318i factory, wanting to turbo or supercharge

[beaming83 0]

i got my first bmw (the one i have now) a coupleof months ago and have decided to make it into a beast (turbo or supercharger for a start), would i have to change much internally to do this ? i new with both bmw and preformance parts.

Edited May 19, 2010 by bmw_gets_talent

[pureboiracer 0]

a rather common quote floats around this topic... no infact 2.... 1 "reaserch, research, research." and 2

"if you have to ask then you probably dont know enough to be doing it."

IMO a 318 is a bit of a small motor to be creating into a "beast"

what year is your car?

you will have to mess around with the computer, or go aftermarket computer, you will almost definaly need to do several internal things, depending on how much boost you want to run. at a min you should fit metal head gasket and stronger head bolts.

you wont be able to make a "beast" with stock internals.. it will just blow up. power costs money. lots of it, so if i were you i would do lots of reasearch on overseas forums, google, etc, price up the turbo kit, find out what was done with engine management, and also find out what was done to the motor,

then price up the required parts and double it to give you an idea of how much you will need to spend.

also note that increase in power requires upgraded brakes, suspension etc.

[e30plz 1]

^ What he said. Would be better off swapping in a beast of a motor.

[beaming83 0]

ok yea i just wanted a honest opinion not just reading what people are trying to sell me, i don't really think motor size matters much these days i got 400hp easy from a sr20det, nissan 4 cyl, i don't do the hands on work really that's what mechanically minded friends are for but yea back to the bm i like the 4 cyl and i really think that it's worthy of boost so thanks anyway.

[e30ftw 410]

Have a look on e30tech.com in the turbo section. All the info you'll need, heaps of guys on there running boosted e30's and alot with stock internals just ARP headstuds and O-ring / MLS headgaket.

[pureboiracer 0]

not saying you cant make a 4cyl beast, just saying it will be alot cheaper to get the same power out of a bigger motor..

[beaming83 0]

true, i like the idea of wasting 8's & 6's in a little 4 though. heavy car for a 4cyl though i noticed

[CamB 48]

Which of the 318i options are we talking here? That'll help on the "is it strong" question.

Either way, getting an SR20 in there is probably the cheapest / most reliable way of getting the boost.

[beaming83 0]

yea just tryingsomething new aye quite over japanes cars and motors all though the facts are cheaper and probably tougher but yea trying to keep it bmw

[pureboiracer 0]

back in the 70s F1 used bmw motors, cant remember what 4 cyl motor it was but it was one of them, and they were slutting 1200hp, so one of the 4cyl motors is strong enough, i suspect you would still have to replace virtually all the internals to start putting out some real power though.

[Forrest 35]

M12, motor based on the M10

[Apex 693]

I don’t think you will find a single part in the M12 that is common to the M10.

[cliffdunedin 8]

back in the 70s F1 used bmw motors, cant remember what 4 cyl motor it was but it was one of them, and they were slutting 1200hp, so one of the 4cyl motors is strong enough, i suspect you would still have to replace virtually all the internals to start putting out some real power though.

They were getting 700kw out of those 1500cc F1 cars...goes to show it's not the size of the engine but how much $$ you want to spend...

I think if you have the cash to do it, do it...personally i wouldn't but each to their own.

[Apex 693]

Goes to show what? Those engines made that power for like the 1000RPM of the rev range and it was high up, completely useless.

[Ben 0]

In my experience the hardest part to turboing a bmw is ... everything!

Unlike rice burners nearly everything is either custom or costly,

eg. manifolds, ecus, injectors, clutches etc.

If I was to start all over with my turbo kit I wouldnt.

Id just dump an RB30DET in it

Dont get me wrong its not a bad idea to turbo BMW engines as they can be fairly strong,

(people in the states are getting 500rwhp+ on standard internals)

just down here in NZ we dont have the A/M support for BMWs.

If you want a turbo bmw but dont want to put a jap motor in it then

I would suggest selling the 318i and buying at least a 325i for the base car.

Some people might disagree but from my research into the matter

m42/44 engines just dont offer the same performance gains as m50/52

when turboed.

[cliffdunedin 8]

Goes to show what? Those engines made that power for like the 1000RPM of the rev range and it was high up, completely useless.

Goes to show exactly what i said!!! you can get huge power out of small engines just how much coin you want to part with!!!

Smaller engines do have advantages over the bigger blocks...i'm fairly sure those F1 turbos kicked in at around 8-10000rpm and were only banned because they went TOO fast and the non turbo runners were getting blitzed.

How about V8 Supercars...remember Skaife and the Nissan's, destroying every other car in their wake...then promptly getting banned from supercars...

Useless you say. how so???

[oscar90 0]

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motors/C...n-291208836.htm

Better yet get a 325i... better motor, better brakes, bigger diff, better everything...and a turbo 325i has so much more resale value than a bloody m40 318 turbo (or whatever little engines are in 318's)

If you dont wanna sell, chuck some new shocks, springs, and bushes in, fill it with 95 and go have a blast raping it around a track of backroads, dont need 500000hp to have fun...

[Braeden320 0]

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motors/C...n-291208836.htm

If you dont wanna sell, chuck some new shocks, springs, and bushes in, fill it with 95 and go have a blast raping it around a track of backroads, dont need 500000hp to have fun...

This, you will have heaps more fun with a well set up car that something setup for outright power

[2002 1]

I don’t think you will find a single part in the M12 that is common to the M10.

The block used in the F1 cars was normally a 2nd hand , stock M10 one sleeved down to 1500cc. Apparently they liked to use blocks with high mileage on them as anything that lasted that long was unlikely to have any casting defects, also the large number of heat cycles mean they were nicley stress relieved.

There is also an legend that they used to store them outside and urinate on them