M5 MSII Engine Setup

[M5W]

Here are a couple shots of my engine bay. Got the car up and running for the past two months and finally got around to taking pics.





So you can see the intake horn







The plate is a little rough right now, had to cut the shape on a bansaw. Using it as a ground point for my chassis ground and spark plug wire grounds.

[Mr Project]

Wow...congrats. I don't think I've seen MS on an S38 before. What was your reason for the conversion?

[attack eagle]

whats with all the goofy wires running everywhere
(don't say differential in voltage on a low voltage dc circuit either,or more power either, becasue that is bullsh-- internet rumour stuff from a certain honda race car)

get rid of that ricer inspired goof crap and you'll have one clean engine bay.

[m60b30530i]

thats

[M5W]

My reason? My Motronic Ecu fried its processor chip. And since the only way to fix it was to buy a used ecu, bmw/bosch dosnt have spare chipsets, i didnt wanna dump money on a used ecu that could fry itself either. So i got in contact with Ryan Nimick and he built me a kick ass setup. Running alpha-n and loving it. Just got back from a trip , cleveland ohio to harrisionburg virgina, no problems. Been daily driving the car and road tuning. feels pretty good. Took a gto, the 350 hp model manual, off a dig last weekend. Not to shabby.

The thick gauge wires coming off the spark plug wires is absolutely necessary, the other wires i just did because i had to add some extra wiring to my ecu with the megasquirt and also because i wanted good grounds for future projects. im not a fan of ricer crap, but i will vote for function over looks. And since i drive the car and have tested the sensor responses, i can say its worth it to me. Its not more power, its just a smoother running engine that responds noticeably better.

[M5W]

Oh ya, those gm coils are mounted to the fire wall because im running wasted spark. Love it, much more adjustability and alot more forgiving when initially tuning to get the spark right.

(burnt out my cap and rotor , which were brand new, by running to much dwell)

I have my maps and MSQ for anyone who may need them. They are only good for the S38 motor thou.

[93FIM5]

Hum what did this cost?

[M5W]

give yourself around 700 for the hardware. That includes the ecu, and an innovative wideband. There is a couple little things i made myself on a bridgeport, like the tps bracket to mount the tps from an e36. I needed to do this since i run alpha-n. If you run map you could do without it. Also about 6 feet of .125 ID tubing. I have a bunch left over if someone needs some. The tps bracket i could prob make up again, for like 40 bucks. The gm coils are an easy buy, got em off ebay for 55 bucks i think. Just have to rewire their mounting bracket. Its not alot of modifying as much as it is wiring. Not modifying the stock wiring, just adding some new ones. It was fun for me but im into this stuff. If you dont have patience i wouldnt do this.

[uk525td]

awesome
i dont get the massive earth leads running everywhere? isnt 120kg of aluminium a good enough conductor? am i missing something?
How come Alpha-N and not speed density? is an m5 really that lumpy??

Dyno it :P

[5mall5nail5]

Yeah bro you definitely don't need to tr and extend the ground up to the valve cover because you're not running a COP coil! No reason for that and it looks sloppy.

Clean up you wiring and start tuning it. i ran my GM coil packs at about 2.8 - 3.0 ms dwell time just FYI.

[5mall5nail5]

ps keep your eyes on another New Sweden project featuring an E30 M3, an S38, and a PT76GTS - I'll be working on it, its going to be running MS2 Extra

[M5W]

The three large earth wires coming from the spark plug wires are needed since the nology wires ground leads dont work as well when grounded to the head alone. I know it sounds stupid, but it loses a lot of top end without the grounds to the wires. Once i grounded them, it pulls alot harder up top. Trust me, those i need.

[uk525td]

not getting it
cant see where the other end of the grounds go but i assume it is being bolted down via a bolt which goes directly into the head? if this were the case then all you would need to do is check your main engine ground...
if this wasnt the case then you could run a very short ground to the ...
oh i see
those studs come out of the rocker cover? which in turn is probably insulated from the head by a gasket...
in which case put a eyelet onto the bare metal directly underneath a rocker cover fastener and connect the other end to somewhere on the head, or even better, hte block, it oculd be done far more discretely.
then ground the leads to the plugs on the nuts i can see either side of the plugs?!??!
much tidier

[attack eagle]

Originally Posted by M5W

The three large earth wires coming from the spark plug wires are needed since the nology wires ground leads dont work as well when grounded to the head alone. I know it sounds stupid, but it loses a lot of top end without the grounds to the wires. Once i grounded them, it pulls alot harder up top. Trust me, those i need.

that's because those nology wires affect your dwell time because of the capacitance, and they retard timing at higher rpms, as well as reduce spark after they start to break down. you could make a set with a capacitor tied to the discharge lead and grounded in a plain set of wires. also at least then you'd be able to change out the capacitors instead of junking the wires every couple of years...
http://iwcweb.com/eclipse/html/warning.html
http://rxreviews.wordpress.com/2007/...ires-on-the-8/


if you went to normal wires you would get better spark and timing, you are trying to fix a problem inherent with those wires. your grounding issues indicate that the nology wires are already breaking down, and are already due for replacement... and you are also risking issues with the coil or coilpacks.
If you really think they are passing 200 amps of current to justify 4ga wire, you are sorely mistaken. At worst a daisy chained 20 ga would be enough if you were concerned about poor ground.

UK:
vc grounded to head via hold down bolts, head grounded to block via bolts, block grounded to alternator. alternator is source of power.

[screwbiedoo15]

Originally Posted by 5mall5nail5

ps keep your eyes on another New Sweden project featuring an E30 M3, an S38, and a PT76GTS - I'll be working on it, its going to be running MS2 Extra

Is that the same car with the corvette/ viper rear end or is this another e30?

[5mall5nail5]

Originally Posted by screwbiedoo15

Is that the same car with the corvette/ viper rear end or is this another e30?

Its another E30 Gotta go work on it tomorrow - its an E30 M3, the corvette/viper E30 is a 325is was up working on that today

[Goathumper]

Hey Will! Haven't heard form you in a while. I just got back home and finally have a steady internet connection.

Good to see your getting things done with the car. How is the idle valve treating you?

[M5W]

Hey Ryan, you have a good trip ? Ya the idle is steady at 65-67 kpa but its still a bit high. But i got it well enough to drive daily so im pumped. Took it on a long road trip and everything worked perfect, so your hardware is awesome. Just picked up my inline fuel pump this weekend, and i'm gunna be trying those corvette calipers soon to.

[M5W]

Got my new wires in and cleaned up the engine bay some. New pics from today.

[Hari]

Can't wait to see the dyno numbers once it's tuned!

[M5W]

Working on my ignition map now. Hopefully gunna get it dynoed at the end of this month or sometime in september

[ToppedOut525i]

how does the ms setup make more power than a normal m5 setup? tune it? its not turbo'd.. sorry if this is newbish but i dont get it

[clevertd]

Tuned to the lowest common denominator from the factory, you can get more out of the engine with custom tuning, whether it be standalone or the OEM system.

[M5W]

With standalone you can tune your ignition and fuel to compensate for your mods to make the most power. You could have someone tune it for you on the stock dme, but that would cost hundreds of dollars and not as much window for adjustment. you can do alot with the stock dme, but you can do more with Megasquirt.

[5271990]

Slightly off topic but did the OEM ECU have an alpha N map built in?

I know the Euro E36 had one so you can run the car (abeit rich) with the MAF unplugged.


Does your gauge cluster and everything work, some MS set ups dont get it working.