Search results

Re: E36 Track Day Hack (v2) No real deadline as such, its booked onto Oulton at the start of November to see how it goes, so a while yet. Got a few jobs to sort aside from the engine before then, but nothing major. Got new rings for the M54B30 pistons, as they are thinner than the M52s, and...

Re: E36 Track Day Hack (v2) M54B30 crank degreased, cleaned and checked over. Dropped it into the block.. Before bolting it together with assembly lubricant checked the bearing clearances.. Small amount on each of the main journals and torqued the caps down on the ARP studs to spec. Then...

Still no explanation really of how it got damaged... Unless there was a bad plug/coil/injector and it was getting DET on cylinder one, or the piston was damaged before it was fitted

Re: E36 Track Day Hack (v2) Had a bit of time this evening to make a start. Cleaned the block up and gave it a coat of black, then fitted the piston oil jets and first half of the mains bearings. Decided to use ARP mains studs/nuts this time - the standard main cap bolts should be replaced...

Because thats what the ECU had on it, and point proven by the AFRs being fine with an LC1. It drove no differently and ran no different AFRs with 98/99 in. I wouldn't have posted it otherwise.

Ran my RSTuner '98RON' map on 95 fuel for 3+ years, car was always 6k+ rpm all day long (was only used for track) and never had an issue. AFRs were fine. Components fine when stripped down.

Re: E36 Track Day Hack (v2) Yeah the pin is the same for all three. The height of the pin on the piston (relative to the top) is different on all three mind. The M52B28 comes pretty much flush when assembled in stock form. There is probably another 84mm piston that would work out right from a...

Re: E36 Track Day Hack (v2) Quickly compared them earlier: M50B25 M50B25 Rod - 631.5g M50B25 Piston - 452.0g (344.5g w/o Pin) M50B25 Assembly - 1083.5g (6501.0g Total) M52B28 M52B28 Rod - 603.0g M52B28 Piston - 428.0g (320.5g w/o Pin) M52B28 Assembly - 1031.0g...

Re: E36 Track Day Hack (v2) Unfortunately using an M52B28 piston with the M54B30 crank does not work (rods being the same), the piston comes out of the block.. Other available BMW 84mm pistons, whilst they fit in the block, the skirts are too long for the stroke with the B30 crank, or come...

Re: E36 Track Day Hack (v2) M50B25 - 10.0:1 M52B28 - 10.2:1 M54B30 - 10.2:1 The M54 pistons/rods stop around ~1.8mm from the top of the block by design (all three blocks have the same deck height) I'm using a standard thickness HG (1.75mm), with a skimmed block + head so id imagine it to be...

Re: E36 Track Day Hack (v2) For anyone interested, here are some comparisons of M50/M52/M54 components, which hopefully will lay to rest any 'internet myths' that I've come across when researching these parts. The details below are only really accurate for Euro models only, where US internal...

Re: E36 Track Day Hack (v2) The M54 block is pretty much the same, as is the oil pump and chain to the crank (all the same M50/2 sprockets/hardware fit the M54 crank). The baffle plate is exactly the same as the M52 item, but I don't use either. I use a modified M50 item as I'm using the iron...

Re: E36 Track Day Hack (v2) With the engine being in pieces and the next outing only in a good few months I decided to make some other changes to the engine. I came across a cheap M54B30, which originally came in E39 530i, E46 330i, X5 3.0, etc. The internals are interchangeable with M50 and...

Re: E36 Track Day Hack (v2) So, I finally got somewhere. Started with a new head. Didn't trust the old one, nor my spare. Skimmed, pressure tested, valve seats/bowls checked, valves lapped, new stem seals, etc. Also has the second port on the side of the head for an additional coolant...

Cool

Yeah the low fluid one should go through the plug on top of the cap I think, cant 100% remember where the wires run though. So at the moment is the brake fluid level light on? That will be the cause of the STOP light I think. The STOP light does not have its own trigger, its triggered by another...

Yeah, general fault finding, server down faults and AD administration is wearing a bit thin now really. Also not to mention having to stand in for desktop swap outs on-site and general end user 'IT' problems too. Im a bit above that £PA, without including a new phone every year, and getting paid...

What would you be doing to progress your career in IT? Considering relocating, maybe even to another country. Worked for two companies since 2007 supporting SME's, both end user desktop and server support. For the past 3ish years been customer facing on site, responding to network/server...

Re: E36 Track Day Hack (v2) Yeah, you can buy them from the US (people run them when turbo/charging them). Problem is they are not cheap after shipping + duty. Places in the UK list them for sale, but they just order in from the US on your behalf. Its recommended you run head studs with them...

Re: E36 Track Day Hack (v2) Yeah both dowels were in place and good condition - I chose the best pair from the various M50/2 blocks that I had at the time. No one seems to really know what the cause is for sure, but obviously the HG has been damaged and the head has moved/cracked/got damaged...

Just do the ABS one and I think you'l find the others will go out... I still had the handbrake one wired up normally in the Mk1 (for MOT etc) and it worked as expected. There was more for us to earth at the time as we didn't have much in the way of what a Ph1 has (airbags, brake pad warning, etc)

Earth the pins on the connector and the light will go out. We did it on the Mk1s when using Ph1 clocks.

Re: E36 Track Day Hack (v2) Yeah, hopefully just a bad gasket. It was just a generic 'OEM' gasket, as part of a headset. Never had an issue with them in the past on other engines, but you never know. I could use an MLS gasket, but then you need ARP studs to do it properly. Not usually stocked...

Re: E36 Track Day Hack (v2) Not really, no one seems to be able to pinpoint what it is to be honest. Not much of a response on the UK forums, US have been much more help but no one can really definitely say whats caused it. Head is damaged though. I've had piston one out, rings + piston are...

Re: E36 Track Day Hack (v2) Valves are all OK. Tested all six with petrol, left for 20min+, no leakdown.. Took a closer look at the head side of the headgasket, which revealed some marking around the chamber. I originally thought it was dirt, but its not.. Onto the relative part of the...

Re: E36 Track Day Hack (v2) Could be any of them now :( they were removed from the M52 Aluminium block, then fitted into the M50 Iron block in whatever order I picked them up in. Didn't really matter, as I checked the ring gaps again, and they were all new rings / good pistons etc. It was the...

Re: E36 Track Day Hack (v2) Its not shiny, just the same as the others. Fresh hone marks still clearly visible on all of them etc. Its pretty weird. Maybe a bad headgasket? Causing the cylinder/mixture to not burn properly? Oil temperature was a good 10-15C hotter than the old engine on...

Re: E36 Track Day Hack (v2) Well it ran in without issue (500-600mi) and then had an oil change. Then took it to Oulton a couple of weeks back and took a hammering all day, felt fine. Late in the afternoon and on the way home it had a missfire at low RPM, but drove back OK. Swapped out coil...

Re: E36 Track Day Hack (v2) Took the head off yesterday, nothing unusual found though. Head bolts were of equal torque, head gasket looks fine, no damage to the bore or cylinder head. Did a quick leak down test in the chamber of cylinder one and still well sealed as are the rest. No mixing of...

Re: E36 Track Day Hack (v2) So I needed to re-fit the old engine to get the car to Le Mans this year, as it had been planned for a while, plus taking the diesel daily isn't any fun. Once it was back in and running I made a new baffled catch tank to try and help with the blowby out of the...