N52 Swap Discussion

[Cdmef]

That does look clean! I haven’t come across an IVM that looks like that one, I’ll be researching more. Silly question but does it have the needed relays integrated?

is it ok if I pm you wiring specific questions, I’m concerned with cluttering the thread with redundant questions

[hoveringuy]

My wiring looks like this, e36 will be different, of course. You may even have a place in the cowl for all that stuff.

[Cdmef]

Yes I’ve looked through hubcaps wiring. My pinouts will be different, as I’m doing an e36 but basically the same idea I think. I think I will be locating the ekp out back as well.

btw what model IVM did you use? The “flatter” rectangular one? I’m seeing a couple different layouts

[hoveringuy]

The IVM is huge, it's incredibly nice to condense all that crap into one little box. Do you have the wiring guide that hubcapboy put together?

I put the EKP in the right rear door panel near the pump. The only wired that run to it are a wake up signal (ignition) and twisted pair for CAN. This keeps the actual power routing shortest and it's one less box up front

[Cdmef]

Ok this IVM thing is a bit new to me, I was re reading your posts related to wiring on pg 23. When I bought this swap I was under the impression the integrated relays were desirable haha! Ok so the IVM will replace that terrible mess of plugs and relays and clean the wiring up? This is a unit that can be found in the 2007+ cars?

The x3 wiring is definitely much longer on the chassis side from pictures I’ve seen. My only concern was that crossover wiring.

thanks for the help. wiring is like sorcery to me lol!

oh also I was surprised to read I think it was you who wired the ekp in the bay, was this just an easier location so long traces of wire weren’t necessary?

[hoveringuy]

I’m sorry if I missed it but has anyone been able to confirm if an x3 fuel/ignition harness will work on a 2006 engine and remaining harness? One issue I wondered about is the wiring connection the fuel and ignition portions runs over the vc on x3 and behind it on my 2006. Might this cause a mounting issue? I want to be sure, seeing as prices are pretty dear now. Otherwise it looks like it plugs in fine, likely will have to transfer the relay in my 2006 circuit over

I may have bought an X3 harness at one point but honestly forget how long it was, it's probably somewhere in my posts. The X3 and 330 versions of the harnesses use kinda rats-nest of plugs and relays. On those cars, they live in the big plastic ECU box and there's a place for them. On the e30 not so much, unless you want a big rats-nest of stuff. I highly recommend that you get the IVM module. It integrates all of the body to engine wiring, contains the relays and such in one svelte little box that sits in the glove box.

I may have even used the X3 ign wiring and just cut it to fit. It's pretty easy to re-pin the wires to go in the modular plugs. There are ZERO relays in any of my wiring between the IVM or ECU and the engine.

[Cdmef]

I’m sorry if I missed it but has anyone been able to confirm if an x3 fuel/ignition harness will work on a 2006 engine and remaining harness? One issue I wondered about is the wiring connection the fuel and ignition portions runs over the vc on x3 and behind it on my 2006. Might this cause a mounting issue? I want to be sure, seeing as prices are pretty dear now. Otherwise it looks like it plugs in fine, likely will have to transfer the relay in my 2006 circuit over

[Cdmef]

Ok thanks. I figured it would be better to just take the pigtail in case.

[hoveringuy]

I’m stripping a donor 330, just a quick question on wiring I’m pulling. There is a group of wires from chassis to the little grey plug within the ecu wiring. I managed to separate it from the main clip so the rest can be pulled with the engine. Should I cut those wires from the chassis and keep the plug or is it not needed? There is one twisted shielded wire in that plug

I'm not sure what those wires or the gray plug is, I would cut the wires and keep the plug just in case. 95% of the stock ECU to chassis wires won't be used. The few exceptions are IGN, starter and the fuel pump control module. (btw, don't bother pulling that because it won't work, you'll need one from a Z)

[Cdmef]

I’m stripping a donor 330, just a quick question on wiring I’m pulling. There is a group of wires from chassis to the little grey plug within the ecu wiring. I managed to separate it from the main clip so the rest can be pulled with the engine. Should I cut those wires from the chassis and keep the plug or is it not needed? There is one twisted shielded wire in that plug

[DEV0 E30]

Guess who got a ride in an extremely well sorted N52 swapped E30?

This guy. All of my assumptions were correct. It's the swap for me.

[projectJTv4]

I got my motor through a dismantler I found through auto parts.com. I've been seeing 100k mile motors with transmissions on local forums for ~$500.

https://youtu.be/xfEFvXm4p8o

Dang that is cheap. A local dismantler wants 900 for the engine and 650 for the trans. I'll have to keep looking locally. Thanks for the point of reference.

[DEV0 E30]

Where are you located? I have a spare engine and six speed transmission, but only makes sense if local because of weight.

I found my multiples on ebay/facebook, as dismantlers do business on ebay its better than private. The engines are so cheap, private sellers think they are worth far more.

Located in Phoenix, Arizona

Even a few on ebay seemed expensive, but I'll continue to look.

Not in a rush, but at the same time I don't care to throw much more at the M40.

Thanks for the info guys.

[LukeJ]

Great video as always....

It seemed like you were slowly catching the SRT, but you could see what kind of power he's got coming out of the corners.

I bought my motor and transmission from this place: Used BMW Parts | Various Models | Redline Auto Parts

At the time, I was able to buy all the parts from the same car, all with low miles. I paid $1200 for my motor, but it came with all the accessories and wiring harness', minus the 3 stage manifold, which I didn't plan to use anyways. They shipped it all on a pallet and it was well protected. The only hang up was, I had to have it delivered to a place with a forklift.

[hoveringuy]

I got my motor through a dismantler I found through auto parts.com. I've been seeing 100k mile motors with transmissions on local forums for ~$500.

In other news, I now have a dual-pump tank setup where the left and right pumps feed in parallel, I can turn the left one on when fuel gets low enough to warrant. Ran it down to 5 gals yesterday no issue

There was an SRT Challenger that was very close to my pace which I found interesting. I thought it was pretty agile for a 4000lb car, who would have thought?

Also ran with a gutted E36 M3 S52. I was walking him on the straight, but he was faster through the corners.

SRT:

https://youtu.be/xfEFvXm4p8o