Broke the 200bhp barrier!

[Quaser]

Well guys, i finally got my 2.7 engine fully up and running, but apparently there is more to be had cause the cat is restricting it a bit!

It made 202bhp on a hot day, which i am very very happy with. The auto box also seems happy with the conversion at the moment, but manually dropping it to 2nd gear gives it a fantastic boost (longer gearing!)

Economy is also good, averaging 30 - 35mpg on the motorway at around 80mph.

oh - and the noise - wow - Ask Sal - it's fantastic.... Remus backbox!

Q

[Jimbob]

Glad to hear it mate

[Borderbmw]

making me jealous now,might just have to spend some time in the shed ahem!! trouble is the missus goes everywhere at 80 now in my standard 320i,imagine in a 2.7!

[MONSPORT42]

Great to have another 2.7 auto! The extra torque works really well with the auto box. What torque figs were you showing? Also be very interested to see the shape of your power curve to see what the torque converter soaks up.

[Quaser]

I'll show you mine if you show me urs

I havent got access to a scanner at the moment, but i'll post it up as soon as i can!

[MONSPORT42]

Well here's mine (I'm not shy!) Can't remember if it is the latest one or not tho - pre or post MAF. You can see that the torque curve dips down to about 190ft ilbs at the beginning of the run which I can only attribute to the torque converter. Have tried to tune this out on the R/R but without success. However, whilst it looks a lot on a graph we are only talking split seconds for it to return to 200ish. Because I know it's there I find it quite annoying and would love to find a way of improving it without going silly. So I would be interested in seeing yours!

[Jimbob]

Any chance of posting a larger picture of that Monsport?

[Widge]

What spec 2.7 you running quaser?

Oh and please???!!!

[MONSPORT42]

Will post one later Jimbob - bit busy with work at the mo.

[Widge]

Sorry mate what specs are you running to Monsport?
202bhp on a warm day! Imagine what it would be like in norway!!

[MONSPORT42]

Hope this is more readable but the original scan was crap.
Worked this out to be post MAF fitting and a complete remap. It has been tweaked again since then. That was last July after a 3 hour R/R session so it was v. hot.
Difficult to list the spec as it was first built from my old 323i lump and has been developed quite alot since then. The block was obviously bored out. It's a Bexley conversion with 525e crank and Mahle lightweight pistons, etc. It has since had a gas-flowed 325 Sport head, BBTB and a MAF conversion and had several re-maps along the way. Pretty certain the cam is standard Sport but might be mild fast road cam. Don't know the compression.
I also believe that there are a few 'trade secrets' in the build that I'm not allowed to know! Wheels, brakes and suspension all up-graded too.

[Jimbob]

230bhp at the wheels? So like 270 at the flywheel?! Monster..

[MONSPORT42]

I wish! The graph shows 237bhp at the fly. As I said it's been tweaked a bit more since then and has a rebuit gearbox so less slipping. On a nice crisp morning it might get close to 250bhp. But, nice as big figs are, it's really all about driveability and power when you need it. I have never had the car flat out in lock-up fourth but I love using the 3500 to 5500 prm range.

[Kam320i_cab]

nice one bro, im happy for ya

[Karan]

good stuff dude..... we should go down pod and have a shootout

[Quaser]

237????

How does it do that?

My conversion is as follows:

325i bottom end modified to suit
early high comp pistons modified to suit
525e crank
525e rods
ported & poished head
alpina 268 cam
ITG ait filter
Maf Conversion
Unichip
BBTB
Remus backbox

however, the car does have a cat which may be sapping some power

Went for a drive earlier, and decided to use the gears - looks like there is no limiter on it as it went upto 7000rpm and the gearbox went into limp mode - better not do that again

Q

[Karan]

u have to remember his is an auto and reads differentky to manuals on the rollers cos of this

[Quaser]

Thats the thing - so is mine an auto!!!

[Karan]

oh yeh....OOPS. sounds like u have more power to come from somewere, especially as u dynod it at bexleys too?????

[MONSPORT42]

Hi Quasar. The truthful answer is I can't explain exactly how mine produces so much max power. The only difference in spec is that I have 323i conrods and a Scorpion back box. It has spent hours on Bexleys dyno over the years though. I think it must be to do with the long development process it has gone through. I remember when I picked up the old 323 after the conversion and the extra torque was awesome and that was with LJetronic and the smaller 323 head/valves/ports. When the 323 went to the scrap yard (minus all my bits) I bought the Sport and swapped all my old stuff into it. When the lump went in the head from the Sport was sent away to be gas-flowed and ported and the whole lot hooked up to the Motronic. The BBTB was then put on (which added about 6-7bhp, see FAQ)
Then the MAF/Unichip conversion was done and I actually lost about 20bhp (It only showed 222bhp at the Zone's Bexley shoot out) at first but gained throttle response. It has since been on the dyno several times and it has slowly gone back up although mpg went through the floor that has now also been addressed. I think I've discovered that every engine, even with identical specs, is different. Mine has also done quite a lot of miles now and I (and Les Stannard if I remember correctly) believe that just carry on getting better as they loosen up. So summing up, I think your 200+ bhp is just the beginning. Still be interested to see your curves!

[Karan]

yep development is key, will also get faster as it runs in more.....

[M5pilot]

The car sounds superb. Deep burble at low RPM, resonating noises midrange and very loud roar at top end.

With dyno figures and auto boxes I would say teh flywheel figures ae pretty much useless.

At the wheels figures make much more sense.

I think Malcomls car makes about 160 bhp at the wheels from what I remember which is ALOT!

[Karan]

The car sounds superb. Deep burble at low RPM, resonating noises midrange and very loud roar at top end.

With dyno figures and auto boxes I would say teh flywheel figures ae pretty much useless.

At the wheels figures make much more sense.

I think Malcomls car makes about 160 bhp at the wheels from what I remember which is ALOT!

Mals must make more as mine was last making 180 something........ very confused.......

[M5pilot]

You keep forgetting its an auto and has much more frictional losses than a manual. Autos have something like 60bhp losses!

If yours is making 180 bhp at the wheels then power output is around the 210bhp mark which is spot on.

Mals car is defo more than 210 in that case!