The chronicles of boost: The E36 318i, the 2JZ and the headaches

[SmRaD]

This isn't so much a build thread as the car isn't getting any extensive upgrades anytime soon, writing it more so to answer any questions people have that are considering a similar swap. Originally bought this car back in 2009 with the intention of swapping a 2jz into it, without actually having a clue as to how much work and money is involved. Needless to say I soon found out this wasn't gonna happen for a while. Fast forward 2 years, I was driving a eg civic with a B18 gsr swap, and i had a steady job, so it was gonna be either turbo the civic, sell both cars and buy something newer, or undertake this swap with a weak knowledge of cars. Being the idiot i am i decided to do the swap and hopefully learn a thing or two along the way.

This is how the car originally looked when i got it running.


At the time i was running hybrid twins in parallel and i was making 380whp at 16psi with the cat still in. After a week of driving and enjoying the car the R154 decided it was a good time to shit the bed and the thrust washer broke destroying my first gear. After getting it rebuilt i installed an AEM water meth kit so i could crank up the boost and see what these twins were capable of. After several fueling issues we finally get it on the dyno and the rear turbo blows up.

I managed to get them warrantied, and decided to sell them rather than risk it again. It was time for Single turbo.


Being on a low budget at the time i went with a borg warner s366 0.91a/r Twin scroll attached to a ebay special twin scroll manifold that was reinforced and had the inner welds cleaned up, with a 46mm Precision wastegate controlling the boost.

At that point my clutch started slipping so it was time to upgrade from the full face street disk to a 6 puck


With the clutch holding and everything running i made this


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At this point the 245/50r16 NT555R's weren't cutting it anymore, so after some research i decided on Hankook Ventus TD in 255/40r17


Can't say enough good things about these tires, they hook in 1st no problem on rolling starts now that its warmer out.
Literally every rock gets stuck in them from how sticky they are


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Then after a while i became power hungry, and decided i wanted a 10second capable car, the time came for some kelford 264/272 cams with supertech springs and retainers, an additional meth nozzle, as well as upgrading to a billet compressor wheel on the BW.


While i was there i decided it was time to make the car and engine bay look better (or rice it out whatever you prefer) so i decided to try my hand at some painting






And my homemade licence plate relocation to the tow hook


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This is how the car sits as of today








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I used the K conversions (if i remember correctly) swap kit from thailand for the engine mounts and transmission mounts. Engine mounts fit perfectly and engine sits back as far as possible. The transmission mount holes weren't in the right place so they had to be redrilled but other than that it made life a lot easier as i dont have the ability to weld my own mounts.

With the USDM mk3 supra r154 the shifter fits perfectly in the hole in the chassis. No extensions needed, its like it was meant for the car. Also a rear sump oil pan had to be sourced from a usdm supra as the aristo 2jz gte is front sump and wont fit.

Another issue was the stock brake booster wouldn't fit with the 2JZ manifold, so after reading around on the forum and seeing that the LSX swap guys use mercedes 190e brake boosters as their smaller and fit in the hole i did the same thing.


it does fit perfectly except that it only has 2 studs holding it to the firewall vs the 4 that hold the bmw one, but the holes line up so thats fine. Also the hole needed to be opened a bit with a die grinder to fit the bmw master cylinder.

One of the bigger challenges was routing the heating. Some of the other swaps routed it through the firewall into the cabin, and that seemed too involved so i machined this replacement for the stock plastic flange that sticks out far enough as the plastic flange hits right into the intake manifold.








I relocated the heating valves to the other side (beside my also relocated windshield washer tank that is now used for methhhhhh)


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I'm not sure how much power im making currently, got a dyno appointment next week, so we will see then.

Here is the current set up if i am not forgetting anything:

-JDM 2jz gte
-Kelford 264/272 cams
-Supertech Springs and retainers
-Borg Warner S366 0.91 a/r divided with billet compressor wheel
-3.5" downpipe to 3" exhaust
-apexi WS2 muffler
-precision 46mm wastegate recirculated
-TR motorsport C2 wheels 17x8.5 in grey
-Bridgestone potenza RE050a RFT 255/40r17 front tires
-Hankook ventus TD 255/40r17 rear tires <3
-m3 rear subframe reinforcement plates welded in
-328i axles with 188mm 3.15 diff
-UUC sway bars front and rear
-Bilstein sport shocks with GC coilover kit 425lb front 475lb rear
-Custom made stainless steel front diff bolt (forget what steel grade, was comparable to grade 10.9 before heat treating)
-Mishimoto R line intercooler with 2.5" hot and cold pipes
-Greddy type RS blow off valve
-OEM 325i radiator, using the AC fan
-Summit brand oil catch can
-ACT extreme pressure plate with 6 puck friction disk
-Rebuilt R154 transmission with marlin crawler internals
-sparco torino 2 front seats.
-rallyroad fuel pump adapter with aeromotive 340 fuel pump
-Fuel injector clinic fuel rail and 775cc High impedance injectors.
-Haltech Sprint 500 ECU
-AEM water methanol kit
-Replica m3 front bumper
-Autometer sport comp Boost and oil pressure gauges, and AEM uego wideband all mounted on A pillar

