2.7 ETA Performance; Chips vs. Motronic upgrade vs. ?

[Regnar75]

my current setup 1986 325es
885 head I cam/ springs
motronic 1.3 upgrade
full I accessories (TB, manifold etc)
eurotuning 2.7i tune
stock 325i injectors (fresh cleaned and flowed)
2.93lsd (looking for a 4.10lsd)

my idea setup would be to run m30 AFM, 19lb injectors, headers to straight exhaust, 272 or 274 cam, and throttle body bored to m30 plate size. then probably try the Squid 2.7i chip tuned for this setup.

or when Squidmaster can make a 2.7i MAF tune id be on that like a fat kid on cake.

[squidmaster]

Thanks for the info.

What would you say the lesser of evils is:
-Motronic 1.3, 2.5i intake components, with stock ETA head and block (higher compression, inferior flow and lower rev limit)
-Motronic 1.3, 2.5i intake components with 885 head and stock ETA block (lower compression, better flow, higher rev limit)

For the tunes you can provide, is either if those a clearly more desirable choice?

885 head absolutely.

eta head with eta pistons 9.0:1 compression great torque low acceleration

i head with eta pistons 8.4:1 compression good torque good acceleration, best for turbo applications and engine management

Even though it is a drop in compression, it really makes up for it with the increased HP and rev range.

[red325ix]

My current setup:

ETA block
BimmerHeads head with 274 cam
Full mototronic 1.3 conversion
Squid 2.7i tune
17lb m50 injectors
3.73 lsd
Headers strait back to magnaflow muffler no cat

The car pulls very strong and is really fun to drive, especially above 3500rpm. As long as you have the parts lined up the swap shouldn't take you long at all with some help. 5-6 hours. I would say that a 3.73lsd is a must with this upgrade. It really keeps this setup in the powerband better and is night and day compared to when I was running a 3.23lsd. I prefer it over an m50 swap plus the single 274 cam with my exhaust set up sounds pretty badass and turns heads. No body thinks I'm running an m20 when they hear it.

[Regnar75]

I went stock eta bottom, complete I head and accessories and would never look back. i forgot what i bought that chip for but wouldnt mind selling it, im trying to buy some new wheels with only money i get from selling parts haha. If you want to buy it, great. but just so you know the 2.7i swap on a plan old eta is still an awesome setup. send me a PM if you want to work something out with the chip. its a Mark D chip listed on his site as "E30 325e, M20 ETA motor 91 octane, 5500 rpm 0 261 200 027 E30-027.5k5 $209" (obviously itll cost less since its used) just PM me

[fiveightandten]

Complete ETA bottom with I head is completely acceptable. It gives the lowest compression depending on your year, but is still a worthy upgrade

Thanks for the info.

What would you say the lesser of evils is:
-Motronic 1.3, 2.5i intake components, with stock ETA head and block (higher compression, inferior flow and lower rev limit)
-Motronic 1.3, 2.5i intake components with 885 head and stock ETA block (lower compression, better flow, higher rev limit)

For the tunes you can provide, is either if those a clearly more desirable choice?

[squidmaster]

Complete ETA bottom with I head is completely acceptable. It gives the lowest compression depending on your year, but is still a worthy upgrade

[digger]

not really. Unplug it and see what happens ;)

aka sfa?

[fiveightandten]

I think that Decking the head is pretty negligible in terms of performance, but may be completely needed if your head has any warping at all. put a known straight edge on the head in any and every combination of angles to make sure its 100% flat (or take to a head shop and have them do it) but i would recommend replacing the wear items like valve stem seals and some other basic plastic/rubber parts (they should come in an e30 head gasket set). if you really wanted to and have the budget to, you can upgrade springs and cam as well but honestly stock runs great as well (im running stock).
start looking in your local junk yards, car parts from e30 owners TO e30 owners are always more expensive than from a yard, to a yard a heads a head (they dont care that its 885, 731 or whatever other e30 head there is) and if you find a full b25 in the yard you can pull everything then and there and wont miss little important pieces like the CPS bracket (i only say this because i missed it)
I pulled the Head, intake manifold, AFM, harmonic balancer, Tstat housing, Full fuel system, ECU, Valve cover, spark plug wires (wire #6 is very important), distributor cap/rotor, upper timing belt cover, and im sure there was some other stuff and i walked out the yard paying 125$ (the wiring harness i had shipped and spent about 85$ shipped because the one in the yard was cut)

Thanks for all the info. I'm putting together a spreadsheet of all the parts I need, and making sure I tack on something any time I see someone mention it (thanks for the CPS bracket).

