NOR-CAL General Chat.

[Cabriolet]

anyone in SJ with extra jackstands? i need them for 2 weeks, doing a auto->manual swap for a member. and i just remembered mine are tied up on my project car.

[Ian Bowers]

BTW Vivek, I own a 318iS, 325e, 325iC. I've rode in Travis Ragona's M50 powered E30, and I've drifted Donovan's M52 E30. I have tons of time drifting an M42 E30, and I've drifted my supercharged M42 E30 a few times.

The 318iS is great with the M42 because it's light, and has a 4.1 diff. It's not fast, it wasn't designed to be; but it's as fun as anything I've driven because of how it feels at 5-7k.

[Vivek]

8.5:1. One issue with a .140 MLS is that you're always going to be a half-tooth off on timing, and your timing components won't fit very well. It also makes you have to use 2 profile gaskets, or a shit ton of RTV because of how tall it is. BTW, you should drop your lower oil pan and look for plastic, and make sure none of the upper pan bolts have dropped into the lower pan.

The car made power, it just delivers its power like a 4 cylinder. Nothing under 3k. I've blown second gear up on a G240, and I am not making anywhere near 300tq.

It's not about power, it's about power delivery. I have a 325iC, I wouldn't bother with an M42 in it, it's a heavy car. It needs torque. An S50 can always be boosted, and has a lot more parts available to do so, and it will always make more power.

The weight is a non-issue, yes it changes the feel of the car, but not enough for it to spoil the experience enough for you to hate the car.

Oh, and at the end of the day, a cop can't pull you over and give you a ref ticket, and you won't have to illegally smog your car.

Won't your ford swap be illegal?

A 24v swap is illegal unless it's BAR'd, which is fine to do but a bit of a pain. I'd probably register in mariposa county to avoid smog (thread on that around here somewhere). It's also more money and work, and the same final power. I completely understand that it's power delivery, not absolute power though. That's the problem with an m42.

All I'm saying is, JakeB is building a complete kit for 1700 bucks. Add gauges and engine maintenance while you're in there and it's a bit over 2k. He's been running basically the same thing for months if not nearly a year now at a fairly high boost (started at 9 i believe, but he was up to 14 last I heard) and it's been reliable. He should be selling quite a few before I buy one, so I'll get to hear first hand experience on how reliable it is. It's designed to run on a completely stock engine around 7-9psi and reliably put down 180-200 at the wheels. The main attraction is that I can, say, get a thicker HG (maybe not .140 if it causes so many issues) and head studs and turn the boost up to 14psi which is over 250 at the wheels.

Turbo's aren't inherently unreliable. They're just a spinning compressor pushing more air into the engine. If you turn the boost way up, you'll be putting more stress on the engine that it may or may not be able to handle.

anyone in SJ with extra jackstands? i need them for 2 weeks, doing a auto->manual swap for a member. and i just remembered mine are tied up on my project car.

Yeah. Hit me up. How many do you need?

[Ian Bowers]

Won't your ford swap be illegal?

No, it's from a newer year vehicle. I can retain all smog parts if I want to. It's the same process as BARing a 24V swap.

A 24v swap is illegal unless it's BAR'd, which is fine to do but a bit of a pain. I'd probably register in mariposa county to avoid smog (thread on that around here somewhere). It's also more money and work, and the same final power. I completely understand that it's power delivery, not absolute power though. That's the problem with an m42.

But you can BAR an s/m50, and it's documented. It's less of a pain than doing FI on a factory N/A engine. Registering in a non-smog county doesn't mean you can't be reffed, I live in one. That's the real issue.

All I'm saying is, JakeB is building a complete kit for 1700 bucks. Add gauges and engine maintenance while you're in there and it's a bit over 2k. He's been running basically the same thing for months if not nearly a year now at a fairly high boost (started at 9 i believe, but he was up to 14 last I heard) and it's been reliable. He should be selling quite a few before I buy one, so I'll get to hear first hand experience on how reliable it is. It's designed to run on a completely stock engine around 7-9psi and reliably put down 180-200 at the wheels. The main attraction is that I can, say, get a thicker HG (maybe not .140 if it causes so many issues) and head studs and turn the boost up to 14psi which is over 250 at the wheels.

Yeah, but that guy has tons of experience with modified cars and knows what to look out for, and is tuning it himself. It's also legal in his state. No matter what you do, a snail under your hood is illegal with an M42, even in non-smog counties. Plus, 14lbs on a 1.8l 4-pot isn't smooth, it's explosive. You're going to break traction under boost. It's not as fun as you think.

Turbo's aren't inherently unreliable. They're just a spinning compressor pushing more air into the engine. If you turn the boost way up, you'll be putting more stress on the engine that it may or may not be able to handle.

No, on vehicles with forced induction from the factory, by engineers, with huge budgets, they're perfectly reliable. By you, in your garage, on a kid's budget, you're going to cut corners even without knowing it.

I'm not trying to be a dick, but I've spent thousands of dollars doing what you're trying to do, and it's just not worth it.

[Danny]

Vivek, your 16 year old is REALLY showing.

[Vivek]

BTW Vivek, I own a 318iS, 325e, 325iC. I've rode in Travis Ragona's M50 powered E30, and I've drifted Donovan's M52 E30. I have tons of time drifting an M42 E30, and I've drifted my supercharged M42 E30 a few times.

The 318iS is great with the M42 because it's light, and has a 4.1 diff. It's not fast, it wasn't designed to be; but it's as fun as anything I've driven because of how it feels at 5-7k.