Thats all i can remember off the top of my head

Also obviously didn't debadge the car, Its just a "bolt on" 318i after all

[pbonsalb]

Relatively uncommon. Seems like a lot of work and expense. I made 560 rwhp with a thicker headgasket and a GT35R on an S52. What is it making now with the fancy cams and valvetrain and billet wheel S366? You can make 600, 700 or 800 with a built S52.

[SmRaD]

Most of the mechanical work i did myself with help from Goran's bike shop in Richmond, BC and Spin industries in Burnaby BC (where all the machining was done).

All the welding and wiring and tuning is done by the masters at Independent Speed Shop in Langley BC who i cant recommend enough. Honest guys that do great work and have an enormous knowledge of fabrication and tuning.


Next on the menu for the car is upgrading the radiator, the engine bay runs extremely hot, and Now with the temperatures up its having trouble cooling. Going up a large hill in the afternoon sun it started overheating. Also in that regard ive got a thermal zero turbo blanket on the way here to help keep the underhood temps down. Probably gonna go with a dual pass C&R radiator as ive heard really good things about them, and they arnt too expensive.

Also Gonna paint those ugly Grey sideskirts to match the rest of the car when i get a chance.

Ive also begun working on getting 6 piston front and 4 piston rear Brembos off a porche cayenne set up. I'll update that as more work gets done.

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Relatively uncommon. Seems like a lot of work and expense. I made 560 rwhp with a thicker headgasket and a GT35R on an S52. What is it making now with the fancy cams and valvetrain and billet wheel S366? You can make 600, 700 or 800 with a built S52.

It was a huge amount of work and expense, i dont recommend it for the faint hearted. You could get away with this for less than the cost of a stock TT RHD supra imported from japan, and a lot less than a LHD usdm supra, plus you get a lighter better handling chassis.

Also on stock bottom end i can reliably push what fully built s52's do and never have to worry about the headgasket issues they seem to have.

And one nice day if i happen to have over 20k lying around, i can turn it into a 1000hp+ monster.

But yeah its much better bang for the buck to just turbo an m3 and have a fun street car, i just wanted to do everything the hard way

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I don't know the power atm, i should have numbers soon but im guessing around 600, not sure. This borgwarner isnt fancy at all lol with the billet wheel it came out to 1000CAD taxes included. They dont make as much power as comparable precisions or GTX garretts from what ive seen, it was the affordable reliable option

[mbfinatic]

I love 318i builds! Great work!

[SmRaD]

Spacers for rotors are made and rotors have been drilled in 5x120, now comes the hard part of mounting the calipers

[Jkpgt96]

Nice work! Following this on supraforums too!

For me at least, it was personal preference and more support that pushed me toward a 2j. Both engine families are very capable.

[Jamdun17]

Awsome heater junction you have, was a pain in the ass for me to fit my heater hoses with the stock plastic piece and even now its rubbing slightly. You planning on making more of those? Without the pipes coming off of it just the junction threaded

[SmRaD]

Awsome heater junction you have, was a pain in the ass for me to fit my heater hoses with the stock plastic piece and even now its rubbing slightly. You planning on making more of those? Without the pipes coming off of it just the junction threaded

I probably still have the program in mastercam, wouldnt be for free though lol

[boarder2k7]

Very cool build! I love the heater hose rework, that's a very nice job!

As for a radiator, take a look at the Z3 M radiator as well. It was built for an S54 in an E36 chassis, so it has more cooling capacity (thicker core) but drops in to the E36 with no issues. That said you're clearly okay with modifications so you'll be fine whatever way you go!

[M5Hunter]

Cant believe those 328 axles are hanging in there.

[SmRaD]

Very cool build! I love the heater hose rework, that's a very nice job!

