M42 Head Gasket Blown, Project Thread

[digger]

It should make 175whp on paper with a dynojet if the claims are true.
For the purposes of a power run i wouldn't waste my $$$ on any other type of dyno as its a lottery and almost completely meaningless in isolation. Go for the tried and true DJ

[roguetoaster]

My guess is 165 wheel HP.

Ahem, you mean 123kW? It is a metric engine after all...

[e30sh]

I'm stoked to see what MM Engine makes to the wheels!

My guess is 165 wheel HP.

[onesecond]

I'm stoked to see what MM Engine makes to the wheels!

[bmwman91]

Haha, if I was concerned with HP per dollar, I would have chucked the M42 and done an S52 swap instead (or maybe an aluminum block M52). The ECU conversion is purely for fun, and while it may help me to pick up some power, and fuel economy, it is just for the fun of the challenge really. But, yes it would be cool to have some preliminary numbers. I'll look around the area for dyno shops to see who is open and can get me in for a few pulls. I guess it's something I could almost do on a lunch break if there is a local shop.

[e30sh]

Don't you want a before and after to see if all that engine management change was worth it? Around here it's $75 for 3 pulls.

Shoot for 70 degrees (early morning or later in the day in a few weeks) to help with correction factors and use the same mode as ForecedFirebird. Maybe you can get some repeatable ad comparable data.

[bmwman91]

Nah, have not gotten around to it. COVID messed a bunch of stuff up, and now I am about the tear the car apart for a full repaint lol. Thereafter I will be finishing up my Link E36X ECU conversion. At that point dyno time will be unavoidable lol. I have a thread going in the engine management section about that, but it's on hold until the paint job is done.

[e30sh]

C’mon dont be afraid, find Dynojet

Ha, yeah I need to just go get on it already. There are a few shops in the area with dynos.

l.

You have had a year. Did I miss the report?

[bmwman91]

The Link ECU uses the same 88 pin connector, so I could just depin the plug & move stuff around as needed. But, I am planning to add all sorts of features and rewire some stuff, so I want to do all of that on a spare harness. Then I can keep my stock ECU and the harness I just rebuilt together (to keep the car running now, and to swap in if I need to), and build a separate one for the Link ECU. I have a thread going for the ECU project now.

https://www.r3vlimited.com/board/forum/e30-technical-forums/engine-drivetrain/alternative-tuning-w-a-r-megasquirt-etc/9961647-m42-ecu-conversion-link-g4x-e36x

[digger]

Thanks, I may end up bugging this guy since the r3v'ers with harnesses have not gotten back to me.

Don't you just need a patch harness or de-pin the factory connector and re-pin to the LINK connectors ?

[bmwman91]

Thanks, I may end up bugging this guy since the r3v'ers with harnesses have not gotten back to me.

[e30if]

Saw a Craigslist ad while I was browsing for random e30 parts locally, he's got a couple M42 harnesses and random other parts if you haven't already sourced a harness: https://seattle.craigslist.org/est/p...234061958.html

[bmwman91]

Yeah, I gotta stop by the local dyno shop and get a couple of runs in. The car is running smooth and strong now (so of course I need to start a new project that will render it inoperable and not running great for at least a year lol). I am not sure if it will make much more power, although switching to MAP will clean up the intake a bit. The biog reason is that I plan to run either the RHD or MM ITB kit, and even without the ITBs (just the super light flywheel) Sssquid is about out of parameters to tweak to give me a clean idle. An aftermarket ECU will give me more options for idle management, and I can run an M44 or M50 stepper-type ICV.

[digger]

Would be interesting to see before and after gains of the ECU. When i did this removal of the AFM and stock air filter/silencer box was worth good gains. I replaced mine initially with a smooth silicone elbow and a bmc cda style filter. The gains were from airflow as the timing map i started with was hopeless

[bmwman91]

Well, I just pulled the trigger on the Link E36X ECU. God help me, I am once again violating the ancient wisdom of "it if ain't broke don't fix it" but so it goes with the E30. It turns out that there are a number of aftermarket ECUs out there that run the 88-pin Bosch connector.

- Link E36X
- MS3Pro PNP for E36 M50/S50
- Life Racing F88 series
- PECTEL SQ6

The Life and PECTEL products are really intended more for pro motorsports applications, and are considerably more expensive (Life's base ECU prices are not bad, but some basic functions are costly "option" upgrades). Also, I think that it is probably the case that the tuning software will be less commonly known by tuners. MS3Pro probably has the most widespread user base of all of these, with Link being close behind.

This is the ECU that I ordered:

https://dealers.linkecu.com/E36X_2

Full specs of the ECU series that it is based on:

http://linkecu.com/documentation/XtremeXPlugInECUSpecs.pdf

And I got it from this distributor, who seems to sell it for $100 less than most other places:

https://panicmade.com/link/p/e36linkx

Anyway, I have lots of planning to do, spare M42 and M44 harnesses to obtain and harvest bits and pieces from, and that'll keep me busy for at least a couple of months. I'll be starting a separate thread for that, maybe in the projects subforum, but it'll be later this year once I have things planned out and worth sharing.