I have a really old 3 series that is an 89 I think. Everything is starting to fall apart on it, I guess the previous owner didnt take such good care of it at all. the belts are all going bad and there are rust spots everywhere to the point that I have holes in my body! Anyway, I was wondering if a car had to be in really good condition to support a turbo? Doesnt a turbo stress your car in a way? If thats the case, should I avoid putting one on my car?
All feedback is greatly appreciated and might I ad this is a wonderful place for us BMW enthusiasts and I am thrilled that I am now a part of this community!
I love my BMW
Installing a turbo, or any other device which boosts your power level is going to put more strain on every part of your car. Issues will surface which will need to be corrected, certainly, but it's really impossible to tell you whether or not your car is in good enough shape. The engine, transmission, driveline, differential, axles, cooling system, and tires are just some basic things which will need to be in good shape to take on the task of extra power. That all said, do a comp/leakdown test. If it passes, strap a budget turbo system on there and smash it until the wheels fall off!
If it's falling apart anyways, then it wouldn't really matter
if you blew it up right?
I'm hitting 20psi on my m20 every day.
350,000 miles on the block.
Lol I like your thinking man hahaha. Seriously though, this is the only car I have so I couldnt afford to have it break down. Oh and to answer another one of these posted questions, my car currently has 180000 miles on it. Oh I also have this weird problem with it where the gas pedal depresses almost by itself for the first 2 inches or so. I think its the cable.
Im curious though, how much stress does putting a turbo on a bmw 3 series cause?
I love my BMW
You've already answered your own question. If this is your only car, don't do it. There is some downtime associated with a turbo install and things DO break, whether you plan for them to or not, so you need a reliable daily driver other than the car you're planning to modify. There's nothing wrong with daily driving a turbo car, but you always should have a backup plan.
IG: @mikevanshellenbeck
Yea I guess youre right. But in all honesty guys, how many of you have more than 1 car for driving. Im not exactly rich. And judging by the way the economy is right now, neither are a lot of you guys!
I love my BMW
But the costs of maintaining 2 cars has to be through the roof!
I love my BMW
turbo it and expect the worse
If it's your only car and you're worried about costs, put the money into repairing/restoring it for now. For half the price of a turbo kit you can do quite a bit of good for the health of the car. Turbos will still be around tomorrow.
Austin
Active Autowerke C38 stage 2 on 95 dakar yellow M3, 30k miles
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If it's your only car do NOT do it. I turbo'd my e36 as my only car but my ex had two cars so I dailyed hers, then rented a car from a friend after we broke up, and then I bought my e30 as a backup. I've driven my beater more than my turbo car in the last 6 months. You HAVE TO have a backup.
No offense, but why would you buy a BMW if the only one you could afford is one thats about to fall apart?
If your going to put a turbocharger on a car, you need to start with a good foundation.
you will fall to peices if you put it in before you fix up the car i know this i got my 2002 330i in that condition fixed it up then modded it it runs great (just look at the sig and find out what i mean)
I love my car
go for it!
you have to dive under the hood anyways!
E31 M73 Forever
you will regret it if you dont fix it up first
I love my car
The car must be 100% caught up on maintenance first, otherwise you'll be breaking all kinds of crap.
you obviously dont have much money, you depend on your e30 as your daily driver, its falling apart...and you want to turbo it? boost will only make your car fall apart more. do you know how much it is to turbo a car? i say dont do it if your tight on cash and need this car. i can see it right now, you spend all your money turbocharging it, and the next day something brakes/blows up and your screwed.
now if you didnt need the car, and not worried about its state of health, i think it would be better to strap on a nitrous kit before a turbo.
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