As for a radiator, take a look at the Z3 M radiator as well. It was built for an S54 in an E36 chassis, so it has more cooling capacity (thicker core) but drops in to the E36 with no issues. That said you're clearly okay with modifications so you'll be fine whatever way you go!

I've got virtually no room in between the rad fan and my serpentine belt so i cant really go thicker. I've already ordered a C&R dual pass radiator so hopefully that solves the issues.

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Cant believe those 328 axles are hanging in there.

haha i thought they would be the first to go to, although i haven't done any hard launches or been to the strip yet.
That said i am on the lookout for a 210mm LSD in 3.73 and M3 axles hubs trailing arms.

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Turbo blanket came in, It's huge haha. Would be a better fit for a 76mm turbo or something along those lines

[Jkpgt96]

I thought I saw a e34 m5 diff in the classifieds on here in the last couple weeks..dunno if it has sold yet of not.

[SmRaD]

I thought I saw a e34 m5 diff in the classifieds on here in the last couple weeks..dunno if it has sold yet of not.

Saw that one $1150 lol, i think ill hold off on that, this hasnt broken yet

[glockroulette]

Wondering if your dual pass radiator solved your issue? I'm also gte swapped. Running a cx racing radiator with their shroud, running ac makes the motor run toastier than id like. About 200-205 on, 192-189 off. I've got a two spals. One radiator mounted and the other condenser mounted. Te fan to belt clearance is about 1/4inch.

I'm on stock twins though. You have a shroud?

[SmRaD]

Wondering if your dual pass radiator solved your issue? I'm also gte swapped. Running a cx racing radiator with their shroud, running ac makes the motor run toastier than id like. About 200-205 on, 192-189 off. I've got a two spals. One radiator mounted and the other condenser mounted. Te fan to belt clearance is about 1/4inch.

I'm on stock twins though. You have a shroud?

Yeah custom shroud and im running just the oem A/C cooler fan as my radiator fan atm lol, tore A/C out when i did the swap, never used it anyways. The c&r isnt here yet, hopefully ill have it mounted by next wens.

If its still overheating with that ill try a diff fan or maybe just put a bunch of holes in my hood lol

[pbonsalb]

Cooling Components Inc makes a fully shrouded 2500 cfm bosch 2 speed motor 17 inch fan that fits the stock or aftermarket radiator core with some trimming of the shroud (mine is on a Mishimoto Z3 S54M radiator and has also been on a stock M3 radiator and a stock Z3 S54M. It is 2.625 thick, but is consistently that thick, meaning it is that thick all around the fan blade. It is not cone shaped like the typical mini cage fan with the motor mounted on top of the blades as opposed to inside the blades. That said, 205F is fine. You definitely want at least one fan to run with the AC compressor like stock -- preferably the pusher located on the condenser. And you may want to look into a PWM controller for an electric puller fan, like Spal and Derale make. Not cheap at $150+.

[glockroulette]

Yeah custom shroud and im running just the oem A/C cooler fan as my radiator fan atm lol, tore A/C out when i did the swap, never used it anyways. The c&r isnt here yet, hopefully ill have it mounted by next wens.

If its still overheating with that ill try a diff fan or maybe just put a bunch of holes in my hood lol

Yeah you'll def want a second fan. I'm looking to upgrade the radiator as well. Maybe a zionsville or of the sort. Where did you find a cr dual pass for the e36?

Check out run cool louvers.com I got some louvers from them. Makes a world of difference in underwood temps. After a drive the only thing hot on the hood is the vents themselves.

Cooling Components Inc makes a fully shrouded 2500 cfm bosch 2 speed motor 17 inch fan that fits the stock or aftermarket radiator core with some trimming of the shroud (mine is on a Mishimoto Z3 S54M radiator and has also been on a stock M3 radiator and a stock Z3 S54M. It is 2.625 thick, but is consistently that thick, meaning it is that thick all around the fan blade. It is not cone shaped like the typical mini cage fan with the motor mounted on top of the blades as opposed to inside the blades. That said, 205F is fine. You definitely want at least one fan to run with the AC compressor like stock -- preferably the pusher located on the condenser. And you may want to look into a PWM controller for an electric puller fan, like Spal and Derale make. Not cheap at $150+.

I've been searching everywhere for the "operating temp" spec for the 2jz. Anyone happen to know?

The fan I have mounted on te condenser pushes through to the rad.

