Author Topic: Power gain on a 16 year old's budget (Read 15578 times)

Boosted E30 · « **Reply #30 on:** September 05, 2008, 11:13:42 PM »

Quote from: Birdman16;56054

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.

my car has 315000 km on it and the engine is like new i added boost up to 17psi and nothing went wrong but it over heated cuz i lost my block heater and the head cracked but there is no problem with taking the clutch fan off you just gotta watch the temp or get a colder thermostat. im putting in a 71 degree C thermostat when i put the new head on but thats cuz i got boost. and if you have a/c in your car the fan for a/c will come on befor the engine over heats so you dont really have to worrie or you can just crank your heater max defrost that works to !!

Birdman16 · « **Reply #31 on:** September 10, 2008, 03:20:59 PM »

Thats actually what I have to do and it runs over the three quarter mark. I have to crank the heat all of the time. Also, on the way to school, the car is crapping out white puffy smoke. It does it during the day too. I actually couldn't see my friends car behind me on the way in. Could this acctually be a blown head gasket?!? My shop thinks it is a leaking injector, could this be the problem?

Boosted E30 · « **Reply #32 on:** September 10, 2008, 07:45:27 PM »

ya if its blowing white smoke i would pull plugs out and look at them if one or more is melted and deformed you have coolant leaking into your chamber which could be the head gasket or the head is cracked. if it over heats even just on idle i would lean more towards the head being cracked but you wont know until you pull it off

GrindCulture · « **Reply #33 on:** September 12, 2008, 01:16:09 PM »

Doesn't sound too good, but probably best to catch it fast before it wrecks the motor completely.

Birdman16 · « **Reply #34 on:** September 13, 2008, 09:51:18 AM »

When checking my oil the other day before your post, I noticed it looked all wrong. My dad thought the car was leaking antifreeze and said we would check it in the morning. Yesterday, when we checked the anti freeze, I happened to notice smoke coming out the side of the engine....
I have officially found the problem, a blown head gasket. It is getting antifreeze into the engine and blowing the white puffy smoke out the back..
I fortunately have scrapped together enough money to pay for the service and am happy to report that this 17 year old is keeping his e30! The car is going into the shop for this fix on tuesday and I will also be replacing the rest of the hoses and all of the injectors.

Once this is fixed, I should get the power I'm looking for.

Birdman16 · « **Reply #35 on:** September 13, 2008, 09:52:48 AM »

Quote from: Boosted E30;55906

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.

By the way, how much for the chip. Just noticed your post after reading through all of them.

halcron · « **Reply #36 on:** September 13, 2008, 10:44:36 AM »

OK, here is another good way to improve HP.

Recently, I tried Amsoil Signature 0W30 for my M42. Despite the 30wt oil, it work very well with the engine and its much better than redline 10W40 and Shell 5W40. Then I added the liquimoly ceratec. its a ceramic additive that will coat your cylinder walls etc with micro ceramic to reduce friction. It works great. the engine feels smoother and definitely more lively.

Reducing internal friction is a very good way to get back lost HP and saves petrol at the same time!

Boosted E30 · « **Reply #37 on:** September 13, 2008, 06:48:26 PM »

for the chip i dont know i payed 100$ for i so make me an offer

Birdman16 · « **Reply #38 on:** September 14, 2008, 11:03:31 AM »

Before I make the offer, I have a question. How do you go about putting in a chip. Never seen it happen before or have done it myself. Is it just plug and play(install and go), or is there some place to send it with computer/ecu to do some calibration?

GrindCulture · « **Reply #39 on:** September 14, 2008, 03:50:57 PM »

Just plug and play, all you need is a screwdriver and about 20 minutes.

Boosted E30 · « **Reply #40 on:** September 14, 2008, 04:50:35 PM »

ya you just gotta pull the ecu out open it up and swap chips and put it back in the car very easy 20 min like grindculture said but i know the chip i have is ecu specific so get the bosch number off your ecu and post it and ill check mine just to make sure that it will work nothing worse then buying somthing and it doesnt work

Birdman16 · « **Reply #41 on:** September 14, 2008, 06:33:55 PM »

Great, will do. Thanks for the heads up. Where can I find the ecu? Is it located behind the glovebox. Info would be much appreciated.

E30nate · « **Reply #42 on:** September 14, 2008, 11:42:59 PM »

the ecu is behind the glovebox. four 10mm bolts to take it out of the car, and four torx screws to open it up. you also have to pry up the little tabs around the edges.

Birdman16 · « **Reply #43 on:** September 15, 2008, 03:11:48 PM »

Car is going in for head gasket tonight. I'm actually leaving in a few minutes to drop the car off in Natick Mass. for the repair. I will have the guy look at the ecu and find out all of the numbers and will relay them back to you in a few days. Thanks again for the offer, still interested, and I got my parent's approval, just because it was a Dinan chip.

Birdman16 · « **Reply #44 on:** September 23, 2008, 03:27:52 PM »

Going to check out the car tonight. The shop is taking out the head and making sure it has no leaks, cracks or warping... I really hope this car is fine... I will give you all an update soon.