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

[efficient]

Any new updates on this car?

I usually don't care for m42 cars but for some reason I like that you move fast when you do stuff to your car.

[varg]

I'm not sure. Looks to be around the same size to me, but I don't have them side by side and can't measure mine.

[SkiFree]

I was just looking at that pump, thanks for putting up a couple pictures.

Is the pickup sock connection the same as on the Walbro pump?

[varg]

Looking crazy and awesome. You have to love being in school

Thanks. Being in school sucks though. I have less free time than people who just work and a lot less money. Can't wait to be done with it.

I like how you went balls deep from the get-go on this build. coming together nicely

Thanks! That was no accident, I bought this car with the specific intention of turbocharging it and making it into a fast, fun DD.


Forgot about this before. I upgraded my fuel pump at the beginning of October. It just wouldn't start in my driveway one day (excellent luck) and I wasn't getting any fuel. I pulled the fuel pump assembly out and immediately the problem was clear; the solder joint where the wiring for the pump meets the terminals was broken, the pump was still good. I had already overnighted a Deatschwerks fuel pump though, so I installed it.



As you can see, it's pretty much a drop in replacement for a stock fuel pump. I like these Deatschwerks pumps, they have a much better warranty than Walbro and are reasonably priced. This one is rated at 255lph@40psi, way more fuel than I'll ever need. They are pretty quiet though, so no cool race car noises.



After I did this upgrade, I had a feeling I might need to re-tune a little bit because I figured I was pushing the limits of the stock pump, and I was right. I had to decrease the values in my fuel table by around 8% at max boost, showing that I was definitely encountering a lack of flow which was making longer injector pulsewidths necessary.

[Julien]

I like how you went balls deep from the get-go on this build. coming together nicely

[Resurrector27]

Looking crazy and awesome. You have to love being in school

[vandy]

Thanks for the updates! Great work and a great project.

[varg]

Went to some meets.






Repaired and installed a smaller (.48AR) turbine housing, which doesn't have a funny Volvo flange, for better spool and less leaks.




Unfortunately this only temporarily fixed the leak at the turbo flange, I'm going to have to take the manifold off and run the flange on the belt sander to flatten it out.

I also undid the PO's de-badging. It took forever to find a 318is badge.



Still enjoying the hell out of my new suspension, and really looking forward to another autocross.

[varg]

That coil over setup is looking good. It probably handles better than my current ground control stuff since I have wayyyyy to stiff springs and I cut my from strut housings wayyyy too low. I would say save up and eventually buy yourself some GC camber plates and you're golden!

Car is looking really good man! I'm mad jealous of the A/C too, but I guess I can live without mine since I'm up in NY.

Bummer about your suspension. I'm not a fan of low so I wasn't going to do a setup that required cutting of the strut housings. The lowest I might go is 1-1.5" lower than stock, but not with my exhaust hanging down like it does (needs re-fitting, to do this right I'm going to have to put it on a lift) and not with an M42 oil pan.

AC isn't hard to fix, just requires patience and a couple of special tools. Do it! Just make a vacuum pump from a windowshaker or a refrigerator like I did.

I like this thread. Keep up the good work

Thanks :up:

Which konis did you end up going with? the fronts look like 1210's but are those 2641 SPORTs compress to adjust or top adjust? They should be compress, but it's hard to tell from the pic.

Do you have anything centering the top of the rear spring on the perch?

Fronts are 1210 and rears are 2641. Couldn't afford top adjust for the rear, if I had that kind of money I would've gone with the full GC setup. As for the rear springs I was going to drill the poly spring hats that came with the Honda kit to squeeze over the rear spring retaining cone but I didn't have a bit large enough. I'll get to it.

[Northern]

Which konis did you end up going with? the fronts look like 1210's but are those 2641 SPORTs compress to adjust or top adjust? They should be compress, but it's hard to tell from the pic.



Do you have anything centering the top of the rear spring on the perch?

[efficient]

I like this thread. Keep up the good work

[ccsdo5]

That coil over setup is looking good. It probably handles better than my current ground control stuff since I have wayyyyy to stiff springs and I cut my from strut housings wayyyy too low. I would say save up and eventually buy yourself some GC camber plates and you're golden!

Car is looking really good man! I'm mad jealous of the A/C too, but I guess I can live without mine since I'm up in NY.

[varg]

Time for some good stuff.

Stock or not?


Not. This is the first time I've ever seen an E30 on adjustable suspension with stock ride height, how about you?

The parts. Koni single adjustables, 650lb, 5" springs for the rear, 450lb, 6" springs for the front, ebay spring adjuster kit for a honda, which came with some springs which I didn't use.


Marking the adjusters to cut them down (too long!) I cut the rears down to 2.5" and the fronts down to 3.25". A perfect fit, as you can see below.


Assembling after painting them


Complete front coilovers with plenty of brake rust courtesy of a rainy, crappy day


Rear suspension ready to go, maxed out on the adjusters for stock ride height, exactly as I had planned.



I wanted this to be a one day job on my only day off (Friday). Fat chance! In typical SNAFU fashion, it rained heavily for about two and a half hours on Friday after I had finished disassembling the front end, so I only finished the front before it was time for me to call it a night. On top of that, I had to wait for a couple of coats paint to dry because I didn't want to cut up the spring perches and leave bare metal exposed. The rear went a little better, other than the fact that I had to do it after I got home from work, and it took 4 hours because I had to take rain breaks. Oh, and my 17mm thin walled socket buggered out on me while I was tightening the wheel bolts, so I had to use a 3/8" drive ratchet with a cheater bar because I broke my 1/2" to 3/8" drive adapter. So really, just another typical DIY job in vargland. I only got a short test drive in tonight, but I really liked what I felt, and I'll be taking it to work tomorrow. I think I'll take the long way :up:

Sorry about the crap pictures. Despite having so many megapickles, phones are still crap for taking photos. Slow lenses, poor dynamic range, horrible SNR. You know the drill. Better photos coming soon. And hopefully more autocross?

[Nick_S]

Damn you do some great work. Good stuff man!

[varg]

Now that's what I call BLOWN shocks, wow. Never seen them douche all over the wheels/tires like that. Looks like the coilover setup will be much better :up:

I haven't seen them leak like this very often. they really got beat on. Take old, worn out, leaky struts to an autocross with super-grippy tires, and you're really beating the crap out of them though.

Those Konis are a good life decision. I switched from bilstein sports and I'll never go back (with coilovers, at least)

I'm hoping so. I selected something that could handle the spring rates I wanted without re-valving, and the bilsteins couldn't, from what I read. I'm also a sucker for adjustability. Hopefully I can be dialed in with these. I'm looking forward to a nice, firm, controlled ride, especially since my car has gone from driving nicely to riding like a crummy old cadillac since the front struts blew out.