Turbo 330Ci ZHP Project

A few have asked me about 3D mapping of tuning...

Well after much testing the MS45 BMW Logger is up to speed,
Got to see the cars Ign. Advance, vanos timing, Oil temps, IAT, Engine coolant temps and more under hard driving. So MS45 was harder to get to speed but finally it is quite fast compared to where it was few weeks ago which didn't even exist.

Few more touches and it will be good!
Now if he can get the Lambda sensors to spit out F/A ratio.

I finished the Catch can internals on 8/12/2012.

Basically I reamed out the -10 an fitting on the catch can lid, I made it 5/8" I.D. so it accepted the 5/8" O.D. tube I bought from omnimodels.
That tube I brazed on with an aluminum brazing rod.

Then I got some aluminum flashing from home depot, cut it into 2 circles that would fit in the catch can. I also perforated them. I measured and cut holes in the perforated circles so the 5/8" tube can pass through. Some JB Weld was used to hold the bottom perforated circle in the catch can. Stainless Steel Scouring wool was used as a filter media.



Looking at the diagram I drew up you can see that the can will always be under vacuum, Blow-by from the valve cover will be continuously coming into the catch can through the tube which will also bring in some oil. Oil and solids will be dropped and kept at the bottom while under vacuum the blow-by gasses will be filtered by the stainless steel wool before making its way to either the intake manifold under idle conditions or the turbo intake pipe during boost conditions.

I got busy replacing the Rear tension arm bushings (thanks Chad for the tool use) with Rogue engineering black polyurethane versions on 9/6/2012.

Also did the AKG steering coupler, the polyurethane version. steering is much tighter and way less tramlining with the wider tires.

Here are some pics:

Using a 2 ton puller because my coupler was stuck on good!


Why it was stuck on!


Coupler on with AKG polyurethane part!

After a few months of owning my car back in 2010 the C Pillar trim fabric was sagging so back then I decided to use 3M 90 Super adhesive to tack it back up. It worked great since then up until November 2012 when it started to sag along with the B Pillar and a corner of the front A pillar trim fabric.

The past few days I decided to reupholster them with new fabric.
Well, the problem is what fabric to buy and what do I want for the look. Having done a few stereo installs through out the years I have used different fabrics from Hancock Fabric store and Jo-Ann fabrics. The issue with using them is that if you do not use a UV protection agent like scotchguard the fabric will fade.

That turned me to buying a yard of Carbon Fiber cloth and 2 yards of Mellotone Speaker grill fabric. The Carbon Fabric cloth I bought from Ebay for $22 for a linear yard. The Mellotone Speaker grill fabric I bought from Parts Express, that runs at $24.50 per linear yard.

I just got those 2 items in and went ahead with reupholstering my C pillars since I have them out already.
Now, i didn’t go with the carbon Fiber cloth for this install because it is very thin and the OEM felt surface was very uneven so it wouldn’t be very smooth looking. I settled on the Mellotone…

On my install I went and bought 2 different spray adhesives that have worked for me in the past. The first one is the Permatex Heavy Duty Headliner and Carpet Adhesive which you can buy at Advance Auto parts. The second is the ForceField Headliner Trim and Laminating Adhesive in Professional Strength.

Next thing I did was strip off the OEM BMW fabric from the C Pillar covers.

Now this is the trick i use so the fabric sticks on. I bet you have tried time and time again to re-glue yours and they fall or sag after a few days or a few months. I did mine real quick back in 2010 and had started to sag 2 years later but that was using the 3M adhesive. Ok, back to my trick.. What I do if the Pillar covers have the felt on them is that I saturate them with the adhesive then let that cure. I then give it another coat and let that cure some. What this does is that it “rubberizes” the felt surface and this allows the final coat of adhesive be fully functional when it cures.

