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Thread: Surge tank help

  1. #1
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    Surge tank help

    Hey all,
    Our endurance car is not getting to use the full fuel load. It is not to bad on most tracks, but we were at Hallet this last weekend, and were only using 12 gallons per stint. It is usually around 13, and the car hold 14.5. We lost a podium spot because of a late splash and dash.

    I want to add a surge tank, but I have NO idea where to start. Has anyone done this? It should be pretty similar between E36, E46, and Z3 I would think. Any help is appreciated.

  2. #2
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    Alberto bit boost on YouTube has a pretty decent video of him installing a Nuke performance surge tank on a e36. He’s not the smartest person ever but the videos are pretty decent.

    https://youtu.be/fNVxN8xOdGM

    He has a few more videos going all around the fuel system


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by TTGZDOG View Post
    Alberto bit boost on YouTube has a pretty decent video of him installing a Nuke performance surge tank on a e36. He’s not the smartest person ever but the videos are pretty decent.

    https://youtu.be/fNVxN8xOdGM

    He has a few more videos going all around the fuel system


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    I will check it out. Thanks!

  4. #4
    NeilM is offline Member BMW E36 M3 Expert
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    Does the dual dual pump upgrade not apply to a Z3?

    Neil

  5. #5
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    It doesn't. It isn;t a full saddle tank. It is kind of shaped like oklahoma.

    - - - Updated - - -

    Another thing I was thinking about was like plastic welding some baffle flaps inside the tank. Has anyone seen or done this before?

  6. #6
    NeilM is offline Member BMW E36 M3 Expert
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    Quote Originally Posted by bionicbelly View Post
    It doesn't. It isn;t a full saddle tank. It is kind of shaped like oklahoma
    [Checks Google Earth] Alright then!

    Neil

  7. #7
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    The main tank feeds the surge tank. Low pressure works fine. Excess fuel from the surge tank returns to the fuel tank. The surge tank is NOT pressurized. Both inlets and outlets shall be on the top of the surge tank. At the base of the surge tank you have two more fittings. One outlet feeds a high pressure fuel pump which feeds the fuel rail. The return of the fuel rail goes into the surge tank. Place the tube vertically. One quart volume is more than enough.
    1969 2002 racecar + 1989 e30 M3 racecar


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  9. #9
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    What about one of those fuel mats?

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    Fricken saweetah!

  11. #11
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    I installed a surge tank I got from eBay with an aem 044 clone and it works great on my turbo e30 so far. I think people overthink the surge tank idea. The only thing I would recommend is either getting marine grade low permiation fuel hose or doing Teflon lined AN limes. I did regular fuel hose to make sure everything works and my car smells of fuel after sitting

  12. #12
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    I did a short video on my surge tank setup in my E36 325. You can check out the video here: https://youtu.be/bWX9uQCQoNs

    I'd never done it before either so just sort of winged it with some advice here and there. I also used Alberto's video to suss my setup out, but ended up doing mine a little differently. I ended up replacing all of my lines (except the lines that run under the back seat that go between the two pump/pickup points on the tank) with -8an teflon lines.

    Feel free to hit me up if you have any other specific questions, but for me the wiring was the hardest thing, I ended up wiring the trigger into the existing oem fuel pump relay to make sure the external pump turns on and off with the oem in-tank pump.

  13. #13
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    Looking at this more, I see it repeated that the surge tank has no pressure. Do I need to swap out the in tank pump for something else? Also, I saw one setup from Radium that has the tank mounted horizontally. This would be ideal, so that it could be mounted outside the the car. (Z3 coupe, so there is no firewall to separate the trunk from the cabin)
    Overall, it doesn't look to bad. Basically, if I understand, the fuel tank fills the surge tank, a pump pumps fuel to the engine from the surge tank, and the fuel return goes back to the surge tank instead of the stock tank.

  14. #14
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    I've left my stock in-tank pump in place, but a lot of poeple install a low pressure lift pump which I guess would fill the tank faster. However I figured with the stock in-tank pump, plus the fuel rail return, there should always be sufficient fuel in the surge tank.

    But yes, you're explanation is correct. The in-tank stock pump would feed into the surge tank, the external pump sends fuel straight to the fuel rail, the excess fuel is returned to the top port of the surge tank and the overflow port in the surge tank goes back to your stock fuel tank.

    Just ensure you prime the surge tank with the stock pump prior to firing up the external pump so the external pump has fuel to pump rather than running dry.

  15. #15
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    If anyone else has pictures/threads/recommendations about this, I would really like to see them. This is going to be a winter thing, so not diving into it right away.

  16. #16
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    Quote Originally Posted by dominator293 View Post
    I've left my stock in-tank pump in place, but a lot of poeple install a low pressure lift pump which I guess would fill the tank faster. However I figured with the stock in-tank pump, plus the fuel rail return, there should always be sufficient fuel in the surge tank.

    But yes, you're explanation is correct. The in-tank stock pump would feed into the surge tank, the external pump sends fuel straight to the fuel rail, the excess fuel is returned to the top port of the surge tank and the overflow port in the surge tank goes back to your stock fuel tank.

    Just ensure you prime the surge tank with the stock pump prior to firing up the external pump so the external pump has fuel to pump rather than running dry.
    This is correct. Don't over think it. Use the stock in-tank pump to fill the surge, then run a Bosch 044 pump for your main pressure pump. Had this setup for years without any issues, runs until it starts stumbling, then you're lucky to get another 60 seconds of run time.
    Check out the 8legs Racing page: https://www.facebook.com/8legsRacing/


  17. #17
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    034 motorsport makes a nice surge tank that a bosch 044/aem380 fits into. Compact and quiet. I made my own with vband clamp in it so I could put the fuel pump inside it. Cuts down on clutter and noise.
    Back into a BMW, this time a track rat....and it won't be BMW powered and no, not a V8 either!
    Couldn't help myself, boosted e36 m52 street car in progress also!

  18. #18
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    So, what/how do people use for an adapter to connect the sock lines to the AN fittings that are used for the surge tank? i.e the line that goes from the fuel tank to feed the surge tank. (I am sorry if this is a dumb question, but I have almost zero experience with AN fittings.)

    Answered - Use a 5/16 barbed fitting into rubber hose.
    Last edited by bionicbelly; 12-02-2019 at 03:36 PM.

  19. #19
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    Yeah I used a barb to AN fitting for the connection into the existing pump.

  20. #20
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    Hi after reading the above post, can anyone continue to which hose/fotting size to use to feed to the fuel rails. I am planning to install a surge tank on my e36. Reading here and there people use AN8 from surge tank to fuel rail and AN6 for others. Should i also install a fuel filter? 10 or 100 microns as i can install it after (post) external fuel pump which is installed inserted half body on the surge tank.

  21. #21
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    We use -6, which is plenty for 400-500hp. We use the Bosch 044 external pump, into a stock VW fuel filter under the car, which has nice thread on fittings, so easy to find metric to AN fittings. The filters are cheap as well.
    Check out the 8legs Racing page: https://www.facebook.com/8legsRacing/


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