E30 Zone

Posted: **Sat Jul 16, 2005 11:40 am**

Hello!

i can get hold of a m30 afm ending 027...is this plug n play on the E30?i have 325 with 153 box...or do i have to do some adjustement on the spring and so on?
anyone??.....

Posted: **Sat Jul 16, 2005 1:20 pm**

you'll probally have to do some adjustment, but that is the plug and play one for the Motronic 1.3 cars. Your 153 box isn't adaptable, so you'll have to tinker a bit or find a 1.3 box

Posted: **Sat Jul 16, 2005 3:15 pm**

i spent a few hours playing around with this on my 325 i ,a good starting point is to mark the stock spring position then back off the tension around 3 clicks , you will need to up fuel pressure too ,i also found that slight adjustments to the contact bar by looseing the little philips screw and moving the arm across gently with the engine at idle helped get it to run smooth as well.

Posted: **Mon Jul 18, 2005 5:12 am**

so if i get the 173 it is ok?i can get hold of one of those too....

Posted: **Mon Jul 18, 2005 2:43 pm**

Ya try to get a 173.

Posted: **Tue Oct 18, 2005 7:38 pm**

hello again

well,i got the 173box...and i mounted the M30 AFM...but i dont think i get the right mixture.i have an a/f meter,the idle is ok and shit.but when i give full throttle it seems like its to lean on gas....i guess i maybe need 3.5L injectors and/or upp the fuel pressure?...did try a little,but it was best on 4clicks...but as said...too lean on gas at full throttle...anybody has ideas?

Posted: **Wed Oct 19, 2005 10:08 am**

I've been fiddling with this mod on my 2.7 for a few weeks, I backed off the spring tension 5 clicks and left the wiper arm position stock.

I also have an FSE adjustable pressure reg, as standard i had it set to 3.4 bar but with the M30 AFM it runs much sweeter at 3.8 bar so on a standard 325i you'll probably be best around 3.4/3.5 bar.

What induction tube did you use to attach it to the throttle body ?. I browsed the ETK and found the e36 328i bellows and idle control tube to be a perfect fit at both ends.

I also made a stainless steel heatshield/airbox that sits on the original mounts and takes in cold air from the headlights. It works great, after a long fast run last weekend the engine bay was very hot but the walls of the heatshield were stone cold

I'm having this AFM set-up properly at the Dyno tuners on saturday so I'll let you know the verdict.

Cheers,

Iain T

Posted: **Wed Oct 19, 2005 2:01 pm**

Isn't it the usual mod to take the internals out of your m20 afm(curcuitry) and put it in the m30 afm, hence this way you fuel mixture stays the same but you benifit from the large circular intake and exit ports from the AFM.

Posted: **Wed Oct 19, 2005 2:05 pm**

Jon_Bmw wrote:Isn't it the usual mod to take the internals out of your m20 afm(curcuitry) and put it in the m30 afm, hence this way you fuel mixture stays the same but you benifit from the large circular intake and exit ports from the AFM.

Tis true

I have one of those aswell, well when m3jimbo returns them

Posted: **Wed Oct 19, 2005 11:12 pm**

Jon_Bmw wrote:Isn't it the usual mod to take the internals out of your m20 afm(curcuitry) and put it in the m30 afm, hence this way you fuel mixture stays the same but you benifit from the large circular intake and exit ports from the AFM.

Only if you have a pre-027 M30 afm as they had a different carbon track. The 027 is a similar track to the M20 so there's no need to swap it.

Cheers,

Iain T

Posted: **Thu Oct 20, 2005 9:56 am**

Waste of time!

Andrew

Posted: **Thu Oct 20, 2005 1:12 pm**

Demlotcrew wrote:Waste of time!

Andrew

Bollocks.

It's working fine on my 2.7, the G-tech indicates an 18bhp increase. I know these arent as accurate as a dyno so lets say 10Bhp to be on the safe side.

So there

Cheers,

Iain T

Posted: **Thu Oct 20, 2005 4:41 pm**

Okay so why didnt Alpina and Hartge use them?

