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Old 04-02-2017, 06:31 AM   #31
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Power!!


The numbers!! So the car now has an baseline off a mustang dyno.

Engine: m52b28
- Electric Fan
- S52 Cams
- TRM s52 cams tune
- Stock intake box/ filter
- Stock exhuast/cats/super quiet muffler

**CEL: Intake temp, cam sensor wires crossed and not reading properly

Let the pictures speak for themselves:

1st Pull

*** No graph***



2nd Pull





3rd Pull






I am not great at looking at dyno graphs, but I did ask them to include AFR, but I don't know what is good- lean, rich ratio is? It does seem that as the dyno guy said, "its a turd below 4k" so not sure if its a mix of s52 cams and the tune? (CEL fixed, now its a smoother powerband)

That being said the tune is also for s52 cams / m50 intake manifold + intake, so once the m50 intake manifold goes on I will probably do another dyno run and see how it compares. I think because the power band is higher up the rpm the 3.46 diff really makes it fun once i keep it above 4k, its really a lot of fun to drive, so we will see how it goes with the 3.15 diff.

Lastly if I assume 15% drivetrain loss, and made 191 peak wheel horse power, that puts me at roughly 220hp crank!! Which is 5hp off my guesstimate on post #25 "Speed!". Not bad! S52 cams = win!

____________________________________

Update:
So now that the CEL has been fixed the midrange is a lot better - the Cam sensor wire and intake temp sensor was crossed - once the m50 intake manifold goes on I hope to dyno again and see what we get.
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Old 05-14-2017, 12:13 AM   #32
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Coilovers!

Found these Tein SuperStreet e36 coilovers with only 5k miles on craigslist for super cheap! I know Tein as a good suspension brand from my JDM car days (CRX & 240sx) besides it matches the green color of my car! Now I have adjustable front and rear height, and front camber control. The rear shocks obviously will not work but it seems like the rest is good to go!




Rear Springs Comparison:


Left to Right: Stock Z3M, H&R Sport Z3M, E36 Tein SuperStreet Spring




Front Comparison: Stock z3m w/ H&R Z3M spring



When I looked at the comparison I started to wonder about suspension travel, as seen below the bottom of the stock, where it would bottom out is roughly the same with the coilover being a tiny bit lower but comparing the total shock travel it seems like the coilover has a lot less travel. Of course it is important to note that the stock is adjustable in firmness and the spring is also a lot stiffer. Lastly when it is put on the car and height it adjusted so they are similar the travel down should be roughly the same. But again, I am not an expert just sharing random observations!



Rear shock comparison:

It is obvious why the rear e36 shock doesn't work, it is too long and it would bottom out very quickly!



Rear installed:

- With the rear on full low the height is roughly the same as the Z3M H&R springs, but stiffer of course. Kept using the koni yellow single adjustable z3m rear shocks.



Front installed:



Seems like the rear Condor Speed shop pad is starting to crack/break under daily driving conditions already!





How it sits and clear corners!

Tein SS e36 coilovers w/ rear Koni shocks, front set at around medium height, rear all the way down. Camber Plates are set full positive, not sure what actual alignment specs are currently.







Fun drive with my housemates 2013 Focus ST

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Old 06-12-2017, 10:41 PM   #33
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Brakes:


Lets talk brakes. So with the swap I spent some time talking with Ed from BimmerBum who was very helpful with informing of what choice to make!

Front choices:
- 286mm vented (e36 325/328) - Wheels: 15"
- 300mm vented (z3 3.0i/e46 325) - Wheels: 16" BUT possible 15" with 5 series offset ** (more on second post).
- 315mm vented (e36 m3)* - Wheels: 17" BUT 16" with 5 series offset, like et20 or lower!
- 325mm vented (e46 330)* - Wheels: 17"

* e46 330 vs m3
- 330: has larger rotors 325mm (330) vs 315mm (m3)
- m3: has thicker rotors, directional venting, caliper piston is larger than 330 for more clamping force. Also with the 315mm rotors you can find two piece euro ones which are also a lot lighter.

