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Das Beast: My E30 track / street build

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    Damn right. Nice crimp. My day job is CT and MRI, love a good cable job.
    My son has the 1987 325e, 2 door, 5speed
    I daily the 1989 325i, 4 door, 5speed

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      Thanks man. I was pretty paranoid about the cables, since we had exactly 6 plug wires, 6 boots and 6 crimp-on connectors. One shot to not screw it up. We had a nice ratchet crimp tool with 8.5 mm die, but it failed the "yank test". Was able to pull the fitting off. Ended up using the 8.5mm to pre-form around the cable, crimp with #16 die in the hydraulic, then finish with the 8.5mm to fold in excess aluminum. Worked perfectly.
      "And then we broke the car. Again." Mark Donohue, "The Unfair Advantage"

      1987 E30 3L Turbo Stroker Das Beast
      2002 E39 M5

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        Plug wires done



        Down pipe is going to dive right next to them. I re-thought the heat shield.



        Heat shield evolved. Jedi Master fabrication level.



        That's better



        Ready for the downpipe now

        "And then we broke the car. Again." Mark Donohue, "The Unfair Advantage"

        1987 E30 3L Turbo Stroker Das Beast
        2002 E39 M5

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          I love how much attention you’re giving to isolating the heat that will be generated, I think the hood had vents too, didn’t it?
          Simon
          Current Cars:
          -1999 996.1 911 4/98 3.8L 6-Speed, 21st Century Beetle

          Make R3V Great Again -2020

          Comment


            No hood vents yet, but I can definitely see doing one over the turbo.
            "And then we broke the car. Again." Mark Donohue, "The Unfair Advantage"

            1987 E30 3L Turbo Stroker Das Beast
            2002 E39 M5

            Comment


              Plug installation

              Installing spark plugs. How hard can it be, right?

              Started this morning blissfully ignorant with a couple of boxes of brand new BPR7ES. Apparently the plugs of choice for E30 turbos based on my research.



              They are also the wrong plugs. Solid terminals don't fit in E30 plug boots. They don't unscrew either. The electrode shears off spectacularly when twisted with vice grips.



              So, whats up? They sell plugs with three terminal types:

              1. Solid
              2. Screw: Like solid terminals, but the outer terminal unscrews
              3. Threaded: No outer terminal. Just the threads

              E30 plug boots fit the threaded terminal

              My original BPR7ES 3785 were solid terminal. Purchasing fail. Fortunately the local auto zone had BPR7ES 5534 in stock. Note the hole in the end of the terminal. It unscrews leaving a thread terminal. Fits in our plug boots like it should.



              Got that personal issue out of the way and back to plug install. We're using 1 oz of Marvell Mystery Oil in each cylinder for now. Before starting the engine later we'll pull the plugs, crank it a bit with rags in the plug holes to clear the excess then final torque the plugs.



              Plug boots sat a bit higher with the plugs in. Had to remake part of the heat shield. Worked out well though.



              NOW we're ready for the exhaust system. Only that and a bit of harness rework before we start the car.

              Last edited by dvallis; 01-29-2019, 05:06 PM. Reason: typo
              "And then we broke the car. Again." Mark Donohue, "The Unfair Advantage"

              1987 E30 3L Turbo Stroker Das Beast
              2002 E39 M5

              Comment


                My least favorite job: In-car harness cleanup. The IAT sensor lead is too short.



                Fixed. Moving on.



                Drum roll please. Engine is 100% complete. All we need is an exhaust.



                Sizing up the exhaust. Here's a side view of the Borla muffler between the rear subframe and front floor pan.



                Better view from the rear



                Based on staring at this for a while, here's the muffler plan. Looks like the Borla will fit great. We even get to use 45 mandrel bends, not 90s, which is much better for flow.

                "And then we broke the car. Again." Mark Donohue, "The Unfair Advantage"

                1987 E30 3L Turbo Stroker Das Beast
                2002 E39 M5

                Comment


                  having put a hole through the rocker for a side dump and regretted it, I'd suggest to not put a hole through the rocker because it's quite structural.

                  downturn tips would work though.
                  cars beep boop

                  Comment


                    Looking good!

                    RISING EDGE

                    Let's drive fast and have fun.

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                      Kronus, talk to me more about the "rocker hole of regret". Too low? Too close to subframe mount? I was looking at drilling as far forward and high as possible to stay away from the subframe mount.
                      "And then we broke the car. Again." Mark Donohue, "The Unfair Advantage"

                      1987 E30 3L Turbo Stroker Das Beast
                      2002 E39 M5

                      Comment


                        So, I was researching my diffuser design and came across this. No kidding. There it was just laying around. Not marked confidential or anything. Will definitely incorporate the info into my design. Stay tuned.

                        "And then we broke the car. Again." Mark Donohue, "The Unfair Advantage"

                        1987 E30 3L Turbo Stroker Das Beast
                        2002 E39 M5

                        Comment


                          Originally posted by dvallis View Post
                          Kronus, talk to me more about the "rocker hole of regret". Too low? Too close to subframe mount? I was looking at drilling as far forward and high as possible to stay away from the subframe mount.
                          too in very structural-looking metal. the rocker is one of the major tube sections that keep the unibody stiff and carry the subframe mount. we had some deflection and ended up (hackjob, but, lemons, whatever) welding the exhaust tips to the cutout hole as bracing.
                          cars beep boop

                          Comment


                            LoL. Got it. Looking at blowing the exhaust through my diffuser instead.
                            "And then we broke the car. Again." Mark Donohue, "The Unfair Advantage"

                            1987 E30 3L Turbo Stroker Das Beast
                            2002 E39 M5

                            Comment


                              Diffuser Adventure

                              So, here's the rear end with a diffuser notch cut in the valence. We spent a lot of time laying on the floor discussing how to proceed. It's really clear that there is no way to route exhaust over the subframe and half shafts. That leaves diving under, which we're also not crazy about in terms of clearance. In the end, we decided to stick with the 3" side exhaust plus down turn tip. (Kronus, thanks for the advice)



                              Once we were clear on direction, this design came together quickly. The outer diffuser channels are double stacked. Upper channel removes high pressure from behind each half shaft. Floor plate on all four channels uses data from the Ferrari CFD simulations above. It maintains laminar flow, maximizes down force and lowers drag.



                              The frame is made from 0.125" aluminum and 2" box tube for rigidity and light weight. It also lets us build the entire diffuser on the bench and bolt it to the car when done. As a side note, don't use 0.125" aluminum unless you need to. It's a b#@#$ to work with. Really hard to cut with the angle grinder or saws-all. Can't cut or bend it with a harbor freight brake. We only used it because we are running low on 0.063".



                              The assembly is held together with "big ass rivets". That's a technical term. :devil:



                              Perfect fit. Ready to finish the strakes and floor panels tomorrow.

                              Last edited by dvallis; 09-08-2018, 03:39 PM. Reason: More info
                              "And then we broke the car. Again." Mark Donohue, "The Unfair Advantage"

                              1987 E30 3L Turbo Stroker Das Beast
                              2002 E39 M5

                              Comment


                                Getting down to business with the diffuser.

                                Strakes measured, cut, formed and installed.



                                Top surface of upper ducts installed.



                                Here's another look at the work in progress.



                                Test fit is looking great. Had to pack it in for today since we ran out of 0.063

                                Last edited by dvallis; 09-09-2018, 05:13 PM. Reason: typo
                                "And then we broke the car. Again." Mark Donohue, "The Unfair Advantage"

                                1987 E30 3L Turbo Stroker Das Beast
                                2002 E39 M5

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