Project: E36 Compact with M57N & DCT

Svmp

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Dec 23, 2019
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M50 DCT & M57 DCT
Go go!! Good luck!
Thanks!
Haven't been able to progress on this car lately, you probably know why :smile:

Short update though: Have the MK60 and brakes all done, next up engine & DCT will be installed.
 
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Svmp

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Dec 23, 2019
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M50 DCT & M57 DCT
Small update... I really haven’t got the time lately to do anything, but last weekend i had some spare time.
I took the car inside and mounted engine+trans, adjusted all angles and made me a gearbox bracket. It still needs to be reinforced and fully welded.
pWxx7qI.jpg


Then, thanks to the internet, things got a little out of hands again. I stumbled upon a guy/company who had done a E9x 335d triple turbo with good success so far. So i did a lot of calculations and thinking, and decided to go for it.

The third turbo will be compounded with the oem big turbo. Can you spot it in the picture?
RjeImui.jpg


The third turbo will need all kinds of wastegating and a lot of precise control to make everything work together. I will probably build a dedicated controller for proper boost control.

And oh, there it is:
FrpGktA.jpg
 

Svmp

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Dec 23, 2019
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M50 DCT & M57 DCT
Some progress on this one...
Piping basically done for the turbos. Don't mind the welds, that's the result of a left-handed beginner equipped only with a stick-welder for stainless. :weary:

omsFJpR.jpg



It's a ~70-75lbs capable turbo, i'm intending to run it at 2-3:1 pressure ratio and hopefully be able to keep the K26 closer to 2:1 pressure ratio to achieve what i want at this stage. I would've fitted a bigger one, but there just isn't enough space, and after doing a ot of flow calculations this turbo actually seems better suited for my goals (at least on paper). My power goal is pretty lame, >600hp is enough. Won't be achieving that though without some upgrades on the fuel system, which will take place next winter.

There's going to be a lot of things to measure. Will have my own controller dealing with all of it + WMI. PCB design is ready, but no hurry in manufacturing as there can still be some changes to the design. :smile:

  • 2x temperature sensors for boost temp in different stages
  • 2x Pressure sensors for boost pressure in different stages
  • 2x Exhaust pressure sensors for EGP in manifold/mid-pipe
  • 1x EGT in exhaust manifold
  • 2x Wastegate position sensors
  • 2x N75/MAC solenoids to control wastegates (PWM)
  • 1x PWM output for WMI
  • 2x extra digital outputs (for control of OEM turbos if i decide to go that way)

fN0Z660.jpg
 
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Leo_89

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Jan 27, 2021
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E30 touring
OMG that is just awesome! My compound build feels lame compared to your tripple :p

is the R90 pump a direct swap to the R70?
 
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Svmp

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Dec 23, 2019
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M50 DCT & M57 DCT
I have a thing for compound turbo diesels. You’re my kinda mad @Svmp ! 😉
Thanks :smile: Looking forward to get this running. Santjer performance have had amazing results with three turbos so far.
OMG that is just awesome! My compound build feels lame compared to your tripple :p

is the R90 pump a direct swap to the R70?
Yes, it bolts on directly. You only have to swap out a banjo connection to hose.
R90 will be enough for only 500-600hp, depending on RPM, so i will probably go dual pumps in "stage 2".
 

sp_sjo

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Jan 11, 2022
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How did the project end up?

I'm wondering if there's a DCT conversion kit available for the M57D30TÜ2 as used in the e6x 530d. My ZF is about to expire and I'd rather spend the money on a superior transmission.
 
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Svmp

Specialist
Dec 23, 2019
62
69
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M50 DCT & M57 DCT
How did the project end up?

I'm wondering if there's a DCT conversion kit available for the M57D30TÜ2 as used in the e6x 530d. My ZF is about to expire and I'd rather spend the money on a superior transmission.
Still in the garage, haven’t really made any progress on it. Too much other things to do at the moment.

Have you thought about 8HP transmission? There’s a plugnplay solution for it now. The DCT will also be implemented but it will take some time still.
www.canformance.net
 

fmorelli

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How did the project end up?

I'm wondering if there's a DCT conversion kit available for the M57D30TÜ2 as used in the e6x 530d. My ZF is about to expire and I'd rather spend the money on a superior transmission.
Honestly the 8HP is a great alternative, and there is a kit for that. There are a variety of tunes for that transmission, and we have people in the USA running those transmissions in sports car racing with BMW's. Just a thought ...

244656924_10223543698774258_8190776487342622208_n.jpg
 
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fmorelli

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600whp and 850 lbs/tq at the wheels is pretty damn impressive for a 3.0 and will move you along at a steady clip ;)

I agree the 8HP has gone FAST in the 1/4 and is used it feels like everywhere.
Ok it is slapsilly for me to make any reference to a future project given my embarrassing backlog. That said, if my E70 X5d ever chuffs the 6HP I'll do an 8HP. It was fantastic in the 535d.
 

Torgus

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Nov 6, 2016
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Ok it is slapsilly for me to make any reference to a future project given my embarrassing backlog. That said, if my E70 X5d ever chuffs the 6HP I'll do an 8HP. It was fantastic in the 535d.

The 8 speed is what the e70 335Ds are missing. If it had an 8 speed I would consider dumping money into the e70 for fun. Oh well ;(
 

sp_sjo

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Jan 11, 2022
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Still in the garage, haven’t really made any progress on it. Too much other things to do at the moment.

