Budget PT6262/SPA/NickG/TiAl Build

[cmzwirner]

After MLS failure(build part 2?): http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum....php?t=1835219


I have owned my M3 for a little over a year and a half now. Since i bought it, i have have tried to be the best owner i could be. During the first year i spent hundreds, and maybe even thousands on preventative maintenance. Out of the thousands i have spent on the car, only $250 of this was spent on engine modifications. This was because i saw no point in modifying the car in its N/A form. The gains were downright pathetic.

Over the time i have owned the car, i have had time to really think about what i wanted from the car. At first, i wanted a great handling car, and i didnt care about how little power it had. But after awhile the stock car was boring, even with great suspension. I was initially interested in supercharging the car, but i eventually stopped being ignorant and decided to follow what everyone else say, and go turbo first.

Initially i had budgeted $3500 for a supercharger build. Due to this initial decision, i decided to keep the budget the same for the turbo. I was told time and time again that this simply couldnt be done, and that i should just go with a kit. I decided to go for it anyways.

Since then, there hasnt been a 15 minute interval that i havent checked the forced induction classifieds. I was determined to get the best deals on used and new parts. I needed to do this to meet my budget. Today, i purchased the very last part of the build.

Here is a parts list:
38mm Ported SPA Manifold - $375
Precision JB Billet PT6262 .82 - $815
TiAl 38mm Wastegate/DP - $135
TiAl 50mm BOV - $160
CXracing 24x12x3 Core Intercooler - $114
Mild Steel/Powdercoated IC Piping/silicone - $200
Budget 3" Exhaust/DP - $300
Oil lines - $40
NickG Tuning/Injectors/MAF - $1,000
Turbo Engine Mount - $100
MLS HG/ARP's/Resurface - $465
Clutchnet Red - $300
Wideband/boost gauges - $180
Total - $4,184

In a sense, i was actually way under budget if you were to price it compared to a kit. Most kits dont come with a clutch, exhaust, or MLS ARP's and headwork. If we were to subtract these items from the total, i would be at $3120! Granted the build isnt finished and the car isnt running, but i dont see it increasing so much to justify buying a kit.

Here are a few build pics:

Headgasket Job:






Now that the headgasket is done, it should be much less stressful from here on out. Now comes the fun stuff! Intercooler piping, intercooler, tune/maf/injectors, BOV, wastegate, downpipe, etc etc etc. You could say that only the fun stuff is left.

I have a week off from school, so i now have plenty of time to get this stuff done. I first started by mounting the fan.



The cross brace was in the way so it was removed.



While i was drilling the brackets for the fan, the drillbit caught and edge on the bracket, and turned the bracket into a drill mounted razor blade cutting anything in its path. This resulted in my finger being cut open:



I then got my entire finger numbed and stitched.



Stupidly, i went right back to work when i got back. My finger was entirely numb for the rest of the day. I used a sawzall a few times that day. I could have cut my finger off and not even known it. Remind me not to do that ever again. This morning the novocaine wore off and due to me stressing it right after it was stitched up, i woke up in a huge amount of pain. Apparently this is the worst possible area to cut yourself. I have had a 3/8" x 2" gash in my leg and it didnt compare to the pain this thing caused.

As of now im taking it easy. But there is still much to be done :






Forgive me for any type-o's. Im typing with one hand.

If you see anything wrong with what im doing, please comment. Most of you guys are much more experienced than me in this stuff. Comments/criticism are welcome. Keep an eye on this thread for updates. Things will be moving very fast if everything goes as planned.

Thanks for looking!

[milKt]

My kind of thread.

Pron, sweat, blood and milk.

Great choices
and glad you spent some time reading and judging prior to those choices.

McScribed.

[M3GSX]

Your going to love that tune. Not sure how it will react on a Cast bottom-mount setup however; I bet results will be awesome

[Mac8008]

You got off easy with that small cut. I know someone who lost his thumb in much the same manner.

You still have a lot to accomplish before you are near finished with the install so hang in there and best of luck.

[MPowerDan]

awesome work i wish i could buget that and get those parts and do that work lol.

[Mod Addict]

ICS stage 1 tune and hfm, very nice... Not an easy find.

[milKt]

[cmzwirner]

ITT: Lots of people with ICS stage 1. Im pretty glad i got it.