For the fabric you want to use the Forcefield Adhesive on the back side. Make sure you are a good distance away when spraying the adhesive, like 12"- 14" or so away from the fabric. I let mine set in for about 3-4 minutes and you start seeing that the adhesive is curing some and looks and feels tacky/rubberized. DO NOT INSTALL THE FABRIC WITH WET ADHESIVE, you will have seep through. even though the Mellotone is thick it can seep through.

Now with both sides tacky/rubbery pull the fabric on top of the part working it in and making sure the fabric does not wrinkle or the front side touches the pillar cover. I tend to use my thumb or my palm to work the fabric on the surface. this is where having the semi cured surface comes into play as this is the part where you will make the adhesive seep through if it isn’t cured enough. I made sure I had extra fabric so I could wrap the fabric around the back. I also used the ForceField adhesive for tacking the fabric to the back. I just sprayed some adhesive on the news paper and with one finger grabbed some and spread it on the back of the areas on the C Pillar cover where the fabric would cover.

On the picture you can see how it looks with 2 coats of Permatex and a final coat of ForceField adhesives. The ForceField adhesive has a nice spray pattern and lays down smooth as long as you have a steady hand.

Here are the OEM fabric, Carbon Fiber fabric and the Mellotone speaker grill fabric.

Here is the OEM fabric on the C Pillar:

Here is the Carbon Fiber fabric on the C Pillar:

Here is the Mellotone and what I chose for my project:

And a few shots of the finished product:

Ok, So this is project C Pillars done, next are B and C Pillars.

Oh yeah sneak peek at the seat covers partially on. this was like 2 weeks ago. Final picture will be when the full interior is finished.

This was my concept I did up using an image I found online:

WOW! Very creative, I like it

Didn't know AKG made a Poly coupler like that, I need one of those ASAP.

Edit: would you mind sending me the link for that coupler? I can't find it on AKG's website.

Edit #2:nvm found it lol

Originally Posted by secono330ci

WOW! Very creative, I like it

Didn't know AKG made a Poly coupler like that, I need one of those ASAP.

Edit: would you mind sending me the link for that coupler? I can't find it on AKG's website.

Edit #2:nvm found it lol

I think it is under Misc, they also have the aluminum versions too for the hardcore guys. I opted for the Poly as you see.

Damn i wish i knew about that coupler , i just installed an OEM one

Well guess it will have to do untill idrop the engine again

Any chance we can get a look at the vanos adv/retard numbers ? I assume it's axised of TPS/MAF and RPM ?

Originally Posted by SweTurbo

Damn i wish i knew about that coupler , i just installed an OEM one

Well guess it will have to do untill idrop the engine again

Any chance we can get a look at the vanos adv/retard numbers ? I assume it's axised of TPS/MAF and RPM ?

Once the snow is gone sure.

Got to almost finishing off the wiring schematic for the Unichip to the Turbo E46 since none existed and the current ones designated for the E46 are wrong for the MS45 cars.

I still need to add the DISA control portion, Vanos control and Meth Injection control. It takes time to draw this stuff up.

It is lots of work so far for this but in the end anyone will be able to duplicate it as I have done most of the work.

I hope that eventually others will tackle this themselves!

Here is the E46, MS45 Schematic for controlling the turbo stuff.

This looks like it will also work on the 530i with MS45.

Just checked out the site you created for your car. I am extremely impressed with the work you have done and the detailed way that you have shared your findings with the community! Very, very useful knowledge to anyone on the same path as you.

Originally Posted by wrecklessfool

Just checked out the site you created for your car. I am extremely impressed with the work you have done and the detailed way that you have shared your findings with the community! Very, very useful knowledge to anyone on the same path as you.

Thanks

How is the akg coupling, does it cause any harsh vibrations in the cabin? Im thinking about upgrading mine

Originally Posted by Elvin123

How is the akg coupling, does it cause any harsh vibrations in the cabin? Im thinking about upgrading mine

I really didn't notice much more vibrations. But I am used to harsh so I guess this mod is a bit tame then going full aluminum.