BMW E36 V8 Swap: A Patton'd Work-Around

"MikaelVroom" (mikaelvroom) 06/27/2016 at 09:20 • Filed to: None

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The E36 M3: A masterpiece of engineering that could only have been created by the kind of mind able to focus on a singular purpose to the exclusion of all other consequences. Unfortunately, the example that I found had suffered unfathomable, intentional abuse at the hands of a ruthless tyrant that brought the engine to its knees faster than a central European country in September. So as usual, it was the Americans to the rescue with a crude but incredibly powerful, highly effective solution. More than midway though the project, I was tying up loose ends and approaching the day I could finally fire up the car and drive it. A sort of Drive Day, if you will. D-Day for short.

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E36 V8 Swap Part : Mounting the Engine –or- “Wednesday Night”

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You’ve probably figured out by now that I’m the type of person that, if I want something done right, I do it myself (my wife sees both pros and cons of this stance). So when it comes to engine management, why would I let someone else fiddle with my settings? Why should every change I make to the engine setup necessitate visiting a dyno shop for a retune or emailing some faceless entity on the internet so they can make a guess and possibly even charge me for the pleasure?

Absolutely I will be doing this myself. But what should a virile man-about-town with little sense and even less spare cash do for an ECU? Well, Megasquirt of course.

But what makes the Megasquirt so cheap? Well, a couple of things. First, it’s available as a DIY kit, meaning that if you dare, it shows up at your doorstep as a circuit board and a bunch of drug dealer baggies of electrical components. That alone saves about $180 over the fully assembled version of the kit. However, one hundred percent of my soldering experience was primarily poorly cold-soldering wires together while installing car stereos, so I can’t imagine how assembling legitimate electronic components together in an application on which my life literally depends could go wrong. At all.

Secondly, Megasquirt, in general, takes some a Freaking Lot of research, configuration, and customization, especially in generic kit form. This holds true for assembly, installation, and configuration. If you think the sexiest Friday night imaginable involves spending three hours reading about an enhanced wall-wetting-based acceleration enrichment algorithm, three more hours trying to implement it, and then ending up with a worse-running engine, then not only is Megasquirt perfect for you, but I may want to marry you.

So being the savvy, cost-conscious (read: cheap-ass) consumer I am, that’s the direction I went. I bought a Megasquirt MS3 kit, an MS3X expansion card, and pre-made 10' wiring looms, all to the tune of about $800, noting that $160 of that was the premade, labeled wiring looms which were a splurge. As far as I can tell, that’s about half the cost of any other aftermarket ECU solution, and not out of the ballpark of buying some kind of tuning device for a factory ECU and paying for a tuner to do his dirty business, but without gaining all of the additional features offered by an aftermarket ECU.

Given that my soldering iron finesse could be summed up by that time I left my Radio Shack soldering iron plugged into the wall overnight and my roommate’s dog burned her nose on it sniffing the tip the next morning, I knew I would be out of my league trying to jump right into soldering an entire ECU. So I also purchased the two “JimStim” stimulator test kits (one for the Megasquirt, one for the MS3X expansion board); the stimulator is used to generate input signals that simulate signals from a crankshaft, camshaft, coolant temperature sensor, wideband O2, and more to test out the ECU kit’s circuits once assembled. As an added bonus, assembling the stimulator kits is good soldering practice on something that’s not as “mission critical” as the actual ECU.

So I picked up the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! (are you sensing a pattern of potentially destructive behavior here?) and set up a little soldering station in the kitchen.

Nothing like spewing lead vapors and debris all over food prep areas.

With that, I started in on the two stim boards.

With those under my belt, I started in on the ECU’s main board.

And once the board was completed, it was time to test and make sure all of the voltages were where they were supposed to be and that all of the smoke stayed in before inserting the CPU card.

No smoke!

After passing that test, I went ahead and installed the CPU card and MS3X expansion card, then loaded the firmware.

