My E30 Rehabilitation! ft. Boost Noises

[zwill23]

This cars coming quite a long way (38)

It's a slow evolution, but I'm getting there

[zwill23]

Officially started installing turbo bits and moving toward bewst dreams. It's nice to actually be working on it instead of thinking about it now

First I installed some Deka 60lb/hr injectors (Thanks e30austin!):



Then I installed some colder plugs, specifically NGK BPR7ES gapped to .025":



Added some plug boots for good measure:



Next I yanked off the throttle body:



and tugged on its nipple:



Plugged the crank case breather and throttle body heater with this sweet little CNC'd plate from THE DUDE ABIDES



Installed an E36 variable TPS with 3D printed mount (Squared Motorwerks) and an extension to whisper to the Megasquirt:



To continue with the throttle body heater delete, I removed the thermostat housing and plugged the connecting coolant bung with some JB Weld:



Moving on I plugged the block coolant nipple with... you guessed it, JB Weld! I don't love this solution as much, but I was having a hard time finding a suitable bolt to plug it locally.



Before reinstalling the throttle body I added a check valve to prevent boost from pressurizing the charcoal canister and potentially the gas tank:



Throttle body reinstalled:



Then I took a break to enhance the aesthetics of this fine machine. Cracked tail light:



Clean tail light:



Test fitted the turbski and the manifold:



and off they went for ceramic coating:



While the turbo bits were off getting coated, I installed two M22x1.5 to -10AN adapters in the oil filter housing for an aftermarket oil cooler and tapped a provision for a -4AN to 1/4 NPT turbo oil feed into the banjo bolt. I went with tapping the banjo bolt over using the oil filter sandwich plate for the oil feed because it's a filtered source and others have lost their turbos using the sandwich plate / oil pressure switch as feed sources.



Installed the freshly coated manifold, lots of room for AC bits which I'm hoping to keep.



Tossed in the new BW invisa turbo 9000:



But then I got serious and actually installed and clocked the turbo:



Made some measurements for my oil feed and oil drain with some twine I had laying around lol





Lastly, I installed this sweet distribution block from Stim Tech to provide vacuum sources / boost readings for the megasquirt, boost controller, fuel pressure regulator, and blow off valve. I recently stumbled into Stim Tech searching for a clean way to handle the vacuum lines and they have a lot of innovative projects going on for the E30 platform. Surprised I haven't seen them around R3v!



anddddd that's where I am at so far. Plan is to pull the front end next and get some measurements for a reasonably sized intercooler.

[kid8]

It's getting exciting!

[zwill23]

It's getting exciting!

It sure is

Wana pull the front end with me this weekend?

[AWDBOB]

So stoked for turbo! What is your goal for power and whatnot? Also, what turbo is that- S200sxe? That manifold vacuum block looks great.

[zwill23]

So stoked for turbo! What is your goal for power and whatnot? Also, what turbo is that- S200sxe? That manifold vacuum block looks great.

Me too! Been dreaming about it for the past four years haha.

I'm hoping for 300hp with a max boost of around 12-15 psi. It's a great running engine, but I only have ARP head studs at the moment so I don't want to push it much further than that.

Yep! It's the S257 from the S200sxe series. I used BW Matchbot to try and size the turbo properly with early boost response in mind. I haven't seen any M20s running one of these yet, hopefully it works out well.

[zwill23]

Extra info on my turbo selection:

https://www.r3vlimited.com/board/forum/e30-technical-forums/engine-drivetrain/forced-induction/9861664-turbo-selection-advice-borgwarner-s252-vs-s257

[AWDBOB]

So funny, because that is the exact turbo I spec’d out when I was planning on going turbo. I still wish someone made an affordable twin scroll manifold, the BW stuff loves TS.

[zwill23]

So funny, because that is the exact turbo I spec’d out when I was planning on going turbo. I still wish someone made an affordable twin scroll manifold, the BW stuff loves TS.

Hah! Great minds? I'm happy to not be going the usual holset route

Decent M20 turbo manifolds seem hard to come by in general whether it's boost creep issues, flange warping, or cracking. That's the reason I went with the mint performance manifold, they've been a nightmare to work with but I'm real happy with the quality at least.

If the old twinscroll revshift manifolds were still around I may have tried to go that route, but the reduced complexity is nice at least.

[rjmcdermott81]

Progress is looking awesome. You bewsting to RADwood?

[zwill23]

Progress is looking awesome. You bewsting to RADwood?

I wish! GoldE is demanding some time and money at the moment so it's hampering my funds.

Once that's taken care of I'll be back at it!

[Mpolito3355]

Cars looking awesome!! Been reading your build for a while ! And just curious on the manifold where did you source it ???

[zwill23]

Cars looking awesome!! Been reading your build for a while ! And just curious on the manifold where did you source it ???

Thanks!! I ordered the manifold from Mint Performance, it’s a really solid piece. All schedule 10 piping and the design is a lot more compact than others I’ve seen. But dealing with them has been a nightmare, wrong wastegate flange welded on initially, lead times much longer than initial estimates, the owner has been dodging sending me a shipping refund for over a month now over a mistake on their end.

So, just keep that in mind if you decide to place an order. I’m planning on leaving a review with my experience, but want to hold off until I actually get the refund (if I ever do).

[CorvallisBMW]

Just read through this whole thread, awesome work! You've sure come a long way from towing it home. Good luck on the turbo project, it's fun stuff!

[zwill23]

Just read through this whole thread, awesome work! You've sure come a long way from towing it home. Good luck on the turbo project, it's fun stuff!

Thank you! It's had a lot of ups and downs, but I'm most excited about this next chapter