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Old 12-31-2019, 10:25 PM   #8
LanOsb133
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Quote:
Originally Posted by J!m View Post
Now I’m scratching my head on the feed from the console to the alternator... WTF is that about? What do the ETMs say? Fuel pump relay has to be added and a few other bits for Z3M motor in ti (my set up) but the alternator was left alone. I guess it’s unique to the Al six? And you should be able to satisfy the alternator much closer- or are you satisfying the park position switch?

That Al engine was a path I had looked at before I did my swap but decided against it. I don’t remember exactly why; perhaps it was a Nikasil block? I don’t remember. I also decided against the D-A supercharger.
Well, I started the car up after the swap and the Alternator light came on.* Looked and ensured everything was wired correctly and it was.* So than I went to the wiring diagrams.

This is the standard E36 wiring for the alternator (generator)* as you can see it only has two plugs.



Compared to the Z3 alternator which has an extra wire running off of the car that tells the alternator when it is in run and start



I am not using a clutch switch in my car, so I went snooping around the possible wires I could use that had the same hot when in run/start which happened to be the green/grey wire used for the clutch switch or the automatic transmission if your car is Automatic.* So I replaced the fuse, and ran the wire into the Alternator.* Havent had an issue since.* Im sure I could run another wire from elsewhere but I was looking for an ez solution with what I had.* I will go back and rewire this eventually, but its not a priority.

As for Nikasil block, I did a ton of research, from my understanding the 94 5 series motors were Nikasil and had some major deterioration issues.* They corrected this for the Z3 2.8 Alum block, making it a unique block to the American market and the only Alum M52b28.* When looking this engine up in any number of factory programs the engine code comes up as M52b28-0.* Id assume the -0 indicates its the Alum single vanos version of the motor for the American Market.

I picked the B28-0 as my block for a ton of reasons.* First the motor is much lighter.* My biggest fear with 6cly is loss of mobility in the driving characteristics.* I can gladly say there is very little difference if any between my 4cly and this Alum 6cly.* And I can completely feel the difference between this and some of the S5x swapped cars we have.* Second, I plan on this car being a cruiser so I decided to turbo, the S5x motors are bored out M5x motors and not IMO a true M3 motor...* So if I add M3 Cams, M50 mani and a few other little goodies like the BBTB and 3.5 intake and a tune, I can push* ~220whp out of the 2.8.* More than enough for an NA build and IMO a perfect setup for a boosted car.

Besides just motor.* The Z3 2.8 is easy and cheap to find compared to a Z3m.* And you get the trans, LSD med case diff etc. While the Z3m rear subframe is far superior, its not worth spending an extra $3k+ for a parts car when I can get the Z3 2.8 and buy a Z3m rear dressed subframe for ~$2k

Yeah Ive been after a DASC for a while.* I wanted to get a little more grunt out of my M44 but retain the mileage.* Figured DASC would be the way to go.* While its not a power house or does anything impressive it definitely gives it a bit more grunt to keep up with a 6cly swap.* Perfect for those who dont want much more power and to keep the car "how it came"* however if you want real power and to do it cheaply an M5x swap is your only real option IMO.*

In the end though any S/M5x will be a seriously nice upgrade to the E36/5.* Finding out which 6cly to put in requires knowing each strength and weakness.* If my goal was over 600whp, I would have went Iron block 2.8.* If my goal is weight savings the 28-0.* If I wanted the best NA motor I could get an S50b32 is my best bet, or an S52b32 if I didnt want to import the motor.* Etc etc.

I tried looking up info for the Z3 swap and didnt find much so I figured id share my experience and all the bullcrap I had to do to get this to work.* Im sure theres lots of other ways to do this.* Like for instance using a M5x alternator rather than the b28-0 alternator.* However I read that the -0 alternator puts down more juice so I decided to try and get it to work. Also the AC compressor is different.* Its much smaller on the -0 and the standard 6cly lines dont match up, meaning I need to make custom lines or swap out the AC compressor entirely.

Hope this helps you understand why I added the extra wire though, and my reasonings for choosing this swap over other options.
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97 318ti Mtech w/ early 98 Red Millpoint "BK"
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96 318ti California Edition Aqua Metallic w/ Z3 2.8 driveline
98 Z3 2.8 Violetrot Edition
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