And tested communication with the PC and Android apps:

Next was wiring the Megasquirt up to the real engine. I lopped off the engine’s original harness connectors, printed off a wiring diagram, and got to labeling.

I pulled out all of the wires I no longer needed - anything transmission or emissions related was gone, as was plenty of other fluff.

With only the essentials remaining, I paired up the engine’s wires to their counterparts on the Megasquirt harnesses.

I found a !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! on DIYAutoTune’s site. It was set up on a 1993 Mustang with a stock short block, GT-40P Explorer heads, and an Edelbrock intake. That would pair nicely with my Explorer engine so I made the necessary adjustments to account for my injector size (36lb. vs. stock 19lb.) and I modified the ignition configuration to use my Explorer cam sensor and crank wheel to drive the LS coils sequentially.

With everything wired up and configured, I was able to power up the engine’s circuits and the Megasquirt via a spare battery and calibrate the intake air temp sensor, coolant temp sensor, and throttle position sensor. After that, I was able to use the starter to turn the engine over at cranking speed and confirm functional crank and cam sensors. Except that the test didn’t confirm a functional cam sensor. So I pulled the sensor off and found this:

Munched.

I was able to find a replacement sensor and “camshaft synchronizer” (what would normally be the drive shaft for the distributor) at a local parts store in stock for $36. Score another point for the domestic engine.

With that in place and the engine in the car, it was time to integrate the Ford engine with the BMW chassis; on the cusp of the pivotal moment in any engine installation, but especially one where the engine was never meant to be there. But was the slender German body ready for what the brutish American engine had in store for it? TUNE IN NEXT TIME.

Edit - I do hope you like the new post title, Mr. Vroom.

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Catch my build thread here on Oppo with a new installment each Monday, or if you like spoilers check out !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! for the latest updates. Twitter me !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , Instagram me !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . I think we can all agree after last week’s post that me not making any “MegaSquirt” jokes is quite a feat.

Needmoargarage > MikaelVroom 06/27/2016 at 09:25

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I have to admit I cheated. I went to your blog and binge-read everything about this project.

Great writing, awesome project!

Demon-Xanth knows how to operate a street. > MikaelVroom 06/27/2016 at 09:57

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Most of the soldering doesn’t look too bad, especially on the green board. Blue board looks like a number might not have fully flowed. And clean off that flux! Alcohol works well .

(Yes, I am fully qualified to say that.)

HONDAD > MikaelVroom 06/27/2016 at 10:21

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I stand in awe of your wizardry. Just looking at those circuit boards and schematic was almost too much for me. Way to DIY! Incredible.

MikaelVroom > Demon-Xanth knows how to operate a street. 06/27/2016 at 10:24

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“Doesn’t look too bad” is about as good as I could hope for! I did take some rubbing alcohol to the boards after reading more about removing flux. Something about how the acidity eventually eats boards?

MikaelVroom > HONDAD 06/27/2016 at 10:25

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It was all a mystery to me also until I dove right in and tried it for myself. Now it’s still a mystery and also my life is at risk.

Demon-Xanth knows how to operate a street. > MikaelVroom 06/27/2016 at 10:30

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Flux is corrosive and basically works by eating a tiny bit of metal away and leaving fresh unoxidized metal to work with while whisking the impurities away with it. What’s leftover is basically slag.

Ezn > MikaelVroom 06/27/2016 at 10:32

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You may want to rethink using the term “Final Solution” in a headline about a car from Bavaria.

Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom > MikaelVroom 06/27/2016 at 10:32

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I congratulated myself for figuring out where to plug my iPod into my car radio (the Aux jack) but this is some Next Level type shit. Bravo, sir.

MikaelVroom > Ezn 06/27/2016 at 10:34

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Did you read the first paragraph? It gets worse.