** 300mm rotors with 15" wheels. A member gave me pictures so I need to find them and post them, but I think in the same way that 16" wheels fit over the 315mm m3 rotors with low offset, usually comes stock with e34 wheels, lower offset will actually allow for 15" wheels to barely fit on 300mm rotors. He has 15x8 et23? (e30m3 specs) wheels over stock front z3 3.0i brakes which are also 300mm

Rear choices:
- 272mm Solid rotor is basically it. But we have some bolt on caliper choices that have larger diameter caliper piston diameters:
- Smallest to largest: stock (??mm) --> z3 6cylinder (37mm?) ---> e34 (38mm or 40mm not sure which is which)
- SRS Concept has come up with an adapter that allows for 300mm rotors from the 1-series to be fitted with e46 rear 325 calipers--> 40mm piston, which seems like a great fit with 315mm m3 fronts and stock e36 m3 brake booster. I have NOT personally tried this so its just a guess.

Then comes the question of what is actually needed?? I don't want to add to much weight with large brakes that are heavy and not needed or limit my wheel choice. Its all about balance!

The z3 3.0i came from the factory with 300mm fronts and same as stock rotor but the 6-cylinder caliper piston is larger allowing for more clamp force. The z3 3.0i is roughly 2950lbs, has 225hp. It seems like that is exactly where my swapped 318ti is at. ~2900lbs around 220hp (m52 w/s52 cams) so I decided to go forward with that setup.

Result:
Front: 300mm Zimmerman blank rotors with calipers (Surprised when I compared the piston size of the calipers that they were exactly the same.)
Rear: Stock rotor z3 2.8l calipers
Pads: Hawk HP+
Misc: Super Blue fluid, SS lines all around.

Pictures:



Solid 286mm vs 300mm:



Front Bolted on:



Rear Bolted on:



Comparison of old 318ti piston size vs z3 6cylinder - Piston is a bit larger as shown in the second picture:





------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Results:

At first I was hesitant using Hawk HP+ pads on a street car, due to the brake dust and brake noise that others have mentioned. Hawk gave instructions to brake them in by 7-8 hard stops at moderate speed, then another 7-8 hard stops at higher speed. It is important to let them heat up and bed properly to the rotor, so your not supposed to come to a complete stop and also let the brakes cool down completely after the bedding process. I ended up finishing the install around 11:30pm, put all the tools away, cleaned up, showered, by then it was close to 12:30am, so the roads should be quiet. Went out did roughly ten 50~60mph hard braking (without locking up) to 10mph before speeding up again to repeat, then did approximately four stops at 70~75mph. The brakes also put on a bit of a spark show, and by that time they started to fade a little already. So I just continued into the canyon to let the brakes cool. It was interesting that after 20min of coasting/cruising, the front was cool to the touch, but the rear still felt hot. It seems like the rear could use vented rotors. I used a lot of the anti-squeak lube to try to minimize noise but now its been a few days and they are definitely are starting to squeak. Its not too bad though, it is mostly at low speeds that it will squeak a little. Also this setup is good enough to get my crappy 500 or something thread wear Falkens 225/45/17 to lock up in the front (road was uphill, so more weight in the rear, and the road was a bit rough). I would be very interested to try some softer summer tires and see how well it can brake. Cold braking also has not been a problem.

The new setup in comparison to the old setup is noticeably better! I am definitely happy with this setup and will see how much life I get out of it, it gives me much more confidence even when going downhill at like 70mph, I can feel the pads actually digging into the rotors and slowing down the car, the bias also seems well spread between the front and rear. Other then maybe a little better heat dissipation in the rear, I am very happy with this setup.


Also went for a drive with my housemate on Angeles Crest Highway Saturday.





-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Update: the HP+ pads get really squeaky, like annoyingly so. Not recommended for the street.
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Last edited by anassa; 06-14-2019 at 06:23 AM. Reason: Update
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Old 06-17-2017, 10:52 PM   #34
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300mm Brakes and 15" Wheels


So in the above thread we thought a little thought of fitting 15" wheels over 300mm brakes, below are my findings!

Courtesy of spidertri who has a 3.0i z3 with 15x8 et20 TRM wheels. As a reminder the z3 3.0i has 300mm vented front brakes.