Have you thought about 8HP transmission? There’s a plugnplay solution for it now. The DCT will also be implemented but it will take some time still.
www.canformance.net

I hadn't considered the 8HP as I consider DCT superior, although I do appreciate just how much better the later 8 speed slushboxes are these days.

I had a quick look at the website you kindly linked to, but didn't find any conversion kits, although there was a CAN integration unit designed for e9x. I have an E61 and want to keep it as OEM as possible.

I do have fairly extensive experience tuning vehicles and manipulating CAN messages. I was specifically interested in if the DCT (or 8HP for the purpose of this conversation) bolt up to the M57 diesel, or if there's a mechanical adaptation kit available on the market.

Appreciate your views, and don't want to hijack your thread too much!
 

Svmp

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Dec 23, 2019
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M50 DCT & M57 DCT
I hadn't considered the 8HP as I consider DCT superior, although I do appreciate just how much better the later 8 speed slushboxes are these days.

I had a quick look at the website you kindly linked to, but didn't find any conversion kits, although there was a CAN integration unit designed for e9x. I have an E61 and want to keep it as OEM as possible.

I do have fairly extensive experience tuning vehicles and manipulating CAN messages. I was specifically interested in if the DCT (or 8HP for the purpose of this conversation) bolt up to the M57 diesel, or if there's a mechanical adaptation kit available on the market.

Appreciate your views, and don't want to hijack your thread too much!
The site is mine, and no, i will not offer any mechanical conversion kits, there are a ton available elsewhere. The controller is the big thing here, i could mention that it is the first solution in the world that controls an BMW 8HP with it's OEM TCU without any soldering etc, but not many will understand the achievement or even care. Had the same thing done on the F-DCT over a year ago as seen in this topic, but now i finally have something finished to be enjoyed by others also.
The E9x support will likewise support E6x/E7x/E8x directly. I'm just about starting things up, so that's why it all isn't published yet. Standalone ECU integration and support for DCT is also underway. Actually my plan was to make the controller for the DCT and this car, but then i took on the 8HP and OEM integration as a "quick side project". :smiley:

A short clip about drivability (in very poor weather). Hopefully i don't get flagged for spam/advertising. :innocent:
 

sp_sjo

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Jan 11, 2022
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The site is mine, and no, i will not offer any mechanical conversion kits, there are a ton available elsewhere. The controller is the big thing here, i could mention that it is the first solution in the world that controls an BMW 8HP with it's OEM TCU without any soldering etc, but not many will understand the achievement or even care. Had the same thing done on the F-DCT over a year ago as seen in this topic, but now i finally have something finished to be enjoyed by others also.
The E9x support will likewise support E6x/E7x/E8x directly. I'm just about starting things up, so that's why it all isn't published yet. Standalone ECU integration and support for DCT is also underway. Actually my plan was to make the controller for the DCT and this car, but then i took on the 8HP and OEM integration as a "quick side project". :smiley:

A short clip about drivability (in very poor weather). Hopefully i don't get flagged for spam/advertising. :innocent:

Ah, that's interesting. Always good to see people developing products.

Do you have any links to the mechanical adaptations? You say there are loads of them. A Google search for it is what brought me to this thread :)

Your controller works with the OEM TCU? Other DCT transmissions I've reverse engineered in the just don't use a huge amount of messages, curious how these ones differ. I've got CAN gateway/manipulation devices with custom strategy support so could be useful.
 

Svmp

Specialist
Dec 23, 2019
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M50 DCT & M57 DCT
Ah, that's interesting. Always good to see people developing products.

Do you have any links to the mechanical adaptations? You say there are loads of them. A Google search for it is what brought me to this thread :)

Your controller works with the OEM TCU? Other DCT transmissions I've reverse engineered in the just don't use a huge amount of messages, curious how these ones differ. I've got CAN gateway/manipulation devices with custom strategy support so could be useful.
PMC Motorsport probably has the largest selection of different adapters, and also a lot of resellers.

Yes, it all is based on making the OEM TCU happy and gain control over it. I personally think that the engineering teams on ZF/Getrag/BMW probably knew what they were doing when designing these transmissions and their electronics/control, and it's pointless to go and destroy that with arduino-level electronics.
If controlling the BMW 8HP/DCT OEM TCU was easy, then there probably would be at least some controllers on the market. But there are none (apart from MaxxECU for the E-Series DCT, which actually first sparked my interest several years ago).
 

sp_sjo

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Jan 11, 2022
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PMC Motorsport probably has the largest selection of different adapters, and also a lot of resellers.

Yes, it all is based on making the OEM TCU happy and gain control over it. I personally think that the engineering teams on ZF/Getrag/BMW probably knew what they were doing when designing these transmissions and their electronics/control, and it's pointless to go and destroy that with arduino-level electronics.
If controlling the BMW 8HP/DCT OEM TCU was easy, then there probably would be at least some controllers on the market. But there are none (apart from MaxxECU for the E-Series DCT, which actually first sparked my interest several years ago).

Will check out PMC, thanks.

Couldn't possibly comment on other ECUs, but I hear the Baldur's Control Systems range are pretty good at controlling transmissions :)
 

fmorelli

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I do have fairly extensive experience tuning vehicles and manipulating CAN messages. I was specifically interested in if the DCT (or 8HP for the purpose of this conversation) bolt up to the M57 diesel, or if there's a mechanical adaptation kit available on the market.
https://turbolamik.eu/