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Thread: Wall Street: Twin Turbo LS Powered E34

  1. #1
    Join Date
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    Turbo 1991 Honda Civic

    Wall Street: Twin Turbo LS Powered E34

    When I showed up at my friends house with my new-to-me 5 speed '95 525i the first time, he laughed and said, "who are you, Gordan Gecko?" and then started referring to the car as "Wall Street". In that spirit of excess, I intend to build this car. I'm swapping an L59 (iron block 5.3L LSX motor), T56 (GTO 6 speed trans) and a pair of turbos. The L59 was chosen over the lighter LS1 for it's low price and robustness. My power goal is 700 hp to the wheels with a fat powerband. The Aluminum LS motors are prone to self destruction at the power level without being built where the iron block motors hold impossible amounts of power in stock form. (http://************/Truckin-Article)So far the M50 and trans are out, and I have sectioned the cross members. I bought a mock up foam block for this project which has been super helpful already. I need to find a rack to swap in to replace the steering box and possibly convert the brake booster to a hydroboost setup as it looks like it is going to be in the way. More to come. PICTUREShttp://imgur.com/a/eRYpL

  2. #2
    Join Date
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    '95 M3, 97' E39 540i-LS3
    Nice intro. The car looks super clean. Was it a resto or just really well taken care of?
    540i-LS3-TR6060 swap thread

  3. #3
    M5Hunter is offline Still has a E39 Supporting Vendor
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    Interested to see it come together. I will say that the iron motors have the same failures as the aluminum motor when pushing them that hard. Pistons are the main issue and both motors share the same pistons. Also in that 700whp range, expect possible rod failures in either motor. If you are slapping in a stock 5.3 and strapping a pair of turbos on it expecting to make 700whp reliably because its iron, don't be surprised if you end up with oil pan stew.

  4. #4
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    e39/6.0 LS turbo project
    That will be a fun car. The 2004.5 and later motors came with LS2 style rods.... they have been pushed to 900rwhp+ reliably.... if you can call a season of racing reliably with a good tune. The weak link isn't the alum block as M5 Hunter said. Pre 2004.5 rods seem to bend around the 650rwhp level.

    The better factory rod is on the left. If you can get e85 in your area.... setup your fuel system to run that or at least be capable of running it for safety margin and $3/gallon 105 octane fuel.
    Attached Images Attached Images
    Last edited by gnx7; 03-01-2014 at 08:35 PM.

  5. #5
    Join Date
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    Turbo 1991 Honda Civic
    The car was just really taken care of. I am the third owner, the guy I bought it from was selling it because it pops out of first gear. He had a book with all the maintenance which was kind of funny when I told him my plans. I am going to paint it after the swap is done and its running reliably. Pistons are usually only an issue with incorrect ring gap or poor tuning at this low of a power level. The L59 I bought was out of a 01 Yukon IIRC. I disassembled it and had it all cleaned, resurfaced, and honed at a machine shop. It will have the original pistons and rods, with ARP bolts. I didnt know about the 2004.5+ rod change. Interesting. They are cheap enough that even if I pop 3 of them it would be cheaper then building a motor so I'm not really worried anyhow.

    I may set it up for E85, but currently I am planning for pump gas only. I have been reading through all of your builds, thanks for posting so much useful information.

  6. #6
    Join Date
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    Turbo 1991 Honda Civic
    I finished up the the trans mount version 1.0. and started in on the cross member. Motor mounts should be sketched out tonight. I'm going to get more metal today.
    http://imgur.com/a/eRYpL#EIu1V3B

  7. #7
    Join Date
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    Turbo 1991 Honda Civic
    I finished up the the trans mount version 1.0. and started in on the cross member. Motor mounts should be sketched out tonight. I'm going to get more metal today.
    http://imgur.com/a/eRYpL#EIu1V3B

  8. #8
    Join Date
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    ALPINA B10 BITURBO
    Cool project
    Sveinbjörn Hrafnsson

