As Green as the Touge - Just Cause! Background: I bought my 318ti over 3 years ago, and the thread that documented some of that is here: http://318ti.org/forum/showthread.php?t=34892 In the mean time I moved to the awesome little country island of Taiwan for a year. I actually grew up in Taiwan but haven't been back for over ten years. This got me a chance to reconnect to my childhood and also see the kind of styling they have here. Of course much of it is very heavily influenced by Japan, but it does have its own flair too. Its been roughly ten months here and I will be going back to the U.S. and my 318ti very soon. As a result I have started to think what I would do with my 318ti. I was going to do nothing and just drive it... But that probably won't happen. :tongue: Sooooo . . . here is my concept of what I will turn my car into... just because I think it is cool. Thats it. Form or function I am not too worried. I will be daily driving it, so other then it being able to drive me to work and being reasonably comfortable I want to build something more from my imagination , sometime maybe a bit different. It will see the occasional canyon run too. Oh and do it on the cheap too. :rolleyes: Concept! First a rough draft of a sketch just so I can imagine how it looks a little better. http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/f...pshjh5tjid.jpg Here is some horrible mspaint put together: http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/f...pspdn293xj.jpg v2 http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/f...psa8j75zfp.jpg To help show what my concept comes from I have some pictures/images that I find cool and are part of my inspiration. Why not try to bring some parts of these cars to life. If it works it works and it will be awsome! If not, oh well, whats next? :tongue: http://pre00.deviantart.net/0d30/th/...gn-d8x46sk.jpg https://alexeyorlov.files.wordpress....hatchnoahs.jpg https://cdn2.artstation.com/p/assets...jpg?1443926799 We shall see how this goes. :biggrin: ***Above pictures are not of my car and I claim no ownership of them! They just help me develop a mental image by using some styling ideas from other car enthusiasts. The Details Front: - Headlights: I have some glass euro headlights so I can take them apart, clean them, and tint the inner class yellow - like the French headlights, then use electrical tape (? or something else) to make that "X" on top of the inner lense. This is inspired by cars that are tracked as well as driven in the street and would use take to try to keep the glass together if the glass broke and keep the track free of the glass. In my case I think it will just look cool. - Bumper: I have a M3 rep bumper so I will probably just use it - since its a rep I don't mind cutting into it either. - The front will use some home depot garden trimming or something for the splitter/lip/air dam, it will also help the car look lower. - I will most likely have fog light deletes. - The licence plate might be in the middle or off to the side, mounted by ? ?? ? - still not sure. - The inner holes next to the fog lights will have ducting to direct air towards the brakes, i will probably cut a hole into the dust shield and have the hosing go from the front to the brakes. Hopefully cooling the brakes a little for the canyon runs since I get brake fade pretty quickly. Oh and cause it might look cool too. - Front Blinkers: Thinking of pulling the front blinkers out all together, and putting in some e30 style front blinkers under the front bumper support below the headlights. Rear: - Exhaust: Nice and quiet . . more then a weird looking car, the exhaust note pulls the polices notice! But with the 90 degree bend at the exit of the rear and go up a couple inches - dual tip. - Spoiler Still not sure, leaning more towards a duckbill style but made with garden trim and rivets, kind of like the front. - Stubby antenna. Side: - ACS cup mirrors! Yes those are going to look good! :biggrin: *****WILL UPDATE AS IDEAS CHANGE ETC. |
Sounds like you have a solid plan, looking forward to seeing what you do! |
Love everything except the mad max metal bar rear bumper |
Quote:
Quote:
I will be trying to use the parts that I have already lying around, and only keep money on reliability/maintenance issues for daily driving, since that is what it will still do mostly. Two months and counting till I get home... feels so long. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- One more month to go! I do have to say the .org is probably one of the slowest forums I know... |
Check out the front end on my 318ti and let me know if you'd like some pointers? Would be more than happy to help. |
Quote:
http://www.318ti.org/forum/images/ga...4766957441.jpg It seems like the style is uhm a little different then what I am going for, but I appreciate the thought though! ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- EDIT: (Project related) I am back in SoCal and busy with school (again.. sigh) and work, but most importantly working to get my car to what I consider "Stage 0". What I mean by that is that the car has to be fully functional first without anything little thing wrong before I dig into it. A/C, windows, trim parts, mechanical parts everything has to be fully functioning like it came from the dealer. I have already gotten the 80k miles clutch replaced with another OEMish clutch, window regulators are fixed, new tires, A/C needs a little more looking at as well as the radio, trim and small interior pieces. The car will end up looking kind of beat/rugged/aggressive but instead of those beater cars that always have something wrong with it, door latch, radio, A/C, windows etc - everything will work fine and it will be more of a stylistic choice. |
Different indeed. I like to think of it as fun factor. |
Quote:
|
Need an update |
Quote:
I said: "I have already gotten the 80k miles clutch replaced with another OEMish clutch, window regulators are fixed, new tires, A/C needs a little more looking at and fixing as well as the radio, trim and small interior pieces." I do have some parts and things are moving forward in the background but I want to be able to show something concrete, and considering that the 318ti is pretty low on the priority list its going to take some time. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To be fair here is how it looks at the moment, nice and stock looking. I want to have everything good and start with a clean sheet, in order to avoid problems later on. http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/f...psbecze31n.jpg |
