96 BMW 328is LS1 to LS2 Conversion Bimerok

[Maynor]

Hmmm, that shop looks familiar. Not sure why.

What were the A/F ratio's like?

[bimerok]

Haha, yeah Julio is a nice guy with tons of information and knowledge.

When he did initial pull the car ran super rich, I don't remember exact numbers, but I think it was in 10.x range... I forgot to ask him for a final printout that included the A/F chart, but he straighten the curve and brought that number up to where he said he wanted it to be. I accidentally deleted few pictures of the screen that I took on my phone and now I don't want to throw out the incorrect number....

The car is definitely feels smoother and more linear now and as an added bonus of "fixing" A/F you get to feel those few ponies that were gained in the process

The biggest relieve for me was to see that my OEM fuel pump was enough all the way to 6.7K RPM and a little drop off in fuel pressure near red line is not a big deal. Thanks John for telling me before I went to Julio. Otherwise I would've wasted money upgrading my pump

BTW, did you take his advise on the NKG spark plugs?

[Maynor]

What was his opinion on NGK's?

Glad it worked out. Especially not needing to reinvent the fuel pump plumbing!

A few extra ponies don't hurt either.

[bimerok]

He recommended to go with NGK TR55 gapped to 45 thousand's. He said they are cupper plugs and better for roadcourse as they run a lot cooler than platinum or irrodium plugs...

[sweetcorn360]

What horse power did you get?

And what's your diff ratio and tire size? The best mpg I can get is about 25-26...

Also, what screen/setup is that instead of the onboard computer? I've always thought of something like that but haven't looked into it yet.

[bimerok]

What horse power did you get?

And what's your diff ratio and tire size? The best mpg I can get is about 25-26...

Also, what screen/setup is that instead of the onboard computer? I've always thought of something like that but haven't looked into it yet.

After adjusting AF the car gained exactly 30HP for the total of 370whp.

The diff ratio is 3.23 out of M3. The street tire sizes are: Front: 225/40/18 and Rear: 245/35/18. On the way to the tuner I was getting about the same out of my LS2 as you are. On the way back, once the AF were brought from "good for Boost" up to reasonable range, I was getting ~29-30MPG.

The screen is Lilliput touch screen. For the software I run ScanTool software on the netbook that fits in the glove box. Not the smoothest set up, but works for occasional times that I need to look/log something. There are few posts on my set up that I think start here: http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum...5#post22278825

[sweetcorn360]

I'll check that out. I was debating writing a labview code for something like that but if this is fine right out of the box then that might work for me.

Interesting for the ratio. I'm running the same thing pretty much. 3.23 but with 225/40r18 in the rear, over all diameter is about the same. Fuel difference must be coming from my tune then. I need to learn how to tune things so I can have a second tune for city/highway driving.

[unnatrl]

That's an impressive change in fuel mileage. Love it!

[sweetcorn360]

I just read your other thread and was wondering how hard it was to mount in there... You made it look really good so I am pretty interested. That software isnt too bad for price either.

[bimerok]

The details escape my mind now, but I don't remember it being too difficult.

[bimerok]

Got my graph with AF ratios. Before tune it went down to 10.8 now AF is between 12.8 and 12.2

[TipsyMcStagger]

I decided to use a little mount that is on the strut tower and once held BMW diagnostic port. So having it as my target I started making my mount.

Dumb electrical question; is the diagnostic port that was located on the pax strut tower not rewired and retained with the swap? I thought this was used to pull/clear codes, etc. for the non-engine related computers, such as the ABS and the General Module (GM4)?

I'm going to shave some unused brackets soon but I was under the impression that I'd still need that diagnostic port and planned to simply return it to the stock location on the pax strut tower.

Tipsy

[asianguy1989]

Very nice work!!! I'm soo jealous!! =)

[bimerok]

Dumb electrical question; is the diagnostic port that was located on the pax strut tower not rewired and retained with the swap? I thought this was used to pull/clear codes, etc. for the non-engine related computers, such as the ABS and the General Module (GM4)?

I'm going to shave some unused brackets soon but I was under the impression that I'd still need that diagnostic port and planned to simply return it to the stock location on the pax strut tower.

Tipsy

Technically you would need that diagnostic connector to read non-engine related codes, but I did not connect mine.

[TipsyMcStagger]

Technically you would need that diagnostic connector to read non-engine related codes, but I did not connect mine.

Got it. Thanks.

Tipsy

[TipsyMcStagger]

So what are you thoughts now that you've driven the 3.23 rear with both the F-Body and GTO T56?

Tipsy

[bimerok]

It is hard to tell as the GTO T56 came along with GTO LS2 engine as well

All I can see so far is that my RPMs moved from ~1400 to ~1700 in 6th gear at 70mph.

A good test for me will be at the track to see how it feels and where the shift points are. I signed up for Pocono Raceway event in August, but that's not my home track and I've only been there once before, so I will not be a good judge for me. I need to sign up for NJMP to get a good feel, which I'm really tempted to actually do

In any case, the 3.23 fits good for me both on the street and track. I don't see a reason or point for going higher (numerically) with the differential as these motors have plenty of straight torque from the get-go and don't need to be constantly revved up.

[sweetcorn360]

Did you record the AF with the OBDwiz software you have running?

[bimerok]

Did you record the AF with the OBDwiz software you have running?

No, AFs were recorded only during the dyno tune. Tuner hooked up wideband while the car was on the dyno.

[sweetcorn360]

Ah yes, that makes a lot more sense

[Kristov]

How big would you say the difference is between LS1 and LS2?

[bimerok]

The difference is very noticeable. LS2 feels more responsive and torque comes on almost from idle and stays there through the range. Feels smother and more linear.

When I had LS1 in my car and we have finished LS2 in my cousin's car, we were doing few runs side by side and LS2 would steadily "walk away" from LS1.

[bimerok]

I have a set of Corvette LS2 fuel rail covers. They are in excellent condition, however the driver's side was slightly modified to fit custom e36 application and clear a brake booster on the back of the cover. See pictures below. The pieces were trimmed accurately and typically wouldn't be seen. All the rubber clips are present and undamaged.

Price: $100 + S/H OBO.







[/QUOTE]

[Kristov]

The difference is very noticeable. LS2 feels more responsive and torque comes on almost from idle and stays there through the range. Feels smother and more linear.

When I had LS1 in my car and we have finished LS2 in my cousin's car, we were doing few runs side by side and LS2 would steadily "walk away" from LS1.

Thanks, would you say LS1 vs LS2 is a bigger difference then LS2 vs LS3 ?

[bimerok]

Thanks, would you say LS1 vs LS2 is a bigger difference then LS2 vs LS3 ?

Don't know, I don't think I ever drove LS3. The difference between LS1 and LS2 is nice, noticeable, and well worth it to me.


So next weekend and the following one we'll finally go to the track for the first time this season. Next weekend will be the Lightning at NJMP and the weekend after that is Pocono's 3.5 mile double infield set up. Very excited to check out my car with new LS2 set up and the KW V3 suspension that I still didn't have a chance to test out...

Also it will be first time out on Maxxis RC-1. Speaking of which, we are all mounted and balanced as of today. The stack is now higher than a human height




I also finished up mounting solution on my tire trailer so we test-loaded the trailer to see how everything fits and feels.