Andrew

Posted: **Thu Oct 20, 2005 4:45 pm**

i agree......i was under the impression alpina hartge used them but when andrew told me they didnt i was also shocked

it still has a flap even though its a tad bigger than the m20 one.... the flap is the restriction mainly as opposed to the cross-sectional area,,,, im just guessing but thats what i think anyway

get a MAF or standalone, if u enjoy fiddling and have the time then go for the m30 one

Posted: **Thu Oct 20, 2005 8:16 pm**

Templ8e30 wrote:I've been fiddling with this mod on my 2.7 for a few weeks, I backed off the spring tension 5 clicks and left the wiper arm position stock.

I also have an FSE adjustable pressure reg, as standard i had it set to 3.4 bar but with the M30 AFM it runs much sweeter at 3.8 bar so on a standard 325i you'll probably be best around 3.4/3.5 bar.

What induction tube did you use to attach it to the throttle body ?. I browsed the ETK and found the e36 328i bellows and idle control tube to be a perfect fit at both ends.

I also made a stainless steel heatshield/airbox that sits on the original mounts and takes in cold air from the headlights. It works great, after a long fast run last weekend the engine bay was very hot but the walls of the heatshield were stone cold

I'm having this AFM set-up properly at the Dyno tuners on saturday so I'll let you know the verdict.

Cheers,
I played around with this too and belive there is power to be had here ( gareth made 12bhp after a dyno setup on his 2.5 ) i ended up with much the same results but found i got a better idle after playing with swing arm position with the motor at idle ,same fuel pressure too , i think mine ran a bit lean at top end so bottled out without access to dyno setup ! fuel consumption improved !!!
all the best paul
Iain T

Posted: **Thu Oct 20, 2005 10:48 pm**

Demlotcrew wrote:Okay so why didnt Alpina and Hartge use them?

Andrew

I don't know why they didn't use them but BMW SA did on their 2.7 beasties

Cheers,

Iain T

Posted: **Fri Oct 21, 2005 12:08 pm**

Templ8e30 wrote:
Demlotcrew wrote:Okay so why didnt Alpina and Hartge use them?

Andrew
I don't know why they didn't use them but BMW SA did on their 2.7 beasties

Cheers,

Iain T

BMW SA used alot of things of which most people dont have a real record of. I still stand by my statement.

Andrew

Posted: **Fri Oct 21, 2005 6:56 pm**

Demlotcrew wrote:Waste of time!

Andrew

Hi m8 , what do base your opinon on ? have you fitted many yourself ,or are you going on adams experiance on the rollers ? im sure people here and in the states have had some sucess with this mod , i never had the money to spend on dyno time but am sure there was an improvement in smoothness and mid range respose ,but this of course was just my opinion ,however when tbmw did the article on my car andy drove mine and craigs 325 and said mine was faster so i cant have been losing much power from it either.

cheers ,Paul

Posted: **Fri Oct 21, 2005 8:16 pm**

Paul i have been doing allot of study on Engine management systems and the literature says it wont work without remapping the car (fueling).
To do this properly would take many hours on the rollers and so i have come to the conclution that its a waste of time and money, Your money should be spent elsewhere to get better performace gains. What about the Rubber boot? that stays the same, just seems pointles to me.

No ive not installed any of these. But i have a M30 AFM on my car.

Andrew

Posted: **Fri Oct 21, 2005 9:12 pm**

Andrew

point taken , in particular about the boot , my car has a bored tb so a little bit of help there , i also took a lot of time modding a stock airbox with an extra cold air feed rather than cone filter , i would be the first to admit that it is not worth spending dyno time money on ,however if you have the time and pay next to nothing for the bits i think its worth playing with ! but thats just me and my a#se dyno

and as i said im sure if you hunt around people have made power here

cheers ,paul

Posted: **Fri Oct 21, 2005 10:06 pm**

Thing is paul,

when Bosch make these AFMs they are laser timed at the factory, and i dont think we are able to replicate this at home. There are also associated risks with this type of modification (Running the engine lean enough to melt parts) and i have seen pics of little balls of aluminium from the pistons on the end of spark plug electrodes.
I would say that if done properly you are looking at a little less than what it would cost to get a MAF conversion and you are still faced with the physical restrictions of the AFM design.

