turbo kit for e36? ( what do i need?)

[328junkie]

i recently bought a 98 e36 with 130k i just got a custom 3" exhaust installed and a cold air intake, drilled rotors, lowered suspension, and now i want to turbo the car, what parts do i need to fully complete a turbo kit? or should i just buy a complete turbo kit, im looking for lower boost because i still drive it alot as a daily driver, your thoughts and advice is appreciated

[myUserID]

You need to buy a whole kit and your new exhaust will need to be modified since you won't have headers anymore. You also want to go stage II right from the start. You run a boost controller and just stay in low boost and don't floor it for daily driving. You get a bigger intercooler, injectors, tuning etc for stage II which is a nominal cost increase over stage I and then you are set for upgrades in the future.

[bmw528i]

Well, turbocharging your 328i is going to be an extensive and expensive job. I don't know of any turbo kits that are built for the M52 motor. The motor has been turbo charged in the past however. What you will need to pull this off is a shitload of parts and a shop that is capable of building a good turbo setup. The first thing you would probably look into is rebuild the motor with a nice set of forged connecting rods, lower compression pistons, maybe a new bottom end if you choose to run a good amount of boost. The next thing you will need to look at is a shop that is capable of building a custom turbo manifold, these are not cheap. You will also need all of the plumbing including a down pipe, front mount and more than likely a full metal intake manifold (usually custom built) as the plastic one that comes with the car probably won't stand up to FI. Then you will probably need a new clutch to handle the power along with a flywheel. You will also need a custom tune, a fuel system, and an aftermarket engine management system. I'm saying all of this assuming you want to make good power and want everything to run properly for a long period of time. Did I mention you will have to by the turbo as well? This is an expensive and less common type of FI for BMW's. When everything is done properly they run great and make good power.

If you really want the easier route of FI I would recommend supercharging. Active Autowerke actually has a kit made for your car. Check it out.

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[terry_g_1987]

hello

i am after some guidance if possible i currently own an e36 m3 evo convertible its done 60k is a manual if this counts,

i am in the uk and was wondering if you knew of anywere that can arrange forced induction whether that be a turbo or a supercharged and what sort of costs?

Thanks alot

Terry

[328junkie]

Man i never really thought about how much it would cost for a turbo kit, i had a s13 and threw in a sr20 and with installation and payment i payed 2600 but shit 8+ for the bmw haha maybe ill go towards the supercharger but im still skeptical about it, is it just a more popular make than the turbo and what goes into prepping for a supercharger?

[bmw528i]

Originally Posted by 328junkie

Man i never really thought about how much it would cost for a turbo kit, i had a s13 and threw in a sr20 and with installation and payment i payed 2600 but shit 8+ for the bmw haha maybe ill go towards the supercharger but im still skeptical about it, is it just a more popular make than the turbo and what goes into prepping for a supercharger?

Well you could always slap on a turbo and run the car, but it will never make the power you want or run properly for the long run. I'm a believer the philosophy of doing things the right way the first time around as opposed to half assing stuff. I'm the classic example of half assing projects and spending more money to fix it than it would have cost to do it properly the first time around.

I'm a fan of the supercharger for a few reasons. One, you will maintain everyday driveability. I don't know about you, but thats important to me. Two, Active Autowerke is known for their FI systems as they are reliable and well built. Three, cost factor. The power you get for the price you pay is very good, particularly for that kit. It used to be more expensive back in the day, but as Active has moved onto BMW's newer models, they have dropped the price on their products for older vehicles as they don't sell too many of them anymore.

I like the supercharger route because of the boost. It is only 8 pounds, meaning that you can run it reliably with the factory intake manifold and the factory head gasket (although I would opt to have a thicker one installed). The kit also comes with the software to flash your on board engine management, all of which has been dyno tested on previous cars, so everything runs properly right away. The install time is also significantly less, it can be done properly in a day or two and you can run this setup on your factory clutch or automatic transmission. The install is also much simpler vs a turbo setup.

