m40 tuning
Moderator: martauto
got a few questions about tuning the m40, so i know already what people are going to say and thats just do a conversion. but what i cant get people to understand is i like to do things diffrently.
my first question what parts could i use to stroke a m40?
can i use individual coil packs like whats on the m42 or the style thats on the m44?
does any one make a carb manifold for the m40?
would you regring the cams or buy new?
what good double valve springs are out there?
is it true that m43 rockers fit the m40?
my first question what parts could i use to stroke a m40?
can i use individual coil packs like whats on the m42 or the style thats on the m44?
does any one make a carb manifold for the m40?
would you regring the cams or buy new?
what good double valve springs are out there?
is it true that m43 rockers fit the m40?
A detailed engine bay to me is a nice clean engine bay.ejoeyward wrote:alot! the cylinder head is in the engine bay therefore it has alot to do with detailing
Cams and valve springs are inside the engine, you do realise this?

If you want performance bin the M40. Get something with Atleast 6 cylinders in there.ejoeyward wrote:yes i do but whats the point of having a nice detailed engine with out have just a little bit of performance to go with it

y does every one go for the same engines are people not aloud to be different cuz we dont live in a fascist state.
if i was going to do an engine swap i would try and shoe horn a 440 magnum or 572 chevy with a blower on top and why not 40 litres of nos while im at it.
if i was going to do an engine swap i would try and shoe horn a 440 magnum or 572 chevy with a blower on top and why not 40 litres of nos while im at it.
Rather than spending a few hundred quid and lots of man hours trying to squeeze power out of an M40, which you might gain 10hp....
A couple of hundred quid and a days work will get you 170hp with lots of potential.
A couple of hundred quid and a days work will get you 170hp with lots of potential.

No problem with sticking with a 4 pot and no problem with being different. But if you really have a hard on for the M40 donk, go for a turbo or supercharger.
The reason people go with the same old 6 pots is because its a simple, reliable and cheaper way of getting the performance gains an M40 could only dream of.
A stock M40 can be boosted to around 160-170bhp for maybe £1500, a lot of man hours and less reliability.... or as Max says, a few hundred quid for a B25 and a day or two work will get you 170bhp while still being reliable.
As for handling, an M40 may feel nimbler through the twistys, but a 325i will approach the bend quicker, go through the bend just as quick, and then f uck off in to the distance.
The reason people go with the same old 6 pots is because its a simple, reliable and cheaper way of getting the performance gains an M40 could only dream of.
A stock M40 can be boosted to around 160-170bhp for maybe £1500, a lot of man hours and less reliability.... or as Max says, a few hundred quid for a B25 and a day or two work will get you 170bhp while still being reliable.
As for handling, an M40 may feel nimbler through the twistys, but a 325i will approach the bend quicker, go through the bend just as quick, and then f uck off in to the distance.
James
'91 325i Sport
'93 318i touring 16v
'91 325i Sport
'93 318i touring 16v
An M42 swap is simple, its still a 4pot so handling won't be affected, more economical than an M40 revs and pulls way better its 24v and forged bottom end too and just incase you get bored of the superior 136bhp much more easily tuneable too. IMO,tuning an M40 will never come close to a decent M42 so thats why the M40 is a piontless exercise.
Win win win! And looks way better than an M40 too'

Win win win! And looks way better than an M40 too'

