Impressive MWerks Project

[John W]

Apologies if this is referenced elsewhere (I did a search and couldn't find anything), but I thought it was worth posting a link to this 91 318is project mwerks has been documenting. I think the interior is breathtaking. The bottom of this feature also links to previous articles.

http://www.mwerks.com/artman/publish/features/article_1293.shtml

[gearheadE30]

Wow, that interior is amazing. I saw a teaser of this awwhile back and never saw it again, definitely a cool project.

[haledj]

OMG, that is AMAZING.

[D. Clay]

A HP gain with a K&N filter under the hood without heat shielding. On the same day with back to back dyno runs. 15 HP total with  
1) BMP K&N filter kit,  $179, 5 HP (+5 HP)
2) Racing Dynamics chip,  $249, 112 HP (+7 HP)
3) Supersprint cat back,  $525   114 HP (+2 HP)
That intake deserves a note, though. No mention of what condition the filter it replaced was in. It's also Chicago in the winter and the guy in the car as it sits on the dyno has on a heavy jacket with a toboggan pulled down over his ears. So much for under hood heat. Back to square one. Most bang for the buck is a chip and a clean high flow filter.

[kowalski]

interesting to actually see gains on a dyno with an filter kit.

[John W]

A HP gain with a K&N filter under the hood without heat shielding. On the same day with back to back dyno runs. 15 HP total with  
1) BMP K&N filter kit,  $179, 5 HP (+5 HP)
2) Racing Dynamics chip,  $249, 112 HP (+7 HP)
3) Supersprint cat back,  $525   114 HP (+2 HP)
That intake deserves a note, though. No mention of what condition the filter it replaced was in. It's also Chicago in the winter and the guy in the car as it sits on the dyno has on a heavy jacket with a toboggan pulled down over his ears. So much for under hood heat. Back to square one. Most bang for the buck is a chip and a clean high flow filter.

I was thinking the same thing. If anything that filter set-up could result in about a 5 hp loss without some sort of heat shielding. I'm surprised that the chip gave 7 hp, which also seems like a lot. But the overall numbers (114 hp at the wheels) seem low.

[dude8383]

A HP gain with a K&N filter under the hood without heat shielding. On the same day with back to back dyno runs. 15 HP total with  
1) BMP K&N filter kit,  $179, 5 HP (+5 HP)
2) Racing Dynamics chip,  $249, 112 HP (+7 HP)
3) Supersprint cat back,  $525   114 HP (+2 HP)
That intake deserves a note, though. No mention of what condition the filter it replaced was in. It's also Chicago in the winter and the guy in the car as it sits on the dyno has on a heavy jacket with a toboggan pulled down over his ears. So much for under hood heat. Back to square one. Most bang for the buck is a chip and a clean high flow filter.

I think that most embarrassing thing is... every single one of those "upgrades" yields such small increases for such incredibly high cost.

[D. Clay]

I was thinking the same thing. If anything that filter set-up could result in about a 5 hp loss without some sort of heat shielding. I'm surprised that the chip gave 7 hp, which also seems like a lot. But the overall numbers (114 hp at the wheels) seem low.

If an M42 makes 136 @ the flywheel and driveline losses are 15-20% then 136 * .85 = 115.6 and 136 * .8 = 108.8. The 318i/is if anything should be on the low side of drive line losses as it has a lightweight driveshaft and the smallest differential of those available for E30's. I am always suspicious of magazine articles that test performance items. They sometimes get them for free and also receive tech support from the vendors. This "could" result in inaccurate results. I have rarely read an article that tested a specific manufacturer's products that concluded they were bs.
I also noticed the hood is up at the front and a fan in front of the car. It could be blowing that Chicago wintertime air right into the CAI. Air inlet temperature can easily result in a 3% difference in HP everything else remaining equal. My point is that even back to back dyno runs can be manipulated by 3 to 5 HP.

[John W]

Interesting article here for comparison:

http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/images/bmw_pdfs/may06_318is.pdf

I also think when you're dealing with two different, high mileage engines and different dynos, and vastly different climates the results are difficult to predict and interpret.

I have done most of what Grassroots did (sans the exhaust) and was hoping my overall results would be more in line with their findings.

I also do wonder how much of an impact the dual mass flywheel has on driveline loss ....

Still, I do like the mwerks articles. They're well documented, well photographed and the writer/owner seems to be taking a realistic approach that has been spread over a couple of years i.e. it's applicable to what many of are doing/trying to do. (I also want his cup holders!!)

[sheepdog]

After lots of research from members here and there...

The only real mods worth any money are lightened flywheel and chip. Those will net you some small gains, particularly midrange.

Cold air intake... B/S. Not very cold. Too much underhood heat unless you close it off from the bay. If you do, you will see some very minimal gains. Put in a clean filter, does not have to be K&N, ours are of good size for our motor and cut a small hole in the front of the box, does as much good as anything else pretty much.

Better flowing muffler... A cheap $50 muffler is all that is needed. Worth a couple HP. Catback has been shown to be no better than just a cheap better flowing muffler.

Coil On plug... not really much power, but it will run better and smoother, and it is cheaper than good plugs. Better yet, should last longer. Win-Win situation, but no real power bonus.

Injectors, not really much help unless you have done the rest above.


All of this is good for only a few peak horsepower.
It does however give you a faster car with a  better midrange.
All of this has been well documented over the years.


From what I have seen, the power in our motors is locked up in the heads. Fix that and now the cams are a problem. Look at what Metric Mechanic does to a motor. They are not using a bunch of new parts.