S52 Brilliantrot 318is from Australia

[AusScare]

Nice one mate, once my S54 swap is done we'll have to get the cars together and do a drive or go to some of these events.

[e30davie]

To wrap the HVAC build up I caught up with some friends at a skid pan event

https://youtube.com/shorts/WmHi-DMGghk?si=r89jGSaYE5QB9h-H

nice one!

They do a good job those skid control guys. I went a few times last year. ill have to go again.

[Northern]

Thanks, I'm thrilled with the end result. I'm in no hurry to attempt headers like this again and I'd certainly start from scratch next time.


I ended up fixing the torque dip, the S52 (MS41.1/2/3) uses vehicle speed to control vanos and the e30 speed signal is 5.3x slower than the expected e36 signal so it was shutting vanos off about 1.5k rpm sooner than it should have (ecu saw 22km/h when I was doing ~110km/h). Did a pull with vanos off and another with vanos on and overlaid the logged load values and switched it on and off where the two intersect and it's all sorted. I also had to divide the x-axis (vehicle speed) by 5.3.

I also previously mentioned my exhaust hangers weren't great, specifically the rear muffler hangers. I purchased two BMW-18211707807 and I should have done this earlier. The rear factory hangers are now functional and dropping the muffler is really easy, just undo two nuts.

Just saw this - you can change the VSS modifier directly so you don't need to change the vehicle speed axis in a bunch of maps. It's defined in Romraider MS41.2 and 41.3 partial.

Also the changeover RPM is different for M52 and S52, so if you're not 100% happy, keep playing with it.

[jsta1109]

Just saw this - you can change the VSS modifier directly so you don't need to change the vehicle speed axis in a bunch of maps. It's defined in Romraider MS41.2 and 41.3 partial.

Also the changeover RPM is different for M52 and S52, so if you're not 100% happy, keep playing with it.

Thanks, I'll have to have a look at that, that probably would have saved me some time.

I did get the changeover RPM dialled, intake, headers and exhaust have a pretty significant impact and I definitely have a noticeable change in power band from stock.

[jsta1109]

I got the AC gassed yesterday, I had to move a couple of things around (R12 adapter moved, pressure switch fitting changed a bit) as the drier I got had one less fitting. I forgot an o-ring on the pressure switch but that was spotted when pulling a vacuum.

Overall it's a massive improvement, my previous best was around 7-8c (45-47f) at the vent and with all the new work we saw 3c (37-38f) from the vent. It is worth noting that the previous time I tested the vent temps it was about 35c (95f) and yesterday it was 21c (70f) but with a working recirculation after a short drive I've never had the cabin this cold before.

As a recap, I have a nissens parallel flow condenser, stock m52 (used) compressor, adapted lines and all new components in the recent HVAC rebuild.

Anyway, here's a photo from the skid pan day.

[e30davie]

nice! I'd better look at my recirculation valves at some stage.

I think I saw a clip of your car at the skid pan on the skid control facebook/instagram.

[jsta1109]

Long time no post. Not a lot to report except I still own the car and it continues to work.

My decision to not replace pulleys when I had the engine out came back to bite, admittedly it could have been a lot worse. The china radiator was the only victim here, thankfully the bonnet was unscathed. While I had everything out I replaced the water pump, new metal pulley, new china radiator and some new hoses. I also took the time to rewire the puller fan using some higher quality wire and connectors.





Naturally, this wasn't the end. After I had pieced the car back together I noticed I wasn't getting any charge from the alternator. I had also booked a motorkhana/auto-x event that was a few days out and finding an M52 alternator locally (that wasn't over $1k) was a challenge. Turns out M54 alternators work with minimal changes. One switched ignition lead and the exciter wire pinned to a new connector and I was back charging, I was lucky and found this alternator BNIB on Facebook for $50.



In the end I made it to another event, not competitive at all (far too cautious) but still having fun. These photos aren't great but it was quite dark.

[JasonWilson48]

Autocross event in the dark? That's new to me. Also, good to know you can use an M54 alternator in a pinch. I'll stash that away for future use if I'm in a jam. Also, I haven't seen your thread before, but i skimmed through it. I'm impressed with the work you've done over the last 10 years. I'm new to the E30 world, but hope I can make a decade of memories going forward.

Also, your paint is and wheels, and ride height are mint.

[jsta1109]

Autocross event in the dark? That's new to me. Also, good to know you can use an M54 alternator in a pinch. I'll stash that away for future use if I'm in a jam. Also, I haven't seen your thread before, but i skimmed through it. I'm impressed with the work you've done over the last 10 years. I'm new to the E30 world, but hope I can make a decade of memories going forward.

Also, your paint is and wheels, and ride height are mint.

Hey thanks, I've learnt a lot with this car and it hasn't really felt like 10 years. I'm really slack posting, life tends to get in the way and I generally only get the car out a few times a year now.

The paint certainly looks better in photos, it's a closed door respray that isn't quite briliantrot (so long as I don't park next to another brilliantrot car no one notices). The BBS wheels are overplayed but red centers makes it a unique, I've tried other colours and wheels and I keep coming back to this. Ride height, I always feel like I should go lower but where it sits now is practical and legal height here (100mm) and I'd like to avoid trouble if I can.