I dont have this yet but I want to get a BMW 323I, 328I, 528I, 530I, or 540I with 4 doors and a 5 speed manual transmission. But I am saving up for this so I'm going to get it eventually (probably soon).

The model year I'd get would be in between 1997 and 2001. Anything newer and the insurance will be murder.

Also...anyone know about info on cosmetic and audio modifications that would be legal in Illinois (where I live)? I know it's different than in CA, where this site is based. So the guide on the front page isn't a total help. One difference I know about is instead of a 50 ft radius for sounds, in IL it's a 75 ft radius, but that's the only difference right now that I know of. Oh and that in IL you can't tint the windshield and front door windows.

I'll appreciate whatever you can tell me, which is hopefully useful since this is, after all, what this site is all about.

Instead of worrying about cosmetic and audio options why dont you try and see what you and do under the hood first

Oh...I guess I failed to ask about that when I posted this. But it was really late last night (this morning? 7AM!) when I posted this so I wasn't thinking that clearly. What can I do to the engine of that car? Or where can I go to get info on that?

Catch you all later!

abandoning your british roots jon?

talk to uglystick and or ls4 454. the end and good night

unless you're some sort of hard core yuppie, why not buy an earlier model like the e30 3er ('81-'89 325i/318i/M3) or an e28 5er ('81-'88 528/533/535/M5). aside from the 318i and the M class cars, these engines are single cam, stout and can handle a good 100 hp of nitrous day in, day out.

here are some photos of the mockup of my turbo system for a big six (in an earlier model 3.0 CS):

http://orionoutdoor.com/users/jason/web/BigTurboMockup/

that setup with aftermarket fuel management should be able to achieve about 400 rear wheel horsepower.

now, lets talk about the later model cars. they are all twin cam engines with very little acessability to the exhaust ports of the head, which pretty well rules out turbocharging. they'll take to nitrous decently, but the efi systetms of the later cars are fairly complicated and don't like to be 'fooled' if you know what i mean.

i was informed over the weekend that some friends of mine with an e36 S50 M3 motor in an old bavaria sedan race car had SERIOUS problems getting a good dyno run because with the front wheels stationary under serious (360hp) load, the car would kick into limp mode and stop producing any serious numbers at the rear wheels. the ecu would literally use the abs sensor on the front wheel to determine this, then reference it with the output of the speed sensor.

older models are single cam, easier to turbocharge, and really don't hurt your pocketbook as badly as a newer bmw would.

my .02USD,

jason
'75 BMW 3.0 CS w/ Single Turbo 3.15 liter
'85 Jag XJ-S w/ 450hp 383 Stroker SBC
'78 IH Scout II w/ 2bbl TBI; Adjustible Timing & 8 Channel datalogging computer

told you

oh, one other note. superchargers are available from a few companies for BMW's. the newer model cars have superchargers from Dinan or ESS, both of which have some issues i'm told, small ones, but issues nonetheless.

additionally, those superchager kits will cost you more than an older model and a full modification budget.

when the time comes, i can get you pretty much anything performance you'd need, for any model of bmw. email me:

jason@orionoutdoor.com

jason
griffith-hurst coachworks

what can you do to the engine... well you can paint it green you can spit on it or you can change the cam any other questions?

You could say that i guess lol

"I dont have this yet but I want to get a BMW 323I, 328I, 528I, 530I, or 540I with 4 doors and a 5 speed manual transmission. But I am saving up for this so I'm going to get it eventually (probably soon).
The model year I'd get would be in between 1997 and 2001."

If you really want something in that range I would go with a '97 M3 Sedan (4 doors), the 3.2L kicks ass compared to the earlier S50 motors, just be careful with a 5 speed. One missed shift and those conical valve springs will let the valves hit the pistons, I would go with the automatic, it drives very good and doesn't seem to slow the car down any. If you have the funds I would step up to a 540i, next best thing to an M5 and with all the power on tap you probably wouldn't want to modify the engine any. But on the M3 I would put a blower on it, I've driven some making close to 400hp with one properly installed. Would make it a real sleeper.

