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I'm out of my pit, off to do i6 Automotive DISA service, and an oil and filter. Hey Elijah, you going to frame that clutch and put it on the wall, or are our suspicions that you'll have motive power to those rear wheels coming true?! It'll be GREAT to see your e28s on the road, keep at it!

Oops. Oh well, even monkeys fall from trees.

100Hp/ litre seems about right to me, but a performance engine alone is useless, 500 hp in my 1900 Kg M5 gives good performance, 215 hp in a 650Kg Fraser clubman also gives excellent performance , but a 215 Hp 2 litre Iitre in my M5 would be rubbish! 500 hp in a 650kg Fraser on the other hand.....

+1. excellent project Brent, and the vidjos are a wealth of info. Keep it up! I reckon one of these would be enough to keep me entertained on the track for years, never mind the supercharger. Wouldn't claim to have the talent for that much power #; )

They're red because we all know it's a scientifically proven fact that this colour is the fastest. Probably why the waterpump died because the pulleys spin faster than they're supposed to? Will see how things go after a new waterpump, luckily they're the same between M50 and M52 so when we eventually get an M52b25 engine we can swap it over.

A little update a year later, Welcome to the family the 100% rust free geneuine 325i coupe. That in the past year every nut & bolt has been gone over. Running brand new bilstiens all around, all new engine mounts, belts, water pump, air intake all new genuine radiator piping and all new bushings in the gear box. Its a dream come true. All I need to do now is fix and install the rest of the body kit with all the new clips that I ordered from bmw.. enjoy once this car is done you can expect a lot more photos haha

Hey guys, selling a full set of E36 M3 Evo Wheels, staggered fitment, i bought them off a member earlier in the year, but they won't be used for my project. They can do with some TLC, although i wasn't overly fussed! Unless you are desiring sparkling wheels, they can be brought back by a competent wheel shop to your desired finish, pics below. Originally i just bought them because i always wanted a set, but now they collect dust as i have no use for them atm. Open to offers, purchased without tyres, and still come without tyres, nearest offer can take them, $850. Located in Auckland.

So by this line of thinking a 1 litre engine making 150 hp at 10, 000 rpm is considered a performance engine , but a 2 litre engine making 150 hp at 5000 rpm is not? All of the factors need to be considered for a reasonable benchmark to be set.

In my VW Kombi, I doubled my power from 62KW to 125KW, on standard brakes. The brake test is fairly crude, really. If they work OK standard, they probably pass the LVV tests.

Check! I agree with the other, look for a well-loved and maintained e46. Although the list above seems a lot, when you get a vehicle that's around 150k kms, if most of this work has been done you're good for 100k+ of trouble-free motoring, providing you're good to it! Mine (purchased at 112k kms) was ex-Japan, and I've spent the last 4.5 years catching up on deferred maintenance, and general wear... it's now at 173k kms, and I *love* driving it. I'll run through John's list above, and add my items: Vanos rebuilt with Besian kit. [not yet, will no doubt be soon]Vanos oil feed line replaced. [not yet, will no doubt be soon - hang on, perhaps so!]PCV System including hoses completely replaced. [yep!] New brake booster, as oil from PCV system contaminated booster diaphragmRocker Cover gasket replaced. [yep!, and all those seals around the plugs] Oil Filter Housing gasket replacedOil Level Sensor replaced. [yep!] Replaced power steering reservoir and top hoses (they like to leak pentosin) Sump gasket, and bolts replaced (they like to leak oil) Engine and Transmission mounts replaced (do it whilst doing the sump gasket)M Sport Steering wheel, [I'd certainly like one!]Bluetooth Head Unit. [replaced MD deck with factory CD head unit]Idle air control Valve service. [yep!]DISA Valve repaired. [yep - doing that this morning with an i6 Automotive unit]New Alternator. [thankfully no, not yet]New Water Pump and hoses. [yep! I had all sensors, thermostat, and header tank replaced at same time]Front Control arm bushes (Poly Meyle HD) [replaced lower control arms with Meyle HD] New ARB end links Rear Control arm bushes (Poly) [yep! Meyle HD, I think]Strut tower reinforcement plates. [yep!]Rear Shock reinforcement plates. [yep!] New Sachs OEM Shocks front and rear, all strut mounts, fasteners etc Motorsport ARBs front and rear, new ARB bushes Staggered Style 194 rims and appropriate rubber Replaced broken rear springTransmission serviced REBUILT, flushed and new filter. [new cooler lines and transmission cooler]Hawk performance [Akebono Euro ceramic pads -I'd go Hawk Performance next time] brake pads. Slotted and dimpled rotors (Near new) [yep! - Slotted Rotors front and rear] Replaced all parking brake hardwareBraided brake lines. [yep! First front, and four years later, rears]New Radiator overflow bottle and sensor. [see above]Aircon regassed. [yep! and compressor plus receiver drier replaced - my compressor was pooched] Replaced broken sunroof shade sliders Replaced windscreen wiper shroud [bottom of windscreen] Replaced those seals on top of the headlap glasses that disintegrate Replaced Rear Screenwash Pump Replaced Front Screenwash Pump and addressed leak Replaced spark plugs with NGK units Replaced fuel pump and fuel pump relay Regular coolant and brake fluid flushes Airbag Recall (no charge) Purchased another key Replaced passenger airbag seat occupancy sensor mat (twice) Replaced serpentine belt idlers and belt Add countless oil filters/o-rings/sump washers for the many oil changes; air filters, cabin filters, and many, many litres of either Castrol 0w40 or Penrite 5w40 Synthetic oil; a few fuel filters; a few sets of tyres, multiple wheel alignments, wiper blades, and lots of polish and wax..... and you have a fun drive! Yes, I still love it. No, it's not for sale. Yes, you really should consider an e46, they're a great drive. About once a year I think of my old e30 325i Touring and think "that was fun, and lighter, but this is SO much better". PS - the green saloon linked above looks MINT! You should consider it. HTH/

