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Cheers!Originally Posted by 5mall5nail5
So the alternator opens much like any other really. It has four long bolts down the outside hold the two cases together. The front bearing is retained in the front housing with a small plate. When removing the rear housing, remove the regulator etc first. Installing new slip rings I had to make a PVC tool to drive the rings on without wrecking them. I had to buy them twice...
FWIW, new alternators are pretty cheap if you use the E46 unit. The E36 costs like four times as much and isn't as powerful as the E46 unit.
I'm working on all sorts of stuff on it at the moment:
Rebuild the exhaust system and tuck it up much better, and this was prompted by the dump pipe now hitting the big 8HP70 oil pan.
Working on location for the trans oil cooler and oil thermostat, plus the oil line routing.
I'm still messing about with wiring related to getting the CAN items to all play nice. The digi dash is all good, the CAN F82 M shifter is good, but I'm trying to get the ECU to talk to the TCU which is the ass kicker. I got them talking last night, but the cold trans is NOT 79C as being reported. Plus, this required enabling of the ECU Master CAN switchboard V3 emulation in the TCU. That sucks because I actually bought an ECU Master CSBV3 for the purpose of all its digital and analogue inputs as I ran out of analogue inputs on the ECU. There has to be something I am doing wrong with the set up of the ECU and TCU I suppose.
1989 E30 - M50B28 Turbo - ZF 8 Speed
Member
Thanks! My alternators themselves are newer-ish Bosch 140A but just grimy and dirty. Thanks for the info!
Member
What is the experience with cats; anecdotal or otherwise? I'm considering installing a 100CPI cat on the car to at least look like it has one even if 100CPI cats will never pass emissions as it helps prevent extra fines if the cops or the RTA ream me one day.
The Venom cats seem to be well regarded and this one has a bigger 5" body, so more cross section in the element over a typical 4" body. This means it has 127 cm squared area versus 81 cm squared for the smaller unit. FWIW, a 3" pipe only has 45cm squared, so even a 4" element would have to be on par with that once deduction for the matrix is allowed for.
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/251830797006?
I installed a 400CPI cat years ago just to see if it would be OK and it just plain murdered the power. About 500rpm later to hit full boost and one full AFR richer. Felt like it robbed about 80HP or so. It stayed on the car for about 1 hour...
1989 E30 - M50B28 Turbo - ZF 8 Speed
Member
I have no good experience with aftermarket cats though I spent as little as possible. I did magnaflow and another brand early on in my car hobby and they failed frequently and shortly after install. I am sure they have come a long way, but to me, I'd rather chance getting a ticket vs. dealing with the headache.
Member
Oh well, I suppose if it melts, falls to bits, and blows chunks out the arse then so be it. It needs to at least look like a cat and that is the main thing I suppose. If I have to take it for the IM240 emissions test in order to get the engineering mod-plate done, I'll install a proper little 400CPI cat, small injectors, closed-loop Lambda 1 tune with really retarded ignition and on E85. That ought to see it across the pass line!
1989 E30 - M50B28 Turbo - ZF 8 Speed
Member
Totally agree - my issue was that it was on a 530i (small v8) of mine and completely corked the left side bank exhaust
Member
Hey! Long time no post... August 2022 FFS!
Been all sorts of shxt going on since then, but the car isn't back on the road, of course. :-/ Got married in October, wen't OS for a month to Singapore for 8 nights and Malaysia for 22 nights. Hired a car in Kuala Lumpur and drove from KL to Ipoh, Ipoh to Cameron Highlands, and finally to Penang Island. Had a blast over there, and what a treat to be driving about in another country - even if the drivers are a bit crazy.
I got caught doing 95kph in a 60 zone, but damned if we saw where the speed sign was. The missus fired up at the cop in Malay (she's Malaysian born, ethnic Chinese) while I sat there wondering WTF was going on. Eventually he requested that she step out of the vehicle. I'm thinking "Well, she's over-cooked it now". After some discussion, she sticks her head back in the window and asks me for 50 Ringit (about $16AUD - $11USD) because we are 'making a donation' for the speeding ticket to 'go away'. Bwaahaha! Neither of us has ever bribed a cop, but there it is.
