BimmerFest BMW Forum banner

Well I did it.. The deed is done

7K views 51 replies 10 participants last post by  TannerT 
#1 ·
So after months of waiting, questions, research, and you guys probably thinking I am full of sh1t, things have come together. ESS Stage 2 ordered, 8.5 psi upgrade soon to come, Zimmerman brakes ordered, talking with MMVs friends to get my last trans swap pieces hopefully shipped my way this coming week.

I am going to wait to install the SC kit after I get the 5 speed swap done and get used to the gears. Seeing as I am race car certified(lol) should be no big deal but if the race car decides to blow up I don't have to pay for it.

Here is where I stand on the mod list:
Catless headers
custom Magnaflow quad tip exhaust
UUC three way adjustable swaybars
Hotchkis spings
EU2 reprogrammed (for 02 codes)
Getting Koni yellows
5 speed swapped with 3.38 diff
ESS TS2

Cosmetics:
Smoked all around
M3 style mirrors
M3 style front bumper
18 inch M6 reps coming soon

Interior:
Carbon Fiber trim
aux input (put it opposite of the DSC and HK buttons (thank you Smolk)
re coloring leather seats-- I am leaving this as a surprise for a later post, I hope you guys like them when I get them done.

Also this year I replaced the entire cooling system minus the radiator, replaced all pulleys, replaced CCV, replaced VCG, and a set of Nexen N3000's surprisingly brilliant tires. Also when spring hits(So like mid February in MO,) I am replacing my end links, tie rods, and control arms.

Future plans, I will daily the car for two more years. Then instead of blowing big bucks on a new car I am going buy an e60 M5 and probably a Z3(Expecting the to be pretty cheap by then.) The 330 will be stripped of everything and be tracked (probably still be my daily lol.)
 
See less See more
#39 ·
Update: I am loving the swap!! Yes being at almost 3k rpm going 65 is a bit annoying but the car is just so fun now that I am back into good shifting mode. 0-50 only take around 5ish seconds its that shift into 3rd that makes 60 take a bit linger but no one actually races 0-60 lol.

With the new wheels and tires I am getting a lot more grip and better feel. The nitto extreems are insane! But for almost 1k for 4 they better be

Sent from my PantechP9060 using Bimmer App
 
#40 ·
Well the kit I wanted was sold two days before my guy stood trial, which is hilariously annoying. However hope is not lost! The Moses I think about it though, I am getting these terrible ideas to do a motor swap instead..

Sent from my PantechP9060 using Bimmer App
 
#41 ·
So Mal has convinced me that turbos are a better platform for the m54. I am also toying with the idea of a moddest engine swap. Not the S54 but an m62tu for all of the torque. I have looked into it and it seems that the m62 is not an insane electrical nightmare mainly the ews needs to be reprogrammed. The steering rack needs to be tucked and sway bar relocated. My main goal is 300rw ft/lbs as some of you know I don't give a rip about HP its just an advertisement for the most part. I am leaning more towards Turbo charging right now. My reasons are that I can start off with a low mild tune running low boost until I decode to reinforce things then up the power a bit. I could run two tunes one to put around when I don't want to ride my bike to work and one to run it like piss. It would be far less labor aswell yet a little less reliable. As far as price goes they both probably have the same end cost but if done carefully the Turbo kit can be done pretty cheaply. I would build my own with a standalone oil system and run megasquirt 3 software. With that i could run the two tune I want like 6psi and 8psi I could do a lot of tuning on my own. I would run a Garrett Turbo probably smaller for better low end boost. Then after I build up the rest of the car down the road I could add a tune that would be balls to the wall but that would be down the road a bit. Also since I want to strip and track the car a Turbo would be lighter.

Thoughts?

Sent from my PantechP9060 using Bimmer App
 
#42 ·
You already know me thoughts:) TURBO FTW!. I think if you take the time and really the patience you can price out your own turbo kit to be very inexpensive. Of course you will need to get the headers custom built and so forth. But other than that room isn't a problem for the turbos on an M54.. I mean there's so much damn room under there for turbos with the cats gone. I suspect the hard part is just going to be the tuning.
 
#46 ·
Look at then I want to Fab my own kit that is the stuff I am good at. Very good point on handling it that is why I would like to start at low power. Then work up.

Sent from my PantechP9060 using Bimmer App
 
#48 ·
Yeah when I did the swap if you remember. O had to make a lot of things work. The clutch system is almost completely my madness. I found a good Turbo source and am looking at a garret 50 trim then found all kinds of Turbo manifolds so I just need wiring piping IC and tuning I bet I can do it for 3K I mean hell after I sell my driveshafts I will have done my trans swap for almost free

Sent from my PantechP9060 using Bimmer App
 
#49 ·
Exactly! that's the beauty of it. A lot of people don't understand that if you really want FI you can do your own custom kits to make it SO much cheaper. You know you might want to even look at a k04 turbo. handles tons of power and it's rather cheap. Plus there's plenty of rebuilt kits for them so it's easy to maintain.
 
#50 ·
Like I said the most expensive thing will be buying megasquirt and then after trying it all out eventually getting on a cynical and getting a professional tune done. My goal again is 300 wheel tourque and leave it be until I can build the motor and rear end.

Sent from my PantechP9060 using Bimmer App
 
#51 ·
Okay so I have put together a kit that should suit what I want for now. Garrett turbo t3/t04B with stage 3 turbine and a 0.48 A/R turbine. Will run a Tial QR BOV, and Tial 38mm wastegate. start out at 8 psi and see what happens. I'm just going to use an ebay intecooler universal kit and buy extra piping and connectors. Probably going to run an independent oil circulation system if I can find room for it and may run a water cooling system as well. I may go ahead and buy a thinker head gasket along with head studs because I am sure I will end up with boost fever. I am working with Blaastperformance who has done a twin turbo kit on a 328i so If they can tune remotely I will let them do the tuning, If not I will go proefi.. megasquirt would be much more of a hassle. Also forgot that I will be going with 36/38 lb injectors. Blaast is telling me to go with a a 4inch maf upgrade but I am not keen on that idea yet.

Mal what clutch are you running to hold power? I know this stock one will crap itself if I ever do a launch because I will be looking at about 300wft/lbs.

Also I plan to upgrade to a big brake kit and my suspension has already been upgraded, so I guess the only worry now is will the subframe hold up :yikes:
 
#52 ·
WooHoo found someone to to tune the stock ECU for TURBO!!! yay! ecuprogram out of Alberta is going to do it. They charge $599 for the base turbo tune based on my set up. Then I pound it around for a bit with a data logger and can sent it back for additional fine tuning for an extra fee of course. I am actually a much bigger fan of this kind of tuning and is actually how we tune our race car. Dynos are great but nothing can match what happens when your on the real road making pulls and exiting corners. The only thing I have yet to do is locate a proper clutch kit for such a set up. I will just let the OEM one di first I suppose. As soon as my wheels sell I am going to purchase the manifold, turbo, and IC with piping to start mocking things up. I am going to reserve money as I am going to be In South Africa a good part of the summer and I have a few things I am going to bring back for my gf that are not cheap and hard to get in the states.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top