wrs

Today my nice new exhaust was fitted. There were a few very minor as-built changes during the fit but overall everything went pretty close to plan. The stainless tube was welded using the 'purge' method where the tubes are purged of air and filled with low-pressure argon. It stops the weld bubbling into the internal part of the tube to keep the flow undistrubed. The only untidy area was rear of the AdrenalineR resonator to get the pipes through the hanger area and mating up to the original rear exhaust section. Since putting the new engine in the car only a short time ago I've been chasing a very small exhaust leak - hadn't been able to find it. On Wednesday this week the leak suddenly got much worse which allowed me to finally find it. It was the flexi-joint on the rear headers. Information on this site led me to Autobend to buy a replacement. This was welded in during the fitting of the new exhaust. The results are excellent. The car now idles with a very nice sound and is very quiet in the cruise. Under power it has a very deep growl which is very nice. Under decel it has a deep warble a bit like a race car. Overall I'm very happy with the change. The exhaust put in by the local shop resonated and vibrated badly with a lot of odd harmonic frequencies - probably due to all the restrictions and expansions from the crush-bends in the pipes. All these odd sounds are now gone and there's a very regular sound across the whole rev range. During the change we also move the resonator back about 250mm from the position the local exhaust shop fitted it. The car now feels responsive again at low RPM. Another good find during the flexi-joint replacement was a big blob of weld where the old flexi was welding in. Whoever fitted it had to be the worlds worst welder - they'd blown a very big hole in the pipe and just poured in more and more weld to fix it. The result was an 8mm deep blob of weld 20mm long protruding into the 51mm diameter exit tube on the headers. This was removed with a rotary file to restore the pipe to it full internal diameter. New Exhaust: New Flexi:

John picked up the jig and all the pre-cut tubes tonight. He should have it all welded by the weekend. Hawkes Bay has a 4-day weekend due to HB day falling on the Friday + the 3 day Labour weekend. However, the nice long break is also when my work does major system upgrades... So, I'll be working most of the weekend with no chance to fit up the new exhaust. So, it looks like the weekend after labour weekend will be the big fit-up at this stage... Will be flanging the new front section but it will esentially just mount up the same as the original exhaust with a front and rear section.

Thanks. Yeah, I noticed that - looks like the front section to the cats is 63mm outer & about 50mm inner - designed to transfer as much heat into the cats as possible. Hopefully going to a much bigger pipe doesn't upset anything. I've decided I'm not going to do the tig - I'll get a friend to do it. My welding is functional but not very pretty. John's welding looks like a machine did it...

Yesterday the 63mm mandrill pipe bends and 2.5m of 63mm pipe arrived. It's all 304 stainless - was only $10 more to biuy stainless over mild steel so may as well go for the stainless. I got my old exhaust back from the muffler shop early in the week and made up a wooden jig to hold the centre hanger and front flanges. The I cut the old pipe off leaving about a 25mm stub sticking out of the flanges to weld to. I completely removed the old pipes from the hanger. The new pipework is now cut, taped together and ready to be welded. I may get a chance to do this tomorrow. The resonator is still in the car but fits in the gap between the pipes. There will be a bit of mucking round with the rear section of the pipework to mate it up to the rear section of the exhaust. Will do this bit when fitting it up to the car. The pipes coming out of the front flanges are actually 51mm diameter - not sure if this is normal. I'm going to have to get the front part of the 63mm pipe reduced down to fit over the pipe stubs left sticking out...

I've got a NV Auto one also if it's of any use. They're very easy to modify if you want to use it in a manual.

I also wanted to get a shorter custom-built resonator but that would have taken a few days as AdrenalineR would have to fabricate the shorter internal pipe and outer shell to suit. The total pipe length including the resonator is 1200mm which means the resonator should have been about 300mm max length with likely 200-250mm ideal. I had to go with 350mm because it was all I could get - not ideal but a compromise to get it done. I just rechecked again and there's some significant crushing of the pipes that are already too small as well. This will be creating multiple compression and expansion points down the length of the pipe. I suspect I'm going to have to get mandril bends and a tig to stitch together a proper exhaust. I can do this at work one weekend since it will cost a kidney to get this done properly at the shop. I'll talk to the muffler shop first to see if they'll do it properly with only the difference in cost - if not then I'm sure I can do a better DIY...