Demon-Xanth knows how to operate a street. > MikaelVroom 06/27/2016 at 10:34

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Oh, and don’t worry about going back and redoing stuff to just make it pretty. a lot of people fall into that trap. Each heat and cool cycle weakens the pad and PCB connection itself. It’s better to leave an ugly functional joint than go for style. Non functional or weak should be touched up if you find any.

Treemendous > MikaelVroom 06/27/2016 at 10:34

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Nicely done! Very impressive.

Ezn > MikaelVroom 06/27/2016 at 10:37

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No, “Final Solution” is way worse. Not funny dude.

MikaelVroom > Demon-Xanth knows how to operate a street. 06/27/2016 at 10:37

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Thanks for the advice! I have about 2700 miles on it and so far so good, fingers crossed.

I did have to reflow the solder joints in the stock gauge cluster’s odometer display, that’s a common E36 thing.

450X_FTW > MikaelVroom 06/27/2016 at 10:37

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If you think the sexiest Friday night imaginable involves spending three hours reading about an enhanced wall-wetting-based acceleration enrichment algorithm, three more hours trying to implement it, and then ending up with a worse-running engine, then not only is Megasquirt perfect for you, but I may want to marry you.

I think I know some guys that can help you with that algorithm

papabear > MikaelVroom 06/27/2016 at 10:37

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I don’t recommend googling das megaspritzen...German porn is disturbing.

(

papabear > papabear 06/27/2016 at 10:38

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Also, as someone who enjoys taking WWII based shots at my Germany co-workers; I salute you.

Party-vi > MikaelVroom 06/27/2016 at 10:38

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side-eyeing your national socialist German workers party reference in the title.

RMCjr > Ezn 06/27/2016 at 10:39

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Too soon?

Opposite Locksmith > Ezn 06/27/2016 at 10:39

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Don't remove it ignore these people

450X_FTW > MikaelVroom 06/27/2016 at 10:40

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You are very very brave taking on a BMW wiring harness. I had a boss once who said he went into a dyno cell that was running a BMW engine, and on the wall was a giant bread board of every electrical component in the car. The reason? Apparently the electrical system was very sensitive and had to have all the components connected to work properly

MikaelVroom > 450X_FTW 06/27/2016 at 10:40

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My new favorite double entendre is “wall-wetting acceleration enrichment.”

MikaelVroom > RMCjr 06/27/2016 at 10:40

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Way too soon.

Jimmy Joe Meeker > MikaelVroom 06/27/2016 at 10:40

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You must like pain.
First people have been doing just fine modifying EEC IV for decades.

Second, mega squirt can be adapted to work with EEC IV systems.

https://www.diyautotune.com/support/tech/i…

Edit: Just realized the later engines with OBD2 might be somewhat different. However there should be easier ways to do it out there.

GLiddy > MikaelVroom 06/27/2016 at 10:40

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Nice soldering. Like another comment, use some flux cleaner. I got pretty decent at soldering back in graduate school. I designed a parallel computer that had 8 circuit boards, each one having over 3600 through-holes. I could hand solder 1 board a day. (That’s about 7 solder contacts a minute for 8 hours.) Oh god, how I wish I had a wave soldering system at my disposal.

drdude > Ezn 06/27/2016 at 10:41

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I did nazi where you have an issue.

MikaelVroom > 450X_FTW 06/27/2016 at 10:42

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This one’s old enough that it’s not quite that bad. My favorite finding so far is that ABS won’t work unless the ABS computer sees the load from the motor on the traction control throttle body. Ten watt resistor to the rescue.

RMCjr > MikaelVroom 06/27/2016 at 10:42

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If I may ask, why did you not go with a Ford ecu and a Quarterhorse or some other EEC tuner? They are surprisingly flexible.

MikaelVroom > papabear 06/27/2016 at 10:43

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I swear I got that phrase from Google Translate and not my Google search history. I swear.

No Insignia > MikaelVroom 06/27/2016 at 10:47

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Resistors are measured in Ohms...?

