Lacey, the Lachssilber 325iS - oem+ 5spd. swap daily driver build

[vtechnik]

Alright, I did some work while I was away. I plan on elaborating more later on but for now I'm trying to catch up on everything on my thread before starting the car Friday...

I went ahead and swapped some subframe bushings out

20191203_161532 by Ben Chadwick, on Flickr

Then got another rod knock

20191209_144259 by Ben Chadwick, on Flickr

Then pulled the engine again

20191209_204242 by Ben Chadwick, on Flickr

Since at this point, I can't keep a stock engine alive for very long, I might as well get boost? Solid logic.

20191218_190523 by Ben Chadwick, on Flickr

Then I bought a whole bunch of arp goodies, new bearings, seals, the works. I cleaned it all up and rebuilt my first engine in a classmates garage lol. Hopefully it holds a little pressure.

20200104_224546 by Ben Chadwick, on Flickr

20200114_132347 by Ben Chadwick, on Flickr

Almost as nice as Jordan's hardware, right?

20200109_141136 by Ben Chadwick, on Flickr

20200116_150156 by Ben Chadwick, on Flickr

Bought a NLA new oil pump, a scraper, a baffle, and had a bung welded in by a buddy.

20200220_115838 by Ben Chadwick, on Flickr

20200220_115035 by Ben Chadwick, on Flickr

Reassembled the head and mated the surfaces.

20200213_132805 by Ben Chadwick, on Flickr

20200218_154700 by Ben Chadwick, on Flickr

To which my idea started coming into fruition

20200224_162548 by Ben Chadwick, on Flickr

I'll leave it there for tonight, I'll probably edit this post tomorrow and add more but it's good to start updating again.

[jeenyus]

My thoughts...
Good:
- little better throttle response
- cool induction sound? If thats your thing

Bad:
- powerband felt like there was more power in some places but also less in other places compared to stock
- virtually no customer service
- the product itself looked like it couldve been made by buying a Chinese maf from autozone and a 3.5 inch pipe from home depot

I went in knowing that i wasn't gonna get a 20hp gain, but for $400 i expected things like quality of service, a pipe that was cut to fit so i could use it with my stock air box, and an afm adapter wouldve been nice. hell for that price throwing in an intake boot would've still netted them a lot profit im sure based on the materials used.

My final thought is, im sure if the thing made my e30 run like a new bmw id still wish i bought a pnp megasquirt for $300 more so maybe im being unfair.

Everything you have said is 100% accurate. For the price I expected it to be quality and work well. I ended up using the pipe they sent and spending more money to create an airbox adapter for the pipe. To be honest I don't know how Miller is still in business. Now I'm in the same boat, saving my monies to buy the MS kit.

[vtechnik]

My thoughts...
Good:
- little better throttle response
- cool induction sound? If thats your thing

Bad:
- powerband felt like there was more power in some places but also less in other places compared to stock
- virtually no customer service
- the product itself looked like it couldve been made by buying a Chinese maf from autozone and a 3.5 inch pipe from home depot

I went in knowing that i wasn't gonna get a 20hp gain, but for $400 i expected things like quality of service, a pipe that was cut to fit so i could use it with my stock air box, and an afm adapter wouldve been nice. hell for that price throwing in an intake boot would've still netted them a lot profit im sure based on the materials used.

My final thought is, im sure if the thing made my e30 run like a new bmw id still wish i bought a pnp megasquirt for $300 more so maybe im being unfair.

[jeenyus]

"the Miller MAF kit wasn't the product I was expecting I guess."

You can say that again. What was your issue with it? Mine is the complete lack of customer support when something does actually need their assistance. Or the lack of being able to purchase replacement MAFs? I'm pretty sure only Brody works at that company anymore as I've literally never been in contact with anyone else.

[vtechnik]

Belated update

Where to begin...
Well I replaced my odo gears, I set up my miller maf, and I blew my engine :up:

THIS IS WHERE YOU GET TO CALL ME STUPID.

So when I said "I also swapped out for 5.0 injectors. I should be getting my miller maf kit anyday now" anyday turned into week after week with hardly any contact from miller. 11/10 should've gone with megasquirt.