Yep, a bit limited at what I could get at short notice but happy with the loss of low-end torque for the noise reduction. Check out below though - didn't notice this earlier at the shop: Have just been under the car looking at an oil-leak from the 6-speed. Appears the reverse switch got a knock at some time and the plastic end was partially dislodged and was leaking quite badly- managed to fix it :-) While under the car (and while your were probably typing) I noticed the pipes they've used are the wrong size + they've changed the original flanges from the bottom of the headers to something new with a much smaller hole - appears to be 50mm and they've reduced the 57mm pipe down to fit!!!!!! The pipe is 57mm - should be 63mm as you say. It's going back to get fixed... The reduction at the end of the headers is likely to be having some negative impact I'd think.

Today we mucked around with a couple of resonator options - 2 short Coby style resonators near the back of the front section where the centre hanger is and the current/final configuration with a dual in dual out resonator from AdrenalinR. The Coby option took out some of the rasp but did nothing to get rid of the low frequency resonance which set up a bit of a vibration through the whole exhaust. It didn't seem to impact power but it's difficult to tell. I did a hill-climb test trial prior and then after each change as some kind of measure. I was just testing I'd reach the same speed from one marker to the next when doing a rolling start at a specific speed from the first marker to the second + accelarating as hard as I could in 3rd to the second marker. Did this three times on each test to ensure consistency. I have no idea if this is a good method or not but would expect any significant power drop would show up using this method. So, the Coby option didn't do much to shut things up and had no noticable impact on power. The next resonator trialed was a AdrenalinR ADR021. This couldn't be mounted as far back as I wanted due to clearance to the heat shield. It did quiet things down significantly. The rasp is all gone and the cruise is now very quiet. It still has a good tone and slight bark under power and at high RPM + a small warble under decel. I'm really happy with the sound. Power wise, it has affected the low RPM torque between 1200-2200 RPM, down a noticable amount but above this there's no noticable difference. The hill-climb accel test still reached the same speed at the second marker. It sounds a bit like Kevin's (KwS) Youtube above. When I first started the car after putting on the AdrenalineR resonator I couldn't beleive the noise reduction!! Thanks to Brent @ AdrenalineR for making up a resonator at 0 minutes notice this morning.

Yeah, tants usually last quite a long time but have a much higher failure rate than other types of cap - especially that particular style of tant. Today there is much newer technology caps that would work well in place of a tant and once changed you'd never have to worry about it again. As you say though - you'll probably get years out of the replacement.

No worries. What you've done certainly seems to have had some positive impact on your car. Have spend a large part of the weekend trying to find out how to model the exhaust but it appears the only way to do it (which is still a bit hit and miss) is to use some very fancy software. I guess car manufacturers use historic knowledge + fancy modelling software + a bit of trial and error to get it right. We don't have the $$$$ resource for the software or the trials. Trying to turn up at the muffler shop and guess the best option probably isn't going to work out the best it could. I went for a bit of a drive today and I'm actually quite happy with most of the exhaust note. It's just the raspiness between 1500-3000PRM that's the problem. The muffler shop has suggested fitting 2 x 19" resonators where the cats were (no merge-pipe). I think I'll give this a go to start with and if it suck's will try again. It might take a few goes to get it right - then again might get lucky on the first time. Can always try the merge-pipe later too just to see if it quites things down - I'm just worried it will muck with my current tuning. I'm hoping the resonators will damp the rasp without affecting the current tuning significantly. Only one way to find out!! It's going into the shop again 08:00 tomorrow morning - will report back the results.

Thanks - had done this before on a previous car, sounds like I shouldn't have. Unfortunately I never compared turning it round or trying something different. I went from a stock restrictive exhaust to what was supposed to be a free-flow. It was an on-the-spot design at the muffler shop. It lasted the life of the car so never tried anything different.