450X_FTW > MikaelVroom 06/27/2016 at 10:48

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When I took apart my 1977 Honda CB750 to do a bike build, I was shocked when I saw electrical components that had MADE IN USA on them.

MikaelVroom > Jimmy Joe Meeker 06/27/2016 at 10:49

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I’ll take $10 of pain if it will save me $1 of cash.

Bultaco's JMOD TownCar drives his pa to drinkin > MikaelVroom 06/27/2016 at 10:50

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Now this is quality entertainment!

pauljones > MikaelVroom 06/27/2016 at 10:51

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Dude, really?

Excellent article, but you probably need to re-think the hell out of that title. Changing it would be a really good idea.

MikaelVroom > RMCjr 06/27/2016 at 10:52

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Fully equipped, a Quarterhorse is about the same price as the Megasquirt from what I can tell, and Megasquirt gets me total flexibility.

MikaelVroom > No Insignia 06/27/2016 at 10:54

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And rated in watts. To simulate an electric motor it had to be able to absorb plenty of current, so I got a big chunky 10W resistor.

GoKart_MoZart > MikaelVroom 06/27/2016 at 10:55

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You really should get this condition diagnosed.

MikaelVroom > 450X_FTW 06/27/2016 at 10:55

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I had a ‘77 CB750!

Bought it non-running for $175, replaced the blown main fuse, then put a few thousand miles on it.

Brad Landers > MikaelVroom 06/27/2016 at 10:57

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At this point, I think you should respond to all “why did you do this and not that ” inquiries with, “Because I’m a mad scientist with masochistic tendencies.”

MikaelVroom > Brad Landers 06/27/2016 at 10:59

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“Because I hate myself” may also work.

MikaelVroom > GoKart_MoZart 06/27/2016 at 11:00

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As if I’d pay a doctor to diagnose me when I could do it myself for a fraction of the cost!

Darkbrador > MikaelVroom 06/27/2016 at 11:01

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The wine rack is almost empty, you need to go to the liquor store.

RMCjr > MikaelVroom 06/27/2016 at 11:04

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Fair enough. I take it you have no emissions test in your area? Here in the Peoples’ Republic of New Jersey, they plug into your obd2 port for emissions, so standalones are a no-go.

MikaelVroom > RMCjr 06/27/2016 at 11:07

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Yeah, no emissions testing in Iowa. If I had to be compliant, it would be a totally different story.

MikaelVroom > Darkbrador 06/27/2016 at 11:08

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We ended up getting rid of the wine rack since we don’t keep wine around long enough to necessitate a rack.

Clay_T > Demon-Xanth knows how to operate a street. 06/27/2016 at 11:14

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hmmm... sounds a lot like welding!

DE2000 > MikaelVroom 06/27/2016 at 11:16

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You Sir, are a brave man! My thumbs up for you! I’ve swapped motors, but I have not messed with the ECU.

LoafToaster > RMCjr 06/27/2016 at 11:19

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This may not be an OBD2 car. Pre-96 cars don’t require that in NJ. That’s why miata guys swap into 90-95 cars in NJ generally. Alternatively, if you’re swapping in an LS motor, some of the tuning software that works with the stock ECU allows you to change the VIN and everything so it will pass.

DMCVegas > MikaelVroom 06/27/2016 at 11:28

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Perhaps it’s just the Jew in me from my paternal grandmother, I dunno. But I tend to get juuuust a tad bit uneasy when someone proudly declares a “Final Solution”. More so when something German is involved.

Having said that, I did laugh at the headline. Because I'm also a bit macabre.

David Williams > MikaelVroom 06/27/2016 at 11:30

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Holy. Freaking. Shit. I’ve taken on some truly complicated, mind-altering projects in my life, but my brain fried its main fuse looking at the photos and placing myself in your situation. Bless you sir. I do so hope your condition improves.