There seems to be a lot of conflicting info with respect to what parts are actually needed. For instance, you mention the fuel system, whereas those things are listed as optional in the stickied thread. The big inconsistency seems to be peoples' opinions on running the stock ETA bottom end. In reading initially, it seemed like people were saying it would lead to slow starting and lower compression than SETA pistons, but was otherwise fine. Now i'm reading posts that say it's not an acceptable setup.

You mentioned above that you have a chip you're not using. Even though I did buy a head, I think I should experience the car with a chip before I go through with this. Especially if i'm going to have to touch the bottom end (which I did not want to do), I want to make sure I wouldn't be satisfied with just a chip and exhaust. I'm going to shoot you a PM.

[ForcedFirebird]

(wire #6 is very important)

Not really. Unplug it and see what happens ;)

[Regnar75]

I think that Decking the head is pretty negligible in terms of performance, but may be completely needed if your head has any warping at all. put a known straight edge on the head in any and every combination of angles to make sure its 100% flat (or take to a head shop and have them do it) but i would recommend replacing the wear items like valve stem seals and some other basic plastic/rubber parts (they should come in an e30 head gasket set). if you really wanted to and have the budget to, you can upgrade springs and cam as well but honestly stock runs great as well (im running stock).
start looking in your local junk yards, car parts from e30 owners TO e30 owners are always more expensive than from a yard, to a yard a heads a head (they dont care that its 885, 731 or whatever other e30 head there is) and if you find a full b25 in the yard you can pull everything then and there and wont miss little important pieces like the CPS bracket (i only say this because i missed it)
I pulled the Head, intake manifold, AFM, harmonic balancer, Tstat housing, Full fuel system, ECU, Valve cover, spark plug wires (wire #6 is very important), distributor cap/rotor, upper timing belt cover, and im sure there was some other stuff and i walked out the yard paying 125$ (the wiring harness i had shipped and spent about 85$ shipped because the one in the yard was cut)

[fiveightandten]

If anyone has any parts that would help me piece together a 2.7i setup, hit me up.

I'm off to a good start with today's pickup...

[fiveightandten]

find some valve springs and a stock cam or whatever grind you want and you will be set! I had my 885 head completely tore apart and put back together and in the car in less than two days.
not to hard of a job at all.

Thanks. The stock valve springs and cam won't be good for this? I'm not looking to rev to the moon or anything (it's a complete head, tanked, assembled and adjusted. Just no valve cover with it). I'll have to do some reading. I've read that people deck this head to keep from loosing too much compression. I've also read not to deck it because the clearances are very tight against the ETA pistons. Not sure what route to go there.

[Lyfesideways]

Thanks for all the additional replies.

I think you guys have convinced me on the 2.7i setup. I'm going to look at an 885 head local to me tomorrow. He's only got the head, but at least the other parts are cheaper to ship and less complex to worry about issues buying remotely.

I should be able to piece this together in a few weeks, I would think. I'm sure there will be more questions to come.

find some valve springs and a stock cam or whatever grind you want and you will be set! I had my 885 head completely tore apart and put back together and in the car in less than two days.
not to hard of a job at all.

[fiveightandten]

Thanks for all the additional replies.

I think you guys have convinced me on the 2.7i setup. I'm going to look at an 885 head local to me tomorrow. He's only got the head, but at least the other parts are cheaper to ship and less complex to worry about issues buying remotely.

I should be able to piece this together in a few weeks, I would think. I'm sure there will be more questions to come.

[Lyfesideways]

a 2.7i conversion is well worth the thought.
From owning 5 e30's ( one that was m10 ) out of all the m20's the 2.7i I made was alot more fun to drive. Matched up with a 3.73lsd it was great from a dig and had tq for days.
Adding a alpina b3 rep chip opened up more doors.

Adding that with just a basic I head conversion , decked head ,chip and 3.73 rear end the car could chirp 3rd gear allday everyday.

Exactly!! Pretty much my exact setup,an with the 3.73lsd it gets 3rd all day long.
It's a drift car and I am extremely happy coming from my old corollas that don't even chirp second gear... Haha