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Thread: Looking for some guidance - GTS2 325is/M3 build

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Oct 2017
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    Washington, DC
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    15
    My Cars
    BMW E36

    Looking for some guidance - GTS2 325is/M3 build

    Hey everyone, I've been lurking and absorbing all the knowledge on this board for a while as I build up my car but I've reached a challenging crossroads and I haven't been able to find the guidance I need through all my research and was hoping to have some folks chime in with their thoughts.

    Brief recap: I bought a previously raced E36 325is shell with a bunch of parts and I've spent the last year overhauling it and putting it back together. I have the brake and fuel lines fully re-plumbed and the front/rear suspension on and am now starting on the electrical/engine stuff. The car came with an M50 motor and an automatic OBD1 harness so I bought an S52 to build and put in. The chassis has no wiring at all and for the accessories I got a Painless 10-circuit harness so that part is relatively straight forward, but it's the integration of the engine that I'm struggling with. I've read plenty about the benefits of OBD1 swapped S52s and I've also read plenty where tuning OBD2 isn't a problem and throwing on an M50 manifold basically accomplishes most of the same goals. I have the red label 413 ECU for my OBD1 setup but I don't have an ECU for the OBD2/S52 setup.

    The car didn't come with a power distribution/fuse box but I have one from an OBD2 car that I picked up a little while ago. I have the full OBD2 engine harness that came with the S52 I bought and I also have access to an OBD1 S50 manual harness to replace the OBD1 auto harness I have, should that be an issue.

    Another wrinkle in my situation is that I am planning on running ABS, I have the 3-channel system, and so from my research, incorporating that into an OBD1 system is easy, but more difficult to interface with the OBD2 system and the ECUs expectations for the ASC system to be there, etc.

    My question is this:

    What is the best/most painless set-up to go with from where I am?

    1. Convert the S52 to OBD1 with M50 manifold, and get a new fuse box for OBD1 with proper connectors (X20, etc)/fuses/relays for connecting the harness. Either keep auto OBD1 harness or get manual S50 harness. ABS should work as normal.

    2. Run the S52 with the OBD2 harness it came with (ease of installation/no conversion required), throw on my M50 manifold, connect it to the OBD2 fuse box I have, then do the ASC delete and get a flashed ECU to delete the EWS. I think ABS should work as normal but I'm more fuzzy on how an old ABS system integrates into a newer OBD2 ECU and what issues that would bring.

    3. Convert the S52 to OBD1, keep the current OBD2 fuse box and repin the various connectors to get it to work with the OBD1 harness. Again, either keep the auto OBD1 harness or pick up the S50 manual harness.

    Those are how I have the three basic options in my head, but I'm sure I'm missing plenty of important details and that's what I've come to see if you folks can offer any suggestions. Thanks very much for any/all help!

    Stuart
    Last edited by acheron29; 09-16-2018 at 09:37 AM.

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