e30 m52 build

[slowe30 0]

ok time for an update

got the read swaybar in, was much easier than i thought after i looked propperly and made a huge differance, hooked up my fan to the automatic on/off switch on friday, got an adaptor comming for my temperature sensor. and also got tints last week.

will be taking the car off the road again soon to do my suspension and brakes. picked up some billsteins recently and going to get them revalved and rebuilt hopefully this week sometime. put an order into AKG for some bushes. still need to get front lower suspension arms and front pads and rotors to suit my rx7 calipers, and possibly some stainless brake lines and rear pads and rotors. not sure when this "soon" will be tho, possibly start it just after the bimmersport meet on the 1st, possibly into the new year

and just out of curiosity, how many people with e30s are planning on going to the combined bimmersport and auckland bmw car club meet on december 1st. would be awesome to see them all there.

[BM WORLD 1283]

just use a bmw 318ti or 318is fan switch from the radiator , the later type from the e36's that only use one electric fan (about 1995 onwards) they have 2 temp settings.

just screw it into the side of the radiator and it will work through the orginal bmw fan wiring setup etc

part 10 switches at 80 and 88 deg C

http://bmwfans.info/parts/catalog/E36/Comp...iator/radiator/

or this type

part 10

switches at 91 and 99 deg C

http://bmwfans.info/parts/catalog/E36/Coup...iator/radiator/

[_ethrty-Andy_ 2132]

If you are using the radiator that i sent you it already has the temp sender that brent is talking about FYI

[slowe30 0]

though all the m40 radiators i have lieing around, we found one with temperatues that we liked as they were all slightly differant, and after putting the whole setup in about a month ago with the old fan it didnt work, so hooked itup to a manual switch temorarily as i had said.

we then traced the issue to the low fan speed being re-routed within the fuse box to the heated seats fuse (of which i didnt have so it was an un-switched circuit) so low speed on the fan had burnt out, we then looked at the high speed wiring for the fan and a similar thing had been done but to a fuse slot that wasnt used at all. after rewiring it all back to factory it now works with 2 speeds.

my water tempuratue sensor adaptor should be here tomorrow, my akg delivery has arrived and wow they as amazingly solid. just got to wait for the appropriate time to take the car off the road again and get my walking feet on again

[slowe30 0]

first real issue has popped up now. throttle cable snapped last night and need to finda replacement. only issue i dont know what the cable was off. can anyone shed some light on to which one would fit.

it wasnt to much of an issue due to having enough torque to idle home in 5th

[polley 916]

E36 cable

[_ethrty-Andy_ 2132]

E34 M50 is the correct one.

[polley 916]

Yeah, E34 cable is longer isnt it?

[_ethrty-Andy_ 2132]

Yeah, E34 cable is longer isnt it?

shorter. The E36 one is the longer of the two. dont know where the E38 and E39 one fits in but id assume that would be longer still.

Edit: but if you can only find an E36 one that will work, you just have to shorten it by doubling it over at the engine end or what ever. also M5xB2x are all the same throttle cables on each chassis, so a 520i and a 525i are the same etc

Edited November 25, 2011 by _Ethrty-Andy_

[slowe30 0]

well i just got home from a a day out and found my car in the garage with dad working on it, he somehow put a new end on the throttle cable and has fitted the m40 wiring cover. my new brake rotors and pads have all arrived now and just wanting to get some braided lines then will be doing the full brake setup.

[slowe30 0]

update time...

been going awesome recently, handling way better than it used to and im getting used to everything aswell, i was at the point of finishing off the last couple of things then was going to cert it.

but on my way home last night, some steam was comming from the bonnet, opened it up and it apeared to be comming from the back close to the firewall, under the intake manifold.

my guess so far is headgasket due to it looking like it was bubbling out between a joining of the head and block. will confirm in a couple of days.

if my suspisions are correct i will be looking for a m50b25 non vanos, preferibly lower ks, but dont mind headgasket being gone in it, as i will be replacing to lower compression a little and fit head studs. i will then start to prepare for a m50 turbo build. this will take some time, and will be a huge work in progress.

also, does anyone know if a getrag 240 handle this, ive been told they are very strong but havent heard of one being used behind a turbo setup

[_ethrty-Andy_ 2132]

update time...

been going awesome recently, handling way better than it used to and im getting used to everything aswell, i was at the point of finishing off the last couple of things then was going to cert it.

but on my way home last night, some steam was comming from the bonnet, opened it up and it apeared to be comming from the back close to the firewall, under the intake manifold.

my guess so far is headgasket due to it looking like it was bubbling out between a joining of the head and block. will confirm in a couple of days.

if my suspisions are correct i will be looking for a m50b25 non vanos, preferibly lower ks, but dont mind headgasket being gone in it, as i will be replacing to lower compression a little and fit head studs. i will then start to prepare for a m50 turbo build. this will take some time, and will be a huge work in progress.

also, does anyone know if a getrag 240 handle this, ive been told they are very strong but havent heard of one being used behind a turbo setup

Why not stick with the M52, is lighter etc and more displacement, and put a bigger headgasket on that?

(sorry if this is a noob question, still learning about FI!)

