Senior Member
BMW CCA MemberUpdate 02/12/12 - Post 763
Large Red Paperweight Begins Moving Under Own Power Again
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Update 12/02/11 - Post 603
M Coupe Stage 3.68 Build Starts Tomorrow
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As some may have guessed, I removed my supercharger setup this last winter. Don't get me wrong, I loved the setup and having 380whp on demand that was predictable and manageable. Over time, it became "normal" to me.
Here's the last dyno of my supercharger setup:
(The blue lines are mine.)
After a hard trip to Pittsburgh and back, the stock head gasket couldn't hold the pressure any more. My oil decided that it liked coolant, and my coolant didn't mind mingling with oil. They forgot to converse with me about this marriage. The deed was done; 12 psi with a supercharger setup will destroy your stock headgasket. I accomplished it in, what my records show, only 3,152 miles.
Obviously, it was time to step up my game and I made the decision to start the turbo build late November 2010. I conveniently told my wife about this decision while we were on our Thanksgiving cruise. I paid dearly as apparently she REALLY likes jewelry.
Because I am not stupid and wanted the BEST setup that fit my needs, I called TRM and talked with Matt Barnard. I'm going to put the next part in bold just so there's no excuse for anyone not to see it:
IF YOU ARE THINKING ABOUT GOING TURBO - DON'T BE STUPID - CALL TRM NOW!
THE RACER'S MARKET
http://www.racersmarket.net/
770-904-5121
Phew, I'm glad I got that off my chest. Anyhow ...
Over the next three months, I plotted, planned and executed an awesome turbo setup (I'm sure I'm forgetting things and I'll add as I remember them):
.140 MLS Head Gasket
ARP2000 Studs
SPA Manifold
SPA 7000M Turbo
Tial MVS Wastegate (.3 Bar / .5 Bar Spring)
Custom Wastegate Piping, Vented To Atmosphere
3" Turbo Back Custom Exhaust Into Dual Magnaflows
2.5" Turbo To Intercooler Piping
Treadstone Performance 3" Core Intercooler
3" Intercooler To Throttle Body Charge Piping
Synchronic Blow Off Valve
HKS EVC VI Boost Controller
Innovate Motorsports Wideband
TRM Tuning
(plus much more stuff from the supercharger installation)
Oh, what a pain in the ass the MZ3 chassis is. Nothing fits, I mean NOTHING fits. But we got it to fit. It took more money and patience than I thought I had.
It was a great day when it fired up again. And let me say that it fired right up, no problems, no guesswork. Perfect!
After working some minor issues, I was able to get to the dyno. Mind you, I am a firm believer that dynojets give bullshit, overinflated numbers. This is my opinion. From here on out, I'm only going to be using a DynoDynamics. Here comes another shameless plug:
IF YOU NEED TO USE A DYNO IN THE MD, VA, DC AREA - GO TO YORK AUTOMOTIVE!
YORK AUTOMOTIVE
410-795-7840
Not only has Ed York (owner) been extremely helpful with dyno time, he also does DAMN good head work. You'll get so much more for so much less money. I don't quote prices, but if you need an awesome flowing head, call him pronto.
The first time I was able to get on the dyno, we had good results until the vacuum line feeding the boost controller decided it be friends with the exhaust manifold and melted. The first session (abruptly shortened) achieved these results:
.3 Bar Spring w/ Boost Creep To .9 Bar:
427whp @ 6800 / 332.01wtq @ 6600
.3 Bar Spring w/ Boost Creep To .9 Bar, Controller Set To .6 Bar:
408whp @ 6800 / 328.51wtq @ 4400
Now, please remember that this is NOT a dynojet. DynoJet numbers typically are 10%+ greater.
A few weeks go by and I'm able to reroute all the lines, etc. This brings me to last Friday.
As I'm loading my car into my trailer, I just happen to look into my exhaust (light is just right). Damn, is that something stuck in the right exhaust? Yep, it sure is. My ENTIRE right rear exhaust is clogged with my old, melted cat. (When the old headgasket blew, burning the coolant melted my vibrant cat. We thought we got it all out. Well, I guess we didn't!) I made those previous numbers with only a half flowing exhaust. A single 2.5" pipe.
After a super fat boy breakfast on Saturday morning, we were able to get the car on the dyno.