In Malaysia, 95RON fuel is the equivalent of $0.60AUD ($0.42USD) per litre! Man, we get doinked right in the pants for fuel in Oz!
The E30 is still being worked on when I can, but it always seems like one thing leads to another, and another, and so on. At the moment I am trying to get the CAN network to do what I want it to do, and not what the 'tick this box' easy set up wants. Reason being that I want to use a CAN bus switchboard from ECUmaster and don't want the TCU emulating it just for the sake of being easy. I think I am getting there though. The CAN switchboard has 8 analog inputs, 8 switch inputs, and 4 outputs. As all 6 analog inputs on the ECU have been used already, this will give me more options to input my fuel sender, traction control level, boost level, cruise control activation, and more.
I picked up an E82 135i driveshaft to cut the front flange off it and graft that to one that fits the E30. The ZF8HP70 transmission uses a HUGE guibo, so cut'n'shut is needed to make things work.
The motor has been started up with the new ECU and the DBW and M54B30 throttle body is working well and performing idle control duties just fine.
Fuel system is getting a re-vamp with an Aeroflow surge tank that mounts an Aeroflow 450LPH turbine fuel pump inside the tank. This kicked off because I was never happy with the bodgy fuel system I had in it, and a fuel line had developed a leak due to being crushed. So the tank came out, and the rear cross member out, too.
I had to fix a slipped bush on the cross member on the RHS. Never seen this happen, but I suspect it was a result of getting air at 130kph while on full boost + a big rev + a hard landing. TQ reaction slams the cross member upwards.
I will post some pics soon!
1989 E30 - M50B28 Turbo - ZF 8 Speed
Member
Pics of the zaust. Tucked up higher than the previous 3 or 4 systems... (sheesh, that many?). Center Magnaflow is deleted and, um, so is the 'cat'. I have run the car with this new configuration, but only at idle in the garage. I am surprised to find that, at idle, I think it sounds pretty much the same as it did before. It will probably get more vocal when I'm getting on the pedal.
I considered re-doing the section with the two 90's. As a friend of mine point out, I could have just used two 45's. But, meh... it was pretty much the same as this before and made plenty of power.
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1989 E30 - M50B28 Turbo - ZF 8 Speed
Member
Two Bosch pressure sensors. One for fuel, one for oil.
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The F82 M-Shifter. CAN bus connected.
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CAN testing - wiring mess!
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- - - Updated - - -
New surge tank.
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Extra sensor for driveshaft VSS.
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VSS - Front axle.
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1989 E30 - M50B28 Turbo - ZF 8 Speed
Member
You need the extra VSS for the 8HP?
Very cool build, hope you keep on updating here even though traffic is low.
Member
The ZF8 has its own internal VSS and feeds that signal into the HTG TCU. The problem is that the ECU Master EMU can't get that speed signal input via CAN, so the HTG has to output an 0-5V signal and you then create a map in the EMU that represents voltage to speed. That's a pretty daft way to have to do things, so I have front wheel VSS going into the CAM2 input and rear wheel VSS going into the VSS input. This way the traction control will work, and the ECU will get a proper speed input signal that it can then display on the digi dashboard.
One of my many gripes with the EMU is that it isn't able to associate a CAN input to many of the functions. For example, transmission temperature is sent out from the HTG TCU as a CAN value which can then be read into the EMU as a 'CAN analogue'. It then has to be translated into a voltage v temp table rather than accepted as an absolute value. This is the same for gear position, speed, and so on. It also does not recognise gearboxes that have more than 7 forward gears! ECU Master tell me that they are releasing a BIG new firmware update early - mid 2023, so hopefully they'll address these shortcomings.
