budget turbo conversion.....

[kingwajuk]

Im thinking of doing a turbo conversion on a m20 engine during the summer and wanted to know a few things.

Is it better to turbo the 325 or 320 lump?..i.e which one has lower compression??

I only plan on running a small amount of boost like 5-7 psi so im not looking for mental power as im on a budget (gota pay student loan off..lol) Would I have to get proper engine managment like meqasquirt? or could I run it off the bmw factory setup running 5-7 psi??

And what injectors would i have to use??

[oakey]

i think you will definately need a mangement system like megasquirt. use a late 2.5 litre engine dude. cant give you any more info than that tho dude apart from you may struggle to do this on a low budget.
best of luck.

[chrisr29]

I'm not finding that the words 'turbo conversion' and 'budget' are going together particularly well!

Though Tony Uber seems to have managed it for sod all!

[kingwajuk]

well i can raise about 1500 maybe 2k at the most...is it possible? how about a m40 turbo then?

[Turbo-Brown]

I reckon you could make something yourself up for less than £2k, that's not budget budget

[kingwajuk]

yeah I was thinking for 2k I must be able to do something in terms of turbo charging a m20?... So would i deffo need megasquirt? even though I wouldnt be running silly amounts of boost?

I just want a bmw turbo for the summer!...so i dont mind going down the m40 route...aslong as it gets me side ways..lol, My current 318 m40 struggles to spin in 2nd let alone get the arse out!

[e30_Turbo]

Erel ( Blingsta ) & Malcolm (tylerma) have had their conversions done for about the £2k mark.

I managed my first conversion for a lot less than that but that was back in the R&D days when both Ant & I were both getting our heads around the whole "turbo-ing" thing.

Getting to where I am now has cost me atleast £3k now and I know I was really lucky to get some of the parts in cheap and also built my own ECU to save costs.

I'd make a list of the parts you want and start to buy them over a few months, then set a start date and crack on with it. We did the first conversion over one weekend, drove to Ants N/A Sat Am, drove home boosted Sun PM!

You could use a RRFPR or FMU as an alternative to MS but you'll not be able to map it as such, more get the fueling about right most of the time and off the rest.

First off tho I think you need to decide which engine to use!!

IIRC:
early 325i ( chrome bumper ) 9.7-1 cr
late 325i ( facelift ) 8.8-1 cr

HTH, Mark.

[kingwajuk]

might be a silly question but what are RRFPR and FMU??....

[e30_Turbo]

might be a silly question but what are RRFPR and FMU??....

RRFPR - rising rate fuel pressure regulator

FMU - Fuel management unit

Kinda both the same thing but some companies like cartech only make FMU's, which are RRFPR's anyway! LOL

Basically under boost the unit will raise fuel pressure in a set ratio to boost. There are different ratios available.

HTH, Mark.

[kingwajuk]

so a RRFPR is a cheaper option than using megasquirt? I will upgrade to megqsquirt sooner or later but that means another student loan..lol

How would I fit a RRFPR and FMU alongside my standard engine managment??

how much would a FMU or RRFPR set me back??

[e30_Turbo]

RRFPR are fitted into the fuel lines in place or additionaly to the stock fpr. On the M20's I've seen it's just been added into the fuel line.

You buy the ratio you want, i.e. 1 to 1 = 1 psi boost = +1 psi fuel pressure and away you go.

If John @ 800bhp still has them, they were about £70 all in, thinking about it I have one I bought for my project a few months back, same one Toby Unna has on his, although mine has never seen an engine bay!

I'm not saying this is a good plan but it does work and a few have made them work upto 10psi but you really need full control to be able use more.

The stock spark map, not the zone chip, is ok for upto 7psi or so, again something MS can adjust to suit perfectly when you need it.

So have you started a list? or started to get bits together?

HTH, Mark

[kingwajuk]

For the summer im not guna be running more than 5-7 psi so if i stick to the RRFPR i should be ok!

I've got a T3 turbo off a cossy ,Ive had it for about a year now but never got round to using it as it was intended for my old 200sx which i kinda blew up..lol

As for the list,I havent made one yet! Im still not 110% sure what engine i wana use, its outa the m40 or m20....

Which would be easier?? Ive got some mechanical knowledge and this would be my 1st turbo conversion so i dont wana bite off more than i can chew.

[e30_Turbo]

For the summer im not guna be running more than 5-7 psi so if i stick to the RRFPR i should be ok!

I've heard that before.....

I've got a T3 turbo off a cossy ,Ive had it for about a year now but never got round to using it as it was intended for my old 200sx which i kinda blew up..lol

That might be a bit big for a 1.8 m40, what are it's specs?

As for the list,I havent made one yet! Im still not 110% sure what engine i wana use, its outa the m40 or m20....

4 or 6 cylinder hassles, each has there own issues.

Which would be easier?? Ive got some mechanical knowledge and this would be my 1st turbo conversion so i dont wana bite off more than i can chew.

