E30 M20 ITB Development

[bjamham]

Hey R3V Community!

I've been a member here since I bought my '90 325i in the spring of 2015. This is always my go-to forum as I maintain and slowly upgrade.

Apart from engine swaps, one of the most drooled over modifications for our cars has got to be individual throttle bodies. There are a few options on the market right now, but I believe there is room for some competition (especially here in North America).

I am a machinist by trade and a mechanical engineer by profession, so I have the resources to bring this to market but I need your input to know exactly what to bring to market. It would be super valuable if you could take the time to fill out the survey linked below. It shouldn't take more than 2 or 3 minutes and your answers are anonymous.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/SX6M52M

Thanks for your time,
Ben Hamilton

[Motheye99]

Can you please make a M42 option? I know RHD makes one but its $$$

Maybe look at shortening a Euro spec s52 ITB I read somewhere that that works on these cars. M42 with itb's is the sexiest sounding engine.
a few clips of the M42 with itb's

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lm9t5KHZ3fA&t=0s&list=PLhHiIbv3PoiMUKBnY85bJtEDmrq4TGsJH&index=17

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SB5N4OrAX4&t=0s&list=PLhHiIbv3PoiMUKBnY85bJtEDmrq4TGsJH&index=5

[Chrisbike]

Ok, I don't know if these things are possible, but here's how to earn my business over RHD... build an itb setup that doesn't leak at the vacuum block and can hold 15psi/ 1 bar... RHD setup can only do 8-9psi and you have my business. If you do build a setup with a airbox make a cutout for the strut bar/ see if the box can give roughly 3/4 " clearance at the closest point to the hood.

[bjamham]

12 survey responses so far! Thanks a ton for taking the time to fill it out. I will leave the survey open until I post otherwise. The more responses I can get the better, so keep them coming.


Motheye99 - I will be focusing on the m20 for the first product, but maybe an m42 option should follow!


Chrisbike - Good point about being able to hold boost. That will come down to the plenum design being able to hold that kind of pressure.

[stonea]

I agree with everything that Chris said, but also I would love to see something that actually looks good in the engine bay. Maybe something factory or period correct. Really the biggest reason I won't go with RHD is because I don't like the blue ricer accents.

[Rennsport]

I'd be in for an m30 option

[varg]

I don't like the blue ricer accents.

Preach. So many products would look better if they were anodized black or just left with a natural finish instead of the ever-present blue or red anodizing.

[ForcedFirebird]

I am a machinist by trade and a mechanical engineer by profession, so I have the resources to bring this to market but I need your input to know exactly what to bring to market.

Curious how they could be made in NA for similar costs. If you calculate the costs of machining, hardware, manifold castings, and air box, the RHD setup is very cost effective (unless you own your own machine/foundry and are only out the cost of raw materials). The castings are fairly high quality, and even CNC machined on the runners. Pretty sure that mold setup cost a decent coin.



In for the results, good luck!

[SkiFree]

Curious how they could be made in NA for similar costs. If you calculate the costs of machining, hardware, manifold castings, and air box, the RHD setup is very cost effective (unless you own your own machine/foundry and are only out the cost of raw materials). The castings are fairly high quality, and even CNC machined on the runners. Pretty sure that mold setup cost a decent coin.

In for the results, good luck!

x2

I'm rather curious to see how you handle this. What RHD does is extremely competitive (price wise). Especially when you also add in the real world R&D involved to do it right. Do you have experience in bringing parts to market or is this a new challenge for you?

--------------------------

As for undesirable anodizing, that's nothing a couple minute soak in draino won't fix.

[mr2peak]

I don't like the blue ricer accents.

The kit is now all black, no blue throttle linkage parts

[Metallated]

Any possibility of getting a 24V adapter going to take s54 throttle bodies?

[bjamham]

This will certainly be a new adventure for me, so there is a lot to learn. I currently work as a mechanical engineer in the R&D department at a company in London Ontario. I have experience with design and development... bringing products to market, but it has always been through the lens of the company I work for.

For the time being I will be focusing on developing a solution for E30s with the m20 engine. Because it's still a hobby, I'm pretty sure this will take time to develop. I will keep you all posted as I make developments, so keep an eye out for a build thread in the future.

And I certainly agree with those who mentioned that flashy anodized finishes are better left on someone else's car! I'm trying to leave my own preferences out of this as much as possible to help get honest results from the survey!

[bjamham]

Also, thanks for 26 responses so far! Keep them coming. All this data is super valuable.

[Motheye99]

I don't mean to hijack your thread OP but it's basically turned into a can you make it cheaper than RHD thread. Two link where RHD helps you build your own. I might try this, if i have the time. Does anyone on R3V run itb's on m20's that could pipe in on what it take to actually install them? I assume there might be some ECU tuning that goes on to maximize their effect.

http://racehead.com.au/products-page/parts-and-accessories/4cyl-basic-itb-set/

http://racehead.com.au/designing-performance/how-to-build-an-itb-manifold/

[digger]

if i was going to look for a product idea i would make a single throttle body solution that is 100% plug and play that improves on the OE manifold, something for those that dont want ITB but want the performance gains