1989 E30 - M50B28 Turbo - ZF 8 Speed
Member
I finally tracked down a tail shaft with the correct 110mm/12 flange, this one coming from a 645CI. Chop, machine, weld; 645CI meets E30!
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1989 E30 - M50B28 Turbo - ZF 8 Speed
Member
Nice, looks like a strong weld!
Member
After 2.5 years, the 30 finally made it out on the roads again. Heck, it even made an appearance at the German Auto Day!
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The ZF8 is an awesome transmission! It has a spicy tune in it and in M Sport mode it shifts real quick. It'll light the tyres from 1st through to 4th, shifting about every second, and will no doubt light 5th as well but I haven't been game yet. The trans has an OEM TCU in it that is 'controlled' via a CANTCU box. Essentially this this is a CAN message converter. Unlike other options out there, it works!
Lots of tuning and finessing to come.
Other things... I dropped the rear springs from a 5" 650lb on height adjusters to a 7" 500lb without the adjusters. MUCH better!
1989 E30 - M50B28 Turbo - ZF 8 Speed
Member
Nice congrats! sorry if missed it, which ZF8 trans did you end up with fitting to the car?
Also going to stock TCU and CANTCU (great choice BTW) seemed like a last minute switch - although I understand why. Glad you have it running and driving!
Member
Trans was from an F20 LCI and is an 8HP50 Gen 2. I still have the 8HP70 sitting in the shed but of course the TCU was gutted and getting a replacement was proving to be trouble. The F20 box only had around 12,000kms on it and I got it for a steal. BMW use the same 8HP50 box across many models, from turbo four cylinder to turbo six cylinder. Bellhousing pattern is the same.
1989 E30 - M50B28 Turbo - ZF 8 Speed
Member
Awesome - thanks for the info. the 50 Gen2 should be plenty, all the ZF8's punch well above their TQ ratings.
Member
They sure do, but TQ management on shift becomes crucial to their survival when exploring the upper limits. The 8HP70 can handle around 1100NM (so I read) and can really shift with some authority at TQ levels that would necessitate big ignition cuts on the smaller transmissions. Still, I think the HP50 will work out just fine for me. Oh, and the HP50 is available in large numbers whereas the HP70 (ex 3.0 diesel) is super hard to find now.
Last edited by Nutzy; 10-01-2023 at 10:45 PM.
1989 E30 - M50B28 Turbo - ZF 8 Speed
Member
Seems Legit!
20231022-165126.jpg
Last edited by Nutzy; 11-10-2023 at 06:25 PM.
1989 E30 - M50B28 Turbo - ZF 8 Speed
Member
oh , it's really nice ��
i just read the whole thread
sick build bro ��
Member
Thread update.
The e30 has been getting tuned remotely and the driveability now with the ZF8 is just superb. I am running 12psi at present on 98RON and it is making decent power despite being a bit rich at 11:1
The tune of the ZF8 is still as per the CANTCU original but it is ripping shifts under WOT in approx 0.3 seconds. Under light loads it shifts like OEM.
https://youtu.be/nFyh3-KpK98?si=gpBPnQRncGyxqbXx
Me, not going so well, laid up for 6 weeks now after tearing my ACL, MCL, and a meniscus. :-/
Last edited by Nutzy; 03-15-2024 at 11:50 PM.
1989 E30 - M50B28 Turbo - ZF 8 Speed
Member
Looks like it drives great!
Is that the powertune dash? Gosh that has some serious reflection going on - otherwise it looks pretty neat!
Member
Yep, Powertune dash. I have no reflection on it from where my eyes are at.
1989 E30 - M50B28 Turbo - ZF 8 Speed
Member
How do you find the power tune dash? thinking of getting one for my 46.
Member
Hey there. Yeah, it is pretty good, but you may need to be prepared to tinker with the config or get someone else who knows what they are doing to alter it. The range of dashes and layouts is limited only by imagination and skill.
1989 E30 - M50B28 Turbo - ZF 8 Speed
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