Resto-mod e21 BMW
Discussion
carpetsoiler said:
Is that an aftermarket fan? Looking like I'll have to replace mine as it's done the traditional E36 thing- and seized!
Progress looks good. Love the Recaros. I'd really like to have the Recaros they fitted to either the DC2 or Accord Type R in mine, but am unsure how to go about it...
They're each available straight from Recaro, ITR uses 'Recaro Speed' and ATR 'Recaro Sport'.Progress looks good. Love the Recaros. I'd really like to have the Recaros they fitted to either the DC2 or Accord Type R in mine, but am unsure how to go about it...
Went over to Pristine today and dropped off the new Kenlowe fan and silicon hose kit. Opted for a 14'' fan and it was about the largest size we could get in, without having to modify the front panel.
While I was there my spare rims turned up, in the shape of some 8.5 and 9.5J X 16 banded steels. I just need some slightly wider rubber and to paint them gold.
Thanks to the good folk at Jenvey we'll have a bit more in the way of induction roar.
While I was there my spare rims turned up, in the shape of some 8.5 and 9.5J X 16 banded steels. I just need some slightly wider rubber and to paint them gold.
Thanks to the good folk at Jenvey we'll have a bit more in the way of induction roar.
carpetsoiler said:
Ooft, just had a small accident over the Jenveys! Expensive? Easy to hook up?
Relatively easy to fit but expensive. Especially given the moderate gains they give. These will be on loan though, so not so much of an issue fortunately. They should make a damn fine noise though! 
There are lots of little detail changes on my car. The wiring has been a lot of work and even the headlight / indicator wiring has been hidden away, by routing it through a chassis rail. If it all goes to plan there will no no visible wiring anywhere. The engine mounts have been removed and now we have the exact dimensions, the final incarnation is being fabricated. We've moved the engine 7mm further forward, which allows use of stock propshaft section, so future conversions on other e21 will be easier. There's a huge amount of wheelarch clearance now too, with hardly any alteration to the way the arch looks. Even with the suspension wound right down there is no fouling of the tyres. Those steels should look lovely once painted gold.
They were just putting the finishing touches to a 3 door Cosworth they'd painted. My pic doesn't do their work justice but the finish was flawless.
Nice Porsche in the oven too.
Edited by e21Mark on Saturday 5th April 09:36
I hadn't intended going with ITB's to be honest, as people said the gains are pretty minimal. Especially given the hassle and expense involved. I could have used s50 ITB's but I would still need to buy or fabricate suitable inlet manifolds etc. Anyway, I had been speaking with Jenvey about my car and they are going to loan one of their kits, so that we can do some back-to-back dyno runs and see exactly how much extra power there is to be gained? I know a lot of people were disappointed with the Dbilas kit but these are a much better design. The ECU map that Dbilas supply is pretty generic too, so I plan a live re map with ChipWizard.
e21Mark said:
I hadn't intended going with ITB's to be honest, as people said the gains are pretty minimal. Especially given the hassle and expense involved. I could have used s50 ITB's but I would still need to buy or fabricate suitable inlet manifolds etc. Anyway, I had been speaking with Jenvey about my car and they are going to loan one of their kits, so that we can do some back-to-back dyno runs and see exactly how much extra power there is to be gained? I know a lot of people were disappointed with the Dbilas kit but these are a much better design. The ECU map that Dbilas supply is pretty generic too, so I plan a live re map with ChipWizard.
You know a lot of the right people! Where are ChipWizard based? I'll be needing a proper custom map doing- I've got some lairy cams heading over from the good ol' US of A, and intend to get the car mapped to run the straight through exhaust/light fly/intake/cams to their full potential. What's the pricing like..? Sorry for 10 million questions! My best mate is building an M52B28 E30, so he's appreciative of any further info too.carpetsoiler said:
e21Mark said:
I hadn't intended going with ITB's to be honest, as people said the gains are pretty minimal. Especially given the hassle and expense involved. I could have used s50 ITB's but I would still need to buy or fabricate suitable inlet manifolds etc. Anyway, I had been speaking with Jenvey about my car and they are going to loan one of their kits, so that we can do some back-to-back dyno runs and see exactly how much extra power there is to be gained? I know a lot of people were disappointed with the Dbilas kit but these are a much better design. The ECU map that Dbilas supply is pretty generic too, so I plan a live re map with ChipWizard.
You know a lot of the right people! Where are ChipWizard based? I'll be needing a proper custom map doing- I've got some lairy cams heading over from the good ol' US of A, and intend to get the car mapped to run the straight through exhaust/light fly/intake/cams to their full potential. What's the pricing like..? Sorry for 10 million questions! My best mate is building an M52B28 E30, so he's appreciative of any further info too.1429373
1429472
1429861
1429895
1432401
1744711
http://business-directory.autosport.com/company/69...
e21Mark said:
Am happy to help. Chipwizard are up north in Rochdale. They're busy guys too, but I have yet to hear a bad word said about them and they've got a reputation for getting the most from an M52. I had planned to get some US spec M3 cams but Cat supplied their 'fast road' profiles instead. In order to be able to map live, you need one of the following ECU part numbers.
1429373
1429472
1429861
1429895
1432401
1744711
http://business-directory.autosport.com/company/69...
