turbo etas

[Pat W]

i think that this should become a sticky...i know i am very interested in turboing my eta...i would love to know the best way to bring the eta motor to turbo specs....i was thinkiing about doing a I head exhaust and t/b what other ways to make it a higher powered turbo motor than the stock 2.5 I turbos?....thank you

[808BMW]

Re: turbo etas

i think that this should become a sticky...i know i am very interested in turboing my eta...i would love to know the best way to bring the eta motor to turbo specs....i was thinkiing about doing a I head exhaust and t/b what other ways to make it a higher powered turbo motor than the stock 2.5 I turbos?....thank you

I dont get it, why not just turbo an I motor? You would probably have to buy a whole I motor to swap it over anyway, and then you still have to take apart 2 whole motors and put at least 1 back together.

No need for an I exhaust, you'd need all new exhaust pieces from the block back anyway.

[LowR3V'in]

You'll WANT the 'i' exhaust because the Eta's will block flow from the 'i' head (Big time power loss)

808BMW
It'd be cheaper to buy the pieces separately because you don't have
to pay for the block. Another plus would be the .2 liter you'll get.

Jdm
I thought this thread was going to be about turboing an ETA, not a low compression 327i

i was thinkiing about doing a 'i' head, exhaust, and t/b. What other ways is there to make a higher powered turbo motor than the stock 2.5 turbos?

Deffinatly! Swap some of that 325i goodness in and throw that ETA bullshit in the garbage. Just look at the diffrence in the intake system. The exhaust is that much bigger too. :shock:



You'll deffinatly have a faster engine if you shave alittle off the head to get comprisson higher to 325i specs ( I don't know how much you can shave)

[808BMW]

You'll WANT the 'i' exhaust because the Eta's will block flow from the 'i' head (Big time power loss)

808BMW
It'd be cheaper to buy the pieces separately because you don't have
to pay for the block. Another plus would be the .2 liter you'll get.

You'll deffinatly have a faster engine if you shave alittle off the head to get comprisson higher to 325i specs ( I don't know how much you can shave)

I'm saying that it would probably be easier to find a whole I motor than trying to buy all the parts seperately. And if you want to build a low compression stroker, its easier to start with an I, rather than an E.

If he actually turbo's it, then he just wasted money on the downpipes, and I wouldn't run a stock I exhaust anyway, so thats another waste of money.

Shave to head to raise the compression while disassembing 2 whole motors to build a low compression stroker? Thats even worse than wasting money on an I exhaust.

I originally planned on converting my I into a stroker exactly like this, simply for the .2 liters of displacement and the low compression for turbo. After some research the bottom line is unless you want to build a balls to the wall (weekend racer only) Then the stock I is just fine.

An I is easier to start from period. I say buy an I and turbo it. If you start pushing over 500 hp and you need EVEN MORE boost, then start worrying about low compression. Even then, it will probably be a better idea to machine a dish into the top of a stock I piston.

[LowR3V'in]

'm saying that it would probably be easier to find a whole I motor than trying to buy all the parts seperately

It'll be allot faster, yeah.

if you want to build a low compression stroker, its easier to start with an I, rather than an E.

How? From experience, it's easier to bolt-on 'i' parts (head, manifolds, harness) then opening up a block and switching things around...
But that's just me because I hate working on internals :x .

If he actually turbo's it, then he just wasted money on the downpipes, and I wouldn't run a stock I exhaust anyway, so thats another waste of money.

Totally, I thought you where talking about the exhaust manifolds. :oops:

Shave to head to raise the compression while disassembing 2 whole motors to build a low compression stroker? Thats even worse than wasting money on an I exhaust.

You don't have to shave it, but if you want it to be faster then the 2.5 with the same psi, uping the compression to 8.5:1 or 8.8:1 (if possable) isn't a bad idea.
I had my head planed for warpage (honda) and cost me exactly $100. (cheap)
More compression = More power and this guys is trying to make it kill a 2.5 so there you go.

An I is easier to start from period

That's right, but he has an Eta and why buy a complete engine when he can ad parts to the one he already has? Turns it into the same engine with lower compression and .2 more liter for alittle less then he can get the 2.5? It just makes more sense to me. I wish I had a 325i so didn't have to upgrade my crapy Eta. Fuck stroking it!!! Just turbo and ad 1psi to make up for the .2 you could of had

[Pat W]

the whole point of this tread was to discuss ways of turboing an eta....secondly i thought that in order to run a fair amount of psi and not blow stock internals you would be better off just building the motor with forged pistons and rods and stuff like that.....i know that i would need custom exhaust work....that just goes with making the turbo....i figured that since im starting off with a larger displacment motor i could use that to my advantage and build it up to perform like an I stroked to a 2.7......and doesnt a lower compression make for better horsepower on a turbo motor?....TIA

[BahnE30]

lower compression does not help horsepower it makes the motor more reliable think about it your running say an 10 : 1 compression ratio and start cramming 20 pounds of boost in there shits going to hit the fan.....
lower compression just makes it safer to run more boost to a point

https://www.howstuffworks.com/turbo/

i think thats the right link....

[Pat W]

nope wrong link....and i want reliablity because my turbo e30 will be driving daily with the exception of winter....but we will have to see

[808BMW]

I guess you would use the stock "i" exhaust manifolds and an adapter, so you'd probably need those (I was thinking about a whole turbo manifold). I was thinking of different things :P

Good luck on reliability, alot of people seem to have problems. That's just part of trying to make an econobox into a supercar.

I think the most reliable way to turbo your eta is do what you planned with the I parts, and buy a kit from TCD.

[Pat W]

yeah thats probably the safest bet for reliablity and horsepower

[Hortos]

Eta Torque

My brother is putting a turbo on his Eta because he inadvertantly got into a race with one of my honda :oops: friends. Etas don't breath as well Etas don't rev as high and Etas sound weird with no exhaust. BUT! go ahead and turbo the thing and then you can impress your friends by towing 2 other E30s around behind your car. If you don't change anything and keep your redline somewhere below 5000 the car will be a bucketload more fun but don't expect to beat a turbo I. Get a quick spooling turbo, a DSM intercooler, the injectors from a 745i and run about 7 pounds of boost just be prepared to slam your head into the wheel before every shift because that low redline is going kick you in the ass alot.

[Pat W]

:?

[Digitalwave]

Turbo eta = 500 RPM left after you hit full boost :)

[E30godz]

why would that be the case?

if you size the turbo properly.....this means not sizing it for an engine that can rev to 7 grand.

i dont fucking understand why people say "derrr your gonna hit the rev-limit right after you build boost". its a constriction ( the 5grand redline) to the system, so you work around it, which means choosing an appropriatly sized turbo.

is that hard to understand?

[318driver]

go to www.e30tech.com they have a turbo section and im positve this has been talked about. I think theres over 10 turbo guys over there.