Panici's '87 325is E30 - Boosted In Bronze

[JasonWilson48]

I think I have the itch for boost. S52 is plenty of fun to get in trouble, but I think once I get my current car in a good spot with all the small things buttoned up... I'm either going to look for another chassis and M50 to throw in it, or go away from the E30 chassis for something else I could boost on a budget, while I'm learning how it all works. Until then, I'll just keep wringing out the S52 and sending it. Done so much work to this car the past winter, I need to slow down and enjoy it for a bit lol.

[Panici]

I think I have the itch for boost. S52 is plenty of fun to get in trouble, but I think once I get my current car in a good spot with all the small things buttoned up... I'm either going to look for another chassis and M50 to throw in it, or go away from the E30 chassis for something else I could boost on a budget, while I'm learning how it all works. Until then, I'll just keep wringing out the S52 and sending it. Done so much work to this car the past winter, I need to slow down and enjoy it for a bit lol.

Depends on what you want to do with the car. The E30 is capable, but won't compare to something newer around the track (for example).

Definitely take the time to drive and enjoy it. I haven't done that enough with my E30 since it was painted.
Took on too many cars/motorcycles at once!

[JasonWilson48]

Yeah, the one main thing that is never going to change is availability. E30 chassis and parts are ever dwindling.

I think I want to own a 135i big single turbo eventually. You can find E87 chassis all over the place for dirt cheap. And parts are still pretty available. The engine just becomes the big question of reliability. I don't know.

My goal is still a streetable car for backroads. Not daily driver, but not racecar. I don't want a full track build.

I've talked about the other turbo car I want to own in another thread. A fiesta ST, and throw a bigger turbo on it. Similar availability as the E87 chassis, but maybe even less were sold.

I think the ultimate cheap chassis right now is the E90. They are pretty bloated, but there are so god many parts cars out there, that you wouldn't have to worry about price hikes for a decade or so probably. An 335i sedan with a 6 speed could be the move

[Panici]

Took friday off work and got about 3 hours of wrenching in!
Felt good to get back into it.

Trimmed the T4 flange back as much as possible. If I was doing this turbo kit from scratch I would have used a v-band 100%.
As much as it pains me to say, the rest will have to self clearance.

Cleaned up the mounting surfaces a bit with a flat block and sandpaper. You can see where the high spots got knocked down some.
Didn't spend too much time on this as the turbo sealed fine before, and I'm using an MLS Vibrant 1442G gasket.

Installed the jetfighter compressor housing and got the turbo buttoned back up.
Still need to install the blanket and air filter.

Also chopped up the CBR 125r rear fender this morning. No fender eliminator kits for this bike.
Can still cut more but decided to keep the original turn signals and reflectors for now.

[varg]

I know the feeling. I hated having to cut a bracket off of my E34's strut tower and pound on it with a hammer to provide clearance for the turbo. If I didn't have solid UHMW engine mounts it would still have contacted.

[2mAn]

...As much as it pains me to say, the rest will have to self clearance...

Hope its not too much of a pain... That shiny paint looks great right now

[BadDays]

This is coming along amazingly! It reminds me of "ImJoel" Turbo M50 Build from Youtube.

[Panici]

First fireup in two years!:

• Extended fuel return line to drain two year old gas into a 5L jerry can.
  • 6 feet of Gates fuel line costs over $50cad now. 💀
  • Old fuel had Stabil 360 Marine but I didn't want to take a chance, since all gasoline here has Ethanol now.
  • Cycled the fuel pump from the laptop. MS3X Test Mode screen is pretty handy!
  • Got 7-8 cans out of there and into the Mercury daily driver.

• Eliminated extra fitting on return side of fuel rail that was previously used for pressure gauge.
  • Less failure points and more clearance to remove oil filter housing.

• Found no spark on Cyl #5.
  • Was fine when parked.
  • Turns out that channel is bad on the #2 Quadspark module.
  • Swapped to spare channel and verified spark in Test Mode.
  • Had to drop the glovebox and part of the harness to troubleshoot and make the change. Still need to button things up.

• Changed the oil with Rotella T6 15w40.
  • Only bought 5L for whatever reason but it was enough to fire it up while the engine was still warm.
  • Need to buy more oil for the additional 1.5L

• Found an exhaust leak on the vband turbo outlet to downpipe.
  • Have the car on jackstands now, will have to loosen the downstream clamp and see if I can get things lined up better.

• Found the turbo oil feed line is just starting to fray through the outer jacket near the oil filter housing. Need to address before I drive the car.

• Going to need to do some retuning for the 93 (with ethanol) gas.
  • I previously wrote this tune on E0 91 octane.
  • Specifically I want to address the idle fueling, vanos at idle, add closed loop IAC valve control, and perhaps add some timing across the map for the extra octane.

Some free revs in the video below. Sounds good so far!

https://youtu.be/cqrk1a-kDe4?si=aEuf_y8L4z4ierEY