Glad to hear that its a great tune. I should start cutting piping tomorrow. The intercooler piping should be cake. Im routing it under the subframe for now. The hotside might be a challenge though. Maybe.. And is the intercooler supposed to be flush with the hole for the bumper mesh, or is it supposed to sit an inch or or two back? The outlets on the intercooler are touching the brake duct inlets, preventing it from sitting any further forward. As of right now, its about 1.5 inches away from being flush with the hole. Most people's pictures show that the intercooler is flush.

And yeah.. I did get very lucky that i didnt lose my finger. I may have lost all feeling in it though. Its been 24 hours since i got the shot and the cut area is still numb. Im such a baby.

[stanksbeamen]

My intercooler does not sit flush with the opening in my bumper. Its really how you want it to be? I dont mind it and it doesnt look out of place. If anything you could put somehting on the bumper to extend it to touch the intercooler.

[cmzwirner]

Your sig pic, along with others' pictures make the intercoolers look like they sit flush. I thought i was doing something wrong, but i guess not! :P

Im going to be welding up the intercooler bracket tomorrow aswell. The amount i will get done depends on if i can use my left hand, and how bad the snowstorm is tomorrow. Supposedly we are getting 1-2 feet. Working in that will be fun.

[Quicksilver328i]

You will probably want to invest in an upgraded fuel pump and wiring as well. I like the aeromotive with a simple relay harness added, can be done <$200.

Also consider that a used kit doesn't usually sell for as much as a new kit. You have a used tune, injectors, and MAF - not that it is bad, just you paid hundreds less because of it. And I'm not sure if Nick supports this, so its also going to lack tuning refinement that the kits will have (not a significant issue, but worth at least noting).

[cmzwirner]

Its already beed addressed with the PO. If anything doesnt work right off the bat he said he would pick up half for a new part. This is for parts only. There wasnt ever a guarantee that this tune would work for my custom setup, so that doesnt count. Im sure everything will be fine though. If not, NickG told me that it would cost $200(?) for a basic reflash. The injectors and MAF only have 5k on them, and both look brand new.

Also, all im really trying to prove is that if you take the right paths, a good setup can be had for much less than the community makes it seem. I was told countless times that it would cost me $8000+ for a good setup, and that my budget wasnt possible. Were they referring to a "good setup" as brand new top quality parts? If so, they may have been right. The kits are hard to beat since you only save a couple hundred if you bought the same parts new and pieced it together. But if you buy used, you can get a solid setup for very cheap. Id just like to give hope to other budget guys out there. I cannot make any claims of victory until the car is running perfectly though.

And i completely forgot to include the fuel pump into the parts list. I have one on the way though. Its the walbro GSS340. I have an aluminum sleeve idea that im going to try out, along with EMC's newly discovered correctly angled sleeve. If it works, a DIY will be up shortly after.

I also forgot to mention a few things in my original post. A few thanks here and there.

1. I need to give a personal thanks to Philip. This guy has put hours into helping me, all out of kindness. Walls upon walls of text. Question after question answered. Looking back at how idiotic some of the questions i asked were, im surprised he stuck with it and kept helping me. He even drove to show and shine to rent me his tools, deliver some parts, and let me drive his car. I owe him my damn build. I cant even express how thankful i am.

2. Jonathan and Mike at maximumPSI. These guys are great. They had the pest price on the 6262 i could find, the best price on an MLS and ARP's, and also were willing to help me with anything i was having trouble with. If i ever find myself in NJ, i will be sure to pay a special visit to meet the guys who helped me out tremendously with my build. Id also get a few dyno runs in too.

3. The community. You guys fcuking rock! The information that can be found on these forums, and the helpfulness of the members who inhabit it is incredible. I swear i have increasd my knowledge on these cars by ten fold in the past 2 months. Honestly, the knowledge that i have gained from researching and doing this build is well worth the cost of going F/I alone.

Enough of me pouring my heart out to you guys. Its time for me to go to bed.

[hsvturbo]

I'm glad you posted your build, I will be watching and learning as I know very little about the s52. One question, you didn't list any studs for the head, or does the S52 come with studs already? Thanks,

[cmzwirner]

I mention ARP's quite a few times. ARP's refer to the Automotive Racing Part's 2000 headstuds. Call MaximumPSI. They will be happy to set you up with what you need!

[Quicksilver328i]

Yeah, my total setup with a boostlogic manifold and scavenge pump (and new tune) was close in price to the stage 1 kits.

