SNAFU; high performance 318is build that lives up to the name, Turbo M42 ➞ Turbo M20

[Pat-325]

I'm always wondering why you put inlet pipes like that?
Especially this left one - it's very low. And you got quite long route from turbo to throttle body. Short one will get some spool improvements and quicker throttle response.

[varg]

After taking a couple of photos of my car today I finally got sick enough of the valence to provoke me to do I what I initially didn't want to. I hacked up my brake ducts so they fit around the intercooler pipes. It does look a lot better. I might spray paint them black where they are exposed. They're ziptied at the bottom until I find a better way to make sure they don't get lost, they're only held in by one clip each because the other one just won't fit with the interference from the pipes.

A steering rack is definitely on my list of upgrades. Please get that front bumper fixed, it really detracts from the front of the car :hitler:

I don't like it either, but bumpers are pricey and cosmetics are last on the list of priorities for my car. I still have to get new power steering and AC lines to get my car ready for the upcoming oppressive humidity, and I'm going to need new tires by the end of the year. I also need to either remove and wirewheel then paint my sunroof panel or find a new one because it has rusted quite badly, and I don't want any holes forming.

Awesome upgrade. I did the exact same. Found a 1997 Z3 and snagged it even though I already had a z3 rack I purchased off Ebay (eventually sold it on here). You won't be disappointed with that upgrade at all. Well, it may feel a little bit more 'nervous', but that's it.

If it's still there, you may go back and get the cross brace off the z3 too (came on both M3's and Z3's). You can install rivnuts on your framerails to install it on the e30 chassis. The front part bolts right up to your subframe. It does hang lower than the aftermarket cross braces, but since your car isn't lowered, this shouldn't be an issue.
...
It absolutely adds extra ridigity to my front end.

Too late :(, I'm sure it's gone by now and I'm not planning on going back any time soon, very busy. I don't think I'd find the time to do that installation any time soon. I still have to do a diff swap, replace the lines to get my AC working and get an alignment because the car wanders and follows ruts more than it did before. I'm wondering if the Z3 rack was of slightly different width and caused my car to have more toe out.

[badwella]

Awesome upgrade. I did the exact same. Found a 1997 Z3 and snagged it even though I already had a z3 rack I purchased off Ebay (eventually sold it on here). You won't be disappointed with that upgrade at all. Well, it may feel a little bit more 'nervous', but that's it.

If it's still there, you may go back and get the cross brace off the z3 too (came on both M3's and Z3's). You can install rivnuts on your framerails to install it on the e30 chassis. The front part bolts right up to your subframe. It does hang lower than the aftermarket cross braces, but since your car isn't lowered, this shouldn't be an issue.




I have about 4" clearance to the ground (hard to tell due to glare though).

It absolutely adds extra ridigity to my front end.

[2mAn]

A steering rack is definitely on my list of upgrades. Please get that front bumper fixed, it really detracts from the front of the car :hitler:

[varg]

I've had some rough luck with this car over the past few years, last year my trailing arm bushings, which aren't supposed to need lubrication, started squeaking intermittently. Now it is constant and loud, and has been driving me nuts. I am really dreading having to pull them, what a huge pain in the ass that will be.

But I finally caught a lucky break this week. I checked the inventory at one of the local junkyards and saw that a 1996 Z3 arrived on the 4th, I had some time so I headed out right away hoping to grab the steering rack. When I showed up, as luck would have it, the car was a 4 cylinder and the rack was still there. It came out with hardly any fight aside from the left tie rod and I was in and out in an hour and a half or so.





A quick turn test at the junkyard and a look at the number plate confirmed it is the good one. 2.7 turns lock to lock, for $50! Can't beat that. It doesn't appear to be leaky or worn out either. I installed it yesterday and the difference is monumental. Stock E30 steering racks belong on an old American car, they don't fit the spirit of the E30 at all and are one of the places where BMW dropped the ball on these cars. Now my car steers like it should, like the sharp and quick sport coupe I've turned it into. My handling package is complete. The biggest difference is on initial turn in, the response is sharp and accurate, and no more turning the steering wheel 45 degrees for a slight bend in the road. Now I need to take some days off and do a few autocrosses to familiarize myself with my radically changed (since last autocross) car and try to git gud.