+1 to thatajay wrote:An M42 swap is simple, its still a 4pot so handling won't be affected, more economical than an M40 revs and pulls way better its 24v and forged bottom end too and just incase you get bored of the superior 136bhp much more easily tuneable too. IMO,tuning an M40 will never come close to a decent M42 so thats why the M40 is a piontless exercise.
Win win win! And looks way better than an M40 too'
well my plan is to bolt twin 40 webbers to the side, port polish the tits out of it with ribbed floor on intake and slightly raise the roof on both sides,a 3 angle valve job and some nice medium grind cams about 270ish and MAYBE some hemi pistons with valve cut outs.
and dont say its a waste of money cuz it relatively cheap cuz iv cannibalized a m40 intake manifold for the carb manifold, the valve job is being done by a friend in the industry, the carbs are already sitting in my shed. so the only thing that will cost money are the hemi pistons if i go that far
so all in including buying the engine im looking about £175 plus hiring an engine hoiste for a day and then plus pistons if i go that far. (would love them just to say iv got a hemi but not sure if they would give me any more performance)
and dont say its a waste of money cuz it relatively cheap cuz iv cannibalized a m40 intake manifold for the carb manifold, the valve job is being done by a friend in the industry, the carbs are already sitting in my shed. so the only thing that will cost money are the hemi pistons if i go that far
so all in including buying the engine im looking about £175 plus hiring an engine hoiste for a day and then plus pistons if i go that far. (would love them just to say iv got a hemi but not sure if they would give me any more performance)
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pacerpete
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ejoeyward wrote:well my plan is to bolt twin 40 webbers to the side, port polish the tits out of it with ribbed floor on intake and slightly raise the roof on both sides,a 3 angle valve job and some nice medium grind cams about 270ish and MAYBE some hemi pistons with valve cut outs.
and dont say its a waste of money cuz it relatively cheap cuz iv cannibalized a m40 intake manifold for the carb manifold, the valve job is being done by a friend in the industry, the carbs are already sitting in my shed. so the only thing that will cost money are the hemi pistons if i go that far
so all in including buying the engine im looking about £175 plus hiring an engine hoiste for a day and then plus pistons if i go that far. (would love them just to say iv got a hemi but not sure if they would give me any more performance)
Are you Ed Balls ? You obviously had the same maths teacher !
no im not ed balls we dont have the same maths teacher. i have all the parts in my shed so there for it wont cost me anythingpacerpete wrote:ejoeyward wrote:well my plan is to bolt twin 40 webbers to the side, port polish the tits out of it with ribbed floor on intake and slightly raise the roof on both sides,a 3 angle valve job and some nice medium grind cams about 270ish and MAYBE some hemi pistons with valve cut outs.
and dont say its a waste of money cuz it relatively cheap cuz iv cannibalized a m40 intake manifold for the carb manifold, the valve job is being done by a friend in the industry, the carbs are already sitting in my shed. so the only thing that will cost money are the hemi pistons if i go that far
so all in including buying the engine im looking about £175 plus hiring an engine hoiste for a day and then plus pistons if i go that far. (would love them just to say iv got a hemi but not sure if they would give me any more performance)
Are you Ed Balls ? You obviously had the same maths teacher !
and i will keep you up to date and post some pics of the head when its done and im hoping to go santa pod on the 28th of september
You should definitely look at the Valve guides and throughts these heads can be quite restricted on the intake side. Also look at fitting bigger valves and angling the valve seats.
If you are going to spend your money then it will be good to see what difference a bit of tuning can male to these engines. If you can raise the level of torque available under 4k then it could be a fun project to blast about in.
If you are going to spend your money then it will be good to see what difference a bit of tuning can male to these engines. If you can raise the level of torque available under 4k then it could be a fun project to blast about in.
im just a bit weary of inlarging valves cuz a friend done it and he lost all bottom end power.
could you explain why this happened because although i work on cars as a bit of a hobby i am by no means and engineer
plus i got a mates rates quote on custom exhaust today with headers and im thinking 4 to 2 to minimise how much the gases clash in the manifold
if you had to guess: would i gain any performance from hemi pistons with valve cut out
what kinda power output would i be looking at with and with out the custom pistons (id be really happy if i managed 160bhp but would settle for anything around the figures of a stock m44 so about 140-145)
could you explain why this happened because although i work on cars as a bit of a hobby i am by no means and engineer
plus i got a mates rates quote on custom exhaust today with headers and im thinking 4 to 2 to minimise how much the gases clash in the manifold
if you had to guess: would i gain any performance from hemi pistons with valve cut out
what kinda power output would i be looking at with and with out the custom pistons (id be really happy if i managed 160bhp but would settle for anything around the figures of a stock m44 so about 140-145)
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Speedtouch
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Probably something to do with Venturi effect:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venturi_effect
Smaller intake tracts actually speed up the air flow and create more torque.
I would imagine custom pistons will only create more power if they give a subsequent increase in the compression ratio (CR).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venturi_effect
Smaller intake tracts actually speed up the air flow and create more torque.
I would imagine custom pistons will only create more power if they give a subsequent increase in the compression ratio (CR).
///M aurice
ECU Upgrade EPROM Chips, £40 posted within the UK. Note these are not Zone chips.
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=279421
ECU Upgrade EPROM Chips, £40 posted within the UK. Note these are not Zone chips.
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=279421
Where do you get £175 from.ejoeyward wrote:well my plan is to bolt twin 40 webbers to the side, port polish the tits out of it with ribbed floor on intake and slightly raise the roof on both sides,a 3 angle valve job and some nice medium grind cams about 270ish and MAYBE some hemi pistons with valve cut outs.
and dont say its a waste of money cuz it relatively cheap cuz iv cannibalized a m40 intake manifold for the carb manifold, the valve job is being done by a friend in the industry, the carbs are already sitting in my shed. so the only thing that will cost money are the hemi pistons if i go that far
so all in including buying the engine im looking about £175 plus hiring an engine hoiste for a day and then plus pistons if i go that far. (would love them just to say iv got a hemi but not sure if they would give me any more performance)
That wouldn't even cover the cost of a cam.

