M42/M44 ITB Kit Design

[Delta]

Hi Guys,

So its been a while - I recently moved from Perth to Melbourne for a new job, have been robbed (someone stole all the prototype parts, a used clutch and some tools from my apartment's storage cage) and found out that my landlord in Perth has tenanted the apartment I was renting there even though I still hold the lease and am currently paying rent.

Fun times.

In other news, please keep up with the survey - its good to see some more results coming through!

And stay away from Midnight Tuning.

To begin with, the guy is terrible at communicating - I first contacted him in April 2015, and didn't receive a response till February 2016.

I initially asked about remote tuning, which he was happy to provide at what seemed like a reasonable cost. I then told him that the ITB kit I was using is for sale, and asked if he would be interested in developing a tune for it, which he was. He asked for a kit, and I said that I don't sell it - but I can ask the retailer to give it to him on loan to develop the tunes that he can sell.

This was his response:

"Remote tuning is complicated and time consuming . I would only be interested if there is units sent out. I can be expected to ask people to use there cars for tuning. Not going to happen .  Thanks"

I then asked if he would still remotely tune my car, and no response - again. I've since heard from others that he can implement potentially damaging tunes - but that is hearsay so I won't make that my primary concern. It seems like he was interested initially, and then decided to only work if he got free stuff too. If you were to deal with this retailer it is worth considering that he is disinterested in dealing with you, and only cares for selling his products. I personally wouldn't recommend it, if he doesn't care when you're still offering to pay him then he definitely won't care if something goes wrong.

I've got a lead to follow up in Melbourne, so I'll see what happens with that!

Sorry man, you're not the only one thats had a bad experience with Midnight Tuning though. I had bought a tune file from him about a year ago and was not happy with it in the slightest. I have a wideband in my car and the "tune" that i received was not safe in my mind. I actually ended up teaching my self to read the bin files with WinOLS to find all the maps that were missing and create a propper tune. I felt dumb giving him a couple hundred bucks for very slightly different files than the ones I had found online. Goes to show, if you want it done right, you gotta do it yourself! (Or find someone competent that you trust  )

[Darky]

Hi

I have seen this kit on eBay. Looks cool, check it out!

Cheers Rohan

[colin86325]

It would be cool to see somebody develop  variable-length trumpets using a stepper motor controlled by an Arduino device!

[benz-tech]

I've had a similar thought as well.  Didn't Ferrari do something like this on their late v8's?. Back on topic, it seems odd that the m42 kit is more expensive than the m20 kit

[Darky]

Yea I noticed that too, but the m20 kit does not have a plenum!

[cristimm]

Is this the kit?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/e36-BMW-m42-m44-ITB-complete-bolt-on-throttle-body-kit-Race-Hardware-/272141159380

[BaumGT]

Yes cristimm, this is the kit.


To all the e30 LHD guys out there:
I ordered the ITBs and the flywheel to testfit on e30 318is. In a few weeks, I will be able to give you some details and pictures!

[E36-italia]

I've had a similar thought as well.  Didn't Ferrari do something like this on their late v8's?

Define late.. in the late '90's they already tested/used it on their F1 engines..not sure about their road going engines.

[E36-italia]

Is this the kit?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/e36-BMW-m42-m44-ITB-complete-bolt-on-throttle-body-kit-Race-Hardware-/272141159380

damn exchange rates.. i'll wait until the dollar/euro rate gets more interesting..

[colin86325]

As did the Mazda r26b engine from 1991. Should be feasible now with the cheap microcontrollers available these days.

I've had a similar thought as well.  Didn't Ferrari do something like this on their late v8's?. Back on topic, it seems odd that the m42 kit is more expensive than the m20 kit

[lambertius]

It would be cool to see somebody develop  variable-length trumpets using a stepper motor controlled by an Arduino device!

Totally unrelated to the kit: I have looked into this for my own purposes. One of my former colleagues was showing me a range of linear actuators that would be suitable.