Anyhow, I daily'd the car on 19lb injectors for a solid month or so on the stock ecu. My rings were shot to begin with so fuel easily washed past the rings into the oil. Finally I got the maf kit but by that time it was a little too late. I ran the miller kit for a week or so before the oil pressure light came on at idle.

I drained the oil to find a lot of metallic glitter and fuel soaked "oil" :)

After replacing the oil, symptoms didn't get better. In fact they progressively got worse until I had no oil pressure at 3k rpm. So I went engine searching and found a 130k mile m20b25 with an 8k mile rebuilt 885 head and paperwork.

20190412_192745 by Ben C, on Flickr

From there I resealed the motor and threw it in with Bruner over the following weekend. Thanks holmes.

20190414_152430 by Ben C, on Flickr

20190414_152448 by Ben C, on Flickr

Out with the old...

20190415_132145 by Ben C, on Flickr

20190416_165408 by Ben C, on Flickr

Swappin parts / resealing

20190415_154000 by Ben C, on Flickr

20190415_153939 by Ben C, on Flickr

Resealed and ready to send

20190416_122205 by Ben C, on Flickr

In with the new-ish...

2019-05-13_10-28-07 by Ben C, on Flickr

20190421_103212 by Ben C, on Flickr

Annnnd the traditional hood less cruise to get the dirt off

20190421_203532 by Ben C, on Flickr


Since then I've gone back to the stock injectors, afm and airbox. the miller maf kit wasn't the product I was expecting I guess.

I also detailed my car since then too :)

20190316_204151 by Ben C, on Flickr

20190316_201437 by Ben C, on Flickr

20190312_150355(0) by Ben C, on Flickr

[vtechnik]

Looking good dude! Excited to see how you like the Miller MAF stuff.

Thanks man. Yeah me too, I'm starting to think I should've just canceled my order and bought a pnp megasquirt setup instead. Fingers crossed this product is quality lol.

[kid325e]

Looking good dude! Excited to see how you like the Miller MAF stuff.

[vtechnik]

Ahh ok. Yeah ill post my steps when i recieve it. Thanks e30rs.

[Ausatz]

If you dont mind me asking, how long did it take for yours to ship?

Well, I got mine secondhand and I get an error message every time my computer tries to connect to the chip.. So, yea I've tried contacting Brody as well, but haven't gotten far. I hope to pursue it more this year.

I just want to be able to blip my throttle without the m20 coughing.. One day... one day

[e30RS]

Awesome build. Great rim choice.

[vtechnik]

Nice work so far!

I've got a similarly set up lachsilber 4 door that I'll probably do a thread on as soon as I refinish my wheels. I also have Miller MAF but haven't been able to get the software to work yet so I'm interested to see how it goes for you and might need some tips if you get yours working.

If you dont mind me asking, how long did it take for yours to ship? I ordered mine halfway through last month and ive still yet to see any tracking updates. I contacted miller twice and they finally responded with a tracking number but its been 4 days since and the tracking number still says "shipping label created". Very frustrating... sooo so far not impressed lol? Maybe im being harsh, im just tired of my e30 running rich.

Also, yes e28s are very good.

[wworm]

e28s are good

[Ausatz]

Nice work so far!

I've got a similarly set up lachsilber 4 door that I'll probably do a thread on as soon as I refinish my wheels. I also have Miller MAF but haven't been able to get the software to work yet so I'm interested to see how it goes for you and might need some tips if you get yours working.

[vtechnik]

Thank you all! I will definitely be going to the dicks burger meets and i still feel really bad about the cruise falling through last year. Hopefully this year ill be a little more coordinated lol.

I put the hood and exhaust back on plus I replaced the O2 sensor. I also got around to doing a car wash. I took the same exact photos as when i got her a year ago. Its cool to see the subtle changes i made but It's also definitely time for plastic bumpers.





I also saw this in my neighborhood after cleaning the car up. Much want.

[cheffy30]

when that beast is back together we need to go on that ride you set up last year!!