Turbo 320i Questions

[Thecatmilton]

I have been thinking about putting a turbo onto the stock M10 in my car. I am a bit tired of it being as slow as it is. I also want to do this as cheaply as possible and would prefer to find used / junkyard parts if possible. I feel like my orange car has been molested enough to make this ok. Sorry if these questions have been asked before.
Are there any turbo manifolds that clear the air conditioning compressor? This is a big thing for me as I enjoy the moral support the stock system provides.
Are there any intercoolers that fit without cutting the car up too much? Possibly utilizing the bumper mount holes?
How much boost can a m10 safely take on the stock internals?
How much boost can I have before the K-jet stock system can't keep up anymore? This shouldn't be too big of an issue as I am slowly gathering E30 M10 L-jet parts.
What would be a good sized turbo?

[Drew320]

How much boost can a m10 safely take on the stock internals?
How much boost can I have before the K-jet stock system can't keep up anymore?

If I remember correctly you can daily it at 8 pounds

[ainadude]

[QUOTE=Thecatmilton;29321215] Are there any turbo manifolds that clear the air conditioning compressor? This is a big thing for me as I enjoy the moral support the stock system provides.

Mine came with a long-since-installed Hardy & Beck setup, and there don't seem to be any issues with the manifold clearing the factory York compressor (other than I had to undo one of the A/C lines for access when I renewed my manifold studs last year). Don't recall if you're running a York or a later Sanden compressor -- I would assume the latter sits lower but extends further back.

[Thecatmilton]

I am interested in a manifold that clears the A/C compressor if anyone has one.

[amarino]

No affiliated: https://losangeles.craigslist.org/lg...675580786.html

[Thecatmilton]

No affiliated: https://losangeles.craigslist.org/lg...675580786.html

A bit more than I want to spend. I would like to do this for around $600.00

[blacky77]

A bit more than I want to spend. I would like to do this for around $600.00

Add a one in front of that number there pal.
You have no idea what you are doing.

[hotdish]

I came way above that number when I priced out turboing my e36 including clutch and tires, etc. $600 is way to low if you ever want to dd the car or have it last.

I did only spend $600 on the m30b35 + 5 speed swap on my e30 though. (could have used a new trans/clutch/tires however)

[Somjuan]

I mean, if you have the fab skills and luck at a junkyard, anything is possible, but at that price range why not go for a motor swap to an m42? Almost dead nuts the conversion price I see around here, assuming you can weld

[Thecatmilton]

$600 is way to low if you ever want to dd the car or have it last.

I intend to go with a e30 M42 or healthy m10 once one shows up at a local junkyard. I just want to have fun with the m10 I have and drive it until it blows. The engine and transmission in my henna red car are rather sad at this point and they really need to be rebuilt. If I can get 5k miles with a cheap turbo setup I will be happy. It isn't my only car so I will be alright.

It blows oil clouds for a bit if I let it sit for a week or longer, blue smoke under acceleration, strange noises, etc. All gears in the transmission whine and I have to double clutch into 3rd. I had headgasket issues (probibly the first thing that will fail..) which went away after I re-torqued the head bolts.

I had a low milage m10 and transmission I was going to swap in, but I decided to put them in my silverish blue (saphirblau?) car instead. I was surprised about how much faster it felt compared to my henna red car.

A log type manifold similar to this would probably be ideal for space reasons and is the route I want to go. If I don't find a manifold in a few months, I may do something with the stock manifold similar to this with better welds and with the turbo flange in a different location. Are there any manifolds for other cars that "fit" with a little bit of work? An example of this would be a DSM manifold which "fits" a Honda B series engine if some bolt holes are enlarged.

I bought an air fuel mixture gauge recently in preparation for this (I also want to see how far off the mixture is currently is). I may create a program on a raspberry pi that monitors the ratio and pulses the cold start injector to prevent things from getting too lean if there is an issue.

Sorry about this turbo / fab horror thread, I helped a friend put a turbo on his civic recently and want to do something like that now.

[audioscience10]

Things can be done on a budget. You will definitely need to be able to think outside the box though. I have become pretty good at solving these budget build problems. The solution doesn't have to be pretty, it just has to work. I am currently running a turbo that I got for $50 at a junkyard on a manifold build out of a hacked up stock one. This is my second version (the first was way uglier) and I daily drove that car on kjet.

Its not perfect but I does what I need it to do.

[Thecatmilton]

Things can be done on a budget. You will definitely need to be able to think outside the box though. I have become pretty good at solving these budget build problems. The solution doesn't have to be pretty, it just has to work. I am currently running a turbo that I got for $50 at a junkyard on a manifold build out of a hacked up stock one. This is my second version (the first was way uglier) and I daily drove that car on kjet.

Its not perfect but I does what I need it to do.

I wasn't sure if it was possible to weld onto cast iron and have it last. How is it holding up?

[audioscience10]

I wasn't sure if it was possible to weld onto cast iron and have it last. How is it holding up?

Since it's actually cast steel and not iron. It welded pretty good actually.

[Thecatmilton]

If anyone has any leads on a BAE manifold, it looks like my best option. I can likely clear the a/c compressor with that one. Otherwise, I have 2 extra stock manifolds I could play with since they are cast steel (nice surprise) instead of iron. I could make a "log" type manifold like the one audioscience10 has, but with my flange in the rear corner instead of the front.

[dangerwillrbnsn]

Built this one from scratch. Mild steel, sch40 in about 12 hours. Give it a try, it's not terribly hard. This will stand up to a lifetime of abuse. Much better than the eBay junk.

[Thecatmilton]

Small update to this.. It looks like it's going to happen now. A m42 was bought and considered until part prices drove me away. I have acquired the BAE intake and exhaust manifolds. My next step is to get a new t3/t4 flange and a v band flange for the waste gate welded onto the manifold.

Since the saphirblau car was wrecked, I found the yard it was at, and pulled the engine and transmission. I intend to experiment with the engine I pulled and rebuild the original engine from my car.

I would like to do some sort of megasquirt efi setup unless another turbo k-jet car shows up in a junkyard near me. There was a audi 5000 turbo, but I wasn't sure if a 5cyl fuel distributor would work. I was too slow to get the stuff off a volvo 240 turbo that showed up. I may have a lead on a 924 turbo in a yard by me.

[Thecatmilton]

If the porsche is still intact, I am going to pull the fuel distributor, ecu, fuel injector lines, and injectors. I don't know if I should take the throttle body. Should I take anything else?

[Somjuan]

WUR should be boost sensing

[EconomicHustle]

Looks good so far, keep us updated. I'm following this as I'm equally as interested in running a turbo on stock m10.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

[BMWonly]

I did the Century/BAE/Rayjay turbo install recently. If you keep the boost under 7psi you won't even need an intercooler. For the fuel enrichment I initially used an electronic WUR (programmed with a laptop), but changed to a Volvo 240 turbo unit. Works great.
BUT: this doen't make a monster out of a 320i. It's definitely more fun above 3500 rpm though.