So things are moving forward. Picked up some parts: - ACS Type 1 monoblocks 17x8.5 et13 :cool: (SOLD later on, never used them!) - Z3 steering rack, finally! - Ugly CF fenders that are "z3 style" - Fiberglass front bumper support beam - Clear front, side, rear lights - M side trim (Thanks to Bwwaaaa!) Next weekend I will be picking up a whole rear 6cyl rear end: Subframe, trailing arms, axles - no diff. This is actually a continuation from a widing idea with e46 LCA's I tried back in 2013: http://318ti.org/forum/showthread.php?t=37032 The idea is that the e46 LCA's widen the front track, And the 6cyl z3 rear trailing arms do the same thing effectively widening the whole width of the wheels without running low ET wheels. Also this way I can get the camber/toe weld in plates separately and have less downtime as the car is a daily. As it has been the case for the last 4 years the car desperately needs more power, but considering I drive ~250 miles a week now with work/school I will enjoy the MPG as I fix the small things and work on suspension/widening the car. The ACS wheels will wait for a while as they are ugly chrome and bubbly, and with the et13 + widening, I will need to figure out a suitable way to widen the fenders, if the ACS go on they will be going on with at not much of a stretch, probably 235 tires. Since I picked up the carbon fiber "z3" style fenders I might get those cut into with a simple set of flairs. Not too sure yet. Sorry for the slow progress! But this is a long term project so expect this thread like my last build thread to continue for a while, aka couple years. :redface: :redface: |
Quote:
UPDATE: 11/22/2016 So instead of bumping my thread with a post that doesn't have any good content I am just editing this one to add the following: The project is on indefinite hold. Working two part time jobs and full time school + regular life is smashing me now and I need to turn it around a bit. I had some good stuff to show, but I am going to wait, I have some more drawings/print out and real parts for continuing the concept and bringing some reality to it. At this point of time I can't spend any more distracted time thinking about the car as anything other then transportation. For the concept to work it has to be a complete package and not half-baked or else it will just suck, so patience until I can put in the proper time is required. Sorry! ******Oh wow... turned out I clicked response instead of "edit" to my thread... this is embarrassing! |
What desgin program are you using ? |
Quote:
Update! Drove down to San Diego to pick up something! http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/f...psdnf04r1c.jpg Hmmm so what I can do with a 328is + 318ti ? :biggrin: Looks like finally I will have a chance to have a 6pot swapped compact! After all these years of ownership! |
Lets get this swap started!! Part of it is in! http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/f...psyrp5taec.jpg http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/f...psguvmdc3n.jpg Just block is in, the rest is moving forward too! |
Update on Concept #2: It seems like before I get to my initial concept the 318ti will be converted to what I would imagine what a OEM performance version of a 328ti would be. I need some clearance (ride height) and plain reliability/comfort for daily use, also with where I have to park now I don't need extra attention. ***Once this mid stage portion gets done, we can get back to the concept.*** Engine/Drivetrain: -m52 swap w/s52 head/valve train (Done/Have) -TRM swap DME (Done/Have) -ZF trans with z3 shifter (Done/Have) -3.46 Med Case LSD w/ e30 axles (Done/Have) -Getting it CARB legal! (still working on it) Suspension/Misc: -z3m coupe oem springs all around (Done/Have) -z3m front/rear sway bar (Front needs install,rear done) -Koni's all around (Still need front inserts) -12mm subframe risers (need install) Brakes: -300mm vented brakes all around -e46 Calipers (325/328i) all around |
Progress! The backstory to how I decided to go with the swap. ***Don't worry it won't be quick. :tongue: ***** Around the start of November I was really thinking if it was even worth keeping my ti. Even though I had replaced the clutch/guibo/oilhousing gasket and it was running better then ever, I just wondered why I should keep it. I still think the rear looks awkward after owning the car for four years, the e36 coupe looks a lot better and comes stock with a m52/s52 (I would go OBDII for sure) then there is also the more complex rear suspension. Other then weight and "uniqueness" there isn't really much going for the 318ti in my opinion. Besides why should I keep a car, keep investing in it when the value probably won't really ever go up, I mean its not a ///M and it isn't rare enough. Lastly when I bought the car I was actually looking for a e30. The e36 is can look nice for sure, but it when it comes to styling it seems the awkward teen phase between the boxy and tough e30 and sleek and stylish e46. So I started looking at craigslist and forums, spending hours looking at cars and considering going back toward a Japanese car. The only problem with going to any other used car is that in my price range (3k~4k) I know I would have to do maintenance and start over with a unknown car. But I was open if it had good maintence records, so I ended up driving only driving three cars: - 2.8l z3 with hardtop. Talk about lack of space!! Not practical but kind cool... with my head close to the roof . (6'2) - 95 318ti with 302 v8 mustang engine. Now that was awesome!!! But the work to make it smog legal, and it was nose heavy, and MPG's... :frown: (I want to do this someday though :biggrin:) - 318ti w DASC & NickG Stg2 tune, this was a members car and was also fun, kind of weird that everything feels exactly the same but with more power. Some work was needed though with maintenance/bushings etc. Basically no matter what I was going to spend money... and I didn't want to. In mid-late December I had two weeks with more free time then usual before the full swing of things started so I needed to make sure I had whatever I was going to do done with. The only reason to keep my car was familiarity and also because what I had imagined for it was not completed. So that bugged me. Then I thought well if I swap in a m52 on a budget it could be done around 3k hopefully and it would also increase the value of the car if Reffed to be smog legal. That way I get some more power, keep it reliable and get it one step closer to what I had imagined years ago. I asked around, got my budget set and decided to go that route. One of my concerns was proper brakes/suspension and with the adapter for 300mm vented rear rotors by SRS-concepts, the brakes could be done in a more or less OEM bias, and using Z3M suspension would keep it decently well balanced. Then came the swap, and getting parts. But that is coming in another post, I will also be posting up the actual cost... I went way over budget... :mad::mad:, but! I think its worth it. I will explain later. It runs!! So close to complete: http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/f...psujnffueq.jpg |
