My 1998 323i Mission.

[samuraigecko]

Hi everyone.

I am new to this forum (but not new to forums so dont call me n00b GDit!! . . lol) . . just kidding.

I am a 30 something Aussie bloke whom just purchased his first beemer. I was a motorcycle man, classics and harleys, but after far too many accidents and far too much money spent on motoecycles I decided to change. Since I was young I had always loved the BMWs and particularly the 323 and 325 models and when the early 90s rolled around and the e36 shape hit the streets I knew that one day I would get around to owning one.

Well now I do, a 1998 323i 4 door with some M options.

The M options installed at factory were . .
* the suspension
* the M series rims
* the M interior
* the M body kit

* perhaps some other stuff I've missed but I've got the original paperwork and manuals etc so I can give an update if need be.

After I purchased it a German friend of mine got rather aroused by the car and suggested to me some common upgrades for it, one of which I have already purchased.

The M50 intake manifold.

He is a very enthusiastic BMW lover and knows a lot about cars, my knowledge lies in classic motorcycles unfortunatly so I listen to much of what he says.

Here is the mission >>> To achieve a boner inspiring performance street BMW that will make even the most devout nissan loving rev head tip his head at me knowingly, seeming to say "well done bro, that machine rocks" . . . . . . for less than $20,000AUD and remaining nasp.

Now, since I've spent $9,000AUD on the car and another $250AUD on the M50 intake manifold, I am left with $10,750AUD to spend on it to achieve this. The whole time I will be taking pictures, dyno testing, diagnosing and track testing the vehicle and posting the results here.

Since I dont know a lot about cars or BMWs I will be relying on you guys and my german friend to steer me in the right direction. The first thing I need to do is to make a list of what to do first.

Any help with how to start, what to buy first in preparation for what is to come, etc etc . . .

All is greatly appreciated, please help to steer me in the right direction and I will reward everyone with great pics and detailed stats on how everything is coming along.

Next post I will provide some pics of the ride as it is now.

Peace

 

[pgarner]

hey noobie

by keeping it nasp your giving yourself more harder work.

start with intake, take it youve already got a decent intake, CAI, Induction Kit
youve got the M50 manifold so look toward cams then gas flowing the head.

exhaust full system from the block to back box - manifold decat ( is a catalitic converter required in Oz ) mid section and back box. get this done after wards as then you can get a system made up for the correct amount of gases.

 

[samuraigecko]

I was thinking CAI, larger throttle body (all in conjunction with the M50 of course) to start with. I was wanting to keep it nasp if possible because if I go into turbo or super charging then I probably wont stop at my budget and the missus will remove some parts of me that I have become rather attached to while I sleep, plus the added novelty that I achieved it without just slappin a turbo or supercharger in it. heh . . .

 

[prevtec]

good day mate lol
welcome to tc mate

 

[samuraigecko]

The way we actually say it is "GIDDAY MAYTE" . . . lol

Anyhoo . . . .

What I was thinking of to start my mission was:

The M50 intake manifold.
Dinan CAI kit.
Dinan high-flo throttle body.
Dinan stage 2 software (ecu).

M3 extractors.
High-Flo cat.
High-Flo exhaust and muffler (The big tip ones that give that throaty sound)

After this I was thinking of getting internals done such as gas flow, cams, pistons, valves, etc (most of which I can get done cheap cos I know people in the trade, its only the parts that will really cost me).

Perhaps after that, I was thinking that I might steer a little from my nasp goal . . . .
The German friend has started to persuade me that if I am going to be going that far anyway I should consider supercharing.

Someone mentioned to me that BMW uses forged internals as standard, can anyone tell me if this is true or if the person is just another one of "those" people (you know, the ones who say things purely for the sake of saying it even though there is no truth to it).

The missus has allowed me to extend the budget by $3k AUD if I decide to do this (for some reason building a hot beemer has made her sorta . . . hot, and I am not complaining). Should I perhaps consider a Mosselman Supercharger kit for this Beemer?

Before I actually start all of this I want to replace just about everything I can replace just as with a major service. Leads, plugs, injectors, fuel filter, oil filter, etc etc. Can anyone suggest what the best things would be to get in list form in this area for consideration as I wish to purchase only the best (right down to the oil itself).

Bosch make some very good 4 jet injectors to replace the single jet injectors that are standard in the 323i, does anyone have any experience in these?

What leads and plugs should I get?

etc. . .

thanks in advance guys . . . .

Peace.

 

[obi_waynne]

Autocustomengineering is your man on here. He has supercharger kits for the BMW. They are pretty solidly built engines and although i wouldn't be suprised if they used forged pistons I couldn't swear to it.

You've done good getting the extra budget from mrs samuraigecko!

Have you heard of a company called CA Automotive - they are BMW specialists and might be a good source for parts if you can't get them in OZ.

 

[Rudders666]

I'm considering an M50 Manifold from a 325 for my 323i, what's the discernable difference in power, speed and bhp? Much obliged. Cheers.

 

[turbonutter69]

I know of a mirror chrome painted beemer 325i that i'm sure is around 4-500bhp with supercharger and standard internals....
Oh and welcome to Torque Cars buddy...:bigsmile:

 

[samuraigecko]

I'm considering an M50 Manifold from a 325 for my 323i, what's the discernable difference in power, speed and bhp? Much obliged. Cheers.

