So this is my first forum/thread/post ever so please bare with my noob_ness haha. im 20 and from colorado and bought my e30 a little over a year ago. its my first BMW but ive naturally come to love it! Its a 1990 325is that had a chip and was lowered on H&R springs with no carpet because racecar.
INTRO
this was meant to be a cheap build that was done right. i tried to spend the least amount of money without cutting to many corners. this car is my daily so it needs to be reliable. i used basically all ebay parts and just research! im making this to shed light on the ever growing turbo e30 project and im going to try to shed new light on things that were never mentioned in other forums.
Overview:
godspeed big wheel 20g, ebay exhaust manifold, ebay external gate, ebay FMU, 21lbs injectors, godspeed hks rep BOV, Walbro 255, custom fuel lines with A.N. connectors, Ebay intercooler, Ebay oil lines, AEM Wideband, boost gauge, and i think thats it haha
so this all started when i saw the Tire Punishing E30 video on youtube. he made like 400hp and did it in his garage all by himself. if he can do it, why cant i??
i said "Alright!" after doing some research i found out that E30s have EV1 type injectors and that the ECU can support up to 30lbs injectors. i didnt go with those because i couldnt find any for cheap and because i wanted a double digit gas milage haha. i ended up going with what were advertised as 24lbs but i looked up the product code and according to bosch theyre 21lbs. when i tried to start the car it would BARELY run. it was pig rich! i ended up putting the stock injectors back in and running those. after i got it back up and running after it caught on fire, i put the bigger injectors back in and adjusted the AFM to idle at the right AFM's and whatnot. i found out how to adjust the AFM from this video --- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQukm7lNux4 worked great!
TURBO AND TURBO CHIP
i went with the Godspeed big wheel 20g. after talking with some friends and considering the tire punisher went with it i figured it would be a good choice. spools quick, can push at least 19 lbs, way above what i wanted, and was external gated. i heard very good things about the TCD chip. it doesnt mess with fuel delivery only timing to a boosted power band.
EXHAUST MANIFOLD
the exhaust manifold i got was made for internal gate. so i went to my buddies shop, Power Engine Performance, to have an external flange welded on. the gasket that comes with ebay manifolds are all shit. mine blew within the first week so im going to get some nicer ones and ill let you know where i get them.
so when i started all of this i did the exhaust manifold first. it took me soooo long to get this piece of crap to go on its not even funny. but it wasnt even the manifold that was the problem!!! no one ever mentioned that the damn oil filter gets in the way. so after about 5 hours for thinking that the bolt holes werent lining up i actually took a step back and felt around and sure enough the oil filter was in the way. being the IS it has the thermostat houseing with the oil cooler lines and all.
ROTATING THE OIL FILTER HOUSING
so seeing how the filter was in the way, i googled what people did. it turns out you can rotate the housing!! its a 19mm, (if my memory serves me correctly) that you loosen, and can rotate. i rotated it 90 degrees and have had no problems since.
OIL COOLER PROBLEM
now when i got the manifold on, the oil cooler lines went long enough... i tried capping them off, which is what some people said they did. when i did it the car wouldnt start! i have no clue why, but when i made a closed loop with some braided line, the car started. i just cut stock oil cooler lines right after the 90 degree bend and bet them a bit to get them to clear the headers. then just hose clamped the hose on and havent had a problem. now this is a temporary fix. im getting another oil cooler, and ill figure out a way to make it work with the stock oil cooler lines to thread into the oil filter housing.
OIL PAN
after getting the turbo and headers mounted the oil pan came next. i used this forum for the know how--- http://www.e30performance.info/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=228.
this was very helpful and i didnt run into any issues with it. i got some aluminum piping welded on the front passenger corner basically right above the drain plug.
OIL FEED
at first i tried a sandwich adapter. its a plate that gets put in between the oil filter and the block/housing. that thing was duke and leaked. dont waste your time! so instead i wanted to tee off the oil sending unit. the problem is its a m12-1.5 threading for the oil sending unit, and to get a tee with 1/8 NTP threading is near impossible. i found this site that makes them though! somewhere in the UK but works! when i first tightened it into the block, the opening for the feed line faced the block... so i drilled and taped the side that faced out and just capped the original hole and it works without a hitch. heres the link to get the tee fitting --- http://www.speedograph-richfield.com...ipe_lines.html.
INTERCOOLER
for the intercooler i went with a 27x7x2.5 with 2.5 inlet and outlet. it fit right behind the grill. i cut the brights part of the light bracket out so only half of the light bracket is there. mine were all messed up to begin with so i was happy to do it!! i got piping from a friend who had it to front mount a WRX so i just cut to fit.
FUEL PUMP
Walbro 255 was an easy install. i used this forum--- http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=134915 and it went awesome. my gas tank is dented in from some rallying i decided to do. the car is like 5 inches off the ground, no biggy. anyway i had to pound my gas tank down to get it all to fit. but that went okay.
so once i got this running i was very lean. i wasnt running the fmu at first and had stock injectors in. i couldnt floor it or it would peg lean and fall on its face. so the night i got it running i decided to put the fmu on.