Swap Complete!!! Initial Impressions: Well that was a disappointment!! First the front seems wwwaaayyy heavy. Completely lost its nimble feel it had before. Then the power delivery was lacking, it was on/off switch at 4k RPM, throttle was mushy, and clutch engagement horrible. Then I took a step back, eat something, then went back to drive. The power is definitely better I need to drive and drive to get a real feel of it. I know power is not great, but it is okay, suspension needs to be revised, the front needs to be lightened. Shocks feel soft. Issue: throttle sensitivity: motormounts need to hold more weight, so stiffer ones needed for more direct power delivery, tighten throttle cables? BBTB? Clutch engagement mushy? Proper slave cylinder? CDV really deleted? Shift is SUPER long!! : Need to find the z3m shifter/shifter bushings refresh Cluster, back light is purple!!! mileage is too high 212xxx, rpm needle sticks? No CEL, Brights icon not lighting up. That was the initial reaction the day I picked up the car. Now that I have driven it for ~250miles and tanked up some other thoughts. After putting in some fresh gas and ~130miles the low end came alive. Now instead of a on/off switch at 4k RPM its a smooth powerband all the way through, its a LOT better. It definitely is more powerful and now that I am slowly accepting that this is the new normal I need to figure out how to balance it to try to regain the light feeling I so enjoyed previously. I have gotten used to the gas/clutch engagement but it needs some work. The muffler seems gutted so it is too loud and drones on the freeway too much, very annoying, so that will need to be fixed. The Take Away (So Far) For me the biggest take away is that, sure the m44 318ti is under-powered. BUT, the front is light and tossable and with some decent suspension and a tight drive-train for a responsive throttle, it is a lot of fun. It takes time to build the speed, but maintaining the speed is great. It is a great base to learn on to utilize momentum and safely push the car. The 318ti offers something not often seen: - MPG - Even when driven hard I would get 27mpg - Practicality - Four seats and a hatch/radio/A/C etc. - Reliability - m44/getrag is very solid . . . with 176xxx miles and lots of high rpm driving, it still had 180psi across all cylinders. (Maintenance is key!! *cooling*) - Aftermarket - there is tons of support between e36/e30/z3 there is more then enough parts to upgrade or replace, only part maybe lacking to a degree is engine support and that is for a good reason as building a m44 is not a real fruitful endeavor. - Under powered but fun car to drive. Seriously. *With refreshed suspension* . . and z3 shifter.. - RWD - YES! I think even now there are not many cars that offer all of those things in a single package. Now my MPG's will suffer and the balance that I so loved is lost. I will consider the MPG's a lost cause, but will see what I can do to get some of the balance back that I so enjoyed. More to come! |
Quote:
An M42 turbo would be interesting in one of these, I have to say. Although I am opting for a turbo'd M52B28 so we'll see. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk |
Quote:
The other consideration for me is that a turbo m44 wouldn't be legal here in California, so I am trying to get something I can get smog legal. :tongue: Did a compression to make sure the engine is actually healthy. Got 150psi all across (forgot to keep my throttle open . . .) so it is really healthy, it did get a 3way valve job/headgasket etc. I think once the exhaust is cleaned up and shifter/suspension is tightened up it should be fine. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Update: 1st Tank of gas 21.7MPG (M52 w/s52 cams TRM tune and 3.46 diff, 195/60/15 tires) 2nd: 23 MPG 3nd: 23.4 MPG 4th: 23.7 MPG 5th: 22.5 MPG (swapped on DS1's 225/45/17) 6th?:22.8 MPG Seems like ~23mpg is my norm now. This is with ~70% freeway ~30% city, but I would say ~30% of the freeway driving is after work, bumper to bumper stop and go driving. :mad: ** Switched to 89 Oct with Chev/Tech - I thought I got some better MPG with 89oct! first two fuel ups was 24mpg, but then third dropped to 23 again... sigh. 24.0 MPG 24.0 MPG 23.2 MPG ** Alignment, CEL (camsensor and intake temp) fixed. 24.9 MPG 21.5 MPG 24.8 MPG 23.5 MPG Still seem to be stuck at 23ish MPG, if I drive around 70-65 on the freeway with mostly freeway I can think I can break into 25 MPG as I got really close above a few times. |
Complications!! One day car down twice!! Problem: In the morning after a long night of rain I started the car, but it seemed to be misfiring for some reason. I needed to get to class so I drove a little more but it was fumbling all over the place. I didn't trust it and was worried so I brought it to the shop missing class. Solution: Apparently if the beauty cover (valve cover) is not over on the car and the ignition coils are exposed, with a lot of rainfall some might drip down into the plugs! Cylinder 6's spark plug was flooded. Once dried up it ran great again. Problem: Once at school at noon to try to get some papers/reading done I had to move onto work. Jumped into the car and pulled out of the parking lot, when all of a sudden there was snap and slapping sounds. I saw something had fallen out so I pulled over. My belts had snapped!! http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/f...ps6saxweje.jpg Solution: Seems like my power steering pulley had a piece that chipped off (old plastic!!) and took the belt with it! Once replaced it was fine... but there goes a day of work! First Canyon Cruise So much better! When I took it for a drive, having power in the mid range that is more then peak m44 power is great! It seems like my complaints are dying down as I get used to it and get to really feel the difference in power. I had also installed the z3 steering rack at the same time so getting my nose in a corner, despite the weight, so really great as it makes maneuvering the rear so much easier. One part of the swap I did not expect at all but is a very nice side effect is that engine braking is also greatly improved. I am not sure if someone can explain it to me, but now on a spirited cruise just getting off the pedal slows down the car a good amount more then the m44 did, especially at higher rpm's, letting me not even need to use the brakes for many corners. Then having that midrange torque and power that can propel the 318ti out of the corner is really great. All this without having a proper tire/rim, brake and suspension setup. I really look forward to how it will be like when I get it more balanced. Swap regret is slowly fading away. :biggrin: Decided to throw on the m3 rep bumper from the donor car, and black nose grill from the donor car, so its looking a little better too. :cool: http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/f...psbg7fmvsh.jpg |
Oh alright, thanks for responding. |
Quote:
|