Supercharging is also perfect for a relatively high compression motor. You can keep your stock internals, exhaust manifold, and intake. The supercharger builds power towards the bottom end, where BMW's need it most. Overall, you will get a car that has power almost everywhere in the powerband, but also has everyday drive ability. Unless you want to go for big power, like in the 400+ whp range, I recommend the supercharge kit from Active Autowerke. It has a healthy boost over stock and I guarantee you will notice the power increase. I would also ask around local performance shops and hear their suggestions, but if I were you, I would definitely get this setup for my car.

Any other questions I'll be glad to answer them.

[328junkie]

wicked man thanks alot for the info cause i just bought my car and i really don't know anything about german cars but i love learning more only thing about where i live is there's shit all for performance shops so ill have to head to another city but i think i will go the supercharger way, its a good start i think, another question i was thinking about getting a performance chip but with the supercharger and the software it adds, do i need to bother chippin the ecu or no?

[iferro]

i dont know much about FI and i actually was thinkin about s/c my 325. but anyway i know that if you chip your car then s/c it you need a custom chip. dinan says they can make a chip for a s/c setup and im pretty sure most companies do

[bmw528i]

Originally Posted by 328junkie

another question i was thinking about getting a performance chip but with the supercharger and the software it adds, do i need to bother chippin the ecu or no?

No, you shouldn't have to worry about chipping the ECU, the software that comes with the kit will be good enough. I did further reading on the software and it says the ECU needs to be shipped to Active Autowerke to have the software flashed. From my understanding this is a fairly quick process with a good turnaround time.

[bmw528i]

Originally Posted by iferro

i dont know much about FI and i actually was thinkin about s/c my 325. but anyway i know that if you chip your car then s/c it you need a custom chip. dinan says they can make a chip for a s/c setup and im pretty sure most companies do

Generally speaking if the company makes the kit, they have the software to match the install.

[iferro]

yeah thats pretty much what i meant

[bmw528i]

Originally Posted by iferro

yeah thats pretty much what i meant

I know, I'm not too sure why I even said that. I may have had a little too much Christmas cheer when I typed that, if you know what I mean...

[Highboosted]

There's a sticky at the top of the forced induction forum, has generally all the info you just requested already in it. There's quite a few complete kits for the M50-52 engines, both SC and TC. A budget TC kit I've seen in person is the TRM kit, works well and a buddy of mine puts down good numbers with it. Without all the stuff BMW528i said. FI is FI, nothing is different between SC and TC when it comes to supporting mods like fuel and engine management. People who try and make things sound difficult to push their own ideas kinda irk me. Like saying you need a metal intake to run a turbo at 8 psi while an supercharger does fine at 8 psi. But since it's the holidays I'm going to be nice and just stop here.

I'm personally a turbo guy, if you can't tell. Superchargers just don't bring enough to the table for me, lol. It's a personal decision that in all reality is up to you, your goals, and your budget, nothing else.

P.S. TRM stage II turbo kit is $5,495. AA's is $10,900. yes, the AA kit is a full deal while the TRM is a hardware kit, but in my case at least, half the AA kit's stuff I wouldn't use anyways. Not getting a custom dyno tuned flash is just asking for trouble. I also perfer a different size turbo than either kit, but again my goals are different than most. That's why instead of buying a kit, I went piece by piece, buying exactly what I needed and the best of every part.

[bmw528i]

Originally Posted by Highboosted

People who try and make things sound difficult to push their own ideas kinda irk me. Like saying you need a metal intake to run a turbo at 8 psi while an supercharger does fine at 8 psi.

I'm not trying to start shit here, but I wasn't trying to "push my ideas" or "make things difficult" to push my opinions on anybody. I was only giving my $.02 on what I would want to do.

When I talked about building a motor and all of the other equipment you may need to make good power on a turbo setup, I was talking about making power numbers north of 400. Sorry, I would never try to make that power on a stock M52 or a stock M52 intake manifold because through the experience of a friend, things didn't work for to long. I would also never turbo my car to run 8 pounds of boost, to me that is useless.

[emepogüer]

hi from spain, any of you know where is a "brico" "project" ) i dont know what to say) where explain how to fit a turbo? im going to do in my m 3e36 286, and im looking different projects to learn more, thanks!!