Porting/polishing equipment

[Breeze1]

Hello everyone,

So I'm planning on polishing the throttle body and later on porting the head (not sure about polishing that one, because I've read that it can cause more harm than good for the combustion process, unless done by a skilled tuner, which I'm not) and I was wondering if this tool would do (I also think I'll need to do some wet sanding by hand and that I'll need some polishing paste):

https://www.amazon.com/Tacklife-RTD3.../dp/B01N6RH433

Alternatively, can the whole process be done by hand? If yes, what would I need for it?

Thanks!

[bmwdirtracer]

Polishing doesn't help airflow. The boundary layer is beneficial. I understand that you want to do some free manual labor stuff to gain power. Have a look at port-matching the intake and head, and the exhaust manifold and head. Be gentle.

You should be looking for places airflow might "trip" over itself....ledges and the like.


You know, the very best bargain in the automotive world is getting an injector blueprint and clean and report, from RC Injection in California. Every set of injectors I've ever sent them has shown differences of 20% or more before, and less than 1% after.

I understand it will be more difficult for you....but dworthy sent his from Germany, so it can be done...especially if you have an extra set of injectors.

(What color are your injectors? I just MIGHT have a set I can mail to RC, in your name, if you arrange all the shipping to you, and payment for them from your end. ($25 per injector, plus whatever the shipping is to you. IF I have a correct set, I'll gift them to you, including mailing them to RC)

[Breeze1]

Thanks a lot man for your advice and offering to gift the injectors to me
I honestly don't know what color they are. They're stock japanese market M52TUB28's injectors. I would have to check them out.
About port matching the intake and head, can it be done without removing the head? I would rather not take it off but I wouldn"t want to get metal dirt inside it either. I suppose the exhaust side is less delicate since the ports are pretty much horizontally disposed?

Update: I couldn't find the region code for Japan on realoem so I figured they would be the same as the US's; I then googled the part number and it seems they're "the black ones" if that means anything:

https://www.google.com/search?q=1353...w=1600&bih=794

[ross1]

Polishing the exhaust ports is useful. Be carful about changing the shape or volume of the ports as the factory has this fairly well worked out already. Not to mention the possibility of hitting a water jacket.
You don't want to be doing any grinding with the head in situ. You wouldn't have decent enough access to do anything useful anyway.
My tub28 injectors are black Siemens

[Breeze1]

Polishing the exhaust ports is useful. Be carful about changing the shape or volume of the ports as the factory has this fairly well worked out already. Not to mention the possibility of hitting a water jacket.
You don't want to be doing any grinding with the head in situ. You wouldn't have decent enough access to do anything useful anyway.
My tub28 injectors are black Siemens

Thanks for your reply. My question might sound stupid, but if I take the head off to do it, is there any specific procedure to put it back on (gasket, resurfacing...) as when there is an overheating issue, or can I basically just bolt it back on and call it a day? That's the reason why I would have preferred to let it on: I don't want to risk messing anything up, and I'm under the impression that it's never a good thing to remove the factory set head unless absolutely necessary (overheating/headgasket issues for e.g.).

[bmwdirtracer]

If you remove the head, you must replace the head bolts and the head gasket, and you have to time the engine with the correct timing tools.

My advice would be to leave it alone. There's not enough gain to be had, vs. the risks and work. We're talking about 1 or 2 horsepower...far fewer than you'll ever be able to feel....and on the down side, if you do it wrong, you could LOSE five.

I'll try to remember to look for a set of black Siemens injectors tomorrow on one of the "parts" engines / cars. I think all I've got are M54's though, so keep your fingers crossed.

Now...an injector blueprinting/ cleaning could be worth umpteen horsepower, AND prevent you from running one or two cylinders so lean that you do damage.

[Breeze1]

If you remove the head, you must replace the head bolts and the head gasket, and you have to time the engine with the correct timing tools.

My advice would be to leave it alone. There's not enough gain to be had, vs. the risks and work. We're talking about 1 or 2 horsepower...far fewer than you'll ever be able to feel....and on the down side, if you do it wrong, you could LOSE five.

I'll try to remember to look for a set of black Siemens injectors tomorrow on one of the "parts" engines / cars. I think all I've got are M54's though, so keep your fingers crossed.

