ETA turbo?

[Scooter318]

I've been running a mostly stock 84 325e since april, and I love it, especially all the torque (She's surprised a few buddies with modified Saabs street racing.) Problem is, I've had my arse handed to me on the highway by everything from a Kia to an E46 with a lady driver! Obviously more power is what I need. I'm contemplating an M30 swap, but dread the wiring, and I don't want to be without my car for that long. I'd prefer to supercharge it, but I'm on a college student's budget so even a used blower is beyond my price range. That leaves one option: a turbocharger. Here in New England, USA, good used turbo/intercooler setups are plentiful, and best of all, inexpensive, and I have access to all the plumbing materials I'd need.
My question is, i've heard that the stock ETA upper end does not lend itself well to tuning. Has anyone tried to turbocharge a stock ETA? My owner's manual says this engine has a compression ratio of 9.0:1 (Though I've seen 11:1 on this forum-- perhaps US and UK versions were different?)
Any advice (either theoretical or from experience) would be very helpful!

[daimlerman]

A useful first improvement would be a stock 320/520 head,same combustion chamber as the eta head but an improved cam...add a 325 inlet manifold and you will still have the torque and around 180bhp as well.The 325 (885 casting) head will work as well,but not quite as well as the 731 (320) casting.After that,stock 325 pistons will lower the c/r to about 7:1 so make turbocharging a possibility,depends on how much you can spare from your student budget

[Alex]

+1 for a 731 320i head

but you might have to import one as there rare over in the states arnt they??

[Alex]

Has anyone tried to turbocharge a stock ETA? My owner's manual says this engine has a compression ratio of 9.0:1 (Though I've seen 11:1 on this forum-- perhaps US and UK versions were different?)

we never got the 325e

[Gunni]

a college student money will not fund this that well.
you need to find a 325i engine + electronics .
That will definitely help you have more fun with the car.

325i conversion shouldn´t cost all that much

[Alex]

731 head and chip should be on his budget tho

[Gunni]

them heads don´t exist over there.
but a chip is always a upgrade on a 325e

[DRIFTBOY]

The wiring on an M30 conversion is often the easiest part!

[Alex]

them heads don´t exist over there.
but a chip is always a upgrade on a 325e

can you not get the 520i tho

[Gunni]

no they had nothing below a 325i or a ETA

[Alex]

no they had nothing below a 325i or a ETA

im sure someone on ebay.co.uk will ship you one over

and im sure evolve or ant on here will do a chip for it to run right

[Gunni]

For a eta block and 731 head a 325i ecu will do very nicely,
stock timing will suit the variant well as it doesn´t need added timing like a stock ETA and or 325i.

This setup usually makes about 170hp as the 731 valves are slightly smaller then 885 and the 2.7 offsets that

[daimlerman]

The realy cheapskate way is to remove the eta(200 casting) head and drill out the oilways missing in three of the cam bearings,open up the exhaust ports a little and bung in a stock 325 cam....that should give 180bhp and around 190 ft lb of torque from 2000rpm for a bit more,get the valve seats re-cut to take 325 valves.

[tomson]

I thought the US 325e already has the 885 head on it.

[Gunni]

It does not. It´s got a 200 head,
Super ETA has the 885 head, and ultra crappy cam

[tomson]

It does not. It´s got a 200 head,
Super ETA has the 885 head, and ultra crappy cam

Ah, I see. I have only ever seen one US 325e and it had an 885 head on it so it must have been a super ETA.

[Scooter318]

Thanks for the suggestions. Over here we got the E21 320i (I know of one that is under restoration and one that is driven daily in my area), but not the E30 version. Importing a head is a good idea, and I'll look into it.
I bought a 325i parts car a few months ago after reading Andyboy's sticky, but the head turned out to have a crack in it (I got good body parts/glass off it though )
I guess it still seems like the M30 conversion might be my best bet, now that I've located a couple 528i's nearby. I'll keep you all posted on what I decide to do, and get a few pics of the car up soon!

[Morat]

3.5!! If you're going to swap the engine, surely go for the biggest one?

[eta]

Gummi pm sent

[Scooter318]

3.5!! If you're going to swap the engine, surely go for the biggest one?

I was just reading Ziggy's sticky, and I see what you mean. Unfortunately I don't know of any E32/34's in the area that could sacrifice their vital organs I'll keep looking though!