Update on Concept #3: So hopefully this is the final change. Basically I will let the build go its way. I have parts lying around that I will slap on. What was mentioned in the first post on the concept and idea of the build will be primary to build/look of the car. Complications!! #2 - The car is guzzling oil!!! It has been roughly 1k miles since the swap and I have already refilled a good three quarts of oil into the m52. I really need to find out what is eating all that oil. I am using Mobile 1 0-40 full synthetic and the block has unknown miles on it, so I might try heavier oil and see if that helps. Fixed! - Picked up a oem 189k m3 exhaust midsection. The midsection from the 328 donor car didn't have cats and the gas fumes was horrible. It also has the popping sound on deceleration with lower RPM's. That is most likely the muffler so that needs some work too. - Replaced the ugly purple, not really functioning m3 cluster with a cluster that had 189k (same donor m3 as the midsection above). What a difference! Also at the time of the swap I had ~179k miles so its give or take a few hundred off 10k difference. The CEL works, cluster is regular orange backlight, rpm/speedo, gas gauge is accurate. It makes a huge difference. Speed! As I have no dyno handy to see how much power or idea of how to compare to other cars, I decided to run next to my roomates 2013 Focus ST and see how it compares. Focus ST: Cobb rear motor mount, Cobb CAI, Ford Racing exhaust, full tank of gas. Weight~ 3240lbs Driver ~ 150lbs Passenger ~ 140lbs Stock crank HP ~ 253hp 318ti: m52 swap, s52 cams, 3.46lsd, DME tuned for s52 cams and m50 intake manifold (BUT NOT INSTALLED, stock m52 manifold installed)195/60/15 tires with good thread, complete interior, stock seats, AC/PS everything is there, half tank of gas. Stock intake box, stock exhaust except for oem m3 midsection, random gutted muffler. Weight ~ 2850lbs Driver ~ 215lbs Stock crank HP ~ ??? To my surprise we were very close on 40mph roll on 20mph roll he didn't have traction (older tires). He didn't pull from me and we where basically equal. So doing some very simple and guesstimated math to figure my very rough HP, Focus ST ~ 3,530lbs/~260hp = 13.57weight/hp ratio. If I assume I had similar weight/hp ratio I can take my weight: 3065lbs/13.57 = ~ 225hp. 225 crank hp seems roughly what can be expected from the m52 with s52 cams so i can't complain! ***There are MANY variables that basically what I said above moot, but its fun to speculate. :biggrin: |
Suspension (Front Sway Bar) After the swap one issue I noticed was that the m44 sway bar was rubbing on the oil pan! Here is the clearance: http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/f...pstdwvmgaw.jpg And the rubbing: http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/f...ps6gq8uest.jpg As a result I found two old m3 sway bars I had lying around... went down to Ireland Engineering picked up two new adjustable end links: http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/f...pstcqsti6i.jpg Installed, clearance is a LOT better - will post up pictures if I get to it, but I also still need the adjust the endlinks to be more effective, I think they are too loose now. Exhaust Old setup: http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/f...ps4c4qefwv.jpg New setup: http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/f...psso2x704m.jpg I will find out what muffler was used, but it is nice and quiet. The drone of the old gutted muffler was horrible, though it definitely looked cooler. I will get the tip changed for something else, but need to see what I will do with the rear bumper since it got cut to fit the old dual tip setup. Looks/Exterior Found some DS1's with almost new tires from someone who had crashed their m3, so that was a win for me. Finally I got the ACS mirrors on, they work nicely too. http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/f...ps5zanzawf.jpg DS1: 17x7.5 et41 225/45/17 Wheels are heavier, but did not weigh them, what I did notice though is that with the extra rotational mass once moving, for example on the freeway, maintaining speed uphill for the first bit is easier since it has more momentum and takes less initial pedal input. With the old wheels taking my foot off the gas or giving more gas was more instantaneous while with the DS1's it seems smoother almost between giving some gas and taking my foot off the gas - just modulation of the pedal. Good for daily driving, but I can imagine not as good for track/spirited driving. ****I apologize for my horrible dirty lens cell phone camera pictures, I will take better pictures, but I think it needs more love before I will take the time to take more proper/better pictures. Power??!? Sooooo maybe I shouldn't say this yet, but I scheduled a day on Feb 26th to dyno the m52 and get a baseline for how much I am making. :biggrin: It is on a Mustang Dyno and apparently is a "heart break dyno", but I am not as interested in the actual numbers (.. well I am..:tongue:) as for the change after I get the m50 intake manifold for example and the increase that happens with other mods further down the road. ****UPDATE! ::: So the dyno place double booked! Now I am waiting till sometime in April? I need to double check. |
Pictures Beautiful day with sun shining and the car had been washed so pictures! http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/f...psjzc1mnx4.jpg http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/f...pstyxk0cif.jpg SMOG On March 3rd I had my first appointment with the California Ref to get my m52 swap legal for my 318ti. An appointment had to be made and it took roughly two hours. At the end of appointment I payed $0, as it did not pass smog - if I it did I would of cost only $8.20!! Yes doing a ref test includes a regular smog test and is cheaper then a regular smog test! What I found out: - Code P0111 Intake Air Temp Sensor Range Performance - Vehicle has 2 Monitors Not Ready (Evaporative Sytsem & Secondary Air System) - Air Intake Sensor Not in Air Cleaner No Place for it in the Air Cleaner. - Vehicle must go to the dealership to verify that the vehicle has the correct ecu and programming for the engine. - EVAP - Has Broken Wire to Purge Valve - Check/Repair High HC Emissions SMOG TEST: HC (PPM) .........MAX...MEAS 15mph: 55 - 77 25mph: 39 - 12 So the ref guy says its running lean? Anyone know why it would measure so high for HC? **Seems like the car probably sat for a while and was cold start, as can be seen by the low 25mph HC reading, if it warmed up for a little longer I don't think it will be a problem. http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/f...psofsp0lm7.jpg This morning went to the BMW dealer to get the DME checked as correct for the engine (m52b28). That cost $175, at first I worried what they would say since my DME was a TRM DME that is their "swap tune" for s52 cams, m50 intake, so I thought they would notice there was something, but they didn't care about the EWS and the off the shelf tune didn't turn up, so I was given a green light by the dealership. Apparently now with getting a swap now you need a dealership to confirm the DME used. I never knew that. Dealer found problems: - Transmission Leaking From Shift Shaft Seal - Exhaust Mounts Cracking - Door Panels Coming Apart So one box is checked! Now for the rest . . . one step at a time. I made the next appointment with the ref on April 14th so it gives me a deadline to get as much done as possible. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ UPDATE: 6/17/2017 Did smog again, still need to fix some parts, still not legal yet! |