Thanks - good info. Looks like the merge-pipe helped with mid-range torque and quietness. I was wondering if merging the pipes would help with noise - didn't realise it would also help torque. Do you think it would matter if the merge was done after the resonators or best left before. I'm guessing putting the merge before doubles the frequency the resonator sees and halves the pulse size/volume each one sees beacuse they're now sharing all the pulses and flow - should be very benefitial to noise. I'm an electronics engineer - there's a similar effect with analogue filters. Maybe I just answered my own question... I think I'll give this a try. Car's going in for resonators on Monday morning - I'll see if they can knock-up a merge-pipe during the install.

If it's the type with holes in the internal tube then it doesn't matter, yup, bi-directional. For the type with scallops sticking out onto the pipe by putting it in backwards should help with flow and absorb the reflected pressure wave from the muffler end. It's supposed to reduce resonance better in the pipework between the resonator and rear muffler. However, it's not my area of specialty - seems like a sound idea. Maybe it makes bugger-all difference (does anyone here actually know what difference forwards vs backwards will do?). The local muffler shop has suggested a straight through type of resonator with holes in the tube part and a small expansion chamber at the inlet end. Anyone know if this works/good idea or not? Am I better with just a straight through type with holes in the tube only or the scalloped type?

Cheers, thanks, I have the PCLink software and used this to initially fault-find and get things going. I haven't reconnected since the tune was done. Will have a look see on the weekend. It's actually going ok as-is and 6-6.5k RPM is enough for now - at least until I get used to driving stick again. Changing injectors will only improve power above 6k which I seldom use anyway. Probably isn't worth the risk mucking with it for the small gain. I really only mentioned the injector mistake for anyone else considering this type of change to their engine. If they wanted more in the high-RPM area they would need the bigger injectors.

Are those the replacement capacitors you used near the bottom left corner off the mat? They look like tantalum caps... If they are tant's they are far less reliable than newer technology, eg Solid Aluminium or Polymer Caps. Tant's don't like higher temperature or ripple where the newer alternatives work well in either or both of these conditions.

Graham said it would have to be re-tuned so must be using PWM...

Awesome, thanks. Hadn't considered the fact the inlet also comes off the bottom of the cylinder... As I've never done this before I think I'll get a bit of help for the first time round - I don't want any mistakes when removing and refitting the slave. This is my daily driver and I need it to get to work in a rural location. I'm sure Garry will help - for a small fee.

Now that's a good way to do it. Thanks for the help. I'll give this a go tomorrow night after sourcing some bits.

I've recently finished a engine upgrade, manual conversion and exhaust swap into a E36 325i http://bimmersport.co.nz/topic/53887-e36-325i-coupe-project/ Now it's been going for a few days a bad rattle has developed in the front section of the exhaust inside the first small muffler. The cats have already bee removed. The exhaust is also a lot noisier than I'd expected - nice but just a little loud under power. In cruise it's fine. I'm considering adding 2 resonators backwards where the cats were (1 in each pipe) and removing the first small muffler. If this is done, do I also need to put a joiner between the 2 pipes in the area the small muffler used to be or can they be left separate right through to the rear muffler?

Thanks - good points!! The pedal has 20mm of movement before it starts to load up. This photo shows the slave cylinder: It's a view looking up from under the car. The bleed valve points downwards off the bottom of the cylinder - how can trapped air bleed out of the cylinder with this configuration? I guess the slave cylinder has to be removed and bled with the valve pointing up?

Hopefully someone can help with a clutch issue. You have to push the pedal hard to the floor and the clutch engages just off the floor - maybe 5mm of movement. I've read in forums this is common on M3's. I have the 420g Getrag box from the 3.2 Evo and NZAD Solid Flywheel and clutch kit. This kit is supposed to be a bolt-up replacement with the same alignment as the dual-mass so should not be impacting the pedal response. They have said they haven't had any issues previously. It already has a braided clutch line and the clutch has been bled twice with no bubble or change in response either time. Does anyone know if this pedal response is normal for a M3 clutch? Given I'm not getting much travel on the pressure plate tynes now is there an risk changing the throw out bearing to the E21 323i type - 5mm longer? The gearbox looks like it has to come back out as there's a leak from the shifter seal... Will probably do all the seals if it has to come back out... Thanks in advance.

