96 BMW 328is LS1 to LS2 Conversion Bimerok

[Kristov]

How much would you say the NVH from the engine/transmission increased with the LS1/2?

[bimerok]

Quite a bit. It is not teeth breaking, but it is nowhere near stock e36.

When the car was not so track oriented, it was not too bad. But now since it is more and more geared towards the track, it is increasing the NVH.

Harsher suspension, less of interior, squeaky racing pads, exhaust that became a lot louder with tracking the car as it loosing its glass packing, all contribute to increasing the NVH.

However regardless of that, when I take this car out to drive around, it always leave me smiling!

[RaymondL]

Did you get your motor mounts etc from Vorslagg? I have a Chevy 5.3 L33 that I want to put in my E36 M3 track car but the Vorslagg kit is pretty pricey.

[SAL's M3]

Did you get your motor mounts etc from Vorslagg? I have a Chevy 5.3 L33 that I want to put in my E36 M3 track car but the Vorslagg kit is pretty pricey.

No if you follow his thread, he made his own mounts.

[bimerok]

Did you get your motor mounts etc from Vorslagg? I have a Chevy 5.3 L33 that I want to put in my E36 M3 track car but the Vorslagg kit is pretty pricey.

As stated above, not a single engine conversion part came from them.

[pMak26]

Did you ever confirm the metal on the oil pan drain bolt magnet was from the Improved Racing Baffle?

Excellent thread btw, I'm doing my swap now and your posts are an excellent reference. Hopefully see you at NJMP this summer.

[bimerok]

No, I never confirmed that the metal piece was from the baffle. When I took it out everything was intact and operating freely. I worked with vendor to provide as much detail as possible about my setup, use, and conditions with oil starvation. They wrote everything down and refunded me without any problems after the baffle arrived back to them.

I recently got a newsletter from them that made it sound that they are working on a new/upgraded crank scraper and baffle.

Anyways, glad that my threads are helping. Hopefully you'll get your swap done and it will be fun to have another e36 on the track

Do you have a build thread going?

[pMak26]

Hmm, interesting. It looked a bit like a piece of weld wire like from a flux weld, but nothing you had in there was flux welded so beats me. I'll be installing the baffle and crank scrapper as well.

No build thread yet (not sure I will do one.. I didn't do one for my turbo build). I am picking up the engine tomorrow. I pulled it last weekend out of my friends SS z28, but ran out of steam to get it home. I'm dropping a fully built LS7 into his f-body and the 360whp/361wtq LS1 into my M. I'll be doing a bunch of "while it's out" maintenance items to the LS before install, but the car is getting pretty close to prepped.
bay1.jpg

Between your threads and Inflame's threads I have a lot of my bases covered. Thanks!

[Inflame]

I feel the baffle is working for me, for the most part. There are a few turns at a local track where I still get huge PSI drops (+10 psi) on hard left handers..

Turns 5-6 are fast, ~60mph, double apex, and then turn 9 into 10B is a top of third, nearly WOT turn which is causing some major pressure drops.



I'll definitely be needing an accusump if I go to any tire stickier than an R-Comp. Hopefully my cooler oil will bump me up a few PSI, I'm already running 15w-50 M1 oil.

It's a good product but not an end-all solution. I may in the future go to a canton pan + baffle for more oil capacity AND their accusump as I just can't afford a dry sump.

[bimerok]

Like I said, it works for some and it doesn't for others, similar to dual fuel pump setup. In my case baffle just made my problem way worse. As soon as I went to OEM style baffle, the PSI drop reduced to manageable.

[squashman702]

What are your thoughts on the LS7 clutch after some track time? Did you get a stock LS7 flywheel as well? Considering this setup for my L33/GTO T56.

[bimerok]

I installed LS7 clutch when I was doing my LS1 swap and I did it for my LS2 swap. Zero problems with clutch. Just nice and smooth OEM operation, which works perfectly fine on the streets and on the track. It is a full LS7 clutch kit, which includes disc, pressure plate and flywheel.

I just don't understand the need for spec, ram, goat, sheep, whatever clutch that has to be shimmed, adjusted, noisy and replaced twice as fast if not sooner, while the motor remains at the stock hp levels... LS7 clutch is made to handle 505hp and 470ftlb from factory with plenty of buffer for additional power.

If you are looking for headache free clutch this is a good option. If you are making way more power or looking for headache, you might want a different clutch

[Maynor]

Mine's a dedicated racecar. 3+ years on the LS7 clutch in race only mode behind an LS3/TR6060. No complaints.

Getting on and off the trailer is pretty nice too unlike my buddies who have a superlight clutch setup.

[squashman702]

Mine's a dedicated racecar. 3+ years on the LS7 clutch in race only mode behind an LS3/TR6060. No complaints.

Getting on and off the trailer is pretty nice too unlike my buddies who have a superlight clutch setup.

