Helll from Bmw 135i owner from the uk

[Danspec]

Hi

My name is Dan I’m from the uk and I’m in the process of getting my mid life crisis 135i up to a nice spec to rival my cossie that I miss from selling it when I had kids.

 

[AzNdevil]

welcome to the forums!
dont be shy to ask around or create new posts if you have questions

135 can defintely be a mid life crisis car if you go big
get the maintenanace stuff sorted first before you start modifying/upgrading...

 

[Danspec]

Car runs perfectly no issues apart from wastegate rattle and I think one of the turbos is smoking hence me looking at single turbo.

I’ve converted it to 1m spec mechanically already - done some of the body work so it covers the wheels needs paintwork done which I’ll do at some point when I get the bumpers on.

I’ve done some upgrades already - and the plan is to be big single turbo, my old cossie was 550bhp and I loved the way it the power came in so looking to have the same with this car.

I’ve got to do fuel pump upgrade and I might possibly change the management because I was possibly thinking of taking the di off to run it with wet manifold - I’ve not decided yet tbh.

I joined because im looking at getting a plazmann manifold and saw martymil is quite involved with them.

 

[AzNdevil]

ST is good, ST on a RHD is expensive and complicated....
you planning to go custom or with a kit? 550 whp is not going to be easy with pump fuel alone...

 

[Danspec]

Yeh it seems like a bit of a pain in the ass tbh.

I’v got 2 ideas how to im gonna do it. 1 is std manifolds linked together 2 is a china manifold which I’ll cut about to make fit as I can tig weld my own parts.

I don’t think I’ll go for a kit because they use really expensive turbos which im not interested in tbh, and I’m not game for gambling on hybrid twins and the associated work fitting them. I also don’t like the power delivery and the run out off puff at high revs.

As for the pump fuel issue once it’s all fitted I’ll cross that bridge tbh whether it’s meth or a bit of nitros.

The car is just entertainment really I have other vehicles for work and stuff and it gives me something to do.

 

[AzNdevil]

if you can tig weld then all you need is time

for what its worth, take a look at the RHD ST kit from JMC tuning, it seems to be reasonably priced and everything's customizable
they are not a vendor so i won't link them but you should be able to find them on facebook
they have an install vid on youtube from start to finish so...the kit "should" fit with no hassles

totally understand where you are coming from wrt hybrid twins...
i had no choice but went for a pair of pure stage 2 dd, 30k km later and still working

550whp is direct port meth territory. nitro should get the job done as well
if the car is driven enough, you can get away with mixing meth or paint thinner into gasoline....
but its very very corrosive and eats away your whole fuel system especially if your car will sit around

 

[Danspec]

Will have to see how it pans out with fueling. Port meth would work but it does depend on what ecu I end up using as to what hardware I can fit in that area. Coming from cossies I don’t like the di setup (stupid I know) if I can get rid of it I would like to.

First job on my list is to get all the parts I want to use on the car and it running then I’ll decide what I need to do to get the power I want. It’s why I haven’t done any fueling mods yet as I don’t want to buy double barrel kit or whatever until I get it to the point of deciding where I’m gonna go with it.

I’ve gotta get the ff inlet as I want to make new inter cooler to be top fed and the pipes coming out from under the slam panel rather than underneath the rad. So I’ll have to make a rad and drop it down to give me the space for the pipes. As I don’t like the crowded pipework it is now. (Again stupid I know )

It’s gonna be a while till it’s all sorted but I’m going to keep it running between each stage rather than take it off the road for ages.

 

[wheela]

Welcome! Please keep us posted of your build progress

 

[martymil]

extracting 600 hp out of a stock engine is only a ticking time bomb as most of us found out, you want reliable I would aim a little lower like 500 to 550hp and stay with twins.

Single will get very expensive fast, even those that did not believe and attempted it themselves the costs just ballooned on rhd.

A good set of twins will last as long as a single and come on a lot harder at a fraction of the cost of a single setup.

 

[AzNdevil]

Will have to see how it pans out with fueling. Port meth would work but it does depend on what ecu I end up using as to what hardware I can fit in that area. Coming from cossies I don’t like the di setup (stupid I know) if I can get rid of it I would like to.

First job on my list is to get all the parts I want to use on the car and it running then I’ll decide what I need to do to get the power I want. It’s why I haven’t done any fueling mods yet as I don’t want to buy double barrel kit or whatever until I get it to the point of deciding where I’m gonna go with it.

