325ti is Nice, but a 332ti....... (campaiar swap #2)

[Watchmyradical]

I was planning on doing my exhaust set up the same way so can i get a little bit more info on it and pics would be nice. what was the Y section you used?

[campaiar]

The exhaust was pretty simple. Factory M3 Header, followed by a factory M3 ODBII midpipe. The ODBII midpipe is a true dual unit from start to finish.




I cut the midpipe off just after the rear hanger and welded a Dual 2" inlet to 2.5" outlet y-pipe from Jegs. (Clamps were temporary)




The catback is a single 318 unit. 96Cali sourced this part for me and his parts guy advertised it as a stock TI unit, but its not. Its part number matches an E36 318i. Anyones stock unit look like this? Not sure how it would fit since it really long, so I cut it to fit. (who needs a resonator right?)



In comparing the unit to the stock TI unit I have, the muffler is much larger as well as the pipe diameter, but its still a single pipe unit which is perfect for our bumper. At the angle you need to weld it up to the y-pipe, its a great fit.




A couple well placed dents in the muffler skin, and custom hangers welded up, and it clears everything perfectly and looks perfectly stock. Chrome tip sold separately.

[Watchmyradical]

i was wondering how hard it would be to use the duals and Y pipe like you did then using my after market Ti exhaust without cutting the Ti exhaust.

[autoxerwgn]

I'm in trouble now. After reading everything, I'm itching like something fierce to get this swap done! I never knew until reading this that the stock trans will bolt up and work with the S52 block and clutch. I wouldn't plan on keeping things that way forever but it definitely makes things easier to get the car back on the road quickly. It really seems like the hardest part is getting the exhaust fabbed up. I too am wondering how the M3 center section would mate up with a 318ti muffler section using the 2-to-1 adapter. My car has a Dinan muffler on it now, which looks just like the Dinan mufflers that are used on M Roadsters. The pipe leading into the muffler looks like it has some sort of reducer on it to make it the correct size to slide over the tiny stock exhaust pipe. I wonder how much work it would take to slice the reducer off and fab up a section of pipe to hook everything together.

[campaiar]

The exhaust was definitely the most annoying part, but only because I don't have access to a MIG welder. I had a local guy weld up what I brought him. Luckly the setup I had didn't require any fab outside of cutting the sections down and the muffler hangers.

Everything else is just a matter of installation. No fab required.

[96cali]

Anthony I had no idea that was not the right part. Jeezuz, I expect a BMW dealer parts manger to know the difference. I kinda feel like an ass for taking him at his word...

[campaiar]

I had a feeling it was the wrong part the moment I saw it, but I wasn't really familiar with an ODBII ti at the time. All of the tis have the oval style muffler I believe.

To be honest, the 318i is the best solution in my mind. Its OEM. Its brand new (I'm sure I would have bought a used something for the same price had this not come along). Its a single pipe discharge that fits perfectly in the bumper. They make a OEM chrome tip that is perfectly fitted. The piping is much larger in diameter than the stock ti pipe. And once cut down, it fits perfectly in the y-pipe.

I'd recommend the solution to anyone. Just a great, near factory, completely stainless single outlet exhaust for less than $400.

[campaiar]

In a few hours on Saturday, I finally pulled the stock small case 3.45 open diff and half shafts.

In their place, I installed a 3.15 LSD large case diff with beefy E30 half shafts. Needless to say its a little better. First gear actually has a purpose now, and the highway revs are low enough to be acceptable (3K = 70mph).

The 3.15 was out of a stock Z3.

One important thing to note (I may throw this in its own thread) is that some time between 1995 and 1998, BMW made a great modification to the hatch floor support. When I did a similar install on the 1995, the angle grinder was involved to modify the hatch floor support to create enough room for the larger diff case.

On the 1998, the support was pre-shapped to accept the unit. I couldn't believe it when I was under there.

[thesk8nmidget]

hmm very good to know!

while you have both the ti's you should take pictures of both to compare.

[96cali]

Originally Posted by campaiar

...some time between 1995 and 1998, BMW made a great modification to the hatch floor support. When I did a similar install on the 1995, the angle grinder was involved to modify the hatch floor support to create enough room for the larger diff case.

On the 1998, the support was pre-shapped to accept the unit. I couldn't believe it when I was under there.

That would explain some of the differences between peoples experiences mounting the diffs.

Did you get the M3 midpipe and cats with the engine? How much and how many miles?

[campaiar]

Cats were from the same car and came in the deal 97k on everything from that car. Just over 99k now.

[snuggz]

I really wish I had shaved/painted my bay when I did my swap...

Car looks fantastic; nice work!