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Thread: Noob Turbo Question

  1. #1
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    Noob Turbo Question

    Hi all. I looked at the FAQ provided here, and honestly didn't really understand much of it. It seemed like it wasn't really a FAQ for true noobs, because even the wording/jargon used requires at least basic knowledge of the topic to understand. I am therefore starting a new post for my question, which is:

    Today, I took my 2001 330Ci to the dealership I bought it from to get the AC looked at(it's not blowing cold), and afterward, the mechanic there literally gave me 2 BMW turbos for free. He said they need to be cleaned(there appears to be a small amount of rust on one of the bolts), and told me to soak them in gasoline for a couple of days and that should do the trick. My question is: What exactly do I need to know about installing twin turbos on my car before I even think about attempting it? I understand I can cause serious damage to my car if the proper preparation and parts are not taken into account, and so I'm asking the gurus here for help in that area. Thanks!

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    are slow.
    Depends on what they came from. Likely an N54 335i, or maybe a V8 twin turbo BMW (possibly an M5, M6?) or a twin turbo V12?

    Any of the above will not bolt up to your 330 M54 motor without major work. It might be less work swapping in an N54 into your E46 than making this work.

    I wouldn't soak them in gasoline. I'd find out why they were removed (smoking, noisy wastegates, etc) and go from there.

    Just to give you an idea, if these came off an E90/E92 335i from 2006 till 2010, the 135i from 2008-2013, and the 740i from 2008-2012 (2007-2010) then it would be an N54. Used N54 turbos go for really cheap, usually between 300-400.

    https://www.ebay.com/itm/N54-535i-53...YAAOSwc7td77hG
    Last edited by Hova; 01-16-2020 at 09:05 PM.
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  3. #3
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    This will be fun. Noob turbo questions can be so entertaining. The easiest part of turbocharging a non-turbo motor is finding a turbo. Now that the easy part has been done, the fun begins.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Hova View Post
    Depends on what they came from. Likely an N54 335i, or maybe a V8 twin turbo BMW (possibly an M5, M6?) or a twin turbo V12?

    Any of the above will not bolt up to your 330 M54 motor without major work. It might be less work swapping in an N54 into your E46 than making this work.

    I wouldn't soak them in gasoline. I'd find out why they were removed (smoking, noisy wastegates, etc) and go from there.

    Just to give you an idea, if these came off an E90/E92 335i from 2006 till 2010, the 135i from 2008-2013, and the 740i from 2008-2012 (2007-2010) then it would be an N54. Used N54 turbos go for really cheap, usually between 300-400.

    https://www.ebay.com/itm/N54-535i-53...YAAOSwc7td77hG
    I'll have to ask him which car he pulled them off of. However, the dealership I bought the car from deals mainly with euro imports, with most of them being German cars(BMW and Audi, in particular), so I'm fairly sure their mechanic is very familiar with the different body styles/motors of BMW cars, which leads me to suspect that he wouldn't hand me two turbos and tell me it's fairly easy to install them into my car if they wouldn't fit easily. Of course, I'm sure that's a possibility, which is why I said I'll have to ask him, it just doesn't seem likely. He told me all I would need for it(after cleaning them) is the piping for them, and an inter-cooler.

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    Sounds scary if you are using a mechanic and have to pay him to attempt to figure out how to turbo your non turbo car.

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    Quote Originally Posted by pbonsalb View Post
    Sounds scary if you are using a mechanic and have to pay him to attempt to figure out how to turbo your non turbo car.
    That would definitely be scary. Fortunately, I'm not paying him at all, much less to figure anything out for my car. The only involvement he had at all in this was: #1 giving me two turbos for free. #2 telling me what I'd need and that it'd be easy to install(even said I could YouTube it to learn)

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    I suggest you do a google search for "E46 turbo build" or something to that effect and start reading. I don't know what turbo's you were given but there are no factory turbos or manifolds that will just bolt up to an M54 engine, so no you will not be able to just simply bolt them on.


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    You'd be better off ditching those and buying a cheap CXRacing universal flange turbo. I'll bet you the money you'll waste trying to make those work compared to buying a manifold / CXracing turbo instead.

    That is, unless you have a welder and a ton of time on your hands.

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    I watched a few YouTube videos on turbo installation for an E46 M54 and what I saw involves buying a new exhaust manifold, drilling holes and welding the O2 sensors to it in order to make room for the turbo to fit. Does that sound about right to you guys?

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    That is an overly simplified description. Just as an FYI, I spent about 4 months reading countless threads and other books before embarking on my swap/turbo project. If you are just looking to pay someone to do your build that's a different story...

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    Start reading, you'll be lucky to find anything on youtube that isn't clickbait and gawcky. Theres plenty of information good luck!

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    It is easier now due to the utube videos and the DIY and the fact that hundreds have done it, but I agree the OP is underestimating the amount of work involved to put a nice system together, install it, and have it work flawlessly. I would encourage more research than watching a couple of 20 minute utube videos.

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    Yeah, E36s really blew up once people figured out they hold 600hp factory and are dirt cheap lol.

    Idk about E46, sure they are good too.

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    Quote Originally Posted by pbonsalb View Post
    It is easier now due to the utube videos and the DIY and the fact that hundreds have done it, but I agree the OP is underestimating the amount of work involved to put a nice system together, install it, and have it work flawlessly. I would encourage more research than watching a couple of 20 minute utube videos.
    The fact that I'm here asking bimmer nerds about it instead of just watching a 20 min youtube video and getting to work proves I'm not underestimating anything. I came to you guys BECAUSE of that. Like I said in my OP, I understand that I can do serious damage to my car if I don't do this right, so I'm not sure what gave you that impression. I'm asking questions and gathering information from people who know what they're talking about. That's exactly what I should be doing.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Mklock View Post
    Yeah, E36s really blew up once people figured out they hold 600hp factory and are dirt cheap lol.