Phil Swantek > MikaelVroom 06/27/2016 at 11:31

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I did the same MS build for my e30. The hard part is actually finding a load bearing dyno to actually tune the thing since

A: No one has load bearing dyno’s, just cheaper inertial ones that you can’t actually steady state tune on

B: No one wants to tune megasquirt. I’m on month #3 of trying to find a place. In DETROIT of all places

pauljones > MikaelVroom 06/27/2016 at 11:34

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I heavily advise changing it.

I suggested doing so half an hour ago, only to find that you must have seen my post and ignored it, given that you made several comments that are time-stamped later than mine.

Sincerely,
An Oppo Moderator

Just some guy on the internet > MikaelVroom 06/27/2016 at 11:39

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This is my favorite series of articles going on Jalopnik right now. I wish there were more project builds being promoted to the front page.

MetaKnight2k > MikaelVroom 06/27/2016 at 11:42

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Google will do it for free!

MikaelVroom > Phil Swantek 06/27/2016 at 11:45

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I went to a Car and Coffee at a local speed shop here in Des Moines last year that does Megasquirt tuning, so if I ever go all out with this build I’m lucky enough to have something local.

1337HPMustang > papabear 06/27/2016 at 11:47

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I’m at work. please describe what it is for lols

Ltd783 > Ezn 06/27/2016 at 11:47

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Lighten up.

He’s not glorifying Nazism or anything. German cars receive lots of Nazi jokes/insults. It’s part of how we continue shaming the Germans in the hope that this never happens again.

Erase all references to history, and we are much more likely to repeat it.

MikaelVroom > Just some guy on the internet 06/27/2016 at 11:47

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If only David Tracy were to start fixing his Jeeps and not just buying more broken Jeeps.

Mike > MikaelVroom 06/27/2016 at 11:54

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If you had known how much work this project was going to be, would you have still done it?

CoryMillet86 > Phil Swantek 06/27/2016 at 11:56

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I’m a couple hours south of Detroit and have a Dyno Dynamics Load bearing dyno and I’m well versed in Megasquirt.

TechWeasel > MikaelVroom 06/27/2016 at 12:06

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Gutsy move, putting a Holocaust joke right there in the title. Stay classy, MV...

MrTexas > MikaelVroom 06/27/2016 at 12:21

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Brazzzzzle > MikaelVroom 06/27/2016 at 12:22

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I’ve had MegaSquirt running on my 78 Datsun 280Z with turbocharged L28 for almost 10 years now. It’s a great reliable cheap piece of kit. Good luck! Sounds like fun.

Militancy > No Insignia 06/27/2016 at 12:25

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He’s talking about the power handling capability of the resistor. A 10Watt is about 2 inches long, half inch diameter, usually with an integrated heatsink.

Ezn > pauljones 06/27/2016 at 12:34

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(he has)

ambush27 > No Insignia 06/27/2016 at 12:39

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Yes, but they also have a rating for maximum heat dissipation

Stephen > MikaelVroom 06/27/2016 at 12:41

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Your wife let you set up a soldering station on the kitchen countertop? She’s definitely a keeper.

Demon-Xanth knows how to operate a street. > Clay_T 06/27/2016 at 12:56

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Biggest difference is that welding melts the substrate while soldering chemically bonds it.

takehikes > MikaelVroom 06/27/2016 at 13:04

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I dont give a shit if it ever runs. I like the idea of a small block Ford in a BMW. You should have dropped in a 300 cube inline Ford 6 to give it that true BMW feel!

MikaelVroom > Mike 06/27/2016 at 13:08

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I did a lot of reading beforehand and had a good idea of what it was going to take. Fortunately, I actually enjoy everything involved in the build so it wasn’t a huge burden. I got more frustrated installing 6x9s in the rear deck than I did with any of this.

MikaelVroom > Stephen 06/27/2016 at 13:10

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I ended up moving to the basement to do the full board, but that was mostly because the kitchen counter didn’t offer much legroom.

