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

[Panici]

Radiator Hoses, Wheel Bearings, Tie Rod Ends




Swapped out my cobbled together radiator hoses for two of the Gates 21794 which I cut to fit.
I also got a much better bleed on the system; It's no longer riding the SPAL fan for dear life to stay cool!

Changed my front wheel bearings on both sides, passenger side was starting to get loud, but they both needed to be done.
Still waiting on new front axle nuts and bearing caps (in the mail).

Bought some E36 outer tie rods, which let me switch to the brand new E36 inner tie rods that came with my Z3 steering rack. Along with the new wheel bearings and an eyeballed alignment the front end feels nice and planted now.

Still working on my tune as well. Started to dial some timing back into the map, and working on leaning out the cruise areas for fuel economy.


















Bonus picture of the Miata from the other night.

[econti]

Fitment is so juicy, love it

[Albie325]

I can't remember, are you running wheel spacers or are those just stock euroweaves?

[Panici]

Fitment is so juicy, love it

Thanks! The tall 15" tire sidewalls definitely adds to the ride comfort compared to larger wheel setups.

I can't remember, are you running wheel spacers or are those just stock euroweaves?

Currently running 5mm front and 15mm rear spacers with the Euroweaves.

I have played around with a set of 10mm but they looked a bit too wide in the front.
Could probably get away with 20mm rears but I don't have a set to test with.

[Panici]

Wheel Testing, Intake Air Temp, Altitude Changes



Driver's side BECK/ARNLEY brand hub/wheel bearing stripped a lug bolt hole on the first wheel change.
Attempting to return to Rockauto, meanwhile have bought and installed a MOOG replacement.


Test fit a set of ROH Eurosport 15x7 wheels. Will be using these for the Miata, but wanted to see how they looked on the E30.
Tires are too small (honda fitment) so it throws off the whole wheel gap situation, and I didn't have big enough wheel spacers to get them sitting nicely relative to the fenders.
The look certainly is different (not sure if I like it or not) but I've already taken the wheels back off.











Noticed both heat soak and very slow response from the OEM OBD2 MAT/IAT sensor, so I installed a GM Open Element IAT sensor.
This new sensor made me aware that I was running 140F intake air temperatures.

Given this tuning opportunity, I set up my MAT-Based Timing Retard table to pull some ignition if intake temps get too hot.
Starts pulling timing at 130F (1°), and by 180F is pulling 6°.


After some experimenting I found that the filter was sucking hot air right off the back of the radiator.


Since I'm not running a hood right now, I swiveled the intake tube to get the filter up into clean air.
Used some spare parts from the E39 M52 intake boot to make the IAC hose connect up properly.
This brought my intake temps down to ~90F.

That 50F drop in IATs (and corresponding increase in air density) equated to 5% more fuel once I tuned my MAT Air Density table.
Obviously this isn't a permanent addition to the car, but it's fun for now!









Tuning is coming along nicely, I have my fuel map close to perfect now.
Tried adding in some more timing, and was getting near the Pazi88 timing basemap.
Car pulled hard, but I have backed off the timing again for now to be on the safe side.
Trying to get better data from my Knock sensors, have ordered an electronic mechanics stethoscope which I plan to modify into a set of det cans.
This will be another tool to help get the timing dialed in.

I've got a rough configuration in my AFR safety system. This shuts things down if the motor goes too lean under power.
Usually used for boosted applications, but doesn't hurt to have for N/A.


Went to visit my friend Jeremy to ride some dirtbikes, and took the E30 on its maiden long-distance trip with the new motor.
About 2.5h of driving each way, and I only ran into issues when going up in elevation.
Saw 15 on my AFR gauge when cruising, and busted out my laptop to add some fuel to the whole table.

I found out later that due to the way the MS3X calculates fueling with the single MAP sensor, the car leans out when going up in altitude.
I've since ordered a dual MAP sensor mod for the ECU (dubbed Mapdaddy) that can measure ambient pressure, so you can tune the ECU to compensate accordingly.
This mod also upgrades my main MAP sensor from 2.5bar to 4bar, which gives plenty of sensor headroom when I turbocharge.

I was impressed with my average fuel economy of 9.2L/100km (25.5MPG) on the trip, considering I wasn't driving for economy.
That's markedly better then the M20B25 with the Dinan chip I was running previously.
Since I had the laptop out it was kind of cheating, as I was able to lean the cruise out on the fly.


Car sat overnight in a rainstorm with the hood off (covered the air filter).
On the drive home the clutch engagement point was noticeably closer to the floor, so I thought I got water or air into the system somehow.
Once I got safely home and into the garage, I tried pulling the clutch up with my toe, and now it seems to be operating normally with the usual engagement point.


Jeremy 3D printed me a vent gauge pod, and I moved my wideband gauge. Much better spot for it here compared to the ashtray.
I'm not sold on the aesthetics, but it works for now.

[2mAn]

Are you going to make a heat shield in the engine bay for the intake, or are you going to just ignore it until you turbocharge it?

[Panici]

Driving, Tuning, M50b25 Manifold


Have been enjoying driving & tuning the car. Wired in my speedo to the ECU, so now I have gear detection.
This let me set up some trick features like a leaner AFR map when in 5th gear and under 30% throttle for fuel economy.

Also hijacked the ebrake wiring, using the dash light as an output from the MS3X, and the switch as an input (activates on two clicks up, before the ebrake shoes engage). Currently configured to change my spark map to one without overrun burble.

Swapped in an M50b25 manifold. First attempted to use an M50b20 manifold unknowingly (seller didn't know either apparently). Lucked out and found an M50b25 manifold local-ish and repeated all the tweaks needed to fit it. Made my own bracket and vac hoses, which surprisingly don't leak, except for where they connect to the manifold (common issue).
Just turned down the idle valve duty and that sorted the problem.
Deleted the traction control throttle body.

Also installed the dual MAP sensor mod in the ECU for altitude compensation.



I'm not finished tuning for the M50 manifold yet, but here are my VE table changes so far. You can clearly see where it lost power in the midrange, but gained a whole bunch up top!

[Panici]

Rear Ended Yesterday...

Parked at the side of a quiet side street. Sitting in the car tuning the ECU for altitude compensation.
Rear ended by a lady not paying attention.


As you can see in the pics the pillar is tweaked a little. Opposite side popout window also doesn't open without forcing it.
Car seemed to drive straight around town at least...


Would be very surprised if insurance doesn't total the car out. This may be the end of this thread :(
Still waiting to hear from my claims adjuster.

Was in the ER until 3am, I checked out OK physically, with a sore neck and back.
Emotionally I am obviously distraught. Six years of careful work destroyed in an instant.


I will save the car if I can.

[2mAn]

[mike.bmw]

Ugh. I'm so sorry to see this happened. Glad you're OK (physically at least).

[Sh3rpak!ng]

ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh so sorry for your loss here. Don't give up. Find another chassis and swap over. You've done some solid work and made a great collection of parts.

[Northern]

This is terrible news. Fingers crossed it isn't totalled out. Definitely fight for it, I imagine it's reasonable that the right shop could repair this.

[MR E30 325is]

Fack!

That is devastating news Panici.

I remember tuning into this thread years and years ago. Just finished reading from where I left off. An unfortunate surprise at the end here.

=(

[varg]

Damn, sorry to see this. A few years ago my buddy's car was totaled by similar damage, thought he rear of the wheel arch was touching the tire. Your car is nicer than his was, and values have continued to climb, so hopefully not.

[gnmzl]

Oh no .... that's horrific news, so sorry this happened to you. I really really really hope they don't total it out and the right shop will be able to repair it.
Glad you weren't injured though!