I've got ridiculous dreams of building a 1.0L V16 Hybrid from scratch, and though it's easy enough to design I will never have the money to make it and test it. The variable length intake was part of that discussion.

The Yamaha R1 engine has it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c57p0-1F5u4

I've had a similar thought as well.  Didn't Ferrari do something like this on their late v8's?. Back on topic, it seems odd that the m42 kit is more expensive than the m20 kit

The plenum, the M20 kits are a MAFless tune standard, ours isn't. So you need the box to get the bolt-on usability.

[lambertius]

We have a new video out!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GtUiV6KGJk

Not the one you're waiting for... but its coming out next!    Otherwise, this thing is legitimately one of the most fun cars I've driven!

[Darky]

Nice video, where was it filmed?

Which v8 has it got in it?

[lambertius]

Nice video, where was it filmed?

Which v8 has it got in it?

We filmed it in North Western Sydney in January - as well as my car the next day.

The engine in that particular monstrosity uses a very heavily modified LS1 from an SS Commodore (not sure on the year). I believe it is putting out about 400~450kW (530~600BHP), which I believe. Acceleration is totally insane, and for obvious reasons we can't show off the crazy capabilities while filming on a public road. What I can tell you is that 3rd power pulls starting from 80km/hr will light up the rear wheels in the dry for a rather unreasonable amount of time...

On my end of things, I drove my car from Sydney to Melbourne in January. No issues. A few weeks after arriving, about the time I met up Darky, I started to notice a bearing like noise from the rear and figured it was a wheel bearing. Anyway, the sound got progressively worse. My fiance it to three local mechanics trying to get one of them to inspect the car. One kept forgetting what days he told her to come back, so she went to him twice and he told her 'oh I'm too busy at the moment, come back this day' both times. Another took it for a drive, and just said it was a wheel bearing and then said, 'It will be really expensive because its a BMW' without even inspecting the car on a hoist to try and identify the issue. A third was really nice and actually helped her, but said the noise was tyre noise. I was at work through all of this.

So on the weekend I had enough, I bought some jack stands (I live in an apartment so it really isn't practical for me to have lots of tools), moved the sway bar out of the way and ran the car with the wheels off the ground. The sound was clearly coming from the diff. A 5 minute diagnoses on a hoist took me half an hour of screwing around on my back!

So I bought some LSD oil and changed it, hoping the issue was just low oil. It wasn't.

So out came the old oil and lots of metal flecks.



So a bearing has disintegrated in there. I'm hoping its a case bearing because I have a spare diff case and its not hard to swap the diff center to the healthy case. If the diff center is dead that would be really really annoying...

Anyway trying to get someone to look at the diff was a battle as well! All these mechanics who do just one job?! What the hell... so weird... anyway, hopefully I've found someone and its just a simple/accessible bearing.

[lambertius]

Many things!

First off, my diff was properly dead. The pictures below are of the last BMW OEM LSD that I had. The new one broke exactly the same way. I don't think I'll try an OEM diff again... 





The next point - I can now answer the question:

Does the RHD kit fit the E30?

Yes BUT...

The brake booster for the E30 impinges on the standard kit. Since the kit is modular however, you can solve the problem multiple ways:

• You can simply run a shorter trumpet. this would be the ideal solution for a high-revving engine!
• You can modify the standard kit slightly. If you let Rama know that the purchase is for an E30, he will supply a curved trumpet to assist with the fitment, and you can easily modify the box to avoid the booster (see below).
• You can work with me and I will help you design a custom 3D printed air box solution like I did for my car.

On the last point, if someone wants to get a kit, and do all the measuring - I will design a 3D printed solution that I'll make available to everyone!











And the last thing!

Who wants to get in on a group purchase?

Rama has said that he is happy to do a group order now that all fitment has been confirmed. If you want to do a group order, he will adjust the stock airboxes before shipping for the E30s, let me know if you're interested!