Author Topic: Power gain on a 16 year old's budget (Read 15615 times)

DRtothE · « **Reply #15 on:** July 27, 2008, 03:29:41 PM »

i bought my e30 318is with a performance racing clutch of some kind, and i have always been able to burn rubber in 1st and second. IMO, if you want to do anything to help you get started on making a really fast car, the stock clutch has to be the first to go.

i removed the left high beam light, and got my intake right up to the hole, an actual NOTICEABLE difference in power gain after i did that, plus the temp gauge stays in the lower quadrant more often.

good luck with your mods
peace

Ivan Petrov · « **Reply #16 on:** July 27, 2008, 05:33:07 PM »

Why don`t you try to increase the compression?

DRtothE · « **Reply #17 on:** August 11, 2008, 03:11:26 AM »

anyone got any ideas on custom fitting manifolds and exhaust systems, a lot of our cars are missing the driver side high beam for the cold air intake already, has anyone fitted fatter pipes on their exhaust system for the calculated maximum size, and and what about, this is just a thought, maybe selling them on M42club?

GrindCulture · « **Reply #18 on:** August 11, 2008, 12:20:32 PM »

Quote from: Ivan Petrov;53875

Why don`t you try to increase the compression?

Is there a cheap way of doing this? I'm not sure how thick the M42 gaskets are or if much thinner ones are available? The S42 had a 12:1 compression ratio (I think) but I'm not sure if it'll be cheap to get the compression up.

http://http://www.r3vlimited.com/tech/318is/318is.htm

Some useful info on there.

EN318isPDX · « **Reply #19 on:** August 11, 2008, 12:49:06 PM »

Quote from: Birdman16;52269

CORRECTION! The alternator died when the car went to start (That's what the shop said.). It froze up causing the squeeling problem. Fan clutch was in good shape and the car has not lost any WHP.

CORRECTION: Fan clutch takes power directly off the crankshaft to spin. Thats alot of lost HP right there!

Birdman16 · « **Reply #20 on:** August 18, 2008, 12:54:21 PM »

Thanks for the suggestions. I cant afford a new clutch though... Marshalls money does not pay that good. I do need some help though. My muffler is going and the filling is spraying out everywhere. Although the car sounds great, (throaty down low with a slight brang up top) I don't want to mess with the backpressure or let it turn into that crappy "tuner" sound (fart can). I checked bav auto, which was too expensive for the tri flow muffler, borla, supersprint and ansa, but couldn't find where to get an affordable cat back system. Where do you suggest I look. I can install it myself but don't want to spend more than 400. Suggestions. Besides, who wants to put a stock system back on....

Ivan Petrov · « **Reply #21 on:** August 18, 2008, 06:37:41 PM »

Quote from: GrindCulture;54689

Is there a cheap way of doing this? I'm not sure how thick the M42 gaskets are or if much thinner ones are available? The S42 had a 12:1 compression ratio (I think) but I'm not sure if it'll be cheap to get the compression up.

http://http://www.r3vlimited.com/tech/318is/318is.htm

Some useful info on there.

Well, you have to cut about 1 mm of the head, where the gasket lays. Acctually every time you get the head off you have to do this but not that much. My english is not good so I`m posting a picture to see what I`m talking about:

- but don`t remove that much! About 1 mm will be fine!

Birdman16 · « **Reply #22 on:** August 19, 2008, 02:15:04 PM »

I take that back, got stock system, sounds great. Much different than what came from the factory 17 years ago.

Birdman16 · « **Reply #23 on:** September 01, 2008, 05:50:50 PM »

Car has perfect amount of hp. What can be done besides ripping out the interior for weight?

EN318isPDX · « **Reply #24 on:** September 02, 2008, 10:24:11 AM »

Quote from: Birdman16;55851

Car has perfect amount of hp. What can be done besides ripping out the interior for weight?

Strip the trunk?

Birdman16 · « **Reply #25 on:** September 02, 2008, 04:36:25 PM »

Ha ha I knew that was coming.

I'm not sure how much that would help. Just have the trunk liner on the bottom. Everything got wet at one point so it has been out of the car for a good amount of time. Only 2 to 4 pounds saved there.

EN318isPDX · « **Reply #26 on:** September 02, 2008, 05:00:40 PM »

Quote from: Birdman16;55894

Ha ha I knew that was coming. I'm not sure how much that would help. Just have the trunk liner on the bottom. Everything got wet at one point so it has been out of the car for a good amount of time. Only 2 to 4 pounds saved there.

Spare tire? Electric antenna? Umm besides that tear out the rear seat.. pull out your carpet. Pull the glove box.. Hell rip everything out you dont need, you can sell the parts and fund your project.

Boosted E30 · « **Reply #27 on:** September 02, 2008, 08:20:59 PM »

take off your clutch fan but watch the temp when in traffic. and i have a dinan chip for your car as long as the ecu numbers match i can sell it to you cuz i dont need it anymore and it just sits in my tool box. they said it was about a 10hp gain and it bumps redline up to 7000.

ose30 · « **Reply #28 on:** September 03, 2008, 04:39:11 AM »

Quote

I'm not talking about a turbocharger or supercharger, but a 15 to 30 horsepower/ torque gain

Unfortunately for 15-30 additional hp you need to charge it! Some basic "tune-up" tricks like chip, exhaust etc. will give you max 10-12hp.
I have chipped a lot of cars (mainly Porsche's and BMW's) and from N/A engine it's just impossible to get that much HP you are looking for without major improvments. BTW i chipped my first E30 bodied car back in 1989 (a new 325I converetd to 2.7L), so i have a little bit experience of that.

Birdman16 · « **Reply #29 on:** September 04, 2008, 07:20:11 PM »

Boosted e30: I am currently have problems where it has been running a bit hot. Problem seems to be a aux. cooling fan resistor that went. I would never take the clutch fan out though. I just don't trust a car of that age and with 137,500 miles to run without the primary fan.

Ose e30: I am just looking for a bout 10 hp now. I got about 10-15 back when I fixed this air leak problem. Th efourth cylinder was just sucking in air and now the engine is more responsive with more power in the mid range to high range.