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Thread: RB25det E36 v2

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Mar 2013
    Location
    Londonderry, NH
    Posts
    273
    My Cars
    1996 BMW 328i w/ RB25det

    RB25det E36 v2

    So this is my second time doing this as the title implies, in 2015 I started an rb25 swap on a sedan shell I bought, ended up making it into a full blown, gutted, track car. I then decided I wanted something I could drive on the street, registered it with 20 days plates, and decided I needed to restart. So what does any logical person do? Buy another e36, running and driving, and immediately take it apart! So, that is exactly what I did! Auto 96 328i with 162k and zero rust picked up June 22nd, 2017!



    A few weeks later is was looking something like this, rear suspension and axles swapped to m3, subframe reinforced with OEM plates, fitted with aluminum mounts, and spaced down a little under half an inch to allow the 3" driveshaft to clear the parking brake cables. All new rear ball joints also fitted. Broadway static coilovers 12k front and 6k true rear coilover setup. New Meyle HD front control arms and tie rods. Finished off with a cheap set of Style 5's with good tires:





    The RB25 and s1 with stock internals, head studs, all new pumps (oem water and neo oil), no special head drain kits, stock turbo, tial BOV, and freddy intake manifold. Gone through and checked and all number are good. I had previously build a new center section for the radiator support in order to pull the radiator farther forward to fit the e-fans. Mishimoto Ready Set Race intercooler and G-Plus racing (eBay) oil cooler with lines. Block has an oil cooler adapter from Greddy to run the lines, stock water to oil cooler is deleted.



    And the exhaust is a little tricky to keep tucked up, but with a little massaging of the trans tunnel, cutting, and welding, I was able to get my exhaust from the racecar to fit and keep the carpet while not getting any large amounts of heat to come through the floors. Steering shaft needed to be flipped and a flaming river joint needed to be placed up top in order to fit a 3" downpipe safely. Full 3" exhaust including equivalent 3" oval in the section needed.



    This is the completed engine bay minus the washer tank which is in later pictures. The brakes are unboosted with a Massive Lee kit and some e30 20.3mm master. Brakes feel great, 328i front rotors and calipers, m3 rear. No ABS and a wilwood brake bias adjuster in the bay. Stock e36 clutch master hooked up to a 350z slave cylinder with spacers to space it off the transmission. It feels a little stiffer than a factor e36 m3 clutch, but not much. The wiring harnesses merged nicely and cleanly, I was able to utilize the factory e36 relays and re-wire them to function for the rb25 ecu. I was able to tuck it all into the factory harness pieces, which gives it a nice oem look, with the Nissan ECU in the factory BMW mounts.



    Registered it October 27th, 2017 and drove it to the local Nissan dealership for an alignment! LOL



    Since then I have rolled the rear quarters, and gave it a little buff and wax, and installed the washer tank, just need a new pump, all mine are dead!





    Currently set to 10psi and pulls decent, it cuts out occasionally and the ECU feels like it's fighting going fast. Stock o2 sensor may be bad but I'm not sure, also could be the water temp sensor, but it idles well so I don't believe it is that. I am planning on getting Nistune and a z32 MAF and getting it a proper tune to 12psi (about the max of the stock turbo before the read of the ceramic turbine shattering), then drive it pretty much as my daily. Down the road probably a gt3076r and some bigger injectors, but I want to get everything else where I want it before then. Currently everything works minus A/C since I just couldn't fit it, and I have no power steering yet, but will be installing that when I can get the lines and tank, although I don't mind manual steering. That's all for now. Took a little over 3 months from purchasing the car to completing the swap, considering I didn't touch it immediately after I bought it and still had to part out the other car.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Aug 2014
    Location
    Ontario
    Posts
    42
    My Cars
    1999 325i, 1996 RSTi Cou
    Glad this build is still happening


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Mar 2013
    Location
    Londonderry, NH
    Posts
    273
    My Cars
    1996 BMW 328i w/ RB25det
    Quote Originally Posted by rstaylor25 View Post
    Glad this build is still happening


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    Me too, it sat for a long time after I lost motivation but its back and its much better this time!

    Sent from my VS995 using Tapatalk

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Oct 2011
    Location
    Royalest of Oaks
    Posts
    390
    My Cars
    Mazda 3
    I need to do some reading up on the RB-series engines, all I know is "ermagherd Skyline". Decently reliable? Does it suck getting parts for an engine that was never sold here in the States or does the internet/tuning scene make that irrelevant?

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Mar 2013
    Location
    Londonderry, NH
    Posts
    273
    My Cars
    1996 BMW 328i w/ RB25det
    Quote Originally Posted by LSxDreamer View Post
    I need to do some reading up on the RB-series engines, all I know is "ermagherd Skyline". Decently reliable? Does it suck getting parts for an engine that was never sold here in the States or does the internet/tuning scene make that irrelevant?
    Decently reliable yes, just have oiling and oil pump issues which have aftermarket support and solutions. Parts a pretty readily available for whatever you need. There is an abundance of suppliers for parts, I've never waiting more than a week for parts, and many tuners around since this engine has gone into so many s chsssis cars accross the US. I like the way they sound most haha

    Sent from my VS995 using Tapatalk

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Oct 2011
    Location
    Royalest of Oaks
    Posts
    390
    My Cars
    Mazda 3
    Will A/C never fit in an E36, or were there reasons specific to your application that made it not fit? Sorry if you touched on a lot of this on your first thread, I'm just a curious mind. I'd love to get into another E36 (or E46) and do something to get it around 300hp to just have a fun daily, but I bet that could also be achieved easy enough on the stock engine (VANOS/waterpump/etc maintenance just bugs me)...

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Mar 2013
    Location
    Londonderry, NH
    Posts
    273
    My Cars
    1996 BMW 328i w/ RB25det
    Quote Originally Posted by LSxDreamer View Post
    Will A/C never fit in an E36, or were there reasons specific to your application that made it not fit? Sorry if you touched on a lot of this on your first thread, I'm just a curious mind. I'd love to get into another E36 (or E46) and do something to get it around 300hp to just have a fun daily, but I bet that could also be achieved easy enough on the stock engine (VANOS/waterpump/etc maintenance just bugs me)...
    No worries man, I dont mind explaining stuff.

    I could see the A/C fitting if I didnt have my oil cooler and found a different condensor set up and relocated the dryer and got custom lines made, but I didn't car for A/C and fitting the pump and all that, there is plenty of room for it all though if you wanted to go that route.

    Its certainly a fun car but I am ready for my tune already lol

    Sent from my VS995 using Tapatalk

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Mar 2013
    Location
    Londonderry, NH
    Posts
    273
    My Cars
    1996 BMW 328i w/ RB25det
    Small update lol

    The car is now fitted with Nistune, z32 maf, lq9 coils and is fully tuned as of April of this year. I have been doing nothing but driving it and it has been so nice. It’s parks for the winter now. Going to electric power steering, upgrading to m3 front brakes, and finally getting a parking brake. It made 335whp/347wtq at ~15psi. I turned it down to ~13psi after that. I got a new phone so I don’t have all my pictures but here is what it’s looking like now.







    Also picked up a 97 328is for my GF.



    I’ll update with more pictures soon when I get a chance to grabbing them from my old phone. Haven’t had one issue with the car. Nothing broke. Drove it in standstill traffic at 108*F and never got over 175* coolant temp. It was actually my daily driver from the day it got tuned to a few weeks ago when I parked it for the winter.

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