My custom CIS old skool turbo project (56k death)

[jrcook320]

Hey guys, I've been working on a custom turbo setup for my '81 320i and things are nearing completion. I've done all the design and fabrication required so it's taken a long time. Here are some brief specs:

Motor:
2.0L stroker with stock cast flat top pistons, 8:1 CR
TEP lightened flywheel
I-J crank scraper
Ported & polished head, 280 cam (may be a little big for FI, we'll see)
65mm E12 throttle body

Turbo setup:
Dinan manifold
Garrett T25, 60 trim .80 AR, internal gate (from a S13 nissan silvia)
ebay 12" FMIC
Hallman pro MBC
DSM blow off valve
divorced port dump pipe
2.5" straight through exaust with side exit


I'm hoping to be able to supply enough fuel to run 10-12 psi and get up around 220 hp. Pics:

[jrcook320]

[jrcook320]

[jrcook320]

[card counter]

Great job, very clean ride

[ReiheSechs]

Wow, looks like that engine (and the bay that it is in) just left the factory. Great job. Does it run yet?

[jrcook320]

Thanks. It doesn't run yet, I'm about a week away from crankin her over and tuning things in.

[el bob]

Wow!!!! You obviously have a ton of hours in this project and it is definitely something to be proud of. Time for me to read up on this CIS injection stuff because that just looks cool. I immediately thought of direction injection when I first read the title and my jaw was about to drop. It dropped anyway with the easily apparent worksmanship displayed in the pics, so no luck there. Nice work!

[jszy25]

that is beautiful......everything looks brand new.

[m3jasper]

congrats...the work looks great!!! What are you expecting power-wise?

[jrcook320]

Thanks guys.

I should be able to get around 200-220 at the fly. The stock 1.8L m10 had 101hp. The car wieghs about 2300-2400 lbs, with the 3.91 LSD it should be pretty nasty. I'm hoping to have traction problems in 1st and 2nd, but we'll see.

[jjgbmw323]

nice work

[Boosted]

I must say that is some nice lookin' work man! CLEAN is the key there, and it doesn't look like your were skimpy on any fabrication. The T25 should supply enough boost for your setup, the great thing about this turbo is it spools up quite fast. (After owning many DSM's, I've learned a lot about turbos heheh).

[Bimmer14PA]

Wow.. looks really nice..
-CHris

[gol10dr1]

sick car dude! please keep us updated. i want to make the e21 platform my next project but i am up in the air on what motor to use.

[e36'n]

Sweet project man!

Where does your oil return drain into, I can't really tell. Also, that cam is WAY too large to use with a turbo setup imo.

[DCR62]

Excellent work.

[e34m535t]

Amazing attention to detail.

Ive got a 320i im gonna turbo, but I was gonna switch to fuel injection.

How are you going to tune the fuel for boost? Is it reliable? It sure would be less work not going with efi.

Again, your setup looks amazing.

[jrcook320]

Thanks for all the compliments guys. This has been a long project so I'm excited to get this thing back on the road. I'll give an update after I get things get tuned in.

Sweet project man!

Where does your oil return drain into, I can't really tell. Also, that cam is WAY too large to use with a turbo setup imo.

I drilled and tapped a hole in the side of the block, the just threaded in a 1/2" npt pipe fitting. That was one of the most nerve wracking steps in the whole project. I guess we'll see about the cam, I already had it in the motor so I left it in to see how she runs. Stock was around 264 I ran all my numbers through desktop dyno and it seemed to like my cam (including duration and lobe seperation angles) for a turbo. If it's too big i'll swap in a turbo grind from Top End Performance, but how will I be able to tell? Or will I just be giving up power blowing right through the motor? One interesting fact: There are guys in Norway or Denmark with turbo M10 e21's that are running over 300* cams and pushing almost 400hp which is completely counterintuitive. Not sure if that translates to a low boost application like mine or not.

Amazing attention to detail.

Ive got a 320i im gonna turbo, but I was gonna switch to fuel injection.

How are you going to tune the fuel for boost? Is it reliable? It sure would be less work not going with efi.

Thanks man. K-jet is pretty easy to tune if you have the right book (How to tune and modify Bosch fuel injection by Ben Watson) and a pressure gage. It would be a good idea to use an air flow meter and fuel distributor from another 4 cylinder car because the bowl shape of the air flow meter will have a better matched fuel curve for the application. The easiest to find is from a Volvo 240 turbo. I'm using a fuel distributor from a Volvo 240 but I mated it to a Porshe 924 turbo air flow meter since it's downdraft rather than updraft. If you keep the AFM in the stock location, or at least mounted where for '77 to '79 320is are it will save you a BIG headache for fuel lines. The 1.8L AFM sensor plate is only 60mm, but the 2.0L cars and the turbo sensor plates are 80mm, so swapping AFM's is a definate must, IMO.

For boost enrichment, all you need is a warm up regulator from another cis turbo car. I'm using one from an Audi 5000s. It basically has a boost port and a secondary spring on a diaphram to reduce control pressure at boost (which in turn enriches the mixture). Also, if you're going to be swapping fuel system parts around you'd probably need to tune the WUR itself so your cold and warm control pressures are correct. I have a few articles on how to do it, plus a few additions of my own on how to make it externally adjustable.

Here's a diagram i drew up of a standard non turbo WUR:


And a pic of my modified turbo WUR:


For ignition retard I'm using a dual port vacuum/boost retard canister on the distributor which will retard timing at boost. To help tune in ignition I'm going to install a stand alone knock sensor that will give me a warning light if I have knock. For now I'm using a narrow band O2 meter to help get the mixture in, but will eventually go wideband.

I'm not sure how reliable things will be, but it won't be near as good as programmable EFI, the control just isn't there. I just wanted to do something that I haven't seen anyone do yet.

[acs540i]

holy titty thats pretty.....

[jrcook320]

Here's some pics of the mostly finished engine:










The rest of the exhaust is fabbed up and it really quieted the motor down. The turbo whistles a LOT now too which is cool (I love that sound!!).







This thing pulls HARD, especially in 1, 2 and 3. The turbo spools at 3k, the rear squats about 2" and the nose lifts about 2".

Last weekend I got things running up around 10 psi and this thing is fast (for an E21, anyway). I raced my buddies IROC last weekend which is a low 13 second car. From a roll at 40 mph in 3rd gear I either pull away from him or we're dead even. From a stand still we both have traction problems in 1 and 2, when he grabs second he pulls a car length on me, then we're pretty much dead even from there till about 110 mph. If I could hook this thing up (IRS is not for drag racing), we estimated I could be running a high 13 in the quarter mile. Not bad at all...

When pulling through 2nd and 3rd gear the car squats so hard that if there is even a minor dip in the road the exhaust drags. My buddies said I was throwing sparks at night.

[nobrakese36]

i just wet myself!!

[MikeE36]

Video!!!!!


Amazing work, beautiful.

[resisTm3]

awesome work man, very well done

[MrBlonde]

Good job, great to follow the photo progress.