See this is what I like. I understand that having a convertible nullifies the "light" part, but it's all relative. My convertible feels lighter than my dad's m20 convertible (but my suspension is 10x better). I don't want a car that's super fast. That's not what a BMW is designed to be. I just want something fun, reliability is honestly not a huge factor since I'm 16, have other cars to use, and parents that drove me around for 15 years; I'm sure they wouldn't mind doing it again for a week.

I just want a reasonably quick convertible that's fun and easy to throw around. If it'll hold it's own with a swapped coupe, that'll be amazing. If it doesn't...well it has no roof so I'm having more fun either way.

[Vivek]

No, it's from a newer year vehicle. I can retain all smog parts if I want to. It's the same process as BARing a 24V swap.

But you can BAR an s/m50, and it's documented. It's less of a pain than doing FI on a factory N/A engine. Registering in a non-smog county doesn't mean you can't be reffed, I live in one. That's the real issue.

Yeah, but that guy has tons of experience with modified cars and knows what to look out for, and is tuning it himself. It's also legal in his state. He's tuning mine too. He's making his own chip for the setup.

No matter what you do, a snail under your hood is illegal with an M42, even in non-smog counties. That's true, but does it really matter? A ref ticket isn't expensive. Other than the exhaust, taking off a turbo really consists of unbolting a manifold from the head. If I set up the exhaust so that it's bolted together like stock (4 pieces: header, cat, resonator, muffler), I can simply take the stock cat section, bolt it to the resonator at the back and put it back on with the stock headers up front. Then take it to get inspected.


No, on vehicles with forced induction from the factory, by engineers, with huge budgets, they're perfectly reliable. By you, in your garage, on a kid's budget, you're going to cut corners even without knowing it. Well, that's why I'm researching now and have been for months, so i don't fuck anything up.

It seems like your main concern is that it's illegal. If you don't drive like an idiot and make the BOV quiet, there's no reason for a cop to pop your hood. And even if he does, he has to notice it's not factory. And even if he does, I can take a day to make it back to factory for a ref inspection.


I know my 16 year old is showing.

[JinormusJ]

vivek, your 16 year old is really showing.

really

[Ian Bowers]

See this is what I like. I understand that having a convertible nullifies the "light" part, but it's all relative. My convertible feels lighter than my dad's m20 convertible (but my suspension is 10x better). I don't want a car that's super fast. That's not what a BMW is designed to be. I just want something fun, reliability is honestly not a huge factor since I'm 16, have other cars to use, and parents that drove me around for 15 years; I'm sure they wouldn't mind doing it again for a week.

I just want a reasonably quick convertible that's fun and easy to throw around. If it'll hold it's own with a swapped coupe, that'll be amazing. If it doesn't...well it has no roof so I'm having more fun either way.

Then get an m50, you'll be SO ecstatic with the torque you'll have, you won't care about the power output. It will also sound better. And you're wrong, having a car that breaks down and makes you work on it all the time sucks ass and makes you hate it. I wouldn't want to rely on my folks to run me around for my car to get to 60MPH 3 seconds faster, but that's just me.

You'll change your attitude as you get older.

[Ian Bowers]

Vivek, your 16 year old is REALLY showing.

really

hahahaha, I'm done for the night.

[Vivek]

Dammit. I just don't understand why a low-boost setup put together by someone who knows exactly what he's doing and will be run on multiple cars will necessarily be so unreliable. I'm not just trying to be defiant/annoying/a pain in the ass. For every person on here that says not to do it, there's someone equally knowledgeable on m42club who'd say to go for it. I'm sure you guys can see it from my position. I've been talking m42 turbo's with MF DOOM via PM's for days, he really, really knows his shit and said 100% to go for it. You and danny completely advise against it (although Danny did say a few weeks ago that he wouldn't blame me in the slightest for doing it-I hope you still stand behind that:))

[Ian Bowers]

You go on a forum for a motor and find people who are enthusiastic about that motor. Holy shit, what's next -- going on google and searching "Unicorn jerking off in a donkey's anus" and finding a picture?

[JinormusJ]

Honestly; if you turbo your e30, you'll ruin it, and then hate it, and then sell it.
It has happened to every single person I've known who's turboed their car.

I'm not saying you'll ruin it because you're Vivi; that's just the nature of the beast

Either that or you'll suck it up and dish out the cash when stuff starts and will be breaking. Neither options seem all that fun...

[e30vert]

^^^ROFL^^^

Unicorns are rare ,but that unicorn semen is even rarer. It's unobtainium!

In any case , Vivek is young and if he wants to throw his allowance, time,and sweat into a turbo then why not. Either it will be a miserable failure that haunts him over and over again . With breakdowns and replacement of engine parts. Or he will make it work and be proud of his perseverance and mechanical abilities. Seems like he just wants a project that he can invest time and money in that will give him some e30 r3v cred...

He can afford to make tons of bad decisions! It's what being young us based on!
Forge on Vivek and f{}€5 shit up! Just know that you may be wrenchen more than you be driven and if you are genuinely alright with that then make it happen!

I'm going to turbo my M20 eventually and will it break - hell yeah. Am I concerned? Not so much M 20's are disposable when you can pick up another one for 300 bucks. If you can build and install a turbo you sure as hell can yank an engine and swap in another one.

[Cabriolet]

imo N/A to gtfo. it sounds better and has better immediate power. unless you are buying a $300k turbo'ed super car, after-market turbos never seem right.