1994 BMW 318is M52 Swap & Turbo Build

[R.Thomas]

Glad you are happy Rob! Almost time for some sunday supercar smackdowns

I gotta get rid of these itsy bitsy tires first.

- - - Updated - - -

Here are some photos that were taken after I detailed the exterior and engine bay this weekend. It felt good to get it cleaned up. Definitely added 10 whp.

[Mklock]

Looks lovely.

[R.Thomas]

Update:

> I have about 450 miles on the car and it's running great. For the last few weeks I've had the EBC set at 9-10 psi.

> Did an oil change this weekend and also changed the suspension so that I could fit a set of ACS Type 1's I rebuilt a few years ago. I need to dial in the suspension a bit (and get a front lip) but overall I love the look. Traction is also obviously improved over the 215 Falken FK452's I had on the style 32's.

> Trimmed and installed a Euro radiator cover to finish off the engine bay.

> Waiting to hear back from RKtunes about a dyno appointment.

[et89]

beautiful on the AC's, what tyre did you choose?
wonder how much it will make during/after dynotuning.

Gonna finish with the same comment as on insta:
I love the 318is badge that is still on there.

[R.Thomas]

215/45 Toyo R888R on the front (17x9 et 19 wheel)
245/40 Toyo R888R on the rear (17x10 et 32 wheel)

Haha I was curious if that was you on Insta!

[Da Infammus 1]

Wow, that's a super clean setup! Nice!

[R.Thomas]

Wow, that's a super clean setup! Nice!

Thank ya!

Here's a little drive-by action with turbo sounds (3rd gear).

https://youtu.be/n2jFisLcME4

[Da Infammus 1]

Thank ya!

Here's a little drive-by action with turbo sounds (3rd gear).

https://youtu.be/n2jFisLcME4

Let us know when the tune date is!

[E36 HateR]

Let us know when the tune date is!

Why? You finally coming back home? 🤣

[R.Thomas]

Had the dyno tune session yesterday with RKTunes. Ended up making 622 whp / 604 wtq at 20psi. I love it!

[hsvturbo]

That is some monster power from a 57mm tuff Rev bo. Congratulations on the build and outcome!

[Mklock]

Pretty sure hes using a BWS300 frame from the looks. I topped my 57 mm BW at around 500whp, added boost nothing happened.

[R.Thomas]

Pretty sure hes using a BWS300 frame from the looks. I topped my 57 mm BW at around 500whp, added boost nothing happened.

Correct. The installed turbo is a BW S362sxe. I had originally intended to use an S257sxe, as referenced in earlier posts.

[hsvturbo]

Another update and some more changes: I ended up selling the RSI manifold a few months ago and purchased a twin scroll top mount manifold from 88Labs. The workmanship on the 88Labs manifold is amazing. I also swapped to a 1.00 a/r twin scroll housing on the S362sxe turbo. This weekend I finished the M3 rear end swap and also installed new front control arm, rear trailing arm, diff, and subframe bushings (Garagistic 80A poly). I'm excited to see how the suspension feels now that it has been refreshed. Among some other things, I still need to figure out what E85 fuel filter to use and if its worth getting ceramic discs for the DKM clutch. I saw some posts on FB about people having issues with the organic discs at higher power levels (±600 wtq). I don't think I'll be near that power level but still...decisions, decisions.

a 62mm turbo, that makes more sense for +600 whp & Torque.

[R.Thomas]

a 62mm turbo, that makes more sense for +600 whp & Torque.

Yes indeedy.

[R.Thomas]

Have over 1,000 miles on the car now. I noticed a few weeks ago that I had some oil seeping from around the base of the dipstick tube where it enters the oil pan. I noticed the seepage after installing a catch can. The catch can setup consists of a -10AN fitting at the front breather port on the M52/S52 valve cover -> 10AN hose -> 10AN to 8AN adapter at the catch can. The can is vented to atmosphere.

I was putzing around tonight and found that the dipstick tube wasn't fully seated in the pan. I changed the o-ring and fully seated the dipstick tube so we'll see if that rectifies the seepage. Before finding out that the tube wasn't fully seated, I was curious if the dipstick o-ring had failed due to excessive crankcase pressure due to my CCV setup, which got me to thinking:

Has anyone ever measured crankcase pressure on their car?

I found a wireless pressure transducer that could be easily connected with brass fittings to an oil cap. It would be interesting to measure the crankcase pressure for various setups. Right now most people seem to rely on anecdotal / prescriptive CCV systems.

[Nutzy]

Great build!

What RPM is that 362 hitting full boost? I really like the compressor map match to the B28 but I'm worried about boost onset.

Cheers,
Pete

[R.Thomas]

It makes 20 psi before 4,500 rpm on the street. I really need a passenger or camera to watch the gauges more closely while I do a pull. I'm too focused on not perishing LOL

[Da Infammus 1]

I'm curious, what radiator/overflow tank combo is that? Looking to upgrade mine before buttoning the car back up

[R.Thomas]

I'm curious, what radiator/overflow tank combo is that? Looking to upgrade mine before buttoning the car back up

It's the Zionsville Compact Competition kit. Cooling performance has been great so far, even in 85F+ degree weather. My biggest complaint is the fan shroud was riveted to the top and bottom flanges. The fan is bolted to the shroud. There are blind nuts for the fan mounting bolts which are not tacked or otherwise secured in-place. As a result, you cannot service the fan once the radiator is installed since the nuts will just spin. If you do happen to get the fan unbolted, you wouldn't be able to reinstall since you can't get a wrench on the blind nuts...

Long story short, I drilled out the rivets before installing the rad so that the fan could at least be removed and reinstalled easily. In addition, we had to notch the shroud to provide clearance for my IC piping (I'm keeping A/C and there is minimal space). I also used plastic bushings to space the fan closer to the rad to gain more clearance. Just an FYI to keep in mind since each setup is different.

[E36M3LX]

awesome build!

make sure dip stick is secured to prevent it from popping out. dip stick was originally bolted to the intake manifold. some people seem to miss that step when swapping to m50 manifold.

[Mklock]

It's cool to look at an E36 with minimal oil leaks. I remember those days

[R.Thomas]

awesome build!

make sure dip stick is secured to prevent it from popping out. dip stick was originally bolted to the intake manifold. some people seem to miss that step when swapping to m50 manifold.

Yessir! It's secure and bolted to the manifold support bracket.

It's cool to look at an E36 with minimal oil leaks. I remember those days

LOL <33

[et89]

It's cool to look at an E36 with minimal oil leaks. I remember those days

Lol, fix one small drip and it comes pouring out of another location.
it just never stops...

[R.Thomas]

As the season comes to an end I figured I would post some updates. I now have over 1,600 miles on the car and it's been a blast. I attended my first roll race event in August and the car performed great. It was also a fun event to meet people and hang.

During the event I was using a Dragy and recording 60-130 times in the mid 7 seconds, which I think is slow for the power that the car dyno'd. However, the Dragy times may be misleading because they were recorded from a steady roll at ±55-60 mph while brake-boosting so the Dragy would have started to record the time even if I was not yet WOT. Plus I'm sure that my driving can improve.

My winter plans include swapping a 2.93 LSD in place of the existing 3.23. I also have a set of Vader seats from Vader Factory that I will be installing. I am going to make a separate thread for the seat conversion in the E36 forum section. In addition, I may look for a Getrag 420g from an M3 Evo because I do a decent amount of highway driving when tooling around and it would be nice to keep the RPM lower while cruising.