. "One difference I know about is instead of a 50 ft radius for sounds, in IL it's a 75 ft radius, but that's the only difference right now that I know of."
It is only loud if you turn it up, just be selective on when you do it. Just like having a fast car, it is only as fast as to how hard you push the gas pedal down. Just because it can run 11's in the 1/4 doesn't mean you do it at every stop light.

"Oh and that in IL you can't tint the windshield and front door windows"
You can't do it here either, but that doesn't stop anyone.

"i was informed over the weekend that some friends of mine with an e36 S50 M3 motor in an old bavaria sedan race car had SERIOUS problems getting a good dyno run because with the front wheels stationary under serious (360hp) load, the car would kick into limp mode and stop producing any serious numbers at the rear wheels. the ecu would literally use the abs sensor on the front wheel to determine this, then reference it with the output of the speed sensor."
Hi Jason,
If the engine was put into a Bavaria ('71-'73?) how was ABS affecting it? Or does the Bavaria have a much newer driveline in it? ABS shouldn't affect a car on acceleration, only when braking. Now if the car has DSC then that would limit the throttle, but you can disable it by holding down the DSC button for three seconds, something that has to be done to do a smog test or water slides. How is the Jag these days?

ls,

i'm not sure about the dsc. i do know the m3 abs computer that was used was weighty enough to have to be placed under the rear seat so as not to disturb the balance of the car. supposedly about 30 pounds. so i wouldn't be a bit surprised if the car had a dsc system onboard.

the bav (72) had late model e28 subframes & suspension w/ ground control coilovers. the engine was a s50 m3 6 with a getrag 265 overdrive 5 speed out of an e30 m3 i believe.

as far as it was explained to me, the speed sensor somehow references the abs toothwheel pickup output and compares the two to make sure the car is actually moving. that might be via the dsc, or it might have needed to remain a connection for the ecu after they lopped the dsc out of the equation. i really am just hypothesizing.

here are some photos of the car and stuff:
engine in car:
[External Image Removed]


oloa photo:
[External Image Removed]

targanewfoundland photo:
[External Image Removed]

jason

oh the jaguar is making good progress. it's about ready for finish primer and then paint. it'll be another few months though.

i've been working on the coupe most recently. it's down to bare metal and sitting on new suspension. my dad and i are going to shoot it with two laters of primer in the next two weeks. then comes the chassis work and finally the drivetrain. i still have rear suspension to finish up (new 3.07 limited slip too, replacing a 3.64 open), and the fuel tank. plus some rust work. it's coming along very well though. i think it'll be surprising me here soon, when i turn around and it's sitting there ready to go waiting for a $6000 engine.

the fiat is also taking up my time. it needs a few little suspension bits and steering bits to really be safe. and i'm contempalating turbocharging it as well. just too simple not to. perhaps right prior to building the bmw engine. the price is right on the fiat turbo setup. i've got a niiice garret t3 spare that my dad gave me last week (and said, 'put this in yer fiat.'). An exhaust manifold is about $140, and I've got a spare fuel management system that would utilize most of the parts from the l-jet setup. Ben even said he'd come up to help get it done in a weekend if we got the parts ready. Might be fun.

jason

M3 ABS computer at 30 lbs!?? Are you sure this wasn't aftermarket, a very crude one perhaps? The ABS computer is no bigger than the DME, maybe even lighter. The hydraulic pump may only weigh about 5-8 lbs, maybe.
The ABS interrupting the engine still doesn't make sense to me, it shouldn't do that, but you never know. It wouldn't care if the front wheels were turning or not, it would set a fault because it saw the voltage signals from the rear sensors and not the front so it would think something was wrong electrically and shut down the ABS. We see front sensor faults all the time after a car has been smog checked.
So I take it that this probably has the E28 ABS hubs on it and the sensors are mounted in their original location?
Here's what may have been happening:
1: The engine could have been pinging and the knock sensors were retarding the timing, the sensors could even be too tight making them sensitive.
2: Could the engine have been bouncing off the rev limiter? Sometimes the tach doesn't read quite correctly. He may have thought he wasn't all the way there yet but he may have actually been.
None the less, if he thinks the ABS system was the culprit then he should try again with the system disconnected, that will tell for sure.