89 325is turbo revival/rebuild

[Ginsterman98]

So I picked up a little project car locally. took a 5 year break from E30's, but I am ready for another. I am not new to FI though, this is my fourth turbo car and the first I bought already turbo. Glad I found this site and hope to contribute my humble knowledge to the community. I just enjoy the process of making something your own. I am always open to others views on what works or dosen't. This is my first turbo BMW. Hope you enjoy the process as much as I do.

About me:
I am 29 with a beautiful wife and two sons (4 and 2). We are a German car family and have always owned VW's or E30's. I am in the USAF and have been since 05. I got my first E30 when I was 17.

Mission:
Take this E30 to the next level and enjoy the shit out of it. I really am into drag racing, so that is the intended outcome of this project.

Basic run down:
1989 325is Turbo
CXracing turbo kit
3 inch turbo back, Vibrant muffler.
Motor has been gone through and was rebuilt by the shop that built the car. I pulled the head to verify the engines condition and it has been re ringed and had a valve job done.

Pros:
No major rust.
Striaght body.
No issues with engine, trans or diff.

Cons:
Crap SEM (Go Tech ProX).
Needs a driveshaft (bad u joint).
Needs timing belt/water pump service.
Needs a detial bad.
4x4 staus.
Buck tooth IC.

Plans:
New SEM (VEMS).
630's.
PTE turbo (Yet to be chosen).
Lower it and stiffen the rear suspension.
Water meth.
Get it up to 1 bar+ because anything lower is boring, lol.

Immediate plans:
Front wheel bearings.
Timing belt/ water pump service.
Adjust the valves.
Remove the AC crap.
Clean, clean and clean.

The pics:
Buck tooth!
















Here are some pics of my VW.







Anyway, thanks for stopping by and let me know what you guys think.

[Zacm829]

Welcome,

Car looks pretty good for a CX kit, nothing that cant be fixed. I agree under 1 bar is boring, once you go above nothing will satisfy the craving!

[Vivek]

Wow, florida seems to be the place to be for FI. I couldn't drive down the street in that over here without getting pulled over. How much are you going to change the turbo setup? It's odd that someone would fully rebuild an engine and use an ebay turbo setup.

[Ginsterman98]

Welcome,



Car looks pretty good for a CX kit, nothing that cant be fixed. I agree under 1 bar is boring, once you go above nothing will satisfy the craving!

Thanks man. What can I say, I am a sucker for 12V's with turbos.

Wow, florida seems to be the place to be for FI. I couldn't drive down the street in that over here without getting pulled over. How much are you going to change the turbo setup? It's odd that someone would fully rebuild an engine and use an ebay turbo setup.

I was not fully redone, more of a freshen up with new seals and bearings. Head was also gone through, it appears to have had a valve job done and new valve seals put in.

I plan to use this turbo until it starts pushing hot air or fails. I am going to keep the base kit, but it will get totally rewired for VEMS with nice things like a TPS, ICV and a good IAT sensor which it lacks right now. Car currently runs off the CPS and MAP sensors. Runs pretty good for .5 bar though. No emmissions or inspection in FL.

[AbsorbantNut]

Where are you located in Florida?

[Ginsterman98]

Where are you located in Florida?

Panama City

[AbsorbantNut]

Damn, you should bring this thing to some NASA events sometime ;)

[325ix]

A little rough around the edges but, it has potential. I kinda want to try an ebay kit on my car and see how long it takes to pop the engine.

[Ginsterman98]

Damn, you should bring this thing to some NASA events sometime ;)

I might once its all sorted, thanks!

A little rough around the edges but, it has potential. I kinda want to try an ebay kit on my car and see how long it takes to pop the engine.

If you spend the money in the right place, management and tuning, it would be fine.

A bit of an update. Ordered new SI batteries and ODO gears. E30 rite of passage, right? Since my title says mileage exempt, which constitutes mileage disclosure, I decided to reset it back to new.:D

[Ginsterman98]

Si Batteries, gears and driveshaft should be here by friday. Will update with pics when it goes back together.

[RawToast]

I like your style, and if I was in FL I'd detail your car in a heart beat in exchange for a chat on how the eBay turbo kit runs. I have a couple questions:

1. What fuel management system is it currently running on?
2. Do you have wideband / any gauges?

[Ginsterman98]

Car came with GoTech ProX EMS, which is garbage. That being said, it has a decent tune on it. Car did not have a boost or WB gauge in it when I got it. It has a WB now for the time being.

[RawToast]

Car came with GoTech ProX EMS, which is garbage. That being said, it has a decent tune on it. Car did not have a boost or WB gauge in it when I got it. It has a WB now for the time being.

Impressive 1/4 mile with the VW in your sig.

I'm only asking all these questions because I'm thinking about doing a Miller WAR set up (chip w/ usb so you can download tunes and store up to 4 at a time, switching simultaneously between them) and then grabbing an eBay kit and swapping the turbo out.

[einstein57]

Don't forget to add clutch to the list if your planning on going above 10psi.

[Ginsterman98]

Impressive 1/4 mile with the VW in your sig.

I'm only asking all these questions because I'm thinking about doing a Miller WAR set up (chip w/ usb so you can download tunes and store up to 4 at a time, switching simultaneously between them) and then grabbing an eBay kit and swapping the turbo out.

Well, thank you. I was quite proud of that car, but it was to rusty. Don't be afraid to go standalone. You could have a PnP MS setup for that kind of money.

Don't forget to add clutch to the list if your planning on going above 10psi.

If you are referring to my car it has a sprung six puck ceramic disk in it already. Forgot to mention that. I believe its this one.

http://f1racingclutchsystem.com/products/stg3.html

Never heard of them, I like Clutchnet myself.