H&R Z3M Sport Springs Installed I wanted to have a more aggressive stance, since on stock z3m springs it sat a bit tall, but I didn't want to slam it and make the suspension effectively useless. So I found for $260 shipped/tax on ebay a set new H&R z3m sport springs. I know I know... many of you have seen me use different spring combo's again and again... real coilovers will come! Just not right away.. :rolleyes: So here we go! http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/f...ps3endmcw1.jpg Then comparison with stock z3m springs: Rear: http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/f...psgnlhhb9n.jpg Front: http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/f...psftw4ykqv.jpg So Condor Speed Shop has these cool rear spring pad sets: https://www.condorspeedshop.com/coll...spring-pad-set **(I always mention where I buy things in case someone wants to do the same!! Not because I am sponsored/affiliated with the company. )** Got it and used the smallest 3.5mm pad for the rear: http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/f...psb7yqsq9d.jpg http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/f...psyumoaiu1.jpg Due to the smallest pad being so thin in the last picture you can see there is a slight gap between the metal ring and pad. The result: http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/f...psb01jkkwf.jpg Before: http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/f...psq5ypr6xk.jpg What I like: - No rake! - Body lines look more streamlined - Its low! :tongue: What I don't like: - Its low! It was lower then I expected. - Spring rate feels too soft. ** Drove over a 100 mile and yes, the rear is way too soft. So the front didn't drop much and the rear was a lot lower, officially from H&R it is supposed to drop 1.3" front and rear for z3m. But with the pads I have, I might add a 5mm or 6mm one in to lift it a little. Or not. We will see. Alignment after spring install: Front: Caster: 6.2 (L) / 5.9 (R) Camber: -.05 (L) / -0.6 (R) Toe: .09 (L) / .09 (R) Rear: Camber: -2.9 (L) / -3.1 (R) Toe: .12 (L) / .00 (R) It is important to note that my caster/camber numbers are the way they are because of the m3 tophats that are not centered, if I had front e36 m3 96-99 LCA/brakes it would increase the camber to a normal amount. |
Swap Cost- MONEY! :frown: So now that I have had the car running for a couple thousand miles and mostly got the cost in order I can pass it on so others can know what to expect. It is not 100% complete as I still need to figure out a CEL and finish the REF process to get it BAR legal. Basics: $2,000 - Labor $1,000 - 98 328is 5spd 206k miles So in an ideal world it would of cost me roughly 3k for it to get done. But the misc parts that you replace add up really quick. I chose to have a shop do it for me as it was during Christmas break, I had roughly a week and a half of time without a car, but after I needed to have the car running and reliable for work and school. Without the experience and tools I knew for sure something would go wrong and did not want to risk getting stuck without transportation. Other/Extra $127 - New Guibo/Center Support/Bolts $186 - SPAL Electric Fan conversion - Bimmerworld $140 - New Mishimoto Aluminum Radiator $475 - TRM swap tune with DME $220 - 3-way valve job and cleaning of the head $50 - SS braided Vanos Line $800 - New Headgasket Job - labor and parts $160 - New Bosch 02 sensors x4 $160 - New oil/intake filter/coolant/NGK iridium spark plugs $50 - m3 cluster with similar mileage to stock cluster $320 - Stock m3 midpipe/cats - donor cats where gutted $175 - BMW dealer confirm correct DME for REF $500 - S52 complete head + valve train + cams Extra costs total: ~3,363 Total cost ~ 6k Yup. Six thousand dollars. Now this does not include what i got back with selling the 328is shell or the m44 that was in the 318ti, so I did make some money back but all of that depends on what the individual does when selling parts so I won't include it. From this experience I would say make sure your donor car is 100%!! My donor m52 had low compression, hence the head job, and then it turned into swapping a s52 head on "while at it", along with the tuned DME, and other things that dinged me to death. So I basically ended up spending close to double what I imagined. But this is just my experience and I know people who are capable to do the swap themselves and end up doing it for A LOT cheaper. |
The Widening Idea So a couple years ago I saw some people trying the e46 LCA mod for the front to increase track and steering angle. At the time there wasn't much support and you had to grind down the edges of the hexagonal e46 to fit the e36 lolipop. Now there are more options that make it more a plug and play thing. So the following is just a mental excercise at what different model track width and wheel base is for the widening of my 318ti. Source: automobile-catalogue website 97 318ti (same specs for 323ti) - Wheelbase: 2700mm / 106.3in - Front Track: 1408mm / 55.4in - Rear Track: 1413mm / 55.6in 96 1.9L z3 - Wheelbase: 2446mm / 96.3in - Front Track: 1411mm / 55.6in - Rear Track: 1427mm / 56.2in 99 2.8L z3 coupe (roadster same specs) - Wheelbase: 2446mm / 96.3in - Front Track: 1413mm / 55.6in - Rear Track: 1494mm / 58.8in 97 328is coupe (sedan same) - Wheelbase: 2700mm / 106.3in - Front Track: 1408mm / 55.4in - Rear Track: 1421mm / 55.9in 99 z3m coupe (roadster same specs) s52 & s54 models same specs - Wheelbase: 2459mm / 96.8in - Front Track: 1422mm / 56in - Rear Track: 1492mm / 58.7in 97 M3 coupe (sedan & Euro M3 same specs) - Wheelbase: 2700mm / 106.3in - Front Track: 1422mm / 56in - Rear Track: 1444mm / 56.9in Trailing arm info: - z3 1.9 & 318ti same 8.395kg trailing arm according to RealOEM - z3 2.8L has a 10.198kg trailing arm according to RealOEM - 323ti has a 8.655kg trailing arm (probbaly due to the extra brace between the fork of the trailing arm, as the 318ti and z3 1.9 don't have that) Picked Up a z3 2.8 coupe Rear End! :biggrin: So this morning I picked up a complete rear end from a 2.8L z3 coupe! !! http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/f...pskb2h08we.jpg It even includes the 3.15 LSD diff, currently I really do enjoy my 3.46 LSD diff, and honestly I think its great for acceleration and spirited driving, shifting those gears is fun! But as the car is basically a commuter the 3.15 diff would help with freeway MPG and lazy driving. Besides there might be some fun to gain going from torsion type LSD to clutch type LSD. :tongue: Sooo?? Anyways from the numbers above, first some people wrongly assume that the 318ti has a smaller wheelbase then the other e36's, that is wrong!! It has the same wheel base, and thus longer wheelbase (more stable for high speed cornering ?) then z3 models. The track width is also increased from non-M to M models for z3 and e36, there is no difference between coupe/roadster on this and even the almightly euro "real" M3 has the same basic wheel base and track width as the US spec M3. My specs? Mix n' Match 318ti: - Wheelbase: 2700mm / 106.3in ~ same? or increase a bit? - Front Track: 1408mm / 55.4in + e46 LCA = ??? I can't find conclusive information on how much width the e46 LCA adds to each side. - Rear Track: 1494mm / 58.8in stock z3 2.8 rear. So it seems like the rear will be a good 86mm / 3.4in wider then the front. The two choices would be M3 front which will bring it out to 1422mm / 56in vs the stock 1408mm / 55.4in or just go with the e46 LCA and they *fingers crossed* should be close to the same track width. THE BAD: Adds weight to the 318ti :frown: and wheel/rubber width choice. As I go forward with this I will have to face the trouble of not having sufficient space under the fenders to fit even normal OEM BMW wheels with "wider" tires (225+ ?). So we shall see how this works out. :confused: |