Is it really sad that I just walked up to my bookcase, picked up my original unmapped ECU and had a quick ganders at it? 1429861 did the trick, by the way. 1429373
1429472
1429861
1429895
1432401
1744711
http://business-directory.autosport.com/company/69...
then my old M50 mapped ECU can be sold off. Do you know roughly how much their mapping is? I've managed to sort the cams for $450+$85 delivery, so I've got a little more scratch to play with than first expected (was thinking I'd be getting US S52s, and as you know they're a pretty penny). My best mate's interested in the Cat Cams, so a proper review of those would be appreciated. Looks like I'll be plotting a trip up North before September then... want to get the cams sorted in June/July and then have her mapped and ready before the Nürburgring in September.
Is there a target finish date for yours, or is this just taking it nice and easy?
Thanks again for all your help, much appreciated.
Thank you.
I used endtuning to do the ECU in my old car and it was fine. This time though, having spoken with Dan the Man on the zone, I am going with Wayne at Chipwizard as he has a huge experience with the M52 engine. I know it's hardly local, but I'm not one to shy away from travel for the right parts.
Hopefully the new ITB kit will be here tomorrow and I need to start searching for an alternative ECU. Other kits, such as Dbilas, retain the AFM and airbox and that obviously limits the effectiveness of having throttle bodies in the first place. The problem though, is cost. The ITB's alone cost almost as much as an s54 3.2, so then adding £1 400 for an ECU and a few days mapping, it soon makes for an expensive conversion. There is also my limited knowledge and experience to add into the mix.
If anyone has any suggestions, I would be more than grateful to hear them. Ideally though, I would like to run with Omex as I know theirs is a quality product.
I used endtuning to do the ECU in my old car and it was fine. This time though, having spoken with Dan the Man on the zone, I am going with Wayne at Chipwizard as he has a huge experience with the M52 engine. I know it's hardly local, but I'm not one to shy away from travel for the right parts.
Hopefully the new ITB kit will be here tomorrow and I need to start searching for an alternative ECU. Other kits, such as Dbilas, retain the AFM and airbox and that obviously limits the effectiveness of having throttle bodies in the first place. The problem though, is cost. The ITB's alone cost almost as much as an s54 3.2, so then adding £1 400 for an ECU and a few days mapping, it soon makes for an expensive conversion. There is also my limited knowledge and experience to add into the mix.
If anyone has any suggestions, I would be more than grateful to hear them. Ideally though, I would like to run with Omex as I know theirs is a quality product.
Well with my throttle bodies at a couriers depot somewhere between here and Jenvey, I have been busy trying to research ECU. Now it appears that certain BMW ECU can be run in Alpha N mode and as such, they should be able to do all I need to cope with the ITB's. This means I can ditch the AFM, which is the limiting factor as far as performance gains go. Well that's how I read it anyway. Hopefully someone with more knowledge can advise?
Obviously, if I'm going to the trouble of fitting ITB's I want to make the most of them.
Obviously, if I'm going to the trouble of fitting ITB's I want to make the most of them.
I know it won't be to everyone's taste, but I do love some 70's tat and these are pretty rare nowadays. I found this in mainland Europe, or at least a pal did and he's mailing it to me. You wouldn't believe the sort of money these go for nowadays. There one on eBay and it's already well past 805 Euros! This was nowhere even close to that amount though thankfully.
Edited by e21Mark on Sunday 13th April 10:40
Thanks guys.
Well after a good few hours research, I have been trying to get up to speed on standalone ecu and mapping for the M52 engine. In the end though, I gave up and made a few calls and sent a few text messages, the upshot being I now await the arrival of a new ECU. I've been asking various opinions, but the 2 I value most are Wayne @ Chipwizard and Paul Sheppard @ Circuit Motors. In fact, it was Paul who suggested that I look at DTA ECU and they are certainly more keenly priced than the equivalent Omex or Emerald. There is also an online forum, so it seems advice is never too far away. So, I've bitten the bullet and thanks to the good people at DTA, their S60 Pro is currently on route.
http://www.dtafast.co.uk/S_60_PRO.htm
Well after a good few hours research, I have been trying to get up to speed on standalone ecu and mapping for the M52 engine. In the end though, I gave up and made a few calls and sent a few text messages, the upshot being I now await the arrival of a new ECU. I've been asking various opinions, but the 2 I value most are Wayne @ Chipwizard and Paul Sheppard @ Circuit Motors. In fact, it was Paul who suggested that I look at DTA ECU and they are certainly more keenly priced than the equivalent Omex or Emerald. There is also an online forum, so it seems advice is never too far away. So, I've bitten the bullet and thanks to the good people at DTA, their S60 Pro is currently on route.
http://www.dtafast.co.uk/S_60_PRO.htm
Well as you'd expect from a company like DTA, the courier arrived bright and early today. As a result we now have our standalone system, in the shape of the S60 Pro series. This means that not only can we junk the stock BMW ECU, but we will also be able to lose the stock air box and AFM, which were what limits the alternative ITB kits from the likes of Dbilas. Our plan now, is to run velocity stacks and MAF, which should unlock the potential of the M52 and give some good performance gains. The Jenvey kit sounds fantastic too!
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