Thanks, yes, I was wondering about the master fuel setting...

Here's a complete list of what was done and what was learned on this project. Credit goes to the installer and tuner who with permission I'll post their details later. Vendor Details: Installer: Garry - Andrew Hollywood Motors Napier. Garry got everything sorted really quickly and did a really good job (total 40 hours to do everything). There were a few minor issues with things not fitting as expected or gaskets etc which were resolved quickly. Garry's familiarity with the E36 certainly made the conversion much simpler than having attempting it myself - thanks Garry. Tuner: Graham Neale - WRC Developments Napier. Graham did a very nice job, was very professional and manage to fit me into his very busy schedule at relatively short notice - thanks Graham. Basic Stuff: Me (cold air intake, engine loom modifications, ECU fitting, car electrics, electric fans) This project was to take E36 325i Motorsport Coupe and replace the old tired engine with something that still looks like the factory original but goes a lot better. Requirements: Everything must be bolt-up and look BMW factory standard albeit not original to this car. Must still look like a 325i engine and running gear. Parts Required: M50B25NV Engine Keep the M50NV manifold + injectors M54B30 donor crank rods and pistons Manual Conversion M50B32 6-Speed Box NZAD D1 Racing Clutch Kit + Lightened Flywheel 6.5kg (Trademe) Pedal box + master cylinder Slave Cylinder + other clutch bits. S50B32 Headers S50B32 Exhaust ZF Driveshaft Front Section (needs to be shortened for the 6-speed). Could not use a complete M3 driveshaft due to the diff flange being different. S50US Cams - used new Shrick 252/244 cams (Turner Motorsport) M52B28 Donor Engine for: Vanos Unit Harmonic Balancer Oil Filter Housing Vanos Oil Line Cam Cover Plastic Engine Covers Knock Sensors M50TUB25 Wiring Loom got mine from an auto so deleted all auto wiring + the MAF wiring from the loom. Link G4+ Plugin ECU New Fuel Pump New Fuel Filter Gaskets and Seal etc. M50TUB25 Camshaft Hall Effect Sensor Link IAT sensor Greenfilter POD filter + Cold Air Intake mod (custom by me). 76mm Inlet tubing to POD filter. Ally sheet + Eurothane Adhesive Surprises: The M50 Power Steering Pump does not bolt up to the M52 Oil Filter Housing and had to machine 15mm off one leg to make it fit. The M52 camshaft sensor was VR - expecting hall effect. Make sure you have the correct front half of the driveshaft before you shorten it (originally supplied the wrong one in the manual conversion kit and shortened it without noticing - duh!!). Installation: I purchased the engine already reconditioned and stroked to 3L with approx 3500k's on it. It was 3L M50NVstroker at that time with the M50NV head and cams. I decided I wanted the S50US cams + Vanos to get better bottom end torque + rev ok. I purchased new Shrick Cams from Turner Motorsport. These bolted striaght in with no issues. Had to use the M50NV cam trays and lifters. The M52 vanos was installed with no modification required to the head. I'd read some relief with a dremmel was required but maybe this is for the M50 vanos - did not need tomodify at all. The M52 oil filter housing was installed + oil line to the vanos. The NZAD D1 Racing flywheel and clutch was installed. The gearbox was connected to the engine. The wiring loom was installed. The engine and gearbox was installed in the car. Everything bolted straight up with no issues. The second driveshaft was measured and sent out to be shortened. There was a problem with the Camshaft sensor as initially the VR sensor was installed - this has the wrong plug to connect to the M50TUB25 loom - should have been the give-away here... Later the correct sensor was sourced and installed. The front section of the driveshaft was installed. The exhaust was installed. All done, ready to start. No modifications were required to fit the engine, gearbox or exhaust to the standard mountings. Problems: Engine would not crank. Had to locate the K1 start solenoid for the auto-trans start inhibit. On NZ RH drive cars this is located on the drivers side near the steering column - an orange relay on top of a connector block under the dash.. The relay was removed and the black/yellow wires cut off the relay holder. These were linked with a solder join + heatshrink. Now the engine cranks. Initially there was no camshaft pulses going to the ECU. The M52 VR sensor had been installed + a linking connector made to try to get it to work. This was a no-go and required a hall effect sensor (which has the correct plug so no adapter required). Leson here - the connectors don't mate then it's probably the wrong sensor... Camshaft timing sorted. Initially the M50NV harmonic balancer was used. This puts the crankshaft timing notch 120' out from the M50TUB25. The M52 is the same as the M50TUB so the harmonic balancer was swapped from the M52 donor engine. Now all the timing was good. Still would not start. Turned out to be no fuel due to the in/out being accidentally swapped - only mistake the installer made and not unreasonable given the two pipes are side by side... With the fuel problem sorted it started no problem. The Vanos Solenoid did not work - was faulty so replaced with one that worked. Tuning: The MAF was deleted so the Link ECU was tuned using only MAP, TPS and IAT. Dyno tuning was required due to the significantly different configuration to the base map supplied in the ECU. The fuel map was way out and far too lean initially. Once tuned it's really smooth and all surging has gone. There's very good transiet throttle response too. Learnings: Use S50 injectors as M50 are too small. Everything else worked out pretty well. Unplanned Costs: A few extra costs due to machining the Power Steering Pump and having to shorten the driveshaft + extra costs from missing the first dyno run due to no-start problems. Make sure it runs before sending it for tuning!!! I didn't try to start it initially as Link ECU's need to be unlocked before they will run. I didn't have a laptop to do this so left it to the tuner assuming everything was ready to go. All in all was a pretty good project with no major problems and no catastrophic mechanical failures along the way. Now to enjoy the new lease of life on the car.