Power!! The numbers!! So the car now has an baseline off a mustang dyno. Engine: m52b28 - Electric Fan - S52 Cams - TRM s52 cams tune - Stock intake box/ filter - Stock exhuast/cats/super quiet muffler **CEL: Intake temp, cam sensor wires crossed and not reading properly Let the pictures speak for themselves: 1st Pull *** No graph*** http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/f...psnwjsoz7y.jpg 2nd Pull http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/f...psksa0ckwd.jpg http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/f...psa8r2upib.jpg 3rd Pull http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/f...ps5b97svoy.jpg http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/f...pslfjacepp.jpg I am not great at looking at dyno graphs, but I did ask them to include AFR, but I don't know what is good- lean, rich ratio is? It does seem that as the dyno guy said, "its a turd below 4k" so not sure if its a mix of s52 cams and the tune? (CEL fixed, now its a smoother powerband) That being said the tune is also for s52 cams / m50 intake manifold + intake, so once the m50 intake manifold goes on I will probably do another dyno run and see how it compares. I think because the power band is higher up the rpm the 3.46 diff really makes it fun once i keep it above 4k, its really a lot of fun to drive, so we will see how it goes with the 3.15 diff. Lastly if I assume 15% drivetrain loss, and made 191 peak wheel horse power, that puts me at roughly 220hp crank!! Which is 5hp off my guesstimate on post #25 "Speed!". Not bad! S52 cams = win! ____________________________________ Update: So now that the CEL has been fixed the midrange is a lot better - the Cam sensor wire and intake temp sensor was crossed - once the m50 intake manifold goes on I hope to dyno again and see what we get. |
Coilovers! Found these Tein SuperStreet e36 coilovers with only 5k miles on craigslist for super cheap! I know Tein as a good suspension brand from my JDM car days (CRX & 240sx) besides it matches the green color of my car! Now I have adjustable front and rear height, and front camber control. The rear shocks obviously will not work but it seems like the rest is good to go! http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/f...psjnzn0pvi.jpg Rear Springs Comparison: Left to Right: Stock Z3M, H&R Sport Z3M, E36 Tein SuperStreet Spring http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/f...ps16dt22x8.jpg Front Comparison: Stock z3m w/ H&R Z3M spring http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/f...pskrlzptvw.jpg When I looked at the comparison I started to wonder about suspension travel, as seen below the bottom of the stock, where it would bottom out is roughly the same with the coilover being a tiny bit lower but comparing the total shock travel it seems like the coilover has a lot less travel. Of course it is important to note that the stock is adjustable in firmness and the spring is also a lot stiffer. Lastly when it is put on the car and height it adjusted so they are similar the travel down should be roughly the same. But again, I am not an expert just sharing random observations! http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/f...pskcbckmk9.jpg Rear shock comparison: It is obvious why the rear e36 shock doesn't work, it is too long and it would bottom out very quickly! http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/f...psbtuc9taa.jpg Rear installed: - With the rear on full low the height is roughly the same as the Z3M H&R springs, but stiffer of course. Kept using the koni yellow single adjustable z3m rear shocks. http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/f...pstbokryah.jpg Front installed: http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/f...pshywtdowj.jpg Seems like the rear Condor Speed shop pad is starting to crack/break under daily driving conditions already! http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/f...psgvrdz3nm.jpg How it sits and clear corners! Tein SS e36 coilovers w/ rear Koni shocks, front set at around medium height, rear all the way down. Camber Plates are set full positive, not sure what actual alignment specs are currently. http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/f...pspcy014hs.jpg http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/f...ps1btjm94u.jpg http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/f...psghtwnhg3.jpg Fun drive with my housemates 2013 Focus ST http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/f...psyyemurfn.jpg |
Brakes: Lets talk brakes. So with the swap I spent some time talking with Ed from BimmerBum who was very helpful with informing of what choice to make! Front choices: - 286mm vented (e36 325/328) - Wheels: 15" - 300mm vented (z3 3.0i/e46 325) - Wheels: 16" BUT possible 15" with 5 series offset ** (more on second post). - 315mm vented (e36 m3)* - Wheels: 17" BUT 16" with 5 series offset, like et20 or lower! - 325mm vented (e46 330)* - Wheels: 17" * e46 330 vs m3 - 330: has larger rotors 325mm (330) vs 315mm (m3) - m3: has thicker rotors, directional venting, caliper piston is larger than 330 for more clamping force. Also with the 315mm rotors you can find two piece euro ones which are also a lot lighter. ** 300mm rotors with 15" wheels. A member gave me pictures so I need to find them and post them, but I think in the same way that 16" wheels fit over the 315mm m3 rotors with low offset, usually comes stock with e34 wheels, lower offset will actually allow for 15" wheels to barely fit on 300mm rotors. He has 15x8 et23? (e30m3 specs) wheels over stock front z3 3.0i brakes which are also 300mm Rear choices: - 272mm Solid rotor is basically it. But we have some bolt on caliper choices that have larger diameter caliper piston diameters: - Smallest to largest: stock (??mm) --> z3 6cylinder (37mm?) ---> e34 (38mm or 40mm not sure which is which) - SRS Concept has come up with an adapter that allows for 300mm rotors from the 1-series to be fitted with e46 rear 325 calipers--> 40mm piston, which seems like a great fit with 315mm m3 fronts and stock e36 m3 brake booster. I have NOT personally tried this so its just a guess. Then comes the question of what is actually needed?? I don't want to add to much weight with large brakes that are heavy and not needed or limit my wheel choice. Its all about balance! The z3 3.0i came from the factory with 300mm fronts and same as stock rotor but the 6-cylinder caliper piston is larger allowing for more clamp force. The z3 3.0i is roughly 2950lbs, has 