Your best bet is give Ant a call 07787114963 and discuss the particulars, as he's done both M40's & M20's I'm sure you can work out a spec to suit your needs.





and by the way, there's no fecking way you'll stick to 5 - 7psi....maybe for an hour or two! ( Your blown 200sx tells all!! )

[blingsta]

you say not more than 5-7 psi,!!!! I said exactly the same thing, i think im on 8-9 psi at the moment but want 10psi.. you do get greedy with boost !! , trust me ive been there, and blown a 2.7 engine because of it. would def recommend megasquirt tho, you would have sooo much more control over things. Most costly thing about a conversion on m20/m40 would be the manifold and megasquirt, the rest you can pick up dirt cheap

[kingwajuk]

I promise i wont go mad with the boost..well il try not to..lol.

All i know is that its a standard turbo off a cosworth 4x4. I only paid 70 quid for it and i saw it running before it was removed so i know it doesn't smoke and there isnt any play in the shaft at all.

[blingsta]

I promise i wont go mad with the boost..well il try not to..lol.

All i know is that its a standard turbo off a cosworth 4x4. I only paid 70 quid for it and i saw it running before it was removed so i know it doesn't smoke and there isnt any play in the shaft at all.

Mate, trust me, i was in the same boat, my intentions were not to go over 7psi, but when you start leaving cars behind that a normal 325i couldnt have, you then wanna play with the bigger boys like scooby's and cossie's

[fowler]

well my turbo conversion is in progress and trust me you can spend an arm and a leg but it depends what you want out of the car with the right engine turbo engine management etc you can easily run 12 psi on a stock 325i lump

[e30_Turbo]

All i know is that its a standard turbo off a cosworth 4x4. I only paid 70 quid for it and i saw it running before it was removed so i know it doesn't smoke and there isnt any play in the shaft at all.

You need to decide what engine to turbo, the M40 and that turbo will end up laggy but with plenty top end, on a 2.5ltr M20 it will be a little small.

M20B20 may be what you need, very cheap to replace too

[gcorky]

http://www.e30zone.net/modules.php?name ... highlight=


still got this stuff...

[CHRISP]

You definately get what you pay for
But do talk to Ant he we put you on the right track.

[kingwajuk]

Would turbo charging a m20 lump be more complicated than a m40?? I've seen a few manifolds for the m20,like the 324td one but where do i get a manifold for the m40 from or how would i go about making one??

As for the m40 being laggy with the t3 I could always stick on a t25 which would be more suited to a 4cyl engine??

[fuzzy]

I only plan on running a small amount of boost like 5-7 psi so im not looking for mental power as im on a budget

now where have i heard that one before?it wont happen . you will always want more power so think bigger from the start .itll save you money in the end.

[fuzzy]

As for the m40 being laggy with the t3 I could always stick on a t25 which would be more suited to a 4cyl engine??

im not sure if a t3 would be to laggy after all its the starting point of the sierra cosworth range and thats 'only' a 4 pot.i use a t34 with a .48 housing to reduce lag and my boost starts kicking in at 1400rpm. (although obviously not on a bmw engine but the principle will be the same).

[gcorky]

well the biggest m40 is 1800cc as opposed to the 2000cc ford engine...but i wouldnt imagine that that turbo would be spooling later on a m40 engine...really,any smaller you risk backpressure issues,isnt the sierra t3 an upgrade for 1600cvh..so seems suited to me for the m40

[kingwajuk]

Right!..ive been thinking about this all day and ive come to a conclusion!

I think im guna go for the m40 route. I've seen quite a few m20 turbo's on here and all over the net but not many m40 turbo's so Im tempted to be alittle different.

What sort of power am i looking at with a turbo m40?

How much boost can the standard internals handle??

How much power would I gain if I ran it at 5-7psi of boost and before anyone else says it....I know im guna get greedy for more boost!..lol

[fowler]

PM ANT he will tell you all

[gcorky]

turboing an m20 is fine,its sourcing parts. thats a ballache...with the m40 its worse as more often than not most upgrade to m20b25 and start from there.in both cases its the manifold in particular...could fab your own if your handy....or Ant might have made a jig by now with a view to producing them.

in my opinion you need a good reason to keep the m40.....obviously you are more interested in having a forced induction for the sake of it ,rather than the associated power

[fowler]

well said Mr Corky !!! ant can do a M40 in about 3 weeks from sratch. but i know he did malcom's in 3 days what a hero !!!

[blingsta]

In my opinion, the M20 would be better as parts will be easier to source.

[fowler]

agreed erel m20 parts are easier to source you can but the whole kit off ebay !!!!!

[Morat]

turbo the M20... you'll get more back from the bigger displacement. If you want to turbo a 4 pot, surely the M10 is the best choice? It is very strong.

[kingwajuk]

Maybe its best i go for the m20 lump after all.

I've got a rough idea of how to go about the turbo conversion, just need some info on the oil feed/return lines??...where do I get these from??

Also would I need to upgrade my injectors/fuel pump stright away if I stick with low boost for a while? ?

[gcorky]

some use landy td4 oil return bolted onto sump,just hose that to return from turbo...as large a diameter hose as you can fit.the stock oil pressure switch location is the best place for feed.m12 by 1.5 thread..demon tweeks have a few different solutions to this.