for those with engine swap: m50 manifold before and after dynos
 

Just thought I'd post this for those with s52/m52 swaps. This does not apply to 318ti's without a motor swap.

m50 manifold before and after dynos

Cars:
1999 BMW m3
5-speed
92k miles

Mods:
Dinan Euro MAF
Dinan Big Bore TB
Dinan Carbon Fiber Intake
Dinan Free flow exhaust
Dinan Stage 3 software

I used a manifold from a '95 m3 and Eric's kit (m50manifold.com). Eric's kit works VERY well.
His instructions and pictures make it an easy install. Total install time was about 6 hours, I
took my time.

I was imediately impressed with the new power. With my snow tires (235/45/17 Dunlop Wintersport D3s)
the tires would spin at anything more than 1/2 throttle in 1st AND 2nd gear. That's kinda fun.

Dyno runs were done 3 days apart, temperature was between 50-60 degrees in the dyno room.
The dyno is a 2WD 450DS at Performance Engine in Madison, Wisconsin.

Baseline dyno results:
These are uncorrected, so they look a little low.
http://180customs.net/Gallery/d/6270...nifold+007.jpg

After the m50 manifold installation:
The result is a 22 hp max hp gain. There is the expected small torque lose, but as you can see
on the graph, max torque is almost the same, it just hits later in the rev range. The red line on the graph is the pre-manifold install, the teal and purple lines are two post-manifold install runs.

http://180customs.net/Gallery/d/6278-1/DSCF5341.JPG


Here is the corrected version, 13% correction added:
http://180customs.net/Gallery/d/6276-1/DSCF5340.JPG


Manifold runner size comparision:
http://180customs.net/Gallery/d/6272-1/DSCF5338.JPG

I didn't get a print out of the AFR, but it gets pig rich around 4500 rpms. My guess is that Dinan runs a conservative rich tune. I think it's time for cams and new software now.

Thanks for the info Dustin. What's the 13% correction for? Wheel hp vs. crank?

Dyno Dynamics read 13% lower than most other dynos. A 13% correction factor is always applied to a DD graph to make it comparable. The max numbers are really irrelevant, it's the net gain that I wanted to document. 22hp gain for $300, that's huge.

230x1.17 (drivetrain lose) = 269.1 crank hp. That should be spot on given the mods the car has. Cams and AA software is next. Hoping to get closer to 250-260 at the wheels.

very nice!

I can't wait to swap, wait a minute, I've been waiting for years!

Damn I need one if these!! like really!!

I wonder what kind of gain you'd see on an M52. This requires no new software right? Did you have to drive a 100 miles for the computer to adjust or anything? I've heard it takes that long for it to reach max power/smoothness, etc.

Edit: just realized you had the Dinan software already.

I drove about 50 miles after the install, I could tell the the computer was out of wack a little immediately after the install. I'm going to hunt down a set of cams and switch over to AA software sometime in the future.

^ Hey, I know this thread is a bit old, but like most forums I imagined its prefered here when you search as opposed to posting a new thread on the same topic.

I found this info. very pertinent to something I'm doing right now. I have a euro 323Ti with the M52 motor, and have a seperate, uninstalled, ECU (correct for my car - from a friend) with Dinan stg. 3 software loaded on it and the opportunity to pick up the M50 manifold with swap kit at the moment. At first what I wondered was whether the Dinan software would help with the adjustment to the M50 and the torque loss you hear so much about? The software is for intake, exhaust, ect. ect. but Dinan doesn't anything about Manifolds.

Second, I wondered if it was better to just get a custom tune for the car as opposed to using the Dinan stage 3 ecu for the setup? Any thoughts? Did you feel the Dinan stage 3 underperformed for your needs? i.e. too mild or reserved of a tune or not specific enough to address or get the best out of the M50 manifold??

T.I.A.

If I were you, I'd get the M50 manifold, Samco 3.5 inch silicone intake boot, 3.5 inch maf and intake, and larger injectors. If money permits that is. And with the larger maf and injectors, you'd need a new tune to support it, but you would get some large-r gains

^ Hi, thanks for the suggestion, but at the moment I think I am just going to go with what is available to me and within my means presently i.e. Dinan CF intake, M50 Mani, and tune.

You should be perfectly fine then

OK, what if money is an issue?
Is it worth doing the M50 manifold alone?

On my M52 328i and on a Dyno Dynamics dyno I gained 7hp and 1tq from just the M50 manifold.
With the samco boot, stock maf, afe intake, and TRM tune. I made an additional 12hp and 5tq.

I'll have to dig out the graphs and scan them to post. Might get to that tomorrow, if someone wants them.

I don't know what any of that equates to the track.
I track out at 85 mph (indicated) and at the end of the straight I'm doing around 120 (indicated). Ambient air temp in the 80s. It takes me a while to get up to 120.

I'd like to get up to speed a bit quicker to carry it longer.