Andrew

Posted: **Sat Oct 22, 2005 8:55 am**

Demlotcrew wrote:What about the Rubber boot? that stays the same, just seems pointles to me.

No ive not installed any of these. But i have a M30 AFM on my car.

Andrew

The rubber boot can't stay the same as the M30 afm has a larger outlet than the M20 afm ! How is yours fitted ?.

Cheers,

Iain T

Posted: **Sat Oct 22, 2005 9:37 am**

Iain S14 engines run the 027 AFM same as the M30 units

you can use the M20 boot on the 027 if you warm it a little and make it more pliable.

Posted: **Sat Oct 22, 2005 1:28 pm**

Demlotcrew wrote:Thing is paul,

when Bosch make these AFMs they are laser timed at the factory, and i dont think we are able to replicate this at home. There are also associated risks with this type of modification (Running the engine lean enough to melt parts) and i have seen pics of little balls of aluminium from the pistons on the end of spark plug electrodes.
I would say that if done properly you are looking at a little less than what it would cost to get a MAF conversion and you are still faced with the physical restrictions of the AFM design.

Andrew

i understand what you are saying and agree that dyno time is too expesive for this ,however if you have the bits and time i think its worth a go ,i bottled out of running mine coz of the improved mpg and possible weak mixture , im sure gareth posted his results on the old e30 zone and had some sucess with it .If increased power from more airflow is restricted by the size of the boot or tb then why should a cone filter produce more power ,not accounting for loses as temp rises ,not just on m20 engines either but in general, mind you does a cone filter produce more than a stock air box before engine temps rise ? ah questions questions !! i think we will agree to disagree on this on one

Posted: **Sat Oct 22, 2005 1:31 pm**

Andrew

ment to say well done on the engine conversion

so much has happend while i have been away from the zone !!

cheers ,Paul

Posted: **Sat Oct 22, 2005 2:15 pm**

Shinobi1 wrote:Andrew

ment to say well done on the engine conversion so much has happend while i have been away from the zone !!

cheers ,Paul

Thanks mate! Im really happy with the results, The other great thing is that there is plenty to keep me busy with the upgrade options.

I was getting tired of the M42 that didnt need anything doing to it, and i would have been wasting money if i thought i could generate any decent power from it.

New shell also!

Good to have you back!

Andrew

Posted: **Sat Oct 22, 2005 3:36 pm**

Demlotcrew wrote:
Shinobi1 wrote:Andrew

ment to say well done on the engine conversion so much has happend while i have been away from the zone !!

cheers ,Paul
Thanks mate! Im really happy with the results, The other great thing is that there is plenty to keep me busy with the upgrade options.

I was getting tired of the M42 that didnt need anything doing to it, and i would have been wasting money if i thought i could generate any decent power from it.

New shell also!

Good to have you back!

Andrew

new shell too ! you have been busy ,good to be back

Posted: **Sat Oct 22, 2005 6:59 pm**

Andrew is totally right on this one. Ive tried this mod on my 2.7 on a rolling road with crap results.

There is a bit mroe power to be had but you lose out everywhere else and the car overfuels at anything other than full throttle.

It will work perfectly well if a remap is done.

The signal being sent to your ECU is telling it a certain voltage which is equivalant to a certain volume of air. Your giving it the same signal but a larger voume of air is going in. No amount of tinkering is going to get a perfect scenario. There are gains and losses to be had and the losses are greater.

E30Adam made roughly 12 bhp more on his 2.8 by removeing the M30 AFm and using the M20 AFM.

If you were going to remap you wouldnt use an M30 AFM anyway, youd spend a bit more and get a MAF conversion done instead.

E30 Zone

M30 AFM question!

M30 AFM question!