FUEL LINES
As youll find out below, i had an issue with the stock fuel lines and the fmu. i highly highty recommend upgrading your fuel lines. i will find out exactly what the fuel line was called but it works like a Chinese finger trap. once they are on the connector end they dont come off. i was told 2000 psi to get them off!! so i got A.N. connectors and got the threaded ends welded on to the fuel rail, fuel pressure regulator, and fmu. there is somewhere around 150 pounds of fuel pressure being created with the fmu so upgrading the lines is a very very smart investment. i ran new line from the fuel pump all the way to the fuel rail and from the fuel pressure regulator to the fmu. any line that will have pressure behind it. in total it cost me another $150 bucks that could have saved my car... all the lines screw on and are very secure!
FUEL MANAGEMENT UNIT/ FMU
first, to clear the air, you still want to keep the stock fuel pressure regulator this adjusts fuel pressure under vaccuum and you need that hahaha An fmu increases fuel pressure by a certain ratio using vaccum/ boost pressure. it gets put inline with the the fuel return line off the Fuel Pressure Regulator. what it does is restrict the fuel return so the fuel gets backed up increasing the fuel pressure forcing more through the injectors. this one was 12:1. so for every 1 pound of boost it sees it increased fuel pressure by 12psi. so 8 pounds of boost, and additional 96psi of fuel pressure.
THE FIRE.....
well when i put the fmu on i hit 3 pounds at first jut to see afrs. 12.0! perfect!! then the car died. i ended up blowing the fuel pump fuse. so i put a bigger fuse in. i pulled 2nd and 3rd and it moved!! afrs were good. i texted my friend at the stop light down the street and told him it ran great. i turned the the street, the car sputterd and i saw a flash..... slammed on the breaks popped the hood and it was on fire... i had no water, nothing to put it out with so i called 911. about 10 minutes later the truck showed up and put it out. i had pulled the gas cap off to release any fuel pressure that was still built up. before the truck go there a couple cop cars had come to block of the street and what not. it was like 1am so no traffic. i called my parents, we towed it home. and a month later its back and faster than ever!!
I replaced the wiring harness, radiator hoses, timing belt, alternator and power steering belts, cam sensor wire, crank sensor wire, AFM, fpr, fmu. so that is why i pushed the fuel lines earlier!!!
I will post as many pictures as possible and answer as many questions as i can. i will constantly be adding more to this thread and your feed back is much appreciated!!
INTRO
this was meant to be a cheap build that was done right. i tried to spend the least amount of money without cutting to many corners. this car is my daily so it needs to be reliable. i used basically all ebay parts and just research! im making this to shed light on the ever growing turbo e30 project and im going to try to shed new light on things that were never mentioned in other forums.
Overview:
godspeed big wheel 20g, ebay exhaust manifold, ebay external gate, ebay FMU, 21lbs injectors, godspeed hks rep BOV, Walbro 255, custom fuel lines with A.N. connectors, Ebay intercooler, Ebay oil lines, AEM Wideband, boost gauge, and i think thats it haha
so this all started when i saw the Tire Punishing E30 video on youtube. he made like 400hp and did it in his garage all by himself. if he can do it, why cant i??
i said "Alright!" after doing some research i found out that E30s have EV1 type injectors and that the ECU can support up to 30lbs injectors. i didnt go with those because i couldnt find any for cheap and because i wanted a double digit gas milage haha. i ended up going with what were advertised as 24lbs but i looked up the product code and according to bosch theyre 21lbs. when i tried to start the car it would BARELY run. it was pig rich! i ended up putting the stock injectors back in and running those. after i got it back up and running after it caught on fire, i put the bigger injectors back in and adjusted the AFM to idle at the right AFM's and whatnot. i found out how to adjust the AFM from this video --- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQukm7lNux4 worked great!
TURBO AND TURBO CHIP
i went with the Godspeed big wheel 20g. after talking with some friends and considering the tire punisher went with it i figured it would be a good choice. spools quick, can push at least 19 lbs, way above what i wanted, and was external gated. i heard very good things about the TCD chip. it doesnt mess with fuel delivery only timing to a boosted power band.
EXHAUST MANIFOLD
the exhaust manifold i got was made for internal gate. so i went to my buddies shop, Power Engine Performance, to have an external flange welded on. the gasket that comes with ebay manifolds are all shit. mine blew within the first week so im going to get some nicer ones and ill let you know where i get them.
so when i started all of this i did the exhaust manifold first. it took me soooo long to get this piece of crap to go on its not even funny. but it wasnt even the manifold that was the problem!!! no one ever mentioned that the damn oil filter gets in the way. so after about 5 hours for thinking that the bolt holes werent lining up i actually took a step back and felt around and sure enough the oil filter was in the way. being the IS it has the thermostat houseing with the oil cooler lines and all.