[varg]

Removed my fog lights today.



The black doesn't match the "black" of my beat up valance, I don't really care though. Next step is to block off the brake duct holes. I'm probably going to order some sheets of black kydex and try making some blanks out of it. My car is looking seriously rough from the front, needs a new bumper.

This is a quick photoshop of what I have in mind with the brake duct blanks and repainting the valence so the blanks don't look so conspicuous.

Congrats on getting the m20 in there, your setup looks like fun. I'm diggin that oil cap!

You wanna come tune mine?? haha

You know how people usually say "wrong coast?"
For this it's "wrong corner!" :D

[cleanasse30]

Congrats on getting the m20 in there, your setup looks like fun. I'm diggin that oil cap!

You wanna come tune mine?? haha

[ngampleh]

nice write up...!

[varg]

good info, i wonder how much power you could pull out of an n/a m42 with ms2. trying to keep myself from spending lots of money on mine!

You'd be lucky to make 125whp. If you don't want to spend lots of money a wet nitrous kit is an option, or dry nitrous and megasquirt.

[downforce22]

good info, i wonder how much power you could pull out of an n/a m42 with ms2. trying to keep myself from spending lots of money on mine!

[varg]

Hey, this topic is a mine of gold, great job dude, that E30 looks great!

Thanks.

I'm working on a E36 (M42B18) MegaSquirt II project and I have a few questions, hope you can help me with them

Sure. My megasquirt setup looked complicated with all of the extra wiring, but it was just a regular MS2 kit with 3 additional coil drivers, a zeal daughterboard and a boost control circuit. The regular MS2 VR circuit worked fine for my crank trigger with no modifications and minimal tweaking of the potentiometer, the cam VR sensor was handled by the Zeal daughterboard. The tach is driven directly off of the tach input on the MS, no additional circuitry necessary, I'm guessing the E36 tach would be the same. The ignition setup was pretty straightforward, there were no problems or traps, below are the ignition settings I used. Note that I had a coil-on-plug conversion on my M42, dwell times are appropriate for the M52 coils but I cannot speak for a regular M42 coil pack. Good luck, and let me know if you have any questions. If you have a build thread link me to it, turbo M42s are rare here, it will be neat to see one on the other side of the ocean.

damn it looks mean.

Thanks, the exposed intercooler and piping changed the look a lot. It's not much of a sleeper anymore if you look at it from the front unfortunately. I'm going to remove the fog lights and blank them, then find a clean way to block off the brake duct holes. I'm hoping to eventually replace the valance with either an early 'is' valance (see: http://i2.tinypic.com/qs8t1l.jpg also pretty sure it that would not fit with my intercooler) or an Alpina-style valance. I like how the early 'is' valances jut out like a plow, and the deep air ducts, but I also like the peaked, inward slant of the Aplina valance.

[Sinfreu]

Hey, this topic is a mine of gold, great job dude, that E30 looks great!

I'm working on a E36 (M42B18) MegaSquirt II project and I have a few questions, hope you can help me with them

Did you install any additional resistence in the VR (cam and crank) circuits? I've read that in some BMW engines these are needed so the MS processor is provided with a good signal, without noise.

OEM tach is compatible with MS?

Do you remember any trouble while setting spark/ignition stuff (dwell, spark time...)?

¿Something to take special care with?



Thanks and greetings from Spain! ;)

[Northern]

damn it looks mean.

[varg]

[AbsorbantNut]

If you haven't heard a field of spec E30 cars I'd describe the sound as like a flock of civics which have been blessed with two extra cylinders each, or many, many bees.

Oh my god