M54. Let the foolishness begin.

[I got it, yes!!]

Steve, were you on bangor on sunday??? I was in my buddies black e39 leaving work. It was about 3pm.

[CorvallisBMW]

Looking good!!

[hoveringuy]

Gratuitous engine pictures

Engine bay is looking cleaner!

[Iain]

103mph is not the same at all tracks in terms of how much performance it takes to reach that speed............so in a way its no different.....need to know density altitude, etc etc etc.

No doubt tracks are for judging performance and dynos for power but just like dynos its not as simple as comparing numbers....

You're splitting hairs and over complicating it, in all fairness. With the vehicle weight and trap speed you have an accurate enough figure using the time-honoured Moroso slide. The effect of "uphill" tracks and air density is bunk unless you're running a Group 1-level drag car. In my experience tyre pressures make far more difference than air temp humidity and if you're racing uphill at Eastern Creek or downhill at WSID

Sure, it won't tell you precisely how many .975436 of a kw you have but who cares, really?

[digger]

Yeah, but if I say it traps at 103 everyone knows what that means. Not like 215rwhp... was that on a dynopak, mustang or dynojet?

103mph is not the same at all tracks in terms of how much performance it takes to reach that speed............so in a way its no different.....need to know density altitude, etc etc etc.

No doubt tracks are for judging performance and dynos for power but just like dynos its not as simple as comparing numbers....

[Wh33lhop]

Yeah, but if I say it traps at 103 everyone knows what that means. Not like 215rwhp... was that on a dynopak, mustang or dynojet?

That's true, but tracks don't exactly offer SAE correction either. ;)

[hoveringuy]

tracks may be same length but some are not level, different altitude, different ambient conditions, different surface preparations.........

Yeah, but if I say it traps at 103 everyone knows what that means. Not like 215rwhp... was that on a dynopak, mustang or dynojet?

[digger]

Dynos are great, but the 1/4 mile is the true measure of performance. It's the same distance everywhere.

tracks may be same length but some are not level, different altitude, different ambient conditions, different surface preparations.........

[tominizer]

.......... things that make you go "hmmmmmmmmm"


---subscribed---

[hoveringuy]

1/4 time

Dynos are great, but the 1/4 mile is the true measure of performance. It's the same distance everywhere.

Here are my numbers:

60'......2.042
330.....5.948
1/8.....9.122 at 77.39
1000...11.825
1/4.....14.057 at 102.95

14 jives with the et calculators for a 2900 lb vehicle with 210 whp. (yes, I account for 200 lbs..)

[s_ribs]

Read through the whole thread last night and this morning - fantastic! Impressive how 'easy' you made it all sound. Hope to see more newer engine swaps like this and curious how the future N52 swap will go.

[hoveringuy]

another dyno day

It's fairly trivial finding the optimum VANOS switching point on a motor where you only have 2 choices "on" and "off". The problem with having the variable VANOS is that finding the best point to have the cams at all times is a little more difficult.

So, I loaded about 10 different cam advance profiles into my VANOS controller and went to the dyno. For the most part, the motor is tolerant of changes in the intake advance profile but it has definite sweet spots.

More intake advance results in more dynamic compression at lower rpms, retarding it takes advantage of the ram effect at higher rpms. Where to strike the balance at mid rpms?

On to the graph...



I fattened up my low rpm torque since last year and made some slight improvements on the top end. TRM has been working hard on deciphering my data for this and the results show.

So, I have 211 SAE whp out of a stock 3.0 litre M54 and a fat torque curve. I think that's about the best I can do on a STOCK motor without hardware mods. ZHP cams, Shrick cams, or even ebay headers would probably yield another 10-20 hp. Plus, if you consider that "power equals weight", the 50 lb aluminum advantage gives you a 5hp "gimme".

Most importantly, this motor is a sweet daily driver. Pulls strong from everywhere and I don't need to wait for it to get on the cam to make power.

Here's what all the runs together look like. Biggest impact was near 4000 rpm where DISA switches. Wrong cam position kills power there!

It's also interesting to see power jump at 2750 rpm where DISA is turned on. I have since moved that point to the left.

[SoEm0]

I am for sure interested in this thread. My buddy has a 330i that I am always working on it seems, but he is starting his search for a s54 swap... which means I will have his block sitting in my shop soon (possession is 9/10ths of the law right :) ) Anyways is there a certain pin out I should be looking for? I might as well start piecing together the stuff I will need for this now.

[Pzary3233]

This thread just made me want to go buy an M54...

AWESOME thread!!!

[dirtysix]

This is a top thread.
Congrates on figuring this shit out.