[slowe30 0]

ok scratch that last post of mine, turned out to be a pipe that had burst in such a way that it sprayed onto the gap between the head and block and apeared to be comming out of the gap. so its just a simple heater hose which i have ordered and am getting tomorrow, also found the reason it sounded like it had a tick was due to the injector seals into the intake were old and tired and not seated propperly and was a quick sound of vacume repetedly. this with a tick which was cured with an engine flush and new oil.

decided while i have the intake off that ill fix some of the wiring birdsnest aswell, starting with getting a temp guage.

and andy, the m52 would be a nice option if it was a tad stronger, thats why the us guys love their cast iron versions. but the alloy is to weak between the cylinders to put much boost into ive heard. and i know if i do put a turbo on, it wont be set on a low 5psi or anything. ill want real power and go for gold. so stronger engine is preferable. guess the turbo setup is now on hold again.

also who is the engine tuner everyone seems to use in auckland. i remember the name gavin being thrown around but never heard a place he works at or where in the country he is in. im looking at getting it tuned up a little to try sop it coughing a little in the low rev range, which i guess is due to the cams not being right for the tune it has.

cheers

[*Glenn* 854]

Gavin @ High Velocity Ph. (09) 4424451

[_ethrty-Andy_ 2132]

The ecu i sent you has already been tuned by Gavin, though It should really be running a nonvanos m50b25 intake cam. That setup was pulled from kerrys engine before he went to independant throttle bodys and put straight onto mine i didnt modify it at all. Be carefull if buying injectors as well, from memory i used m50 ones not m52, as that what kerry had done. I cant remember if i ended up swapping them or not

[slowe30 0]

its that intake cam that i guess is causing a few little issues then, and if he had m50 injectors and youve used m52 ones (which are larger) then thayll need to be tuned in aswell. not replacing the injectors, just the seal around them. all these things can cause issues with tune for the engine, and it would be good to just make sure its not leaning out at any point in the rev range, as this could cause an engine faliure.

can someone chime in here, what colour are m50 injectors and what colour are m52 ones? mine are pink

[slowe30 0]

been a while since this has been updated, only got one decent picture of what the cars like atm. dark out and the cars in hiding for another 2 months so cant get any new ones. front lip was being test fitted and will be painted before it gets fitted propperly. also car is going to be slightly lowered as its fealing like a little bit of a boat being that high

anyway, i got a few questions for people that know their stuff. i have a m52b28 spare now with a bad head gasket, wanting to know if i put the m52b28 crank rods and pistons into a m50 block, what would the compression become? would it be a strong setup?

wanting to run boost through this one and will be a build in progess for quite a while. thinking of putting in a thicker head gasket to lower the compression and fit head studs. im looking for something in the area on 300kw atw eventually but thats a couple years off reaching im guessing. and what turbo would people recommend? dont want to stress something small out, been thinking something in the gt35r range

[slowe30 0]

just looking through i realised i never put up the pictures on my front brake/suspension set up. so little late but here they are..

and a picture of my soon to be daily drivier

e36 328i

Edited May 8, 2012 by SlowE30

[Nobimmer 694]

nice

[slowe30 0]

tried these out on it

ps, im not the biggest fan of just keeping period wheels on e30s. as you can probly tell.

rebuilding the rear end very soon, including all bushes in 75d derilin, whiteline adjustable swaybar, and 325i subframe, axles and trailing arms. it should be comming back out earily october and hopefully going to happy enough with how it drives to finally get some track time in it

Edited August 25, 2012 by SlowE30

[_ethrty-Andy_ 2132]

is that a schnitzel kit on the back?

[slowe30 0]

is that a schnitzel kit on the back?

zender sides and back, and a IS front. have spoiler aswell but wasnt to keen on it, liked the little rubber thing better

[slowe30 0]

just pulled the sub frame out the back of the car, wasnt as bad as many people were saying. i was expecting it to be alot harder and everything to be more stuck and rusted that it was. i undid the reinforcing plate and the nut holding the subframe bushes in and the bush fell down as i backed of the nut

but something that did make everything easier, i jacked the back up yesterday and sprayed crc on every bolt i thought id have to undo and sprayed alot around the subframe bushes.

also confirmed why the back felt like a bit of a boat on heavy braking, the bushes were knackered, had splits right down both sides on both bushes

pics to come tomorrow, got work in the morning (6 day weeks ) but will be back into it after that

Edited September 1, 2012 by SlowE30

[slowe30 0]

well the bushes are in, 95 e36 m3 rack installed, got it back out and started driving it a bit. its amazing compared to how it used to be.

also noticed my camber is now all within spec to pass a cert after i installed the bushes, so can only assume that the akg 75d derilin bushes decreased camber slightly.

but best news of all, its handles awesome, cant wait to get it to a track and try keep up with some of the other e30s. this will be my first time on a track so nothing amazing will happen but if i keep up the the e30 series cars (the 318i's) then ill be happy at this stage.

if i was to look for a track tyre thats not to overly priced, preferably a semi slick along the lines of r888's, was else stacks up there with them. will also be looking for a set of 15x7s et40 to use as track wheels

[slowe30 0]

is there anyone whose interested in fabracating some strut braces for an e30? or know of a place that will do it well and not charge the earth

my front struts have always been slightly mushrooming from the stiff springs i have and the only strut braces on trademe or in nz that i have found are only 2 point and wouldnt fix this issue. plus i want something realy tough looking, something like this would be awesome (sorry for linking through to your built, just love that brace so much haha)

http://www.bimmersport.co.nz/forums/index....9466&st=135

also a rear one like this that braces up the diff and strenthens the whole strut up aswell

http://garagistic.com/index.php?page=bmw-e...-rear-strut-bar

ive never liked the idea of my diff ripping itself out of the car and want to prepare it for what im wanting to throw at it, also more bracing is never a bad thing.