My own testing:


I was able to find a set of Turner Motorsport 12.5mm spacers on craigslist, and since I still have my style 13 wheels that are 15x7 et47, with the 12.5mm spacer I would sit at et34.5 and I was hoping that would be enough clearance for the 300mm brakes. But it wasn't.

Here on the dirty backside of my wheel you can see the line of contact from the caliper on the inside of the wheel. The wheel won't even turn! When I stacked the two 12.5mm spacers on top of each other and then tried to put on the 15" wheel, (25mm spacer in effect) resulting in et22 the wheel rotated freely. This was only for testing!! DO NOT put two spacers on top of each other.. But it did give me some more proof that a wheel with low et20's 15" can fit over 300mm brakes.



Looking at the dirty mark it shows that if pushed out more away from the narrowing of the wheel it would have clearance from hitting the wheel. The green shows where the wheel narrows and as a results hit the caliper, so having lower offset helps give the clearance needed to fit 15" wheels over the 300mm brakes. As seen with spidertri's 15" wheels.





General:

To be safe (what most of us know already):

15" Wheels: 286mm brakes* (e36: 325/328/318, z3 1.9/2.3/2.8 e46: 323)

16" Wheels: 300mm brakes* (z3: 3.0i, e46: 325)

17" Wheels: 315mm brakes* (e36 m3, z3m) AND 325mm brakes* (e46 330)


*technically just rotor size!

Possible! *at your own risk!

15" Wheels: 300mm brakes - with low ~ 20 and lower et
16" Wheels: 315mm brakes - with low ~ 20 and lower et AND 325mm brakes - not sure exactly, but I know some people run 16" special winter wheels on e46 330 cars, so 16" over 325mm is also possible, but you need to make sure the wheel is designed to fit!

One thing that is also important, is that if for some reason you bend your wheel with hitting a big pothole or something with wheels being very close to the caliper you run the risk of also damaging your brakes, so having extra some clearance is also safer in the case of accidental damaging of the wheel.

Best Budget Choice?

When doing brakes for the 318ti usually we switch out pads and rotors, so that cost is there and how much is spent based on rotor/pad type is dependent on buyer. What I read and HAVE NOT CONFIRMED! is that caliper that we have stock with the 318ti with a e46 325i carrier will bolt on over 300mm rotors!

As a result:

The only parts needed for a front and rear brake upgrade that is even better than OEM BMW 6cyl e36 328i/is brakes, and puts us at the stock ~2900lb 220hp z3 3.0i brake power are:

- e46 325 front carrier + stock caliper
- rear 6cylinder z3 caliper
- Your choice of 300mm vented rotor + stock rear rotor size and then pads.


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Last edited by anassa; 06-17-2017 at 11:02 PM.
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Old 06-22-2017, 01:21 AM   #35
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Congrats man on the project! Keep it up.
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Old 10-09-2017, 03:02 AM   #36
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Wheels!!:


These replaced my DS1 wheels:
DS1 Specs
- Weight: 9,68kg ~ 21.30lbs ? ?

So the weight is actually a little more but I get 0.5 inch of wheel width and now they are two piece! Of course these wheels are often used with e36's already, so its nothing new but its a fun change. Also it looks a little like the e28 speedhunter wheels from the first post.


- Style 5
- Two piece
- 17x8
- et20
- Tires : 225 / 45 / 17
- 21.3 lbs

Style 5 Wheel specs/info


The rear is actually tucked nicely, except it does need a roll with the 225's. Right now on bumps it will rub. The front needs a bit more camber and lower to tuck like the rear.





I also did the front blinker only mod - meaning the front indicators only turn on when its blinking, not when the lights are on in general. I also have the yellow/organish city lights.

One thing I didn't expect with black wheels is that they are not as pronounced as light colored wheels. For example with the DS1's my eyes would automatically be more drawn to the wheels.
Now it feels like the other feathers or lines of the car is more pronounced. My eyes don't automatically drift toward the wheels anymore, I tend to spend less time looking at the wheels compared to the whole car.
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Old 06-14-2019, 06:52 AM   #37
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Update:


It has been a while!! Time to dig in again.

DUMB BELTS!