[SmRaD]

Cooling Components Inc makes a fully shrouded 2500 cfm bosch 2 speed motor 17 inch fan that fits the stock or aftermarket radiator core with some trimming of the shroud (mine is on a Mishimoto Z3 S54M radiator and has also been on a stock M3 radiator and a stock Z3 S54M. It is 2.625 thick, but is consistently that thick, meaning it is that thick all around the fan blade. It is not cone shaped like the typical mini cage fan with the motor mounted on top of the blades as opposed to inside the blades. That said, 205F is fine. You definitely want at least one fan to run with the AC compressor like stock -- preferably the pusher located on the condenser. And you may want to look into a PWM controller for an electric puller fan, like Spal and Derale make. Not cheap at $150+.

I took out a/c when i did the swap so thats not an issue anymore.

Ill try out the new rad with this fan first see if its good enough, if not ill look into that fan you recommended

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Yeah you'll def want a second fan. I'm looking to upgrade the radiator as well. Maybe a zionsville or of the sort. Where did you find a cr dual pass for the e36?

Check out run cool louvers.com I got some louvers from them. Makes a world of difference in underwood temps. After a drive the only thing hot on the hood is the vents themselves.



I've been searching everywhere for the "operating temp" spec for the 2jz. Anyone happen to know?

The fan I have mounted on te condenser pushes through to the rad.

I got a universal rad from c&r, i believe product code is 802-26191. As for the louvres im hoping to avoid that, dont want water leaking all over my engine (rains up here alot)

[unnatrl]

I got a universal rad from c&r, i believe product code is 802-26191. As for the louvres im hoping to avoid that, dont want water leaking all over my engine (rains up here alot)

This is what I used in my E36 and it worked well. A Lincoln MKVIII fan fits just about perfect if you have the room between the radiator and front accessories to mount it.

[Robgoddard1jz]

So I'm putting a 1jz-gte non VVT-I In my E46 323i. I was wondering about what intercooler you are using? I have a tiny bit more room to work with in the 323i than a 318i, but it's still cramped (Aren't all BMW's a little on the stuffy side? ) Also, What kind of hell did you go through in the wiring process? I'm basically to the point where I'm ready to put the motor in the car, But want to make sure I can get to the next step from there, Lol. Thanks in advance!

-Fellow JDMBMW-er

[glockroulette]

So I'm putting a 1jz-gte non VVT-I In my E46 323i. I was wondering about what intercooler you are using? I have a tiny bit more room to work with in the 323i than a 318i, but it's still cramped (Aren't all BMW's a little on the stuffy side? ) Also, What kind of hell did you go through in the wiring process? I'm basically to the point where I'm ready to put the motor in the car, But want to make sure I can get to the next step from there, Lol. Thanks in advance!

-Fellow JDMBMW-er

Wiring is easy. Find out which jz you have vvti or not, use wilbo666's pinouts. Battery positive, switched b+, grounds, plus fuel lines and it will start. If it's a manual neutral safety switch. If your harness is uncut and intact all your worrying about is ecu inputs. Which all the above are.

[SmRaD]

So I'm putting a 1jz-gte non VVT-I In my E46 323i. I was wondering about what intercooler you are using? I have a tiny bit more room to work with in the 323i than a 318i, but it's still cramped (Aren't all BMW's a little on the stuffy side? ) Also, What kind of hell did you go through in the wiring process? I'm basically to the point where I'm ready to put the motor in the car, But want to make sure I can get to the next step from there, Lol. Thanks in advance!

-Fellow JDMBMW-er

I'm using the r-line mishimoto intercooler, 4"core. I had to cut into the hard inner bumper to get it to fit but I made it work haha. As for the wiring I can't help you with unfortunately, as good as I am with mechanical work and machining the wiring stuff scares me lol. I'm using a Haltech sprint 500 standalone and I got Independent speed shop to do all the wiring and tuning for me.

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I've finally upgraded my radiator, still using the oem a/c fan which I think is on its way out as its melting 30A fuses, so that will have to get done at some point.

Was not easy at all getting the C&R to fit, custom brackets took a long time, and its still incredibly cramped as you can see by the second picture. Almost no room for the fan


almost touching

[SmRaD]

No more restrictions

[E36Leroux]

Indy is a great shop, Bill knows what he is doing especially with the JZ motor. did they do the exhaust to? i need me some oval pipes!

[BrownGhost]

What oil sump are you using, any pictures from, your build below car to see how you clear rack and stuff?
im in process of building an e46 with 2j, getting all the parts i need.. my engine has front sump, dont look it it will fit..

like there are 3 types of sumps for the 2j engines

http://my.prostreetonline.com/wp-con...front-sump.jpg