MikaelVroom > takehikes 06/27/2016 at 13:10

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I still think it’d be fun to turbo one of those 4.9 straight sixes. Rumor says they’re near indestructible.

dbx7 > MikaelVroom 06/27/2016 at 13:29

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Holy S. You Americans are going to put someone on the moon someday.

Santiago of Escuderia Boricua > 450X_FTW 06/27/2016 at 13:31

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The shop that caged my e36 said the wiring was a “nightmare”

takehikes > MikaelVroom 06/27/2016 at 13:45

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I have one and between it, the top loader trans and 9" rear gear you just can’t kill them. There are guys running turbo on them and drag racing them. Best part is everything is cheap for them. Engine was built for over 30 years and in tons of cars, trucks, generators, UPS trucks etc.

The_duck_of_Atlanta > MikaelVroom 06/27/2016 at 14:04

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Cheap soldering iron. Dude. No. No. No. No. Nope. No.

You should get a nice iron, with temp control. The cheap ones have heat control, and are more of a pain, and you’ll use it again, and vibration is rough on soldered joints, so a car is NOT the place to skimp out on a soldering iron.

Stinger > MikaelVroom 06/27/2016 at 14:08

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I love this project and have been reading all the installments.

Soldering together a Megasquirt kit is certainly not for the faint of heart and the research to figure it all out is certainly daunting.

For those who want the benefits of an MS3 ECU for basically any mid 80's to mid 90's Ford vehicle, without having to solder anything, using the factory harness, and without the massive research, including a base tune for your setup, there is a great option. The best part is that it’s only $20-$100 more than he spent and it’s called the PiMPx (which stands for Plug in Megasquirt Processor running MS3x firmware). The sequential fuel version is the PiMPxs. When including the two stims he bought to test his, he spent way more than the PiMPx and the stims aren’t needed with the PiMPx).

Not only is it assembled already for you but it comes in a factory case so it fits in the stock ECU hanger and plugs right into the harness. It also comes with a 20 page startup guide that guides you step by step through all of the stuff you need to do to get it up and running while cutting out all of the stuff that’s not applicable to your application (unlike generic Megasquirt instructions).

To top it off, it comes with a dedicated support forum with paid tech support individuals ready to help with any questions, or even remotely tune your engine for you if necessary.

Clay_T > Demon-Xanth knows how to operate a street. 06/27/2016 at 14:09

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I understand the difference in processes.

I was referring to the (bad) habit some welders have of going back over a ugly weld to make it prettier.

MikaelVroom > dbx7 06/27/2016 at 14:10

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Only if we can turn it into a dick measuring contest with a country we hate.

Roadster Man > MikaelVroom 06/27/2016 at 14:16

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Ugh, Megasquirt is the greatest obstacle to me turbo’ing my Miata. It is so damn intimidating.

wahhabistanjoeblow > MikaelVroom 06/27/2016 at 14:17

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what kind of power are you shooting for w/ this engine? what do they generally speaking reliably put down to the wheels? i know little about 5.0's.

CodyY > MikaelVroom 06/27/2016 at 14:23

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COTD

MikaelVroom > Stinger 06/27/2016 at 14:35

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That looks like a great option for someone who doesn’t want to DIY and just wants a standalone to replace their stock ECU. In my case, with the integration of chassis and engine, and all of the extra features wired in, it certainly made more sense to go the route that allowed the most customization.

Also just today I see that DIYAutoTune is offering some short wiring harness bundles for $15-18 to be used with the DB25 connectors that come in the MS3/MS3x kits. That alone would have saved me $130. I also split the cost of the JimStims with a friend also doing MS3/MS3x.

MikaelVroom > Roadster Man 06/27/2016 at 14:39

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They have plug-and-play options for the Miata that take a lot of this wiring and soldering out of the picture. MegaSquirt is fun, turbos are fun, and Miatas are fun. Triple Jeopardy.

