E46 Fanatics Forum banner

TURBO PROJECT E46 325I 10-15 lbs

90K views 83 replies 35 participants last post by  mike@maximumpsi 
#1 ·
have a 03 325 about to put a rear mounted garrett M27 AR .51 turbo thinking of running around 10-15 lbs of boost...trying to hit at least 400 hp..Got the idea and floor plans from a friend of mind..u might know..he's the producer of the show "Pinks all out"..im just tried to the ricers here in dallas pulling along side of me on the freeway! next time i'll have a surprize for them:evil:

any idea what upgrades they have out there to beef up the tranny and rear end?
 
#2 · (Edited)
sooo whos tuning it? (bet u didnt think of that)

ohh and 10 psi (if you get it tuned) maybe....14 your funny

sorry just the truth
 
#4 ·
have a local guy here in dallas that a turbo gunkie..hes gonna tunning and install everything except the piping...for as the boost..12 lbs on a rear mounted turbo should have me close to 400 hp..rear mounted turbos produce more hp per pound of boost then anyother turbo on the market..just check out STS turbo systems they breaking all type of records..i dont go off of here say..only true stats..and dyno results and STS blows them all away..im just worried about the tranny and rear end.
 
#5 · (Edited)
dude honestly he might be a turbo junkie but you have to remember a e46 isnt a honda...theres a reason that its now 10 yrs later that the 1st turbo kit for the e46 non m has come out...

let see what happens to your stock head with 12 psi on a crappy tune...

ill give you 6 psi max running rich/lean on a "tune"

if you have a 5 spd your good for 400+ whp
even if you dont go thru with this reinforce your subframe bc more than likely yours is cracked

im not trying to be rude or an a$$hole im just giving you the heads up
 
#6 ·
most likely gonna do some up grades on the heads..port and polish..high performance springs new valve seeds and a thicker gasket to decrease compression..its a project..thats why im posting..two things can happen,,come out fine or kaboom!!! with tunning u live and die with the unknown..just posting to see if anyone out there turboed a 325i..and what was the outcome and results..that all im trying to figure out..avoiding a problem that someone else already ran across and eliminated.
 
#8 ·
honestly your best bet is supercharger or s54

if you want to run the custom turbo get a standalone and with that maybe you can run 10 psi depends how good your friend can tune

upgrade to thicker heade gasket, port and polish, head studs
 
#32 ·
Your condescending posts are great,

Guess I should learn not to ask "sh!t questions" in an attempt to save myself $2500
you're going to spend $2500 on exhaust ports? That's beyond absurd. I didn't spend that on my entire head, and that included unshrouding and a full valve job. You need neither for a ts3. If you want to save money, buy a dremel, port match, don't go more than an inch into your ports. IIRC, that's all ESS did, to make it simple for TS3 customers. Port-matching isn't the impossible science some might claim it to be. Porting the area behind the valve kind of is. Playing with the taper in the middle of the port is something I'd avoid as well. But for the purpose of just port-matching, one inch in, it's easy.

Your question was loaded, it meaninglessly rubs against the grain of a point just made, as it has a a rigid answer that's associated with a tune. It's not related to flow, to make your setup match the tune, its a requirement, regardless of actual flow improvement, though I believe that a port match on that head will help. But as long as you bring up my bushing in a discussion of headflow. I'll respond as I have, I'll call you out, and as it seems, you'll bring in the most irrelevant points into the ring... and then you'll call me condescending, what the sh!t do you expect?
 
#10 ·
Any idea how the m52 head compares to the m54 head in terms of flow? (Completely ignoring the other differences between the engines).
 
#11 ·
port and polish isnt necessary but if your already there might as well do it....im pretty sure for 12-14 psi thicker head gasket and studs are needed....i would even throw in lower compression pistons but thats probably out of your budget....
 
#13 ·
im just [tired] [of] the ricers here in dallas pulling along side of me on the freeway!
this was the reason why it got deleted the first time around and you repost it with same crap? You sound 17.
 
#15 · (Edited)
#19 ·
Why do I get the feeling here that there are multiple people in this thread that are completely new to e46's and are attempting/ supporting the near impossible. Yeah its been done already, so why not look at what has been safely and effectively accomplished and think, well sh!t- I think ill go that route.
I get why people do custom work but in this instance the op isnt in it for the project. Hes in it for the results. So lets be really honest op. You want power yeah? Why go through the months of headaches and nightmares only to piece together a project that will most likely fail ending up in a lot of wasted cash. Check out the superchargers that are available. If you don't feel that, go to techniquetuning.com and look around for a while see if you can work out a deal. If that doesnt work buy a turbo and the components and piece those together then get your "expert tuner" to work on it.
Why reinvent the wheel in your case? All you want is power. There are much easier ways sir.
:thumbup:
 
#27 · (Edited)
None of this is as hard as what people make out. And considering most of the people on this forum don't lift a spanner they pay for everything to be done I wouldn't listen to most of them. If you have the time and money the sky is the limit. As long as you know that it does take more time and money to be a pioneer then go for it.

If it was me I would be using a GT35 turbo at about 7-8psi and leave the motor stock for now. The last thing you want is have something go left of centre while sorting it out and have to pull a motor out again after it's already been out and built. That's just expensive and wastes time. Get it tuned and running with no faults and have fun with it like that first.
 
#31 ·
If your going with the STS turbo inquire about their programs, you could save up to 50% for providing before and after dyno results and documenting the build. Talk to rito he can help you with the tuning and the parts you would need. I don't think any of the bimmer forums guys have done any STS turbo or rear mounted turbos, But you may wanna go on there to gather information on preparing for turbo, whatever you do keep away from George from ICS performance he is a crook, good luck with your project. about to years ago i was trying to do the same thing but i couldn't find someone to tune my car this is the most important thing about the build especially if your car is a daily driver do some research make sure your tuner could tackle this project.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top