Anyone turbo an M20B27

[Alpinweiße30]

I had a '96 328is turbo a few years ago. I was doing a pretty extensive (expensive) re-build on it and ran low on money, and then had a kid so i recently parted it out. I picked up an '86 325e 2 months ago and was wondering if anyone out there has put a turbo on one. Nothing crazy, just a few psi. I bought a Jeep after getting rid of the 328 and after driving that the 325e is nice to drive, but its feeling slow already.

Thanks in advance,

Justin

[livetheride]

from what I hear, it's not worth it. for less money you can do an m50, or for a lil more, s50, swap and you'll have something more reliable and more efficient.

[Elysian]

Isn't the B27 a good candidate for FI with an i head? If I'm not mistaken doesn't hit hit 2.8l displacement and 8.4 or 8.5:1 compression? I doubt there's anything wrong with the block/pistons of the B27 that it'd suck for forced induction...

[walktheboard]

Isn't the B27 a good candidate for FI with an i head? If I'm not mistaken doesn't hit hit 2.8l displacement and 8.4 or 8.5:1 compression? I doubt there's anything wrong with the block/pistons of the B27 that it'd suck for forced induction...

the reason a stock m20b27 sucks for FI is the 4500 rev imit.
do the 'i' head swap, then FI it, it works

[bimmer206]

To answer your question yes people turbo a b27 e30tech.com has mass amount of information about forced induction indetail from what turbo, exhaust, intercooler, to how to reinforce the block and I recomend that if you haven't already you should start there. When turbochargin a m20b27 it is most common to put a I head on the E block. This combo gives you more displacemeant (2.8L) and lower compression which is ideal for FI. The M20 is a strong engine and most parts will be able to handle a lot of horsepower. Your concerns are the head gasket and water chanels. It is common to weld and redrill the water chanels (so that the gasket dosent get pushed into them) and o ring the head or the block. This would suficiently strengthen your engine but like I said I'm no expert and I would go do your research at e30tech.com

[Alpinweiße30]

Thanks for the info guys. This was helpful. I am thinking I need to do the HG anyway and while Im there making sure everything else is straight whether i go turbo or not. Is there any advantage to doing an "i" head on an "e" block without FI?

[TeXJ]

"jumping in"

So about how much is a "i" head plus turbo run? Versus a m50 swap?

[Cyrix2k]

old thread, but I boosted mine with the factory e head. It's worth it... I'm still going to the 885 head, but the car is a great DD with the original head. It will hold 5500 rpms from the factory too, so don't discount it because of the original 4700 rpms rev limit.

[mrmckie]

so when you drop the i head on the e block wats the rev limit?

[Cyrix2k]

same as an i. I'm planning on running 7000-7200. The head is the limiting factor, not the bottom end.

[hurttech]

old thread, but I boosted mine with the factory e head. It's worth it... I'm still going to the 885 head, but the car is a great DD with the original head. It will hold 5500 rpms from the factory too, so don't discount it because of the original 4700 rpms rev limit.

How does it compare to your E39, acceleration wise?

[Cyrix2k]

it's very hard to compare the two. I'll go with my gut feeling first - when I first bought the 325e, it felt dog slow compared to my e39. Anytime my e39 would begin to feel slow, I could drive the e30, get back in my e39 and feel like I was in a rocket ship. After boosting the eta, the e39 felt kind of slow to me. As I drove the e39 more, I began to feel differently because the e39 still has more low-end torque and it also revs further making comparisons rather difficult. Keep in mind that the e30 runs essentially NA until boost starts to kick in.

There's also a few other notes here:
-the etas benefit from a decent tune NA, so just the move to megasquirt helped
-I'm only running 6 lbs of boost until I upgrade my fuel system
-I'm not running an intercooler yet which will make a huge difference in performance
-The e30 is a lot more fun to drive

[euro760]

to turbo the 325 e what did you need to turbo it
cause your using the stock head and no intercooler ?
cause i just want to put a turbo with like low psi like 5 or 6lbs of boost

[Cyrix2k]

to turbo the 325 e what did you need to turbo it
cause your using the stock head and no intercooler ?
cause i just want to put a turbo with like low psi like 5 or 6lbs of boost

for that low of boost, you need the turbo parts + a tune or rrfpr.

[euro760]

what did you use o turbo your m20..new to the whole turboing a car
do i need to buy a turbo kit or can i buy turbo headers a turbo then a oil feed pipe oil drain pipe boost gauge ..i dontthink i need a inner cooler right? since you didnt need it???