    Idk about E46, sure they are good too.
    From what I've read, one can achieve up to 50% increased hp per turbo, which in the case of my car, being that I would be installing 2 of them, would potentially put it at around 460 hp. Of course I don't expect to have the PSI that high without major modifications to the engine, being that it would destroy it, but with the right tweaks, it can achieve that solely from the turbos.

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    Soooo.... what is the question? Are you asking us to explain how a turbo system works? Or asking us to tell you how to build a turbo system? Because if that's the case you should really just read a book about it.

    There's too much general knowledge that you need to have beforehand. The Q&A on this forum is mostly for specific issues. If we took the time to type every single specific step and part needed, it would quite literally be a book. And such literature already exists.

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    [QUOTE=kultivater;30398280]From what I've read, one can achieve up to 50% increased hp per turbo, which in the case of my car, being that I would be installing 2 of them, would potentially put it at around 460 hp. Of course I don't expect to have the PSI that high without major modifications to the engine, being that it would destroy it, but with the right tweaks, it can achieve that solely from the turbos.


    Would you attempt to keep the twin turbo's you got for free instead of just tossing them, and going single turbo instead? Since it's been done countless times already and seems like to me the more viable option in terms of parts sourcing, fabrication, and overall cost efficiency. In order to make 400 plus on the m54 platform I believe you'll need to run a set of head studs that are meant for the aluminum blocks which are not made by ARP but instead Raceware for example. If you plan on keeping stock internals. You'll need to lower compression with a thicker head gasket with a copper spacer.

    https://store.vacmotorsports.com/rac...bmw-p3924.aspx

    https://store.vacmotorsports.com/coo...m54-p3635.aspx
    Last edited by E30s50dude; 01-18-2020 at 08:46 AM.

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    Do yourself a favour and get rid of them, before you start buying parts and end up having to sell them at a loss. You've basically got a bag of used bricks for free and came to a construction forum asking, what to do next to build a house.

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    I kinda agree with the other guys, saying "I have 2 turbo's, what can I do?" is a bit... well, this:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1lL-hXO27Q

    We do not know what you are coming from "knowledgewise" and therefor giving you an answer is really difficult.
    but, I will try to give you an answer:

    The threads that I have taken a lot of info from:
    328ifun's build thread
    e36hater's thread, start with his oldest threads because these days he is building that a beginner can only dream of, still a fun read.
    Rajicase first turbo build thread.

    these are singleturbo builds.

    Those 3 will get you started, after that, there are a lot more threads out here to read.
    other than that, get some books like this one:
    https://www.amazon.com/How-Turbochar.../dp/1481912712

    Good luck.

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    Yeah I’d toss the two turbos and go with a single. Can you use only one of them?

    A twin turbo E46 would be an interesting build, but far above beginner level.

    First thing you’re going to need to do is figure out what you’re going to do for a tune. I started with getting parts and fabbing stuff and saved the tune for later. I spent a lot of time and broke stuff. But I will say I learned a great deal.

    In the end I went with a commercial tune, and things work better.


    The bricks/house is a good analogy.



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    Here are links to the TT stage 1 and 2 E46 330i systems. I am not suggesting the OP buy a new kit, but at least the picture shows what he needs. Hopefully he can learn enough by reading to ask more specific question. Not many here have done 330i turbos, so I would recommend PEI330ci’s early posts (he is too far past the basics now). The principles are similar for an E36, so basics can also be learned from the E36 threads. As many of us know, it is DIY-able but much harder when you are starting out with literally zero knowledge and understanding.

    I agree that step one is to sell or throw away the turbos that someone gave him.

    http://techniquetuning.com/e46330turbo.php

    http://techniquetuning.com/bmw-e46-330-st2-turbo.php
    Last edited by pbonsalb; 01-19-2020 at 11:56 AM.

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    Quote Originally Posted by TheJuggernaut View Post
    Do yourself a favour and get rid of them, before you start buying parts and end up having to sell them at a loss. You've basically got a bag of used bricks for free and came to a construction forum asking, what to do next to build a house.
    Bingo.
    Cragg will buy them from you.

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    Quote Originally Posted by milKt View Post
    Bingo.
    Cragg will buy them from you.




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    Quote Originally Posted by kultivater View Post
    From what I've read, one can achieve up to 50% increased hp per turbo, which in the case of my car, being that I would be installing 2 of them, would potentially put it at around 460 hp. Of course I don't expect to have the PSI that high without major modifications to the engine, being that it would destroy it, but with the right tweaks, it can achieve that solely from the turbos.

    Neat, I guess I’ll put 7 or 8 turbos on mine.


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    Quote Originally Posted by someguy2800 View Post
    Neat, I guess I’ll put 7 or 8 turbos on mine.
    You know, it's really easy for a person who is well educated within a certain topic to make someone whom is incredibly ignorant within that topic look like an ignorant person. Maybe it's fun for certain people too. However, when the ignorant person has the presence of mind to admit to being ignorant, and comes to you from a stance of learning, saying things like that just makes you look like a colossal dick bag.

    Anyway, to everyone else: Thank you for the responses. I'm glad you've given them, because I can see now that I had no idea what I was getting myself into. The mechanic who gave them to me apparently either has no idea what he's talking about, or for whatever reason neglected to tell me exactly how much this was going to be both work-wise and cost-wise. Lesson learned: Never trust a car lot mechanic at face value.

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