Now...an injector blueprinting/ cleaning could be worth umpteen horsepower, AND prevent you from running one or two cylinders so lean that you do damage.

Sounds very much like I'm leaving it alone yeah. 1-2 hp are definitely not worth it. Thanks again!

[Breeze1]

Not to bother with that Chris, but were the injectors M54's or M52TU's after all?

[bmwdirtracer]

Oops, sorry, I forgot entirely. Making myself a note.....

[Breeze1]

No rush

[bmwdirtracer]

Weirdly, I found an E46 fuel rail with 4 black injectors today. (It was an absurdly busy day). I did see two fuel rails (also for M54's) on parts engines, both with black injectors.

I'd rather try to find the missing two injectors from that unattached rail, because there's no reason for them to be gone. (I've worked there longer than anyone). I'll try to do more investigating tomorrow, but I'd say "Yes", I can give you six proper black injectors, and I'll mail them to RC Injection for you, if you want to think about making arrangements.

[MauiM3Mania]

Chris. The things you do for others. What a guy. (my spare bedroom is still empty).

[bmwdirtracer]

Thank you, my friend. And this is coming from the guy that has kept all Maui SCCA data, taken pro photos at every event, and provided the website for HOW MANY YEARS? Not to mention shoveling gravel off the track, and a thousand other things? And THEN, you Moderate this forum FOR FREE, and spend so much time on making sure things are done WELL, CORRECTLY, but with compassion? Yeah. What a guy indeed.

BTW, Candace will be on Maui for ten days, beginning end of month. (She wants me to move to OR) Would you care to say hello? I'll send you her cell # or email or whatever.

[MauiM3Mania]

Sounds like we have an active love fest here. You should visit Maui while Candace is here... lets take this private.

[MarcoZandrini]

I concur 100000% with what MauiM3 has said!

[Breeze1]

Weirdly, I found an E46 fuel rail with 4 black injectors today. (It was an absurdly busy day). I did see two fuel rails (also for M54's) on parts engines, both with black injectors.

I'd rather try to find the missing two injectors from that unattached rail, because there's no reason for them to be gone. (I've worked there longer than anyone). I'll try to do more investigating tomorrow, but I'd say "Yes", I can give you six proper black injectors, and I'll mail them to RC Injection for you, if you want to think about making arrangements.

Thanks a lot Chris, sounds great! Like I said, no rush, whenever you have time it'll be great. About the injectors being black (according to my research: https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/s...8#post30076798 ), I suppose they were made both for M52TU's and M54's then? Because my engine is the former, but when I googled the part number found through realoem it came up with black ones...

I'll send an email to RC injectors to inquire about the shipping costs (I'm fine with $25/injector blueprinting cost, but sometimes shipping is the issue, more than the product/service's cost).

Edit: email sent, awaiting reply...

[bmwdirtracer]

RC isn't the greatest at emails, by the way. Hopefully, they'll be better for you, since the time difference would make phone conversation very difficult.

Usually, I mail the injectors to them, with a note including name, address, and phone number, and they call a few days later, saying the injectors are done, and asking for credit card info before shipping. I've sent them more than a dozen sets, over time, for every engine I build, racers, and my own cars. In fact, I've got an E34 M5 that I'm doing extensive work on right now; just got the injectors back a couple of weeks ago....so they'll get YOUR injectors from me in their own box!

Make sure to PM me with your complete address and contact info, so that I can type it up and include it in the box, for them to contact you and ship, when they're done.

[Breeze1]

I see what you mean about the sender address. But I wouldn't want you to bother sending them the injectors and all, if the shipping fees they quote are too high. I remember that when I wanted to order the Beisan vanos seals repair kit for my old engine, shipping was like more than $100, for what was literally a few grams, so I would rather wait for their reply or give them a call if it doesn't come (we are 7 hours ahead of them, so it's really manageable)

[Breeze1]

You were right about the email Chris: I gave them a call and all is set now! I sent you a pm.

Kudos to you for everything!

[bmwdirtracer]

PMs received. The injectors will be off to them early next week, with your info, my friend. May peace and happiness be with you.