ROTATING THE OIL FILTER HOUSING
so seeing how the filter was in the way, i googled what people did. it turns out you can rotate the housing!! its a 19mm, (if my memory serves me correctly) that you loosen, and can rotate. i rotated it 90 degrees and have had no problems since.
OIL COOLER PROBLEM
now when i got the manifold on, the oil cooler lines went long enough... i tried capping them off, which is what some people said they did. when i did it the car wouldnt start! i have no clue why, but when i made a closed loop with some braided line, the car started. i just cut stock oil cooler lines right after the 90 degree bend and bet them a bit to get them to clear the headers. then just hose clamped the hose on and havent had a problem. now this is a temporary fix. im getting another oil cooler, and ill figure out a way to make it work with the stock oil cooler lines to thread into the oil filter housing.
OIL PAN
after getting the turbo and headers mounted the oil pan came next. i used this forum for the know how--- http://www.e30performance.info/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=228.
this was very helpful and i didnt run into any issues with it. i got some aluminum piping welded on the front passenger corner basically right above the drain plug.
OIL FEED
at first i tried a sandwich adapter. its a plate that gets put in between the oil filter and the block/housing. that thing was duke and leaked. dont waste your time! so instead i wanted to tee off the oil sending unit. the problem is its a m12-1.5 threading for the oil sending unit, and to get a tee with 1/8 NTP threading is near impossible. i found this site that makes them though! somewhere in the UK but works! when i first tightened it into the block, the opening for the feed line faced the block... so i drilled and taped the side that faced out and just capped the original hole and it works without a hitch. heres the link to get the tee fitting --- http://www.speedograph-richfield.com...ipe_lines.html.
INTERCOOLER
for the intercooler i went with a 27x7x2.5 with 2.5 inlet and outlet. it fit right behind the grill. i cut the brights part of the light bracket out so only half of the light bracket is there. mine were all messed up to begin with so i was happy to do it!! i got piping from a friend who had it to front mount a WRX so i just cut to fit.
FUEL PUMP
Walbro 255 was an easy install. i used this forum--- http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=134915 and it went awesome. my gas tank is dented in from some rallying i decided to do. the car is like 5 inches off the ground, no biggy. anyway i had to pound my gas tank down to get it all to fit. but that went okay.
so once i got this running i was very lean. i wasnt running the fmu at first and had stock injectors in. i couldnt floor it or it would peg lean and fall on its face. so the night i got it running i decided to put the fmu on.
FUEL LINES
As youll find out below, i had an issue with the stock fuel lines and the fmu. i highly highty recommend upgrading your fuel lines. i will find out exactly what the fuel line was called but it works like a Chinese finger trap. once they are on the connector end they dont come off. i was told 2000 psi to get them off!! so i got A.N. connectors and got the threaded ends welded on to the fuel rail, fuel pressure regulator, and fmu. there is somewhere around 150 pounds of fuel pressure being created with the fmu so upgrading the lines is a very very smart investment. i ran new line from the fuel pump all the way to the fuel rail and from the fuel pressure regulator to the fmu. any line that will have pressure behind it. in total it cost me another $150 bucks that could have saved my car... all the lines screw on and are very secure!
FUEL MANAGEMENT UNIT/ FMU
first, to clear the air, you still want to keep the stock fuel pressure regulator this adjusts fuel pressure under vaccuum and you need that hahaha An fmu increases fuel pressure by a certain ratio using vaccum/ boost pressure. it gets put inline with the the fuel return line off the Fuel Pressure Regulator. what it does is restrict the fuel return so the fuel gets backed up increasing the fuel pressure forcing more through the injectors. this one was 12:1. so for every 1 pound of boost it sees it increased fuel pressure by 12psi. so 8 pounds of boost, and additional 96psi of fuel pressure.
THE FIRE.....
well when i put the fmu on i hit 3 pounds at first jut to see afrs. 12.0! perfect!! then the car died. i ended up blowing the fuel pump fuse. so i put a bigger fuse in. i pulled 2nd and 3rd and it moved!! afrs were good. i texted my friend at the stop light down the street and told him it ran great. i turned the the street, the car sputterd and i saw a flash..... slammed on the breaks popped the hood and it was on fire... i had no water, nothing to put it out with so i called 911. about 10 minutes later the truck showed up and put it out. i had pulled the gas cap off to release any fuel pressure that was still built up. before the truck go there a couple cop cars had come to block of the street and what not. it was like 1am so no traffic. i called my parents, we towed it home. and a month later its back and faster than ever!!
I replaced the wiring harness, radiator hoses, timing belt, alternator and power steering belts, cam sensor wire, crank sensor wire, AFM, fpr, fmu. so that is why i pushed the fuel lines earlier!!!
I will post as many pictures as possible and answer as many questions as i can. i will constantly be adding more to this thread and your feed back is much appreciated!!
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