Basically after the accessory belts snapped on me THREE TIMES and the crank pulley had a bit of damage the car was deemed not daily drive-able.

Destroyed Belts:




Pully:



Bye Bye! (For now)




What I found out later was that there is supposed to be bracket holding the power steering pulley in the correct position but for some reason it wasn't there and a metal spacer was used instead. This resulted in the pulleys not being exactly lined up, there was also some movement so eventually the belt would slip off and shred.



It result was that the 318ti sat for basically a year and half. By this time I had already put 10k on the m52 swap, so it did do some good work.


Suspension:

Since this all happened more than a year ago, I am not sure when I worked some more on the suspension, but I think it was right before the belts got torn up for the third time.

I picked up some TC Kline springs, z3 rear 350lbs springs and front 450 springs. I wanted to see how it would run with a bit softer rear compared to the front.

The front springs were a bit old and rusted so I cleaned them up and repainted them:


Regular Tein spring vs shorter TC Kline spring, cleaned up and painted:


Assembled:


Mounted and ready to go:



Rear:

Comparison, left to right: OEM Z3M / Z3M H&R Sport / Tein e36 m3 / TC Kline spring #1 (type?) / TC Kline #2 (type?)



Installed:


It is interesting to note that despite the TC Kline springs are shorter than the H&R springs they are coiled tighter and the coils won't sit on itself like the H&R springs will.
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Old 06-14-2019, 07:07 AM   #38
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Just Cause! :


At this point of having the compact I have thought a lot about if I should get rid of it. I have looked at e46 m3s, multiple e36 m3s, e34 540i 6spd, e39 m5 and some e30s. Basically I don't have to keep to the 318ti platform.

There is a lot I have to do to get the compact to basic happy status: Paint, interior, radio, A/C, suspension, smog, shifter, rear bushings, etc etc.

The question is why dump all this money into the 318ti when I could easily pick up any of those above mentioned cars and have a car that will keep its value a lot more and a few of those were very clean with a lot of maintenance, it would actually be cheaper to dump the 318ti.

Just today I was a hair away from buying a fern green (I think) 1997 m3 coupe, it was clean, everything worked, and had a good amount of preventive maintenance. Basically everything I still need to do to the 318ti was good on the m3 and I could drive a fun car again.

What keeps me to the 318ti?

1. - Hatch - I used to hate how it looks, but not one of the above mentioned cars have the same trunk space when the compact has the rear seats down. It is super practical for such a small car.

2. - Small - Getting parking spots!

3. - Widen - Only e36 that can use OEM parts to widen. (e46 front and z3 6 cylinder trailing arms)

4. - Mine is already swapped and I know this 318ti inside and out.

A LOT more: but that would take forever so for now lets just mention the above.

5. - Not the same - this honestly is what it came down to. If I picked up the m3 it would just be another m3, and most of them have a tried and true style/build of OEM+, but when I was looking back at this thread and the older one I realized I never used the typical OEM+ Euro styling cues as inspiration, the 318ti over time - without me even knowing - turned into a passion build. A canvass for creativity and learning.

Buying all those different springs, experimenting on different setups etc is not about always best bang for buck or the smart financial choice. Modding cars is dumb financially. This is not a head choice, it was a heart choice. And as much as I would walk out to any of the m3/m5 cars and smile, it wouldn't be the same smile I would have if I walked out to the 318ti that I had built from stock over 8+ years now, that would be completely unique.