225hp. It seems like that is exactly where my swapped 318ti is at. ~2900lbs around 220hp (m52 w/s52 cams) so I decided to go forward with that setup. Result: Front: 300mm Zimmerman blank rotors with calipers (Surprised when I compared the piston size of the calipers that they were exactly the same.) Rear: Stock rotor z3 2.8l calipers Pads: Hawk HP+ Misc: Super Blue fluid, SS lines all around. Pictures: http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/f...psigx3f3kz.jpg Solid 286mm vs 300mm: http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/f...pstetxbltk.jpg Front Bolted on: http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/f...psbt2ceiqn.jpg Rear Bolted on: http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/f...pshzecrqqm.jpg Comparison of old 318ti piston size vs z3 6cylinder - Piston is a bit larger as shown in the second picture: http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/f...psm965lj4s.jpg http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/f...pszsd1dhpz.jpg ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Results: At first I was hesitant using Hawk HP+ pads on a street car, due to the brake dust and brake noise that others have mentioned. Hawk gave instructions to brake them in by 7-8 hard stops at moderate speed, then another 7-8 hard stops at higher speed. It is important to let them heat up and bed properly to the rotor, so your not supposed to come to a complete stop and also let the brakes cool down completely after the bedding process. I ended up finishing the install around 11:30pm, put all the tools away, cleaned up, showered, by then it was close to 12:30am, so the roads should be quiet. Went out did roughly ten 50~60mph hard braking (without locking up) to 10mph before speeding up again to repeat, then did approximately four stops at 70~75mph. The brakes also put on a bit of a spark show, and by that time they started to fade a little already. So I just continued into the canyon to let the brakes cool. It was interesting that after 20min of coasting/cruising, the front was cool to the touch, but the rear still felt hot. It seems like the rear could use vented rotors. I used a lot of the anti-squeak lube to try to minimize noise but now its been a few days and they are definitely are starting to squeak. Its not too bad though, it is mostly at low speeds that it will squeak a little. Also this setup is good enough to get my crappy 500 or something thread wear Falkens 225/45/17 to lock up in the front (road was uphill, so more weight in the rear, and the road was a bit rough). I would be very interested to try some softer summer tires and see how well it can brake. Cold braking also has not been a problem. The new setup in comparison to the old setup is noticeably better! I am definitely happy with this setup and will see how much life I get out of it, it gives me much more confidence even when going downhill at like 70mph, I can feel the pads actually digging into the rotors and slowing down the car, the bias also seems well spread between the front and rear. Other then maybe a little better heat dissipation in the rear, I am very happy with this setup. Also went for a drive with my housemate on Angeles Crest Highway Saturday. http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/f...ps3v49joau.jpg http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/f...psmzif0dxt.jpg ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Update: the HP+ pads get really squeaky, like annoyingly so. Not recommended for the street. |
300mm Brakes and 15" Wheels So in the above thread we thought a little thought of fitting 15" wheels over 300mm brakes, below are my findings! Courtesy of spidertri who has a 3.0i z3 with 15x8 et20 TRM wheels. As a reminder the z3 3.0i has 300mm vented front brakes. http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/f...psok4m3chp.jpg http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/f...psinhbcmsf.jpg My own testing: I was able to find a set of Turner Motorsport 12.5mm spacers on craigslist, and since I still have my style 13 wheels that are 15x7 et47, with the 12.5mm spacer I would sit at et34.5 and I was hoping that would be enough clearance for the 300mm brakes. But it wasn't. :frown: Here on the dirty backside of my wheel you can see the line of contact from the caliper on the inside of the wheel. The wheel won't even turn! When I stacked the two 12.5mm spacers on top of each other and then tried to put on the 15" wheel, (25mm spacer in effect) resulting in et22 the wheel rotated freely. This was only for testing!! DO NOT put two spacers on top of each other.. But it did give me some more proof that a wheel with low et20's 15" can fit over 300mm brakes. http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/f...pssnh6lsxe.jpg Looking at the dirty mark it shows that if pushed out more away from the narrowing of the wheel it would have clearance from hitting the wheel. The green shows where the wheel narrows and as a results hit the caliper, so having lower offset helps give the clearance needed to fit 15" wheels over the 300mm brakes. As seen with spidertri's 15" wheels. http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/f...pswchdpebm.jpg General: To be safe (what most of us know already): 15" Wheels: 286mm brakes* (e36: 325/328/318, z3 1.9/2.3/2.8 e46: 323) 16" Wheels: 300mm brakes* (z3: 3.0i, e46: 325) 17" Wheels: 315mm brakes* (e36 m3, z3m) AND 325mm brakes* (e46 330) *technically just rotor size! Possible! *at your own risk! 15" Wheels: 300mm brakes - with low ~ 20 and lower et 16" Wheels: 315mm brakes - with low ~ 20 and lower et AND 325mm brakes - not sure exactly, but I know some people run 16" special winter wheels on e46 330 cars, so 16" over 325mm is also possible, but you need to make sure the wheel is designed to fit! One thing that is also important, is that if for some reason you bend your wheel with hitting a big pothole or something with wheels being very close to the caliper you run the risk of also damaging your brakes, so having extra some clearance is also safer in the case of accidental damaging of the wheel. Best Budget Choice? When doing brakes for the 318ti usually we switch out pads and rotors, so that cost is there and how much is spent based on rotor/pad type is dependent on buyer. What I read and HAVE NOT CONFIRMED! is that caliper that we have stock with the 318ti with a e46 325i carrier will bolt on over 300mm rotors! As a result: The only parts needed for a front and rear brake upgrade that is even better than OEM BMW 6cyl e36 328i/is brakes, and puts us at the stock ~2900lb 220hp z3 3.0i brake power are: - e46 325 front carrier + stock caliper - rear 6cylinder z3 caliper - Your choice of 300mm vented rotor + stock rear rotor size and then pads. :biggrin::biggrin: |
Congrats man on the project! Keep it up. |
