M42 Turbo Build (Semi Budget, keepng AC!) No 56k

[Schnitzer318is]

How is you boost controller spliced in?

Bottom vacuum line is input from the turbo housing. Side vacuum line is the output reference for the wastegate actuator.

How'd you mount that? Looks super clean!

Thank you. It's a friction fit, I made it so it's tight. I might go back in and use some very thin and small pieces of double sided adhesive... but really it never moves so I may just leave it as is.

[dude8383]

Thank you. It's a friction fit, I made it so it's tight. I might go back in and use some very thin and small pieces of double sided adhesive... but really it never moves so I may just leave it as is.

Oh, damn thats great fitment for a friction fit!! Where did you pick your's up? I purchased mine of ebay and the fitment is decent but I had to drill to small holes in it to screw it to the ashtray :(

[Schnitzer318is]

I made it

Made it from MDF. Was going to use some fiberglass to tilt the gauges towards the driver but visibility was fine so I decided not to.

[dude8383]

Made it from MDF. Was going to use some fiberglass to tilt the gauges towards the driver but visibility was fine so I decided not to.

DOH! I read it wrong, thought that you bought it and made IT fit.

Pretty cool. How thick was the mdf?

[Schnitzer318is]

DOH! I read it wrong, thought that you bought it and made IT fit.

Pretty cool. How thick was the mdf?

1/4"... super easy to make. Just make a template out of cardboard and then transfer to the MDF. I was thinking about ordering some carbon fiber as these would be super easy to make.

[dude8383]

1/4"... super easy to make. Just make a template out of cardboard and then transfer to the MDF. I was thinking about ordering some carbon fiber as these would be super easy to make.

Yep, mdf is great to work with. Did you trim the console at all in order for the gauge wiring to fit?

[Schnitzer318is]

^Yes, I had to trim the console quite a bit. I think I cut a rectangle about 4" wide by 8" long. I have extra consoles, and I like the gauges down there... so I didn't worry about ruining a console.

[BUDNUNTA]

Only problem I have is you have to look down to see the guages
I think in the vents is best
Looks good though, get that thing to the dyno

[Schnitzer318is]

Only problem I have is you have to look down to see the guages
I think in the vents is best
Looks good though, get that thing to the dyno

I agree... but with keeping AC in the Texas heat (today was 100+) I can't block any of the vents. The 3 that I have there I don't have to look at them all the time anyway... only when tuning really.

[Danny]

Most excellent sir!

[The Humjet]

I know it's been a couple months since someone has last posted on this thread but I thought it would be good to revive this thread. I have been reading every single word of it and it has inspired me to put a turbo on my 318 which I hope to do sometime next year. I've planned out my setup but my main worry is tuning. I've been looking into Megasquirt, it has looks interesting as it has most of the standalone ECU features at a reasonable price.

BTW this will be my first turbo project and nearly all my friends think I'm crazy to take on a project like this by myself in my garage since they only believe that they should leave their cars in the hands of a professional even for an oil change, which to me is silly as I don't want to pay labour prices for the rest of my life and like to learn to work on cars while i'm young and if I screw up then i'll call up my friend who is a mechanic and he can help me fix up the problem.

Anyway back to the topic, My questions are:
How hard was it to setup the MS, is it a plug 'n' play style ECU or is there a lot of modifying needed to be done to the harness which can cause a headache? How hard is it to tune? and which model should I opt for?

[Schnitzer318is]

How hard was it to setup the MS, is it a plug 'n' play style ECU or is there a lot of modifying needed to be done to the harness which can cause a headache? How hard is it to tune? and which model should I opt for?

Thanks for the compliments. I really enjoy driving this car... it's my daily so don't let reliability issues scare you. If you do the install correctly, you won't have problems. I need to get this thing to the dyno badly, especially with the colder weather here now.

As for your questions, you can buy MS units as a Plug n play setup for the m42 harness. This means no cutting at all, and VERY minor wiring... like your AIT sensor, your wideband input, etc. The management unit literally took 20 minutes to install.

Tuning will, at first, suck something fierce. I can provide you with a base tune to give you a head start and then you just keep tinkering until you know what all the adjustments do and how they interact with each other. Read all the MS documentation at least 3 times before starting, and then again while working.

As for which version to get. Get the latest version you can afford. I am running MS1... and wish I had MS2 or 3 for the extra tunability. This will allow you to really dial the car in and get it running basically like stock, but with all the power of the turbo.

Hope that answers your questions... let me know if you have any others. First tip: have all the parts that you think you will need ready before starting. Small things will come up... but that's to be expected. Have another car ready as an "in the meantime" mode of transport. Good luck!!!

Turbo m42's are soooooooooooo much fun... :pimp:

[The Humjet]

Just like you my car is also my daily driver so i'm at the parts collecting stage so the car isn't taken off the for too long and i'll probably have to do it during the school holidays and get my mates to dive me around since they owe me a lot of drives anyway.

Your info on megasquirt has given me relief and set my turbo project idea in concrete now that setting up megasquirt isn't as hard as it used to be a few years back. All I have to worry about is spending time on the laptop and keep tuning.

I love how clean the install has been and good to see the wife getting involved and I hope it continues to go well for you.
Hate to nag but please put some videos up youtube I wanna here that turbo spool up. And keep us updated with dyno tune. My guess is about 210whp.

[gearheadE30]

Megasquirt really isn't that bad if you have time, patience, and can teach yourself. And definitely spring for MSII if you can; it is far more adaptable.

[The Humjet]

Cool where would be the best place to get a fully assembled megasquirt II ECU, I noticed in the early photos that you purchased from DTM, were they good in terms of customer service? And that manifold do you reackon it could work on RHD E30's as i'm planning to use the same manifold (M50 with the last to cylinders cut off). Some say 666 fab will work but thats just out of the question as I don't want to pay that price and then ship it here.