So why keep the 318ti instead of going to a better platform? Just Cause!
I want to and I get to smile when I drive it, so screw the smart choice!
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Last edited by anassa; 06-14-2019 at 07:12 AM.
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Old 06-14-2019, 06:33 PM   #39
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Just checked out your build, I love it! I have virtually identical black powdercoated style 5s that I just switched from my e28 to the new (to me) Montreal Blue ti (01/96). A few questions! Is that swap manual I've read about still available somewhere? How actually difficult is the m52 swap? Is it something I can do in a few weekends at the shop I work at? It would be my first engine swap if I decided to do it and it's heartbreaking seeing all the half done swapped/turbo'd BMWs on Craigslist. What's the difference between swapping an aluminum Z3 m52 as opposed to a common iron block m52? Is a full drivetrain swap (+transmission +differential) worth the extra weight, extra hassle, and extra difficulty, especially if I go FI?
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Old 06-15-2019, 06:29 AM   #40
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Beemernut View Post
Just checked out your build, I love it! I have virtually identical black powdercoated style 5s that I just switched from my e28 to the new (to me) Montreal Blue ti (01/96). A few questions! Is that swap manual I've read about still available somewhere? How actually difficult is the m52 swap? Is it something I can do in a few weekends at the shop I work at? It would be my first engine swap if I decided to do it and it's heartbreaking seeing all the half done swapped/turbo'd BMWs on Craigslist. What's the difference between swapping an aluminum Z3 m52 as opposed to a common iron block m52? Is a full drivetrain swap (+transmission +differential) worth the extra weight, extra hassle, and extra difficulty, especially if I go FI?
Hey! Thanks for the kind comments.

About the swap manual:
http://www.318ti.org/forum/showthread.php?t=12912

I do not know how difficult the swap is as I did not do it myself - but here are my costs on post #29:
http://www.318ti.org/forum/showpost....4&postcount=29

I guess it depends on your experience, confidence and mechanical ability. It does help that the 318ti engine bay is exactly the same as the other e36's so it just drops in, but you gotta do the work still.

When it comes to aluminum vs iron block: aluminum block is ~30lbs lighter. But if it overheats it can warp, isn't as strong as the iron block and doesn't deal with heat as well.


Your last choice of if it is worth the hassle, it depends on what your trying to achieve, and compared to what? Is it worth it vs? If you clarify that it is easier to find a answer.
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Old 06-15-2019, 06:40 AM   #41
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M50 Manifold + clean up!


I started the car again a few weeks ago and it ran horribly! I know that the m52 was burning a decent amount of oil and now it wasn't running good, perfect excuse for a m50 swap and some maintenance!

The stuff to do:
- PCV/CCV
- Valve cover gasket
- Spark Plugs
- Oil Change
- Move Battery to the rear
- M50 intake manifold
- Clean engine bay
- Injector o-rings/clips

Some stuff I found when I started taking things apart:

Oil in the intake manifold?!



Followed by oil traces in the intake tract!



And one of the injectors was not in all the way and was also missing a clip. That would explain why it was running poorly.



Will update as more gets done.
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Old 06-15-2019, 12:37 PM   #42
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Quote:
Originally Posted by anassa View Post
Just Cause! :


At this point of having the compact I have thought a lot about if I should get rid of it. I have looked at e46 m3s, multiple e36 m3s, e34 540i 6spd, e39 m5 and some e30s. Basically I don't have to keep to the 318ti platform.

There is a lot I have to do to get the compact to basic happy status: Paint, interior, radio, A/C, suspension, smog, shifter, rear bushings, etc etc.

The question is why dump all this money into the 318ti when I could easily pick up any of those above mentioned cars and have a car that will keep its value a lot more and a few of those were very clean with a lot of maintenance, it would actually be cheaper to dump the 318ti.

Just today I was a hair away from buying a fern green (I think) 1997 m3 coupe, it was clean, everything worked, and had a good amount of preventive maintenance. Basically everything I still need to do to the 318ti was good on the m3 and I could drive a fun car again.

What keeps me to the 318ti?

1. - Hatch - I used to hate how it looks, but not one of the above mentioned cars have the same trunk space when the compact has the rear seats down. It is super practical for such a small car.

2. - Small - Getting parking spots!

3. - Widen - Only e36 that can use OEM parts to widen. (e46 front and z3 6 cylinder trailing arms)

4. - Mine is already swapped and I know this 318ti inside and out.

A LOT more: but that would take forever so for now lets just mention the above.

5. - Not the same - this honestly is what it came down to. If I picked up the m3 it would just be another m3, and most of them have a tried and true style/build of OEM+, but when I was looking back at this thread and the older one I realized I never used the typical OEM+ Euro styling cues as inspiration, the 318ti over time - without me even knowing - turned into a passion build. A canvass for creativity and learning.

