Tech Forum : couple of 2.8 turbo ?'s

Rickysbmw320i	Posted Wednesday, Oct 24th 11:01am [Edit] [Quote] [IMS] [View car]
Junior Member Post nr. 1 mn 83' 320i --> 83' e21	Starting to gather parts....couple ?'s so as some of you know, I'm doing th 2.8 turbo m20. basically I'm trying to gather all the parts before i do anything. so... 2.7 "e" block ( have it) 524td crank (getting very soon) "i" head (have it) now comes in the questions.... for pistons, i think im going to go through IE and have them make me a set. I was reading i think from r3vlimited or dtm, that they can make custom forged pistons to make the lower comprsion. Or, i can have a shop make me a copper headgasket (mabye .3 thick) and that could make a lower compression as well. But the problem of making compresion to low would be big turbo lag. So, what compression do you think i should shoot for and how should i go about it ( pistons or head gasket or mabye a little of both) ? Any idea on what size pistons would be best? Any other recomendations or tips for my project? also, what in the world should i do about a cam? remember, this is for a turbo set up. im not sure how much psi i want to run, possibly around 10-15...not to sure, ideas? Thanks Rick

Bill in MN	Posted Thursday, Oct 25th 12:10am [Edit] [Quote] [IMS] [View car]
Member Post nr. 188 Minnesota USA 1988 735, 1986 535 turbo, 1981 Baur 323i	Check out the FI forum on mye28.com. There's a guy who goes by the name of Turbodan. He's built up a very potent M20 turbo car on a limited budget. To the best of my knowlege he's running what is basically a stock bottom end and is pulling assenine power out of it. Don't be fooled into thinking you need to drop all kinds of money and high tech parts into one of these motors in order to get good FI power. I think you'de be surprised as to what kind of reliable power you can get out of the parts you have. Do some searches over at mye28.com. There's a wealth of FI knowlege there but be well advised....do your homework first!!!. The guys are more than willing to help but questions that can be easily answered by checking the archives or having konwlege of the basics will not be met with a positive reaction. Turbocharging Dynamics (.com) is a good source for M20 FI stuff if you're inclined to go with a kit as opposed to a DIY. Todd's products are virtually plug and play (if anything in FI can really be considered as such)and is a very good guy. Helpful too. Good luck!

Madhatter	Posted Friday, Oct 26th 1:46pm [Edit] [Quote] [IMS] [View car]
Member Post nr. 247 Australia - QLD E21, E24, E30	www.e30tech.com forums probably have the largest and most indepth turbo m20 section.

MayanArch	Posted Sunday, Oct 28th 1:38am [Edit] [Quote] [IMS] [View car]
Member Post nr. 1423 Florida, USA Baur E21 2.7 1982, Baur E30 318i 1985, 323i 1978	My take is get the 2.7 running first. Chip it and put a nice differential in there. There is a lot you can do to the 2.7 to make it really nice without need for turbocharge. Get it running nice first, then do an add on. The 2.7 can be done using all stock parts from junk yards or eBay....with the exception of the headers. Those you can do yourself........good writeups on that.....or buy from ebay.de or bavauto. Furthermore, you want a pretty solid engine before you do a turbo or supercharge.

nowloadingrage	Posted Monday, Nov 12th 9:27pm [Edit] [Quote] [IMS] [View car]
Junior Member Post nr. 1 Tennessee, U.S. 83' 320i -w- Century Turbo	After reading the BMW enthusiast's companion for the 3rd time, the answers for some of this one is easy. The most important item to start with is the rear end. Needs to be at least a 3.64.(can be found in automatic 320) The recommendations in the book call for a 3.25 yet the call outs are for a e30. starting with 325e engine and head 1. 3.25 gear, chip, stock 325i camshaft and valve springs, 5,800 rev limit. Horsepower is about 150-155. 2. 3.25 gear, chip, ported head, 325i valves, 325i cam and springs, 325i throttle body, (manifold can be opened up to 65mm), exhaust headers, 6200 rev. limit. Horsepower is about 165-170. 3. Same as no. 2, but uses 3.73 gear, Holley 4160 4 barrel carb on a euro 520 manifold, 323 distributor, Schrick 272 cam and springs, 6300 rev limit. This low cost setup really hauls. Horsepower is about 175. 4. 3.73 hear, ported 325i head with reworked valves, 288 Schrick cam, light flywheel, forged steel crankshaft, 325i rods, 325i overbore pistons with specially machined domes, 325i intake manifold and throttle body, 323i distributor. Injection is fed by a '77-78 big six "L" jetronic airflow meter, wiring harness, and control unit.Use 1 1/2 headers with a dual 1.75 inch, or single 2.24 inch rear system. Look for 220+ hp with this 2.8 liter set up. Option 3 is a little out there. Looking at all of it I'm sure you can pull out some useful info. Looking at the numbers above and then add a turbo. Man your going to have a hard time keeping tires. I know if my car had the ability to brake'em loose in fourth I would be doing it all the time!