The first run was absolutely hilarious and completely useless. The car walked and spun so hard on the dyno that the readings were absolute junk. It's always a good time watching Ed York's reaction when he has a car with torque!
The second run comes around and the magic starts. We're only going to run to 6500 or so to make sure everything is working. No boost controller, .5 bar spring. We end up running to 6200 rpm and are amazed at the results. First, it's clear the exhaust was blocked before as spool is increased and boost creep is everywhere. The dyno sheet shows 443whp @ 6200 / 375.66wtq @ 6200. Mind you that with my s/c setup (which was pretty aggressive), the best I ever put down was ~360whp and ~315wtq. She was making 23% more horsepower at 6200 that I was making at redline before. Absolutely nuts!
... that's the end of the good news ...
Third run, something is wrong, very wrong. It's not building boost nor is the engine running well, two pops (more like BB's on a tin can) and it dies. Engine is completely locked up. Didn't get above 3,500 rpms before it happened.
Well damn, that sucks. But hey, shit happens and you have to deal with it!!!
I'm thankful that it didn't happen on the street. Ed (dyno operator) was in awe. His comment was "they are usually a bit more dramatic when they go". It wasn't detonation one bit, he would have heard it (and I pulled the plugs and they looked fine). Something in the bottom end let go. I don't know what it is yet ... Let me say that I'm super thankful again that it didn't happen on the street, not more than a couple of hours before I was tooling around with the power. It might have already been broke before we put it on the dyno the first time.
So, that is what it is. The BMW gods probably hate me now as I've destroyed an S52 with less than 50k miles on it. It's had a VERY hard life. Not only was it both supercharged and turbocharged, there's clear evidence that the previous owner used it as a track-rat. My car has more motorsport in it than 99% of the ///M cars sold.
... and now the good news ...
I'm building a new engine - this time it will hold whatever I throw at it (within reason of course).
I'm going to use this thread to document "journal style" what happens over the next few months as I breathe life back into Mindy.
Last edited by mcoupemindy; 02-16-2012 at 08:31 AM.
ßMW///MµrÐêr§þðr†
A moment of silence.
Last edited by milKt; 03-28-2011 at 03:25 PM.
I <3 Raisins
in! good stuff man!
BMWCCA Member 376052RIP Pandashizzle
Senior Member
BMW CCA MemberSaturday, March 26, 2011
Engine decides that it would like to bind. It's done. The starter won't even turn it over.
It was running fantastic prior, but I had suspicions that it was making too much noise on the bottom end for my liking. Thinking back, this started when I had the supercharger on the car. The noise came and went. It wasn't much, just a little bit of noise (like valve tick, but on the bottom end).
Car had an excellent dyno run before calling it quits. 443whp / 375.66wtq @ 6200.
Renamed my enclosed trailer the "Car Coffin".
Member
Sounds like this is going to be very bad ass. Can't wait to see more pics (i love pics).
Also, I feel You pain... a compression/leak down test on My yet to be driven (hard) car shows bent valves out the wazoo. Sucks but it is what it is.
What bottom end components are You going to use? I too am tossing around the idea of pistons/rods now.
"If you can leave black marks from the time you exit a corner till the time you brake for the next turn, then you have enough horsepower." --Mark Donohue
Senior Member
BMW CCA MemberSunday, March 27, 2011
Eager to do something, I decide to head out to my enclosed trailer (mind you it's below freezing outside) and see if it's something "stupid" wrong. It's not. The engine did not unbind overnight. Oh well, it was worth a try.
I removed the coil packs, valve cover, and spark plugs. Spark plugs look completely normal - good news. My untrained eye sees nothing wrong on the top end. Using wrenches, I confirm there is movement between the two cams (VANOS) but I can't get anything out of trying to spin the exhaust cam. It's bound somewhere on the bottom end.
Later in the afternoon, I headed over to a guys house that conveniently has a 328i parts car for sale. After looking at the car and crunching the numbers, I make an offer and we come to a deal. I'm supposed to go on Friday to trailer it home. Notice that it's a 328i - that might give you a bit of information on how I plan to build the engine. I plan on using the engine and transmission (for spare); I have a friend who is going to agent parting the rest of the car for me. If you need random stuff for an e36, I'll have it shortly.