Buying all those different springs, experimenting on different setups etc is not about always best bang for buck or the smart financial choice. Modding cars is dumb financially. This is not a head choice, it was a heart choice. And as much as I would walk out to any of the m3/m5 cars and smile, it wouldn't be the same smile I would have if I walked out to the 318ti that I had built from stock over 8+ years now, that would be completely unique.

So why keep the 318ti instead of going to a better platform? Just Cause!
I want to and I get to smile when I drive it, so screw the smart choice!
I've been debating this a lot lately, my ti has a lot of miles on the chassis and I'm starting to see little things degrade and fail, there is evidence on the chassis that the track/autox stress is adding up. (Top corners of the frame when the hatch is open has cracks forming.) I love the car, it's been super versatile and I've had it over 10 years now. I wish BMW brought the 1 series hatch here!
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Old 06-16-2019, 06:25 AM   #43
anassa
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I've been debating this a lot lately, my ti has a lot of miles on the chassis and I'm starting to see little things degrade and fail, there is evidence on the chassis that the track/autox stress is adding up. (Top corners of the frame when the hatch is open has cracks forming.) I love the car, it's been super versatile and I've had it over 10 years now. I wish BMW brought the 1 series hatch here!
Ya the 1 series hatch would be great, it also seems like an updated z3 coupe. It would be cool!

I think your issue with cracks forming is a way more serious then my considerations, since that is the cars structural integrity. You have the parts already on the chassis so switching to a new one would be time consuming, but cheaper and more familiar, then going to a new platform. Or strip the interior, get it stitched welded? + simple roll cage? = good to go for 10 more years?

Even then you have got good life out of it so going for a new chassis is also perfectly valid, go explore, experiment with different chassis?
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Old 06-17-2019, 09:54 PM   #44
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I think if you have a reliable M52 engine ready to swap in with all the accessories, swap wouldn't be that hard in a couple weekends. Unfortunately, my junkyard M52 didn't have a lot of the parts and also requires machine work, so it's a pretty big job. Definitely not something I would attempt on a daily driver, but I have another car.
Anassa, about the oil in your intake, the crankcase breather hoses route gases back into the intake in order to vent pressure in the case. Check or just replace your CCV valve. They are hard to get to, and kind of cheap so I'd recommend replacing it.

Last edited by Motts; 06-17-2019 at 09:56 PM.
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Old 06-18-2019, 05:00 PM   #45
Beemernut
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I guess it depends on your experience, confidence and mechanical ability. It does help that the 318ti engine bay is exactly the same as the other e36's so it just drops in, but you gotta do the work still.

When it comes to aluminum vs iron block: aluminum block is ~30lbs lighter. But if it overheats it can warp, isn't as strong as the iron block and doesn't deal with heat as well.


Your last choice of if it is worth the hassle, it depends on what your trying to achieve, and compared to what? Is it worth it vs? If you clarify that it is easier to find a answer.
I guess a small explanation on my approach to builds is that I obsess over how I can maximize on my build on a budget. I OBSESS OVER IT. I spend hours a day educating myself and reading up on people's builds, correlating information from other forums, overthinking aesthetics to an extreme, shopping for the best deals on quality parts, etc, etc. And then I have a pretty minimal budget in real life lol.

More specifically on the aluminum m52, is saving 30-50 pounds of weight worth 1) having to look for a harder to find Z3 with a suitable engine in a junkyard, 2) dealing with potential wiring harness issues? and 3) having a slightly less robust, more heat-sensitive engine that most certainly needs timeserts and maybe a cutring gasket in the case of boost (another thing I obsess over). If I did the swap, I would hope to weigh in around 2700lbs with 25lb seats but not a gutted interior and keep the A/C (my car is a slicktop). Approaches to reaching the target weight would involve a smaller/lighter battery, single pipe lightweight exhaust, and losing the spare. Goals for this build are eventually a light-footed, streetable, dailyable, trackable car to somewhat offset my road-tripping, heavy-hitting, turbo e28 build that's happening first.

On a side note, I can't find anything on the weight difference between slicktop and sunroof-equipped TIs. Bimmerforums suggests that 33 pounds or so can be lost with a sunroof delete panel but that's not to say that there's extra reinforcement material in the roofs of the slicktop models.
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