrical design of the throttles were designed with an electronic throttle motor in mind. As such, the torque required to open and close the throttles is not linear as one would expect in a cable operated system. This makes the throttles rather difficult to smoothly modulate. There have been several companies trying to make manual throttle kits for this engine over the years. Some have continually tried to improve their product but they have not succeeded very well. I've tried Sunbelt's kit which was probably the best. It would probably be okay for a professional driver racing at high speed on the track, which is what it was designed for, but it felt very touchy off the line and took a lot of practice to use without making the car jump. It was not a comfortable driving experience. I had to push quite hard before it would move and then suddenly it was too much. You could quickly find yourself in a dangerous situation. In my opinion it is a no-brainer to go drive-by-wire with the S54 if you intend on using the car on the street. It's a very smooth and refined system. Also, the throttle motor probably already came on your engine so there's no additional expense. The response time is very good. It's even better if you use the MSS70 ECU (Z4M) which processes data much faster (I don't know if there's a tuner who can flash it yet).