Wheels!!: These replaced my DS1 wheels: DS1 Specs - Weight: 9,68kg ~ 21.30lbs ? ? So the weight is actually a little more but I get 0.5 inch of wheel width and now they are two piece! Of course these wheels are often used with e36's already, so its nothing new but its a fun change. Also it looks a little like the e28 speedhunter wheels from the first post. :biggrin: - Style 5 - Two piece - 17x8 - et20 - Tires : 225 / 45 / 17 - 21.3 lbs Style 5 Wheel specs/info The rear is actually tucked nicely, except it does need a roll with the 225's. Right now on bumps it will rub. The front needs a bit more camber and lower to tuck like the rear. https://i.imgur.com/uRkCUMs.jpg https://i.imgur.com/TpMaWGd.jpg I also did the front blinker only mod - meaning the front indicators only turn on when its blinking, not when the lights are on in general. I also have the yellow/organish city lights. One thing I didn't expect with black wheels is that they are not as pronounced as light colored wheels. For example with the DS1's my eyes would automatically be more drawn to the wheels. Now it feels like the other feathers or lines of the car is more pronounced. My eyes don't automatically drift toward the wheels anymore, I tend to spend less time looking at the wheels compared to the whole car. |
Update: It has been a while!! Time to dig in again. DUMB BELTS! :mad::mad::mad: Basically after the accessory belts snapped on me THREE TIMES and the crank pulley had a bit of damage the car was deemed not daily drive-able. Destroyed Belts: https://i.imgur.com/D7TcKjn.jpg https://i.imgur.com/Wm4S1iw.jpg Pully: https://i.imgur.com/9DGuYZF.jpg Bye Bye! (For now) https://i.imgur.com/Rfjg5uf.jpg What I found out later was that there is supposed to be bracket holding the power steering pulley in the correct position but for some reason it wasn't there and a metal spacer was used instead. This resulted in the pulleys not being exactly lined up, there was also some movement so eventually the belt would slip off and shred. https://i.imgur.com/gkDyBKW.jpg It result was that the 318ti sat for basically a year and half. By this time I had already put 10k on the m52 swap, so it did do some good work. Suspension: Since this all happened more than a year ago, I am not sure when I worked some more on the suspension, but I think it was right before the belts got torn up for the third time. I picked up some TC Kline springs, z3 rear 350lbs springs and front 450 springs. I wanted to see how it would run with a bit softer rear compared to the front. The front springs were a bit old and rusted so I cleaned them up and repainted them: https://i.imgur.com/3BJyvTs.jpg Regular Tein spring vs shorter TC Kline spring, cleaned up and painted: https://i.imgur.com/DvqwZeR.jpg Assembled: https://i.imgur.com/yyTBOeZ.jpg Mounted and ready to go: https://i.imgur.com/KEZHujW.jpg Rear: Comparison, left to right: OEM Z3M / Z3M H&R Sport / Tein e36 m3 / TC Kline spring #1 (type?) / TC Kline #2 (type?) https://i.imgur.com/OixzmhX.jpg Installed: https://i.imgur.com/N7PLNVw.jpg It is interesting to note that despite the TC Kline springs are shorter than the H&R springs they are coiled tighter and the coils won't sit on itself like the H&R springs will. |
Just Cause! : At this point of having the compact I have thought a lot about if I should get rid of it. I have looked at e46 m3s, multiple e36 m3s, e34 540i 6spd, e39 m5 and some e30s. Basically I don't have to keep to the 318ti platform. There is a lot I have to do to get the compact to basic happy status: Paint, interior, radio, A/C, suspension, smog, shifter, rear bushings, etc etc. The question is why dump all this money into the 318ti when I could easily pick up any of those above mentioned cars and have a car that will keep its value a lot more and a few of those were very clean with a lot of maintenance, it would actually be cheaper to dump the 318ti. Just today I was a hair away from buying a fern green (I think) 1997 m3 coupe, it was clean, everything worked, and had a good amount of preventive maintenance. Basically everything I still need to do to the 318ti was good on the m3 and I could drive a fun car again. What keeps me to the 318ti? 1. - Hatch - I used to hate how it looks, but not one of the above mentioned cars have the same trunk space when the compact has the rear seats down. It is super practical for such a small car. 2. - Small - Getting parking spots! 3. - Widen - Only e36 that can use OEM parts to widen. (e46 front and z3 6 cylinder trailing arms) 4. - Mine is already swapped and I know this 318ti inside and out. A LOT more: but that would take forever so for now lets just mention the above. 5. - Not the same - this honestly is what it came down to. If I picked up the m3 it would just be another m3, and most of them have a tried and true style/build of OEM+, but when I was looking back at this thread and the older one I realized I never used the typical OEM+ Euro styling cues as inspiration, the 318ti over time - without me even knowing - turned into a passion build. A canvass for creativity and learning. Buying all those different springs, experimenting on different setups etc is not about always best bang for buck or the smart financial choice. Modding cars is dumb financially. This is not a head choice, it was a heart choice. And as much as I would walk out to any of the m3/m5 cars and smile, it wouldn't be the same smile I would have if I walked out to the 318ti that I had built from stock over 8+ years now, that would be completely unique. So why keep the 318ti instead of going to a better platform? Just Cause! I want to and I get to smile when I drive it, so screw the smart choice! :biggrin: |
Just checked out your build, I love it! I have virtually identical black powdercoated style 5s that I just switched from my e28 to the new (to me) Montreal Blue ti (01/96). A few questions! Is that swap manual I've read about still available somewhere? How actually difficult is the m52 swap? Is it something I can do in a few weekends at the shop I work at? It would be my first engine swap if I decided to do it and it's heartbreaking seeing all the half done swapped/turbo'd BMWs on Craigslist. What's the difference between swapping an aluminum Z3 m52 as opposed to a common iron block m52? Is a full drivetrain swap (+transmission +differential) worth the extra weight, extra hassle, and extra difficulty, especially if I go FI? |
Quote:
About the swap manual: http://www.318ti.org/forum/showthread.php?t=12912 I do not know how difficult the swap is as I did not do it myself - but here are my costs on post #29: http://www.318ti.org/forum/showpost....4&postcount=29 I guess it depends on your experience, confidence and mechanical ability. It does help that the 318ti engine bay is exactly the same as the other e36's so it just drops in, but you gotta do the work still. When it comes to aluminum vs iron block: aluminum block is ~30lbs lighter. But if it overheats it can warp, isn't as strong as the iron block and doesn't deal with heat as well. Your last choice of if it is worth the hassle, it depends on what your trying to achieve, and compared to what? Is it worth it vs? If you clarify that it is easier to find a answer. |
| All times are GMT +1. The time now is 07:38 AM. |
vBulletin Version 3.8.8
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright ©1999 - 2024, 318ti.org