M42club.com - Home of the BMW E30/E36 318i/iS

DISCUSSION => Swaps, Turbos, Buildups => Topic started by: gearheadE30 on February 02, 2010, 10:47:19 AM

Title: Another Turbo M42 buildup
Post by: gearheadE30 on February 02, 2010, 10:47:19 AM
Well, i finally decided that the M42 just doesn't make enough power. the plan is to run .5 bar of boost on the stock internals using a Garrett/perkins TA3107 turbo. I have the manifold, Tial 38mm wastegate, a downpipe, 36 lbs/hr injectors (which I'm not sure will be enough yet) an XSpower intercooler (read ebay; it actually seems to be pretty nice), a 3" MAF from a BMW of some sort, and some other assorted parts. Engine management will be Megasquirt II v3, with the stock ECU controlling all of the other vehicle functions where possible.

I'm going to start by just converting to Megasquirt and tuning NA, so I'll document my adventures with that here. Megasquirt should be installed in about 2 weeks at the latest.

things I still need to do/buy:
3 more coil drivers for the M42's coil-per-plug ignition
IAT sensor
fabricate a wastegate into exhaust pipe
Possibly find a new BOV in better condition
Re-weld a small hole in the manifold
rebuild the turbo
larger injectors


thoughts? Opinions? Am I crazy to turbo a 225k mile M42? We'll find out haha
Title: Another Turbo M42 buildup
Post by: Jorgeconrico on February 02, 2010, 04:12:20 PM
I can't wait to see it when its finished. Your car is super clean so I imagine this project won't disappoint. Good luck man.
Title: Another Turbo M42 buildup
Post by: wazzu70 on February 02, 2010, 09:06:16 PM
36's are WAY small. Do some basic calculations for the amount of fuel you will need for the power level and go from there... Guess and check is a bad idea.
Title: Another Turbo M42 buildup
Post by: deekay on February 02, 2010, 09:29:42 PM
i have no idea how many miles mine has (odo has been stopped since i got it) and i'm still turboing it.

if the worst does happen, it's not like M44 blocks are hard to find...

and yeah, that injector is too big for motronic to run, and too small for your power goals (you'll run out at about 180hp assuming 80% duty cycle, .65 BSFC).

either get something smaller and an RRFPR, or since 7psi will probably have you at about 200 crank, something at least 40lbs.
Title: Another Turbo M42 buildup
Post by: gearheadE30 on February 02, 2010, 10:08:06 PM
Thanks for the input! For what it's worth, the injectors came with all of the parts that I purchased. I will likely be selling these to fund larger injectors once I do some more research on what will fit my needs best.
Title: Another Turbo M42 buildup
Post by: AcSchnitzer318is on February 05, 2010, 12:37:35 PM
Are they 36lb/hr @ 3bar?  If so they will support 7psi just fine.  I ran 7psi on 28lb'ers and was getting 85% duty cycle, but not until I was up at 7000rpms.  Guessing you'll be at around 180ish rwhp assuming the engine itself is in good form.