I find the hp/L a bit of a of red herring especially in road cars. A performance car by default is all about power to weight. (Ignoring chassis for the sake of this discussion). So this is really only relevant if you are racing in a class that has a cc restriction. A performance engine could be considered any engine that elevates your cars performance without unduly affecting the weight? Better power to weight yes sure I'll take that If you pull up to the traffic light drag strip give it a go and lose, do you say to your mate "yes well I won because I make more HP per litre than him"? No I dont think so. The measure should be HP per KG and HP per external volume. The classic NA engine for me is the GM LS series, specifically the alloy block versions. They are compact engines so if the measure was hp per cc of external volume they beat the Euro V8s. The BMW's have more HP per litre but not necessarily more HP. What about HP per kg? Again the OHV LS engines do very well here? What About torque per kg. Hard for a smaller NA engine to win that race. The OHV design will reach its limitation when it comes to revs. 7000 is an upper limit for sure while a OHC design can add 1000-1500 rpm to that level and continue making power. The reality is that in road cars that RPM difference is more like 500 rpm. BMW made a 5l V10 that made 500 HP, GM made a 7lt V8 that did the same. The GM engine is smaller and lighter. (65-75lbs) with a lower centre of gravity. So I think that HP in itself can be the measure and as for turbos well that changes everything. There is a saying in sales; "We buy on emotion and justify with logic" Never is this truer than when arguing about engines. Armour bolted on flame proof suit fitted.

Soo pretty......

My E46 330ci. Why because all the bits the fail have been replaced.

its a stage kit from active autowerks . rated at about 8-9psi at 405hp on a 330i engine details here . level 2 http://store.activeautowerke.com/collections/e46-2000-05-3-series/products/active-autowerke-e46-330-supercharger-kit-level-2-complete base kit http://store.activeautowerke.com/collections/e46-2000-05-3-series/products/active-autowerke-e46-330-supercharger-kit-level-1 todays short video .

That's why I cited the engine originally... My original thinking being along the lines of considering what are the requirements of, from or for a performance engine, rather than what contributes to a good power-to-weight ratio or a performance vehicle. (My wife's first car, an Opel Kadett C2 coupe with the 12S engine - 44kW, 1196cc - was sporty and great fun, but hardly performance.)

It was about 20kg lighter than the outgoing M50B25 haha. 250hp crank hp with that. I just had a look at the LVV threshold spec. Found this relevant quote If you're using a M62B44 - the official figure for their output is 282hp So you need to see what the percentage increase is from a stock E46 your fitting it to, if its a 318i N42 they're 141hp so thats a 100% increase in power. They might require a significant brake upgrade, I however believe 330i brakes are perfectly suited, especially if you run quality discs and pads / fluid etc. For the weight of the car I can't see why you'd need bigger ones unless it was a track toy.

The primary reason for bigger brakes is the supposed increase in weight. When I put the Lexus V8 into my old E36 the cert guy said the stock brakes (285mm) were fine but I had put M3 ones just because M3 brakes.

He's been trying to sell that for ages. Not a bad car, but my mate bought an e36 328i msport instead

I think it's also crucial to what chassis the engine is fitted into. Any high performance engine is going to be wasted if the car is too heavy! I think you need at least 150hp per tonne for something to start feeling brisk. 200hp-220hp per tonne is an excellent bench mark (Ie E46 M3 / E39 M5) Anything over 250hp-300hp+ per tonne is getting crazy fast (especially if its a road car), but that seems to be what most performance cars are now days.

For that money you can get a good condition E30 manual. go for one of those. Heaps more fun, if anything goes wrong much cheaper to fix, and so much cooler car. #E30FTW

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There is nothing wrong with a 325i E90. I actually have a 325i wagon E91 and its awesome. But it cost me about 18k a year ago for a good low kms one and its still worth 14k ish today. Imagine what condition it would be in if you buy one for 6-7k now? no service history and abused to death? not a huge difference between 325i and 330i in my opinion. both great cars with good engines unlike the 2L 4cylinder. All cars are different and you might have a bad one but in general, E46 and E39s are simple, easy to repair and source parts for, and overall reliable cars that dont have critical failures (except for the 540i timing chain guide issue). Replacing the cooling system at around 100-120km is a MUST on almost any bmw and nothing out of the ordinary. Suspension components failing is also nothing out of the ordinary for any 15 year old BMW on these NZ roads.. But after you replace them, what an amazing car it becomes, unlike any other Japanese alternative. My advice is look for one that is and was owned by an enthusiast (especially if looking at E46/E39) and if you are set on buying a E90 for 7k, make sure you put aside about $2000 for emergency repairs and be ready for random brakedowns or to do preventative maintenance/servicing. I dont recommend it though because even after spending this money, your car might still be in poor condition if it has had a hard life. (buy my E39 530i lol - shameless advertising)

have plans to change the front of the Ti , to get rid of the ugly duckling look something like this but with a msport bumper

you definitely want some wider tyres for the rear!

Well I actually ended up reshelling the whole car into a rust free non sunroof coupe, the body itself only set me back $1200 but the real cost was hundreds upon hundreds of hours of work viterally going over everything