Are you running a stock or lightweight flywheel?

[Maynor]

Alum. flywheel. Standard size.

[tdm E36]

Hello Bimerok,
It has been fun following your LS swap threads. You are really good at this.

I have some questions regarding your brake upgrade you did in your previous LS1 thread. I just got finished doing the same upgrade! E46 330Ci front calipers/rotors and E46 325i rear calipers/rotors, along with SS lines and new RBF 600 fluid. I have a few questions for you:
1. I now notice much more pedal travel than stock, and the pedal is not as firm. Did you notice this much after you did the upgrade? If so, did it concern you at all? Can you give an update about how these brakes have performed now that you have had them for a few years?
2. Did you upgrade the master cylinder at all? I am thinking about do this. I have a 328iS, just like you. I am considering upgrading the master cylinder, do you know if the E36 M3 master cylinder would just be a bolt in for our 328iS?

thanks

[bimerok]

To answer your questions, yes, when I upgraded both front and back brakes, the pedal tavel increased a fair amount and the pedal became less firm than it used to with OEM setup. Initially it was a bit concerning, but then it quickly showed the added benefit of the bigger brakes on the track and I was not concerned about it anymore. It was adding a bit of discomfort for heel and toe at the track with the added pedal travel.

Then I came across e36 M3 master cylinder at a decent price, so I baught it and upgraded to that from 328 MC. The M3 is a direct bolt-on without any issues. The brake pedal became excellent again. Excessive pedal travel is gone and pedal firmness is back.

Whenever someone asks me about this brakes upgrade, I always suggest to switch to M3 master as well.

[tdm E36]

Thanks.

I think I will probably install an M3 master cylinder then. Care to share where you purchased yours? Looks like RockAuto has some pretty good prices for them. ~$130 for Cardone brand. Does this seem like a good deal to you?

[bimerok]

I got one off craigs list from a guy who was parting out a low milage car. $130 is a good price and I had good experience with cardone rebuilt products in the past.

[HJSUSA]

Is this the 16mm shifter or the 12mm?
https://www.mgwshifters.com/shifters/camaros/80

[bimerok]

It's been a while, but I think it's a 16mm

[bimerok]

Getting reacquainted with Thunderbolt at NJMP after 1.5 years off... By the end of the day my braking points and turn-ins were still off, but fun day at the track nevertheless.

The black C5 Vette you see often is my cousins new track toy instead of Warstainer e36 replica...

[TipsyMcStagger]

[bimerok]

Went to the track this past Sunday again. The weather was great, a little hot and humid, but it is better than wet and cold .

Had a little “fun” off road expedition in Turn 1 at the end of the straight away, which is my first one ever since I started doing track days 4-5 years ago… Nothing crazy and all safe and sound… But off the track nonetheless.

It happened during the last lap of the very first session. Few laps earlier, I started noticing a gradual decrease in traction, which I automatically thought was due to either overheating the tire or unbalanced tire pressure, which I usually adjust after first session.

So at the end of the straight I was going a bit more cautions and mid-corner in turn 1 I’m thinking to myself: “Something’s going on. I’m not pushing hard, but I don’t think I’m making it”. Sure enough I started running out of the “runway”!

As soon as 2 of the wheels touched the grass I realized how unstable the car was and immediately first thing that popped into my mind is something that John (Maynor) shared with me about 3 or so years ago when I saw him at the track – as soon as you hit the grass, don’t try to immediately correct to save it from going on the grass and try returning it to pavement immediatly, but instead just let it go on the grass and safely control the car there as much as possible and stop. Then assess and go back out on to the pavement. It is extremely surprising to me that this 3-4 year old conversation came up in my head in a split second and I thank you much for that advice John! Have I tried correcting my 2 wheels off by trying to stay on the track, most likely I would have spun out with a high probability of sad results…

Upon returning to the pits after the fact, we found that my front left wheel valve stem was leaking air and let enough of it out by the end of the session that the pressure was way too low (low 20’s). That quickly explained why I went off (besides the fact that their grass was too high and I needed to mow it with my splitter ).

My cousin and I jump into his car and running to the Advanced to buy new stems. We buy set of 2 and able to ask motorcycle guys who we share the day with to break the bead and install new stem. I give the second one to my cousin to put into the tool box with the words “Now we have a spare one too”. The day is saved and I don’t have to miss any sessions.

Two sessions later, I feel similar decrease in traction, but this time manage to finish it safely. In the paddock I’m trying to check my tire pressure and I see that my front Right tire has 25 psi in it… WTF? Trying to move my valve stem around and it also hissing air out! Two stems in one day! Wow… Good thing we had that spare from 2 hours ago Now the valve stems are on my annual list of replacing things.

Here is a quick video of my off track experience.


And here is a full video compilation of our day…

[douglee25]

Glad you're alright! Nice save!