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Thread: 97 328i drift missile

  1. #1
    Join Date
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    97 328i drift missile

    Hi my name is Jacob and im new, i finally got my hands on a cheap starter car to make a drift missile. For $450 I bought a 1997 328i, has the m50, and an auto (sigh) was hit in the rear but for a running driving car couldnt pass it up for the price. This week im going to begin gutting it to seam weld it and build my cage. Im going to pull the motor, tear it apart, and rebuild it to run a gt35 on about 25 pounds of boost. Also going to swap in a 5 speed in. This means i will have to have a way to tune it so im going to run a standalone, probably megasquirt. Looking at maybe running e85, being im going to run a fuel cell, new lines, pump, injectors, etc.... building a all track car going for some momo daytona seats with takata harnesses. suspension wise im going to run some cheap really stiff coilovers and slam it on its ass, e46 control arms, cut and shortened spindles, all new tie rods, ball joints, bigger sway bars, etc... Being new to these cars how can i get ALOT of steering angle with these? What makes these motors make more power? Does anyone in michigan have a m50 car with a 5 speed they are looking at parting out? Where is a good place to get cheap parts? Id really like to hear from others doing or have done similar builds to learn as much as i can.

  2. #2
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    Suggestions. 5 speed swap, welded 3.91 diff and lots of tires. Just drive the car like that before you worry about all that. Its not gong to be any good if you don't have good car control and understanding of drift lines and transitions.

    Also if you going to spend all this money on boost and cage and son on, get good coilovers. The suspension is easily more important than making more power.

    SLR makes a great (read pricey) front end kit for angle and durability.

    You have great dreams but Honestly I think you would be happier with a well sorted car with a stock motor. Get the chassis right and learn the car, and then worry about adding power. It doesn't make sense to try and tune the engine, the suspension, and your driving style all at the same time.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jun 2012
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    Quote Originally Posted by e30 394 View Post
    Suggestions. 5 speed swap, welded 3.91 diff and lots of tires. Just drive the car like that before you worry about all that. Its not gong to be any good if you don't have good car control and understanding of drift lines and transitions.

    Also if you going to spend all this money on boost and cage and son on, get good coilovers. The suspension is easily more important than making more power.

    SLR makes a great (read pricey) front end kit for angle and durability.

    You have great dreams but Honestly I think you would be happier with a well sorted car with a stock motor. Get the chassis right and learn the car, and then worry about adding power. It doesn't make sense to try and tune the engine, the suspension, and your driving style all at the same time.
    this is really great advice! you absolutely need to wait on all that turbo stuff and just learn the car with ~200whp

    @jdabrams96
    if you have a 97 328i then you should have the m52 which is a little bit better than an m50(2.8 vs. 2.5). 5 speed swap will change the car completely and you do not need a parts car to perform the swap. changing from auto to manual is really easy and you need to do that before you start throwing power at it. just PM me if you have any specific questions.
    Last edited by trev dogg; 11-28-2014 at 01:05 PM.

  4. #4
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    Yeah im agreeing with that now, not going to turbo and build the engine. still will run megasquirt due to the trans change. Focus my money on the chassis this year then later on turbo. Still plan on pulling the engine apart to clean it and probably put oil pump and rings in, i really dont trust the previous owner. spent all last friday night and pulled the engine and trans, let me tell you if anyone is pulling one of these with an automatic trans, take the trans off and save yourself the time of fighting it. Has anyone ran e46 control arms?

  5. #5
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    you do not need megasquirt right now, it will not give you anymore power, just more headache. stock dme works fine after trans swap just make sure you splice those two wires i pm'd you about. you do not need to change piston rings or the oil pump, those are usually the last things to fail on these motors. you already pulled the motor so maybe do the headgasket and trans swap while its out, it will be a little easier this way. lots of ppl run e46 control arms but again, there is so much to learn on a stock set up that e46 arms are just not needed. not until you drift every weekend and are dying for more steering angle at least.

    - - - Updated - - -

    Quote Originally Posted by jdabrams96 View Post
    Yeah im agreeing with that now, not going to turbo and build the engine. still will run megasquirt due to the trans change. Focus my money on the chassis this year then later on turbo. Still plan on pulling the engine apart to clean it and probably put oil pump and rings in, i really dont trust the previous owner. spent all last friday night and pulled the engine and trans, let me tell you if anyone is pulling one of these with an automatic trans, take the trans off and save yourself the time of fighting it. Has anyone ran e46 control arms?
    looks like your pm box is full. i really hope you got that first message i sent you.

  6. #6
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    Whats the normal things that fail in these engines?

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by jdabrams96 View Post
    Whats the normal things that fail in these engines?
    Were pretty lucky because of the high quality bmw stuff. These motos are pretty bullet proof till youre running over 500wtq. I would just worry about the chassis more than motor stuff. Oil pump nut needs to be secured, cooling system needs to be refreshed and headgasket is good preventative maintenance for the motor. And for chassis; rear subframe reinforced, rtab pockets reinforced, new motor and trans mounts and thats about it. Plan on replacing everything thats rubber

  8. #8
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    Ive already planned on replaceing all the rubber pieces, does energy or anyone make a poly bushing set?

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by jdabrams96 View Post
    Ive already planned on replaceing all the rubber pieces, does energy or anyone make a poly bushing set?
    I dont know anyone that makes a complete kit, maybe condor speed shop. I usually just piece it together. Akg for control arm and subframe bushings and revshift for motor and trans mounts. Fcp euro for control arms, tie rods and other oem parts. You can get nearly the whole cooling system for $300 from bavauto, they have a kit for it.

  10. #10
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    Okay sweet, my buddy is making me alluminum motor and trans mounts so they will be completely solid.

    - - - Updated - - -

    Has anyone converted a m52 to run e85?

  11. #11
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    Unless you're turbo there's pretty much no point. Just a suggestion but it sounds like you're new to drifting. If that's the case, keep it simple. Get a manual transmission in your car and put your money into event fees and tires. You'll get far more out of that than making your car less reliable trying to boost power.

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by DriftProf View Post
    Unless you're turbo there's pretty much no point. Just a suggestion but it sounds like you're new to drifting. If that's the case, keep it simple. Get a manual transmission in your car and put your money into event fees and tires. You'll get far more out of that than making your car less reliable trying to boost power.
    +1

    my brother has an e85 converted s52, no point unless you're going turbo. when you 5 speed swap the m52 just throw in a lightweight flywheel, 6 puck clutch and upgraded pressure plate. a lot of people use the f1 stuff on ebay, including myself, and have good results. throw on an m50 manifold and a tune and you will have close to 200whp. with s52 cams and a re-flash, ive seen people get up to 220whp. plenty of power to learn on and lots of dependability.

    tires and events are most important though, its all about that seat time!

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by trev dogg View Post
    this is really great advice! you absolutely need to wait on all that turbo stuff and just learn the car with ~200whp

    @jdabrams96
    if you have a 97 328i then you should have the m52 which is a little bit better than an m50(2.8 vs. 2.5). 5 speed swap will change the car completely and you do not need a parts car to perform the swap. changing from auto to manual is really easy and you need to do that before you start throwing power at it. just PM me if you have any specific questions.
    Hey man, I just bought a 97’ 328is. No motor, tranny, diff, driveshaft. Basically just a rolling chassis. I plan on getting a M52B28 but I’m not sure what tranny or diff would work best. Any advice? Thanks in advance

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