[cmzwirner]

If "the stage 1 kits" refers to TT or TRM's offerings, then you actually got much better hardware than what is included in the kits for the same price. The Boostlogic tubular manifolds are better than their cast iron counterparts. Id also assume that you got a DBB turbo aswell.

Just a heads up to anyone out there needing a wideband on a budget:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/300625422180...9#ht_500wt_965

This seller took my offer of $152.66. This is $30 lower than anywhere else i could find. Used ones are selling for this much!

[MikeE36]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/300625422180...9#ht_500wt_965

Good luck with your build!

-Mike

[birdman2447]

looks like you are making good progress, i just used one of the foam sleeves for my walbro pump upgrade but not happy with it. If you can find the right diameter and wall thickness tube some where close i can turn a few down on the lathe for us.

[cmzwirner]

I was planning on using an aluminum pipe with the right ID to fit the walbro and right OD to fit the stock sleeve. Id epoxy or silicone the aluminum pipe to the stock sleeve, and tap it to fit 2 hex screws. Id use the hex screws to clamp the pump in place, and id use the sock that eric found to keep the pickup at the right angle. But if i cant get it to wrok my way ill look into the lathing idea!

Also stephen, Ill text you sometime tomorrow about welding. Things are moving fast!

My day has been pretty slow though. I didnt have a car for the majority of the day, so i didnt get much done. I did manage to cut the pieces for the intercooler bracket, wastegate port, and downpipe.



I had to modify the downpipe to fit my application, since it was built for a boostlogic manifold. I also had to reduce it from a 3" vband to a 2.5" vband due to the turbo using a 2.5" discharge. I need to get the vband flange cut off with a lathe tomorrow. The reducer combined with the vband is too long. Once the wastegate piping and downpipe is done, that will be it for the exhaust this month. Intercooler pipe will be fabbed tomorrow!

For the oil drain, can i just use 1/2" barbed brass fittings? All of the 5/8" barbed fittings have 3/4" NPT threads, and i dont have a tap that large.

For 3/4" NPT fittings, i either have to:

Special order a $40 tap.
Get my oil pan CNC threaded

With 1/2" i can just tap it with the tools i currently have. It would make life easier.

[cmzwirner]

Right now im juggling having family at my house, spending time with my girlfriend, and working on my car. I think im moving at a pretty good pace on this build considering all the crap im doing. The build is mostly worked at night though. Its my time to relax and do what i enjoy most.

More progress! I helped with thanksgiving dinner all day until about 6. At 9, thanksgiving was over and i headed over to by buddies girlfriends house to get the intercooler bracket welded up by her dad. It was nearly impossible to find someone to weld on thanksgiving. I owe my build to his girlfriends dad!

I decided to take a different approach to the bracket, and make the cross braces hit the bottom before the bolt holes. I didnt like the fact that you could see the bracket through the grills. It turned out great!





I know im not nearly done, but seeing the front end together is a great thing. It actually feels like im making progress now.

In the next 3 days, the following has to get done:

Fabricate and weld intercooler piping.
Weld downpipe.
Route and weld wastegate piping.
Drop oilpan, tap oil drain, clean it, mount it back up.
Tap oil banjo bolt, route oil feed.
Make oil drain flange.
Install manifold. Delete CCV and plug dipstick tube?
Tap manifold for BOV, WG, and boost gauge.
Install ECU, MAF, etc etc.
Any misc stuff i forgot..
....
....
FIRST STARTUP!

This is alot to do, but i have the next 3 days free to do this. Thats all day and all night. If all goes smoothly, i should have this done in notime.

Check for updates tomorrow night!

[BavarianLove]

I would weld the oil pan drain fitting. Save you the headache.

[cmzwirner]

Is a 5/8" barbed aluminum fitting easy to come by? I have a few autopart stores, a speed shop, and an ACE Hardware the next town over. You think any of them would have one? I guess the best thing to do would be to call tomorrow, but it would be good to have a general idea.

[BavarianLove]

Go with a threaded -10an male or female aluminum fitting. Go to your local hydraulic store.

[cmzwirner]

Hm. There is one in gorham, which is 5 minutes away. Ill look tomorrow.

Did anyone else have trouble getting 3" piping to fit between the frame rail and manifold? I got 2.5" to fit, and then i pried that around to stretch it out. I now have about 2.8" of clearance. Any tips?

[MTrace]

I didnt like the fact that you could see the bracket through the grills. It turned out great!

Thats the best part!