FI questions... engine management? E30 guru's help a brotha out!

[98BARUSTI]

Alright guys so here's the lowdown, a good buddy of mine where I work has a 1986 e30 that he got for dirt cheap, red, automatic, 325is. He started a turbo build on it but lost steam after pulling the engine and rebuilding the motor with new bearings etc. The motor has now been out of the car for quite some time and his wife has told him it has to go, so that's where I come in, he offered me the car, everything there minus a few bolts he may have lost and a engine management system. The whole car will be mine for $300 and his t3/t4 turbo kit with turbo manifold, tapped oil pan etc for another $500.

I will be headed to get the car next week. I am BRAND NEW to e30's, but I am a huge subaru guy and frequent a few forums. I know that if someone came into that forum with questions like mine I could answer them in a second so I'm calling on a few e30 guys for some guidance, I have searched but you guys know then pro's and con's alot more than I can gather in a week I'm sure.

So my question, what engine management would be best for my use, I want something cheap, preferably not a pain in the a** to tune either. Plans are to build a mean clean drift machine out of this thing, thanks guys!

Also I read the auto to manual conversion is as easy as trans, drive shaft, rear diff, pedal box, linkage, and a few wires to splice, any thing I should be on the lookout for while trans/diff shopping? Anything with lsd from factory? Are e36 trans stronger/direct fit? Thanks again guys

[e30leigh]

ok..... getrag 260 manual out of a 325 e30. its the biggest box e30 come out with and is plenty strong enough. it is the trans your after. and a medium case lsd from a motorsport 325 i think the ratio is about 3.7ish:1 and its plenty stong enough. even a small case is strong enough but harder to get in lsd.
other then that your about onto it with whats involved

as for tuning alot of guys use megasquirt? i like link g4. its made here in NZ and is cheep and very tunable and gives alot of freedom and options.
theres also haltech which is very good but very expensive. or you can chip and tune with various products. also look into miller maf's and w.a.r. chips.

[98BARUSTI]

ok..... getrag 260 manual out of a 325 e30. its the biggest box e30 come out with and is plenty strong enough. it is the trans your after. and a medium case lsd from a motorsport 325 i think the ratio is about 3.7ish:1 and its plenty stong enough. even a small case is strong enough but harder to get in lsd.
other then that your about onto it with whats involved

as for tuning alot of guys use megasquirt? i like link g4. its made here in NZ and is cheep and very tunable and gives alot of freedom and options.
theres also haltech which is very good but very expensive. or you can chip and tune with various products. also look into miller maf's and w.a.r. chips.

Good info thank you, I was looking into megasquirt, going to research some more on the subject. Anyone know how I can identify LSD if I just go to the local junkyard?Trans code charts or something maybe?

[TS87325IS]

There will be an "s" on the tag along with the ratio as in "s3.73"as far as megasquirt, whodwho has a sweet plug n play, just plug it in to your existing wiring harness. Thats what i have and i cant say enough about it, i love it, pm him on here.

[98BARUSTI]

There will be an "s" on the tag along with the ratio as in "s3.73"as far as megasquirt, whodwho has a sweet plug n play, just plug it in to your existing wiring harness. Thats what i have and i cant say enough about it, i love it, pm him on here.

Plug and play +++++++++ Thanks! Pming him now

[1sgxj]

I run a Haltech Platinum Sport 2000. Not cheap, but worth it to me in the end. Handles individual coils and full sequential injection (and all sorts of other features) if you want to go that far. Def not plug and play though. You will be making a complete wiring harness.

Tried a MS P&P before that. Very convenient. Some love them and have good results.

If the car is a 325is, it should have a 3.73 LSD in it already, unless an auto changes that.

[Cyrix2k]

'86 can't be a 325is... it would be a 325e (2.7L low revving I6). If it has a factory LSD, I believe it will be a 2.93 which actually isn't that bad for a turbo build. The 325i head can be swapped on to let it rev to 7k rpms or a little futher compared to 5500 max with the e head. I use megasquirt and like it. When it comes to EMSs, it's going to be your cheapest, most versatile option. Just be cautioned that the learning curve may be steep - although that is largely true of all EMSs.

[98BARUSTI]

After talking to him more he believes its an 87*