This is basically all i know about the M50 intake manifold.

It is from the ODBI engines of 91-95 everything 96 and up had the ODBII Manifold which has a reduced flow. This resulted in even some of the M series BMWs of post 95 not performing as well as the pre.

One guy reported a 30bhp gain, though his car was already set up pretty damn well, supercharger etc.

Another guy without supercharging etc reported a 10bp gain from just this mod though I cant be certain of the truth behind it.

All I know is that the M50 is a far better manifold and capable of breathing significantly better than the "stock" on the 96-99.

Hope this has been of help

 

[samuraigecko]

Autocustomengineering is your man on here. He has supercharger kits for the BMW. They are pretty solidly built engines and although i wouldn't be suprised if they used forged pistons I couldn't swear to it.

You've done good getting the extra budget from mrs samuraigecko!

Have you heard of a company called CA Automotive - they are BMW specialists and might be a good source for parts if you can't get them in OZ.

Yea, thats that moselman thing i mentioned yesterday. It is unfortunate that they do not have a website. I would have to make an international call to order something I have not seen or read about. There are a lot of supercharger kits right here in australia.

Perhaps they do have a website?

 

[obi_waynne]

Try emailing Dan Wilkie on enquiry@autocustomengineering.com for some prices, he's based in the UK but I'm sure he can export to you.

 

[samuraigecko]

any ideas on what throttle body to use? (part number needed if applicable)
Seen a fair number of suggestions that the z3 throttle body is the go but it seems to be the same body for 2.5 to 3.0 motors across the range. is this right?

 

[samuraigecko]

no replies? different question then.

I can get a rebuilt eaton supercharger (m45) for fairly cheap, does anyone have any views or tips about this supercharger?

Peace

 

[obi_waynne]

Claymore is your man for superchargers. They are pretty easy to add and setup keep the boost low and the stock internals will be fine, but if you do want to crank up the boost a little then water injection is your friend.

The easiest way to fit it is to lose the airconditioning and replace this with the supercharger. The pulleys and belts can all be made to fit and hey presto its pretty much job done.

 

[steerfromtherear]

Right you did the first mod correctly. m50 manifold modified to fit the m52.
Next would be BBTB, theres a guy in the uk who makes and sells them pretty cheap if you want hooking up.
Induction kit, Dinan, Gruppe M (real or replica), Simota, Dave F are all proven.
Remap.
That should see your 170hp 323 over 200hp maybe as high as 210.

Then look into USA m3 cams, UUC underdrive pulleys, viscous fan delete (easy if you have aircon).

There is next to no point investing in a full exhaust system as they only give 2 maybe 3hp gain. Unless you want the looks and noise particularly (in which case a back box will do). The BMW system flows very well as it is. De-cat will give you useful increases if you can get away with it.

Is the eaton m45 the one they use on Minis? No point fitting a small supercharger as it wont flow enough to give much gain. I dont know loads about them but I do know 2 people who do and both have said that the 2nd hand mini ones are great bargains for little cars but cars with 200hp already wont see much benefits.

 

[samuraigecko]

Is claymore a dude on here or is there a URL i can check out?

If not the m45 (mini used to use them but on the web page it says for 2l to 3l motors) then would I be better of with the m62 or m90 (both of which I can get cheap cos a friend of mine does eaton OEM here).

Can the Dave F system be used with a supercharger? If so would this be beneficial?

Is it really true that the m3 exhaust will not give much of a gain?

LOL Sorry for all the questions but I am about to spend big bucks doing this and I wanna get it right.

I just found this also:
EATON m52 running data

This would seem to indicate that I need an m62 if I was going to go with Eaton SuperChargers.

Peace

 

[pgarner]

yeah claymore is on here. do a search for threads started by him.
think its called the marex volume it shows his supercharged fiat.

SFTR - whats the difference between the UK and US M3 cam profiles ? noticed you said in another thread about the uk ones not fitting.

 

[Rudders666]

Right you did the first mod correctly. m50 manifold modified to fit the m52.
Next would be BBTB, theres a guy in the uk who makes and sells them pretty cheap if you want hooking up.
Induction kit, Dinan, Gruppe M (real or replica), Simota, Dave F are all proven.
Remap.
That should see your 170hp 323 over 200hp maybe as high as 210.

Then look into USA m3 cams, UUC underdrive pulleys, viscous fan delete (easy if you have aircon).

There is next to no point investing in a full exhaust system as they only give 2 maybe 3hp gain. Unless you want the looks and noise particularly (in which case a back box will do). The BMW system flows very well as it is. De-cat will give you useful increases if you can get away with it.

Is the eaton m45 the one they use on Minis? No point fitting a small supercharger as it wont flow enough to give much gain. I dont know loads about them but I do know 2 people who do and both have said that the 2nd hand mini ones are great bargains for little cars but cars with 200hp already wont see much benefits.

Hey Steer. Any ideas on the easiest back box to fit my BMW 323i? I went to a place in Leeds called Discount Exhausts and apparently there are no back box's (accoridng to them) that are a straight fit onto a bmw because of the angle of the cat back pipe. Is this true?

Also how difficult/expensive a job is it to de-cat my BM?