500 whp m20 on new head gasket, arp head studs and meth?

[Kershaw]

FYI with 500whp, I hope you have a 4-door. Coupes begin to bend at that power level with drag slicks.

That's really interesting. So 4 doors are inherently stronger? I assume because of the smaller door space.

[Northern]

What do TRM and RK tune with? I know those are basically the two big companies.

Another question: can the cheaper turbo manifolds support good power? I know of a few people running cx racing around here but they're not pushing 500 whp. I'm assuming a t4 flange is preferred over t3 to help with back pressure?

Not sure what TRM/RK (or Dave Markert - 328ijunkie on r3v. Shameless plug for a great guy who tunes loads of M52/S52/S54/N54+ and has a ton of MS41/M52 knowlege, as I found out while trying to figure out OBD2 stuff) tune with, I just (probably wrongly)assume it's tunerpro with the basic xdf's that are online and then vastly built off. The Romraider community is much more active than anything else for these ECU's right now.

The majority of the E30 24v turbo cars are running the Rapid Spool Industries/GoodnTight/Otis manifold. It's a T3 with 44mm vband WG provision, butI'm pretty sure he will do a T4 to order as well. Very well constructed and by far the best bang for buck.

[grinchxvx]

Yeah, lots of cars around that number with a gasket/studs. MLS and CES cutring/spacer are the two common low comp gasket setups, with MLS being the cheaper/less reliable option. Do some searches on the subject, and if you do go MLS, make sure your prep is absolutely perfect.

As far as codes/live data, INPA is great.

Romraider Logger is a great logger, and Romraider itself for tuning is about the best you'll find unless you find some someone who has mapped a better tunerpro xdf for their own use and is willing to share (which is very unlikely lol)

There's a guy who makes a siemens MS41 flash tool that makes the flashing part easy, and then it's just an INPA cable and a 20pin adapter that you need.

Yeah I've heard stories of the MLS being hard to seal correctly, I'll be sure to be careful if I go that route.

What do TRM and RK tune with? I know those are basically the two big companies.

Another question: can the cheaper turbo manifolds support good power? I know of a few people running cx racing around here but they're not pushing 500 whp. I'm assuming a t4 flange is preferred over t3 to help with back pressure?

I would like to go twin scroll if it's worth it but I bet it's expensive and I'm not trying to spend THAT much money


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[Northern]

Could I make 500 whp on 91+meth with just a thicker head gasket and studs on the m52? Not really trying to get too crazy on building the motor

Yeah, lots of cars around that number with a gasket/studs. MLS and CES cutring/spacer are the two common low comp gasket setups, with MLS being the cheaper/less reliable option. Do some searches on the subject, and if you do go MLS, make sure your prep is absolutely perfect.

As far as codes/live data, INPA is great.

Romraider Logger is a great logger, and Romraider itself for tuning is about the best you'll find unless you find some someone who has mapped a better tunerpro xdf for their own use and is willing to share (which is very unlikely lol)

There's a guy who makes a siemens MS41 flash tool that makes the flashing part easy, and then it's just an INPA cable and a 20pin adapter that you need.

[grinchxvx]

Actually His car a might be trapping faster than 135


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[grinchxvx]

Best idea so far. OBD2 siemens ECU isn't a turbo ECU, and while lacking some turbo specific stuff, it still seems to do a damn good job. With Romraider as it is, you could potentially tune it yourself (assuming adequate tuning knowlege)

M52 is a surprisingly strong motor, and with the ZF it's quite the bang-for-your-buck. Stock compression with pump gas isn't idea, but E85 or dropping compression seems to give great results.

I just like the idea of being able to check for codes and easy diag, this e30 is my first obd1 car. I know the basics of tuning like how afrs work and timing advance. I'm really good at analyzing logs on my 135i but it's a little different since the ecu controls everything on that car and you can just upload the csv to datazap . I wouldn't be opposed to just paying someone for a good tune.

There's a local guy here running a junkyard turbo m52 that is slightly built running 9.7 @ 135👀 in the quarter mile. So I would assume it's a pretty good motor. Most BMW motors are pretty tanky.

Could I make 500 whp on 91+meth with just a thicker head gasket and studs on the m52? Not really trying to get too crazy on building the motor


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[Northern]

m5x and get obd 2

Best idea so far. OBD2 siemens ECU isn't a turbo ECU, and while lacking some turbo specific stuff, it still seems to do a damn good job. With Romraider as it is, you could potentially tune it yourself (assuming adequate tuning knowlege)

M52 is a surprisingly strong motor, and with the ZF it's quite the bang-for-your-buck. Stock compression with pump gas isn't idea, but E85 or dropping compression seems to give great results.

[grinchxvx]

M30 + turbo would be more better. Much easier to deal with. Swap is harder though.

But your goal is drag times? You might have picked the wrong platform. Sure you could marry a hooker and she'd be great in the sack, but not exactly the girl I'd want to take home to mom.

Can we ask your age? - usually these threads are started by 19 year old dreamers.

M30 doesn't sound too good, if I'm gunna swap I'll go with the m5x and get obd 2 with a more supported platform.

That's not exactly my goal per say but I'm just using it as a figure to compare to. My 135i traps 105-106 so if I was trapping 120's I know it would be a much faster car. Overall I'm just going for a clean fast car.

I'm 21 but not exactly a "dreamer" just trying to figure out what parts to gather up while I go over the Body and suspension this winter. I work as a paint apprentice so I have access to a whole body shop if I need it.


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[mr2peak]

You'll be using up that $4k really quickly.

Go M52 and turbo it down the road. That seems to be the easy button. Also gives you time to get the rest of the car sorted. FYI with 500whp, I hope you have a 4-door. Coupes begin to bend at that power level with drag slicks.

As for it not being the right platform, here's a solution. C4 IRS and diff :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvxLdSQxwP0

[george graves]

M30 + turbo would be more better. Much easier to deal with. Swap is harder though.

But your goal is drag times? You might have picked the wrong platform. Sure you could marry a hooker and she'd be great in the sack, but not exactly the girl I'd want to take home to mom.

Can we ask your age? - usually these threads are started by 19 year old dreamers.

[ak-]

Swap & turbo.

Stock m20 at that power is just on borrowed time even if your tune is great. It's just added stress.

[grinchxvx]

Is 500 whp realistic for a non built m20 with just a new head gasket, welded water jackets, and head studs? I'm only looking for 450-500 whp out of my car and would be happy if I could run 11's and trap in the 120's in the 1/4.

would I be better off picking up a cheap junkyard m50 and boosting it or would there be even more associated costs like building the motor to make that power on 91+ meth?

My current m20 is already boosted with a rear mount sts kit tuned on a TCD chip but if my goals are realistic I would redo the whole setup using what I can and go mega squirt.

I figure at least another 1000-2000 to redo my current m20 while reusing what I can. So probably head gasket+studs, new manifold, better turbo (depending) megasquirt, and random odds and ends.

Or 24v turbo swap for 2000-4000?

What do you guys think?


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