I’ve gotta get the ff inlet as I want to make new inter cooler to be top fed and the pipes coming out from under the slam panel rather than underneath the rad. So I’ll have to make a rad and drop it down to give me the space for the pipes. As I don’t like the crowded pipework it is now. (Again stupid I know )

It’s gonna be a while till it’s all sorted but I’m going to keep it running between each stage rather than take it off the road for ages.

would be interesting to see someone do a DI delete and run pump fuel...
i dont think ive seen anyone test this setup and post about it

if you do go DI delete then its going to be project by itself...
otherwise, for DI pump fuel, its simple, just throw a ekpm3 and a walbro 535 bucket kit and call it done, you can go fancy with an external fpr and upgraded fuel lines, i have beta tested the spool hpfp on pump a long time ago and gains were negligible

sounds like youve got a a lot of custom work planned... keep us posted on your build!
would be nice to see people with new ideas, hell you might be able to make kits to sell if people are interested in your idea!

 

[martymil]

You'll never hit 600hp on pump fuel without adding some kind of additive.

To hit it you will need about 22 to 25 psi and the cylinder temps will be off the chart to a point if you get a misfire event
you will be kissing a piston ring land goodbye or a melted piston on a stock motor.

Thats why most run e30 or meth as it's a much safer option.

 

[Torgus]

What is your whp goal not bhp goal again?

If you just want 550whp aka 640 bhp, assuming a 16% drivetrain loss, high quality upgraded twins and charge pipe meth and 93 will get you there.

You could make 550whp single turbo only but you would not like the lag and would be using a larger turbo then you need. Small powerband + too much lag.

I would also ask where your whp goal comes from. Power to weight to your cossie etc. An n54 can make 550 bhp on stock twins, granted they may not like it

Making a new IC and charge pipe sounds like a PITA when off the shelf huge ICs which fit fine are available see the bms/vrsf 7.5 race stepped IC. Huge heat sink. It will cost likely more time & money to make the type of system you are talking about with zero performance gains vs. What is available on the market today.

The road to 550bhp or 550whp is well known and I would say decently documented but we are all here to help share our knowledge. For the power it sounds you want to make my vote is stick with twins, stay the fuck away from mmp, vtt, frankenturbo, daw, or other China cast turbos. Unless you get them balanced state side and possibly upgraded(internals/wastegate etc.)...which removes the values of cheap twins given the insane install cost. Even if you do turbo replacements yourself you have a down car while waiting on an rebuilt turbo when the cheap twin goes bad or more than likely have to buy a new turbo as most companies aftermarket twin turbo warranties are questionable. Some china cast last 3k some 20k. There is a whole facebook group devoted to cheap china twins and how to make them reliable/where to get rebuilt/where to get balanced in the States.

All that said...twins are inherently 2x as unreliable, if not more, than a single. But for your relatively modest hp goals tier 1 high quality twins should do the job: RB or Pure are the only proven good solutions imo.

Also, please visit the octagon to see reviews of various turbos and the members who may or may not support them the discussions can get heated which is why they end up there.

 

[martymil]

The problem is you guys are quoting dynojet numbers, in the uk and oz those figures are unattainable because our dynos read at least 20%
lower than that.

The best example is when the so called 1000hp USA cars came over a few years ago to the WTAC and when they rolled on the dyno they couldn't even crack 800 whp here in oz, the sheer disappointment was funny to watch.

 

[AzNdevil]

The problem is you guys are quoting dynojet numbers, in the uk and oz those figures are unattainable because our dynos read at least 20%
lower than that.

The best example is when the so called 1000hp USA cars came over a few years ago to the WTAC and when they rolled on the dyno they couldn't even crack 800 whp here in oz, the sheer disappointment was funny to watch.

yea i tend to notice the same especially when comparing dyno numbers from other platforms as well...
any idea why this happens though?

 

[martymil]

No idea but as long as you run on the same dyno when you make changes will give you a good idea on improvements.

Here is a dyno calculator to get comparable numbers for different dyno's on the supra forums.

Toyota Supra MKIV : MKIV Specifications

.

 

[AzNdevil]

agreed....too bad dyno runs are very expensive here so i resort to road tuning and logs mostly and use the dyno to check the final result
its ~150usd for 3 pulls.....

 

[martymil]

same here, i hold the current record for dyno runs at over 500.