Senior Member
BMW CCA MemberThree pictures taken on the way to the dyno (thanks to Mark - mscire2 here).
Senior Member
BMW CCA MemberIt is only silent around my neighborhood because the car isn't running! Everyone has asked, "are you upset"? And the answer is, HELL NO, I enjoyed every minute driving behind that engine. And I can't wait to build it stronger.Originally Posted by milKt
A moment of silence.
Thanks man. I'll try to keep this thread informative but entertaining too.
It's looking like a 2.8 block bored to 85 mm with an S52 crank, 8.5:1 compression.
Senior Member
sorry to hear the bad news...but i usually like to think of shit that breaks as an excuse to upgrade...actually i like to upgrade before shit breaks...that tends to be my problem.
what's the timeframe on getting completed?
and have you started to disassemble to pinpoint mode of failure?
Member
great positive attitude...subscribed for the journey
Member
well damn man!! I was going to send Mark a text today to see what you put down, not good news at all.
You have however beat the living shit out of that motor from day 1 so i'm not shocked at all lol..
build it stronger, build it better
Senior Member
BMW CCA MemberVideo of the car walking on the dyno ... love Ed York's expression (in car) after calling it quits!
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EvQqYXOmXEk[/ame]
Last edited by mcoupemindy; 03-28-2011 at 06:20 PM.
Member
Kinda sounds like what happened to my s52 set up. Check behind the alternator to see if there is a rod taking a look at the outside world.
Senior Member
Agreed.
In the words of daft punk.
Work it harder, make it better
Do it faster, makes us stronger
Sent from my iPhone using BF.com
Senior Member
BMW CCA MemberLast dyno run before the engine decided to give up:
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDaGjvz3wXw[/ame]
Senior Member
BMW CCA MemberYep, it's a big opportunity to upgrade. I planned from the beginning to build a motor, just didn't plan on doing it this quick.
Pistons are 6 weeks out at this point. I'm going to say that it will probably take me 12-14 weeks from this point to get it back running.
At the end of the day, there's nothing that can't be fixed. It will definitely be a journey.great positive attitude...subscribed for the journey
You got it man. It's had alot of fun. In it's 49,600 miles, it has done more work than most cars that end up in junkyards.
LOL - if that's the case, I'm going to clean, paint the block, and make a table for my office.
Coupe Cartel Forever!
BMW CCA Member
Wow lots of smoke.... and you guys gotta strap her down better next time, no car should buck that much!
~Ken~ '99 M coupe THE "original" TT Stage 3 - HTA3586R; 701 whp 672 wtq @ 26.5 psi ; NeverSell - CoupeCartel
Senior Member
BMW CCA MemberThat was strapped down extremely tight when there was 500#+ of weight in the hatch. Torque is a mofo. This setup hits and maintains harder than another other BMW setup I've been in.
Professional nothing-doer
funny stuff
obd2?
Last edited by black bnr32; 03-28-2011 at 07:42 PM.
Member
Okay so back to the 12psi supercharger that you had...who did your tuning and did you do any track days with the blower at 12psi? Just curious as to how long my HG is going to last since I am about to run 12psi in my S52.
2000 M-Coupe "CLWNSHU" 18x8.5/18x10 Rondell 21
Flipped hats, clear corners, magnaflows, AA HKS Stage 2 SC kit, lots more
That one RS'd Coupe
BMW CCA Member
Just another one of the many evolutions Mindy has been through. Cant wait till we start tearing down and rebuilding her better and stronger than ever.
License Revoked
Nice numbers man. I think your misinformed about dynojet percentage. I think you meant a Dyno mustang.
Member
Sorry to hear it but you are right, it's just an opportunity to build a stronger engine.
.-=[ Kenny ]=-. See the BFc Drag Racing Standings List for BMW street cars. Watch my drag racing movies on YouTube. Some info on
BMW turbo street car Drag Racing 101
Member
Im going to go ahead and disagree about trm but it looks like your well on your way to building a top notch set up.
I wish you good luck for the future and hopefully you can get your car to a place where all you do is change oil and beat the Fuck out of it.
Have you ever thought of using a Dynapack?
ßMW///MµrÐêr§þðr†
The Moment of Silence has ended.
I'm in the same boat,
but the hope for newer/better doesn't take away the sadness of the loss.
Its "innocence" is gone. Chapter next...
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