turbocharged m20

Discuss general engine, turbo and supercharger conversions in this section

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beemerboy318
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Post Wed Feb 13, 2008 9:20 pm

i, im thinking of buying a turbo kit off american ebay for an m20 engine, it says its set to 8psi and that seems a bit lame as im used to renault 5 turbos running 24psi, the kit comes with a front mounted intercooler which is good, would the standard ecu run this and would my m20 be strong enough for this??
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blingsta
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Post Thu Feb 14, 2008 2:54 am

m20 would be strong enough, but only 60% of these kits will be usefull to you.. the manifold, turbo and I/C.. you will need a standalone ecu to be able to run a proper conversion and also igger injectors... give Ant at A-tech a call for all your advice/needs
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beemerboy318
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Post Thu Feb 14, 2008 1:36 pm

where would i get a live mappable ecu?? oh and the injectors?? anyone else done this conversion??
march109
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Post Thu Feb 14, 2008 2:04 pm

Plenty of people have done a turbo conversion, just look in the FI section of this site and brose some of the topics.

as for ECU, read up on Emerald, VEMS, megasquirt and stuff like that, we can't decide what you need when we don't know how involved you want to get what skills you have or budget.
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beemerboy318
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Post Thu Feb 14, 2008 3:51 pm

im quite handy with engines and stuff, i looked on megasquirts website and couldnt make head or tail, id like to run about 10psi as i want it relible, i suppose id have 2k to spend! whats the fi section??
march109
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Post Thu Feb 14, 2008 3:53 pm

your in it, have a look through the other threads in this section: http://www.e30zone.net/modules.php?name ... forum&f=28
325i Tech 1 Touring, breaking.

2.5 high comp. M20, 3.64 LSD, Fully undersealed, Spax springs & Bilstein shocks, s/s exhaust, Alpina rep wheels and more.
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Gunni
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Post Thu Feb 14, 2008 3:53 pm

Depending on your location you have numerous ways of getting work done regarding engine mapping.
Where are you?
With great challenges comes great engineering.

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beemerboy318
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Post Thu Feb 14, 2008 3:57 pm

im in kent in the south east, i dont want nothing mental!! what sorta power u think id get running 10psi??
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Gunni
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Post Thu Feb 14, 2008 4:13 pm

That varies wastly.
you could be getting from 200whp uwards to 300whp depending on engine and turbo character
With great challenges comes great engineering.

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beemerboy318
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Post Thu Feb 14, 2008 4:24 pm

im a bit confused as to what compression i need, i heard that u dont really need to change anything, also ive been told i need to lower the compression?? how can i find out?? i know i need some non stretch bolts, and an uprated head gasket??
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Gunni
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Post Thu Feb 14, 2008 4:30 pm

What engine do you now have? pre facelift of facelift.
if pre then you might want a thicker gasket and stronger headbolts.
if facelift then a set of bolts will suffice.

Depending on torque you may need a new clutch and pressure plate.
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randomdave325
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Post Thu Feb 14, 2008 4:35 pm

if you're in kent pm ant m8.
he loves all that m20 snail malarkey and is not too far away. :cool:
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beemerboy318
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Post Thu Feb 14, 2008 4:39 pm

at the moment i have a h-reg 318, im not happy with it so i was gonna put a 320 engine in it, now ive seen these kits on american ebay and i really wanna do it!! i know i gotta use all the 320 running gear, i dont really see any facelift 320s for sale, its all pre! im pretty sure i can fit all the running gear and bolt the turbo on and do the pipe work, i also need an exhaust and downpipe made up??
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beemerboy318
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Post Thu Feb 14, 2008 4:40 pm

m20 snail?? lol
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Post Thu Feb 14, 2008 7:00 pm

Don't bother with the 320i its crap.

If your going to the bother buy a rotten 325i and use those bits.

On a post 87 b25m20 you can run 10psi safely with standard internals, the key to safe running is in the mapping.

as everybody has said above contact Ant at a-tech he is your man
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beemerboy318
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Post Thu Feb 14, 2008 7:05 pm

u say standard internals, standard head gasket?? standard bolts?? post 87, is that an early 325??
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Gunni
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Post Thu Feb 14, 2008 8:04 pm

no late.
pre = before
post = after
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beemerboy318
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Post Thu Feb 14, 2008 8:22 pm

i dont really want a 325 engine, im sure i can still get good results from a 2litre?? has anyone done it to a 2 litre b4??
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Gunni
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Post Thu Feb 14, 2008 8:33 pm

You can just as easily boost a 2.0 engine.
No matter what people say you can get them running at the same power level as 2.5´s at 10psi, beeing around 250hp average. that would probably require 15-16psi though, which is not really a problem
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essexboy
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Post Thu Feb 14, 2008 8:35 pm

why bother with a 2 litre a lower cc in the same weight of engine? :mad:

ant at a tech (01959534718) will be your man, he has also turbo'd a couple 318's aswell and i think he will soon have a 318i turbo kit for sale?
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Post Thu Feb 14, 2008 8:38 pm

ive turbo'd my 2.0 with 282 bhp from only 16 psi. i bet you cant match that winkeye
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beemerboy318
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Post Thu Feb 14, 2008 8:42 pm

would the 2litre internals be ok to run 8-10psi?? i think id need a bigger head gasket and non stretch bolts, i cant get my head round the ecu to use, i was looking at megasquirt but will the standard ecu be ok to get it to where i want it live mapped??
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Post Thu Feb 14, 2008 8:47 pm

smaller bores on the B20 mean there's more clamping force on the headgasket , always a good thing.

Blow the B20 dude, it will have its limits but as Gunni has said, its worth investing some time in.

Re the ECU, the standard setup is not going to cut the mustard in any case dude, live mapped or otherwise.

but the Ebay kit buy all means, just throw the turbo as far away from the car as you can, and leave it there.

Std M20B25 cluth is happy up to 270 ish HP if in good condition( IE newish/new) but will work hard if you use all the power, all the time.

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beemerboy318
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Post Thu Feb 14, 2008 8:57 pm

hi ant i just emailed u about what i want doing, how do i get round the ecu and turbo??