I think it's a typo. Here's what I worked out as the speeds. My diff ratio was 3.69 (Auto) and I'm doing 2600 RPM in 6th @ 100km/hr so I think it is in 5th... Setting Mx RPM to 4300 I get Max RPM 4300 Diff Ratio 3.69 Tyre Dia 0.62 Circum: 1.9477874 Gear Ratio Initial Speed Revs RPM Drop Top Speed RPM RPM @ 100km 1 4.23 0.00 0 32.4 4300 2 2.51 52.66 4400 54.7 4300 3 1.67 88.83 4925 82.0 4300 4 1.23 133.24 5525 109.8 4300 5 1.00 178.37 5975 136.2 4300 6 0.83 221.18 6150 164.1 4300 This shows 136.2km/hr @ 4300 so pretty close. Here's the original calcs (assumed 6800RPM): Max RPM 6800 Diff Ratio 3.69 Tyre Dia 0.62 Circum: 1.9477874 Gear Ratio Initial Speed Revs RPM Drop Top Speed RPM RPM @ 100km 1 4.23 0.00 0 50.9 6800 2 2.51 52.29 4400 2400 85.8 6800 3 1.67 88.12 4950 1850 129.0 6800 5272.906 4 1.23 132.44 5450 1350 175.1 6800 3883.637 5 1.00 179.82 6000 800 215.4 6800 3157.429 6 0.83 221.18 6150 650 259.5 6800 2620.666 RPM @ 100km in 6th 2620.6658

Yay, my car survived the dyno-tune (see below). There was really only one unknown going into the dyno test - would the cams and Vanos work properly at higher RPM's (no valve clearance issues) - tick, ok!! Overall I'm happy with the end result. The 6-speed box is great. Having driven the car as an auto for 12 years I now have to learn to drive it again... It goes very well compared to the old stuffed engine @ 325k's... Mistakes: Used the M50 injectors - bugger. They max out at about 6k RPM. Also the intake appears to be a little restricted despite best efforts to improve it - may be the throttle body.... I may consider changing to S50 injectors in the future but that would require a re-tune. Maybe in a while. Todo List: Move the radiator overflow bottle back to the front of the car. Tie in the evaporative emmission canister. Get new caps for the engine covers. Get new bonnet struts so I can throw away the stick. Bleed the clutch - engages just off the floor + feels a bit soft at the start of the pedal movement. Learn to drive...