    E30 CABRIO V12 M70B50 ///
    ALPINA B10 BITURBO 346 @ 507
    ULTIMA Evolution
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    http://alpina.123.is/pictures/

  9. #9
    Join Date
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    Turbo 1991 Honda Civic
    New Pictures: http://imgur.com/a/eRYpL


    I tried a Fox Body Mustang rack as I had one accessible, the mounting points are huge and there was no way it was going to work. I bought a Mk IV Jetta rack and that is working out. It's as high, and as far forward as I could get it without having to modify the GTO oil pan. I don't think bump steer is going to be an issue with its current location. It was much wider than the BMW linkage so I had to section the outer tie rod ends. Also, the VW ball joints are larger so I had to ream out the mounting points on the car.


    Next, I reinforced the places on the cross member where the rack mounts so I would have solid metal square to the rack.


    The rag joint is a modified Mark IV Jetta one. If i did this over I would have used a Mark III Jetta rack as they have a boot that covers the shaft whereas the IV has a rubber gasket and the entire unit is behind the firewall. I welded bottom half of the BMW slip shaft to the top of the Jetta shaft after much measuring. I don't know how the Jetta bearing comes apart so I just submerged it in water while I welded the slip shaft so I wouldn't melt it. Then I shortened the VW slip joint by disassembling it and cutting crimping etc.


    Next I made a bracket to mount the bearing to the frame rail. I cut all tabs and crap off the rails for this. The piece pictured was version 1, I am doing it over with slightly thicker metal and moving it forward a few mm as after I got the rack all mounted up it was a bit off.


    I boxed the cross member and welded in a piece of 1" X 3". This is mostly finished now but I didn't picture it yet.


    I bought a 03 Cobra booster and Master and will be making a new firewall bracket to mount that up.


    More updates soon, I just got accessory brackets in and a bunch of other parts.

  10. #10
    Join Date
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    99 540i6
    Twin turbos and a manual trans. What's not to love.
    '99 BMW 540i6 L33 5.3, PRC Heads, E-force supercharged
    http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum....php?t=1674320

  11. #11
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    Turbo 1991 Honda Civic
    Been away for a while and havent been updating.


    With the help of Geoff from Full Race via Dave from F.A.S.T of West Chester, I decided on going single turbo with a 82mm Borg Warner S400

  12. #12
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    05 legacy 5spd
    Jesus, look at the size of that thing...

  13. #13
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    '92 BMW 735i(W/383 GM)
    Some very nice work. I would not expect the welds from the cast iron exhaust manifolds to the steel V-band couplers to hold up, do you have a secret process there?

  14. #14
    Join Date
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    '00 540 6.0/4L80e/S480
    Quote Originally Posted by htrdbmr View Post
    Some very nice work. I would not expect the welds from the cast iron exhaust manifolds to the steel V-band couplers to hold up, do you have a secret process there?
    This is very common with the LS manifolds. They are more like a cast steel than a cast iron makeup. There are 100 different options on how you should do this. I can tell you from personal experience, a good prep job, a gas shielded mig and a bucket of sand (buried the welds to slow cooling a little) has lasted 4 years on my manifolds without cracking. This is the last thing I'm worried about on a stock bottom end turbo build.

    OP-
    Nice choice on the turbo. I'm curious if you went T4/T6. What a/r and turbine wheel size? That turbo should make enough power to break everything in the drivetrain!

  15. #15
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    Turbo 1991 Honda Civic
    For the manifolds, I just preheated them to ~500 degrees before welding and kept them hot. The Turbo flange is a T4.

    Attached Images Attached Images

  16. #16
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    1997 328is ls6
    that's awesome!!

  17. #17
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    Dang, this is pretty good. Are your plans still hydroboost?

  18. #18
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    98 328i, 79 911SC
    this is awesome.
    subscribed to see if the diff grenades, or vacates its position entirely.
    (and because all LS builds are awesome)
    always trying to make it lighter and faster

    ^^former build: http://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/sh...-neglected-M3/
    current build: http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsc...car-build.html
    instant grams: doktor_b

  19. #19
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    Sorry if I missed it, why did you need to replace the steering box with a rack?

