New to this site!

[Andrij]

I want to see more pics .

me too!

[tim_s]

No, the harmonic balancer/dampner on the front of the crank (the pulleys are mounted to or in front of this, it is basically a big chunk of metal). They tend to expode at 7200 rpm.

have you any pics or any actual examples of one doing so? what exactly explodes at 7200rpm? this has been posted around this forum a lot, but i've never actually seen a dead balancer or engine as a result etc. (and know of plenty of people running high rpm through our engines). ive questioned this loads of times, but haven't had any concrete examples of what happens. As we have a strong forged crank with hefty counterweights, and having had the pulley off the car and taken a good look, i'm still no wiser really. its potentially not as strong as other designs (e30 m3), and there's potential for the hub to come away from the damper and pulley i guess, but i'd imagine that would take some serious abuse - like 6 M8 bolts sheering off. likewise the rubber for the VR wheel could disintegrate, but that would be through neglect rather than bad design.

[Febi Guibo]

woah, don't jinx yourself there fella!  

I've asked around about this (a lot) and basically gotten the following:

this issue originated re: older M20 engines, particularly w/work on ETA engines... it started with a statement by a pretty well-known engine builder saying that the 'E30 harmonic balancer' fell apart at 7200 RPMs... this btw, turned out not to be the case.

it kind of mutated from there, and was then repeated by writers like our esteemed mike miller, and like many things on the internet, sort of took on a life of its own.

naturally... so I guess I'm now well in the process of jinxing myself... but I'm planning on revving my 'lil M42 to over 7500 rpms so one way or another, we'll find out.

[E30M42Mtech]

I'll get back to you on it it. I'll get some photographs for you. I know the part your talking about. I'm not sure if it got re-engineried or what. My cars not always with me as I'm always driving a work car. I'll get some photo's of them as well.

[sheepdog]

have you any pics or any actual examples of one doing so? what exactly explodes at 7200rpm? this has been posted around this forum a lot, but i've never actually seen a dead balancer or engine as a result etc. (and know of plenty of people running high rpm through our engines). ive questioned this loads of times, but haven't had any concrete examples of what happens.

I have heard of chip makers trying to go higher and havingthem shatter, how true. I do not know.

However, someone on Bimmerforums does have one that has been up around that rpm and it has cracks in it.

I also have read that the dampner goes at 7200 and above 7800 or so something else happens, lifter collapse or valve float maybe? Been a while since I read it but it was written by an engine builder.

There are a few companies that will make custom omes for higher rpm though, I am just curious what was used. I was not trying to pigeon hole anyone.

[tim_s]

haha yeah you're right i shouldn't jinx myself! I just want some good info on this to see what should be done. i'd considered using the later design pulley, but without being too sure what's wrong with our original i'm not sure how its any better. i know the S42 has a serpentine belt and all the pulleys look different to the production car. maybe i'll add a serpentine belt upgrade to my to-do list. tbh as its my daily its not going to get revved too highly and it still has hyd lifters and standard springs for the moment.
i couldn't find any info on the cracked one on bimmerforums, you got a link?

[StreetSpec_iS]

welcome aboard Kings. who did the fabricating for the turbo and brakes? ALS?

more pics mate, more pics.

[sheepdog]

i couldn't find any info on the cracked one on bimmerforums, you got a link?

Nope, it was a while back.

[E30M42Mtech]

Hi guys,

The harmonic balancer is a custom job. I've taken some photo's of it and a few other pic of the car. I hope you find all the info your after from the pics.

Sorry it took so long. My work some times keeps me busy 24/7.

[E30M42Mtech]

I don't get to drive my E30 very much any more. I miss it. I get to drive it once a week if I'm lucky.
Most of you will think I'm spoilt. And I probably agree that I've taken my work cars for granted. But that raw feel from an E30, you just can't beat it. Thats just my opinion anyway.

Kings

[e9nine]

You have gone throught a S/C and a turbo! I love your style!! Now your daily driver work cars surely make you appreciate the raw beast of an m42 no doubt.

[sheepdog]

Hi guys,

The harmonic balancer is a custom job. I've taken some photo's of it and a few other pic of the car. I hope you find all the info your after from the pics.

Sorry it took so long. My work some times keeps me busy 24/7.

Looks good.

[shellback]

Kings,
I know you posted some info earlier about your setup, but could you please post a DIY thread, or some detailed instructions with parts, tools, photos, approximate difficulty, and time to accomplish this project?
Not sure if you've noticed but there's a lot of us who are looking forward to improving our M42's. There's a lot of projects out there, but many of them are still in progress and incomplete.
I must commend you for a nice job. Your car is an inspiration to many of us!:)

Regards,
Chris

[E30M42Mtech]

I'm sorry if I gave anyone the impression that I did this myself. I didn't, far to complicated for me. Things like mating the Delco engine management system to the original wiring harness of the E30, tunning the engine management system and making sure the enegine makes the most amount of boost without blowing the engine. Its still runs the original high compression.
So the bottom line is, I left this to the expertise of the best tunning house in Sydney, ALS Performance. No they haven't paid me to say this, I paid alot of money for this, but it was worth it.
There is a guy that got his car done there just before mine (E30 318is) and he    
is getting about 240-260bhp at the wheels. A little bit more than my 140bhp. At 140BHP you starting killing Monaro's or Pontiac GTO's (6.0L V8's).

So back to your question. You guys want to find out more, and I want to share if with all of you. I think the best bet is to ask the questions and I'll try and get you the answers.

[dude8383]

woah hold on a second...you say your friend is putting down around 240-260bhp and then you say "a little bit more than my 140bhp" ...thats pretty much stock! are those the actual figures that your engine is producing???