MikaelVroom > wahhabistanjoeblow 06/27/2016 at 14:40

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Stock is 215hp/285tq. A good n/a build on the 302 could see about 400hp at the crank. The blocks split in half somewhere around 450-500hp.

I haven’t yet decided what I want to do. Every single time I think about making a small upgrade it spirals out of control into an all out 347 stroker build with huge heads and and equally huge price tag. I can’t do small.

GoKart_MoZart > MikaelVroom 06/27/2016 at 15:44

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Get help man, please. Maybe they can prescribe something for Get A Car That Already Runs.

Unlimited possibilities here ... maybe a nice Dr. Owned - Always-Garaged-V-12-Jag that’s been worked on to death. CHEAP!

Just think about it ok?

Make it a Great Day.

MikaelVroom > GoKart_MoZart 06/27/2016 at 15:50

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I’m a man.

But I can change.

If I have to.

I guess.

Roadster Man > MikaelVroom 06/27/2016 at 15:52

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Oh, I know- it’s just that a plug-n-play megasquirt costs a LOT more than a DIY kit.

And that whole emissions thing...

GoKart_MoZart > MikaelVroom 06/27/2016 at 15:56

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Is your insurance person worried that thing may accidently catch fire?

Can you apologize in advance or something?

MikaelVroom > GoKart_MoZart 06/27/2016 at 16:25

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I carry a fire extinguisher everywhere. Every time the car’s up in the air I check the fuel lines to make sure they’re still secured and well away from anything hot or melty.

Stinger > MikaelVroom 06/27/2016 at 16:39

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Yes, for sure. Your route was correct for what you needed to do but for those who are wanting the same end result (in an EFI Ford powered vehicle that doesn’t need wiring integrated into everything) without all the headaches and time required to figure everything out, it’s a good option for similar money. It cuts down on the intimidation factor of doing a Megasquirt ECU all on your own and hoping it works after all the time and effort.

No Insignia > No Insignia 06/27/2016 at 18:03

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Very neat- learn something new everyday :-)

Fujimo > MikaelVroom 06/27/2016 at 18:05

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Thank you for the article. Excellent work. Very interesting and well put together.

Re: title debate. Perhaps a cheeky reference to tuning. I almost missed the article, because I didn’t get the reference. In my humble opinion, the tuning aspect is most interesting, and the extraordinary effort and thought you communicate through your writing, as well.

Call the article whatever you want. I’ll read it. It’s a very cool project. As if you didn’t know..

TahoeSTi > MikaelVroom 06/27/2016 at 19:18

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I got a custom turbo kit for that 5.0 that might fit in that m3.....Cross over pipe comes under the crank pulley, Turbo sites on the passenger side.....1 bar of boost should split that stock block nicely.....should be good for 500hp though until it splits.

Xer0 0ne > MikaelVroom 06/27/2016 at 19:43

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I miss the Red Green show, haven’t seen it in forever

TireMan > MikaelVroom 06/27/2016 at 20:50

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I’m pullin for you.

We're all in this together.

Charlie Zulu > MikaelVroom 06/27/2016 at 20:54

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You’re a goddamned genius.

Also:

“my wife sees both pros and cons of this stance”

#stancenation

itranthelasttimeiparkedit > MikaelVroom 06/27/2016 at 21:35

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I’m really tempted to get an MS for my e30, but part of the reason I bought the car is because its low tech. My wife keeps throwing that in my face when I mention it...

MikaelVroom > TahoeSTi 06/27/2016 at 22:39

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Who just has something like that lying around??

MikaelVroom > Charlie Zulu 06/27/2016 at 22:40

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It was supposed to be a masturbation joke.

MikaelVroom > itranthelasttimeiparkedit 06/27/2016 at 22:42

1

Is your E30 already fuel injected? If so, the MegaSquirt would allow you to run whatever sensors you needed, with whatever modifications you needed, and with whatever emissions equipment you want. No being locked into a 30+ year old design.