  20. #20
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    Quote Originally Posted by tptrsn View Post
    Sorry if I missed it, why did you need to replace the steering box with a rack?
    Because the steering box sucks balls.

  21. #21
    Join Date
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    '97 540i/6, '97 328i
    The ones on e39s seem pretty good. Is the e34 one worse, or is this just conventional "wisdom"?

  22. #22
    Join Date
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    Quote Originally Posted by tptrsn View Post
    The ones on e39s seem pretty good. Is the e34 one worse, or is this just conventional "wisdom"?
    Who told you they are pretty good on e39s? Like mentioned above they suck balls on e39 and they suck bigger balls on e34. Plus they are heavy, bulcky and on the way of a lot of things for the swaps... The first two points are not conventional wisdom, but from experience. The last one is from research.
    - 96 328is 6.0L. (LS1 to LS2 build thread: http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum...ad.php?2098938)
    - 96 328is 5.7L. (LS1 build thread: http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum....php?t=1289987)
    - 95 ///M3 6.0L. (LS2 build thread: http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum....php?t=1619249)

    - 97 ///M3. (e46 Fender Flares/track car build thread: http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum....php?t=1727098)
    - 96 328is (Dual Fuel Pump to Surge Tank thread: http://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/sh...ad.php?1964025)

  23. #23
    Join Date
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    '97 540i/6, '97 328i
    Who told me the e39 steering boxes are pretty good are:
    1) Me, after I rebuilt my rear suspension and VOILA, my hatred of my steering box/"steering box problems" magically vanished... Lol.
    2) A few of other guys on the e39 forum like Geargrinder who has an e46 M3 to compare against, plus a couple more. And no, I'm not saying Geargrinder thinks the e39 steering box is as good as the e46 M3 steering rack, just that he has that standard to compare against to conclude the e39 steering box is pretty good.

    I'll admit though, I was a e39 steering box hater for a long time, and I was hell bent on adjusting or replacing it for a long time. The car was all over the road at times until I rebuilt the entire rear suspension and threw some coilovers on the car. Then all of the sudden it was like, "Oh, this car drives GREAT!" The feeling commonly expressed on the forums is obviously that the steering box is crap, obviously.

    So anyway, assuming e34 steering boxes suck bigger balls, hopefully the OP will see this and say if he swapped to a rack for the steering quality, or if it was the packaging concerns. The steering box is sort of a PITA to deal with in an M62 car, but there must be some packaging reason BMW had it in there in lieu of the rack they had in the I-6 e39s...

  24. #24
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    After owning 10 or so BMWs, 2 of which were e46 M3s, 2 e39 540s, etc. The box system sucks, regardless what geargrinder says, althouh I have no clue who he is. When you are using pitman arms, rakes, bunch of joints and bushings not much benefits will be gained there. And it has nothing to do with condition of the rear suspension... The reason BMW went to a box on v8s is because of completely different front suspension to deal with extra weight of the v8 and the subframe changes to accomodate it along with different oil pan.

    But enough of discussion on the box vs rack. If you think it is great, so be it... Let's get to OP cool project and get him to update with more cool stuff.
    - 96 328is 6.0L. (LS1 to LS2 build thread: http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum...ad.php?2098938)
    - 96 328is 5.7L. (LS1 build thread: http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum....php?t=1289987)
    - 95 ///M3 6.0L. (LS2 build thread: http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum....php?t=1619249)

    - 97 ///M3. (e46 Fender Flares/track car build thread: http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum....php?t=1727098)
    - 96 328is (Dual Fuel Pump to Surge Tank thread: http://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/sh...ad.php?1964025)

  25. #25
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    Dude, no matter how much you seem to think you can dictate what is discussed, the OP still might like to actually answer my question in HIS thread. But thanks for your input.

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