Turbo'd M50 E30

[EOS]

Hi halfway through my second M50 build, and coming up to sorting exhaust etc soon, and since theres no time issues with this project i was thinking of maybe turbo charging it. What I want to know is, has anyone done this on this site or know of what to do regarding ECU managment etc...It seems most of you guys use mega squirt and things like that when turbo charging the M20 engine on here, but wondering if you could get away with moddifying the standard M50 loom and ecu? Wouldn't be looking to run massive amounts of boost something in the region of 6-8psi, thanks for any help or advise you can give.

[Herrity]

Bump, i'm the same position and wanted to post this question up here for ant really if he could help us ? Thanks in advance Chris H

[Ant]

Turbo M50 is not an issue guys ( provided they're not fubar )

There are many in the US running FI M50/52 with good results.

Costs would be similar to those incurred on the M20, so rough guide Ԛ£2.2K to Ԛ£6K dependant on spec and "bling factor"

MS can be used on the M50, there may be enough spare in the existing ECU to take a low boost setup ( with remap of course )

HTH.

[jaistanley]

If running a MS it will save a lot of mucking around if you get an early, non VANOS unit.

I recently saw an M50 turbo manifold on ebay and mentioned it on here, search for that.

Good luck buddy.

Jai

[gareth]

that's interesting ant.... what sort of boost levels will the ecu handle? would the vanos system on later engines cause problems with exhaust overlap etc?

[Ant]

the ECU will not be able to see the boost, but as long as the MAF doesn't peg its values when boosting the ECU could be remapped to handle the extra flow.

possibly an M60/62 series MAF with the larger bore tube would be the way forward

MS offers the most options, but it can be a can of worms in the wrong hands

[EOS]

For a low boost setup only can you get away with the turbo diesel manifold/turbo set up, as i imagine its quite small will spool up quickly? Ideal for a low boost setup?

Also where would plum the oil lines to and from for the turbo?

[jaistanley]

The main trouble with using a diesel turbo will be that they are designed for diesel exhaust gasses. This means the impellor will be a different design.

Petrol car exhaust gasses are a much higher temperature so have entirely different ammounts of enrgy at a given flow rate. Using on a petrol car may well mean the efficieny map of the turbo is all to sh!t.

Also, I dont know if the materials are able to withstand the temperatures. They might be the same but it's worth looking into.

The manifold will work as long as it blts up though.

Jai

[Ant]

Jai is spot on

this is also the reason we can fit a huuuuge Holset designed for a slow revving truck oil burner, and still get boost on a much smaller petrol engined car

the heat is where the energy is at, derv is 300C, petrol can go way beyond 900C if not tuned properly, thus an 86mm turbine wheel can spool under 3.2K

To go FI, you must outline what you want, then add 50% spare ability in all components as you WILL be wanting more boost in a few hours/days/weeks, depending on how addictive you find it

For the M50 you'll need a bigish compressor , and a large turbine size, otherwise the turbo will strangle the engine, yes you gain power , but you run the increased risk of a blowup.

[EOS]

Ok to get around the 250-280bhp region @ crank, is this acheivable with around 6-8psi of boost? If mapped properly, etc... etc....Also how far could you go psi wise before you look into thicker head gasket and uprated head bolts etc?

What i want is something a little quicker than the current M50 i have but not over the top, and also its a little bit different than everythign else round my way.

To go FI, you must outline what you want, then add 50% spare ability in all components as you WILL be wanting more boost in a few hours/days/weeks, depending on how addictive you find it

Well after owning a few RS's and all the issues that come with them after a while, I should be ok at just leaving the boost at a set level, did this on the last one I had and actually lasted a while.

I did have a GT-S manifold that i sized up to the head, but was too far out from fitting, so could be an ebay jobbie as i have a spare T3 and T4 laying about somewhere.

Also the turbo diesels must have some oil feeds, are there parts i can borrow of a turbo diesel engine that can bolt upto the M50 to supply the oil and return it?

Thanks