Anyone turbo an M20B27

[euro2fast4u]

this thread makes me laugh.

can we discuss how adding an 885 head increases the displacement by .1L?

[iXe<30]

no idea, I stopped tracking the fuel mileage after adding the turbo. My driving style changed a lot too so even if I did have numbers, it wouldn't be a good comparison. The mileage should still be good just cruising down the road in theory. I now have an m50, also boosted, so I can't pull data points on the m20 and the m50 was never NA in this car.

damn, ive always been so curious about it...

[Cyrix2k]

what gas milage are you getting now compared to before adding the snail cyrix2k?

no idea, I stopped tracking the fuel mileage after adding the turbo. My driving style changed a lot too so even if I did have numbers, it wouldn't be a good comparison. The mileage should still be good just cruising down the road in theory. I now have an m50, also boosted, so I can't pull data points on the m20 and the m50 was never NA in this car.

[iXe<30]

what gas milage are you getting now compared to before adding the snail cyrix2k?

[euro760]

Alright thanks a lot

[Cyrix2k]

I don't know... I try not to add all that stuff up :p Maybe around 1400 after misc parts?

[euro760]

Alright thanks man I appreciate the info
Really want to turbo my 325e and later put a I head in it
Around how much was it to to turbo for your 325 e if you don't mind me asking

[Cyrix2k]

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???

My setup:

325i VR sensor, crank wheel, and sensor bracket
MS2/extra ECU
GM "two tower" style coils
666 fab (Jon Volk) turbo adapter
Garrett T3 turbo from a Volvo 240, internally wastegated with a 6 psi spring
2.5" Ebay charge piping kit
ebay BOV from wyntonm
Custom downpipe
325i FPR (3 bar)
ebay oil feed & drain kit
ebay oil sandwich adapter for the oil feed
Innovate LC-1 wideband o2 sensor, controller, and display (I now recommend the AEM UEGO instead)

I later added a volvo 240 intercooler, but it's not needed. You'll gain a little power but also add lag. No fuel injectors are needed at 6 psi, but they are really close to being held full open. You can either piece together the system yourself or buy a kit. If you do this yourself, I suggest doing a lot of reading.

And yes, at 6 psi, a 325e turbo is faster than an m50 swap but it drives a LOT different.

[BMWZ318is]

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

I agree with this

[BMWZ318is]

im running a 325e block with a 325i head war chip tuned t3/t4 ebay turbo arp head studs and 15lbs of boost i had an e head on it originally drilled out to fit a i turbo cam it was ok but do the swap its much better.

[sayed ali]

Even a good low boost m20 (like 10-12 psi max) will be much more powerful than doing a stock M50 swap, even S50!

[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???

[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]

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]

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