if i use a reground cam the it will cuz me and a friend will do it at his engineering work shopmaxfield wrote:Where do you get £175 from.ejoeyward wrote:well my plan is to bolt twin 40 webbers to the side, port polish the tits out of it with ribbed floor on intake and slightly raise the roof on both sides,a 3 angle valve job and some nice medium grind cams about 270ish and MAYBE some hemi pistons with valve cut outs.
and dont say its a waste of money cuz it relatively cheap cuz iv cannibalized a m40 intake manifold for the carb manifold, the valve job is being done by a friend in the industry, the carbs are already sitting in my shed. so the only thing that will cost money are the hemi pistons if i go that far
so all in including buying the engine im looking about £175 plus hiring an engine hoiste for a day and then plus pistons if i go that far. (would love them just to say iv got a hemi but not sure if they would give me any more performance)
That wouldn't even cover the cost of a cam.
that why i was thinking about forged hemi's but what could i raise the cr to without putting to much stress on the blockSpeedtouch wrote:Probably something to do with Venturi effect:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venturi_effect
Smaller intake tracts actually speed up the air flow and create more torque.
I would imagine custom pistons will only create more power if they give a subsequent increase in the compression ratio (CR).
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Speedtouch
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- Posts: 14084
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A fairly high level; Ant and others have fitted a turbocharger to an M40 engine, so it's obviously capable of withstanding a reasonable level of boost and pressure.
http://www.e30zone.net/modules.php?name ... =m40+turbo
http://www.e30zone.net/modules.php?name ... =m40+turbo
///M aurice
ECU Upgrade EPROM Chips, £40 posted within the UK. Note these are not Zone chips.
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=279421
ECU Upgrade EPROM Chips, £40 posted within the UK. Note these are not Zone chips.
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=279421
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Speedtouch
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- Joined: Tue Feb 14, 2006 11:00 pm
- Location: Canterbury
PM sent.
///M aurice
ECU Upgrade EPROM Chips, £40 posted within the UK. Note these are not Zone chips.
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=279421
ECU Upgrade EPROM Chips, £40 posted within the UK. Note these are not Zone chips.
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=279421




