single turbo n54 drag build (RHD+build th400)

nasty54

Private
Sep 25, 2021
32
24
0
Perth, Western Australia
Ride
Bone stock 2009 135i e82
hey guys so earlier this year i purchased an 2009 e82 n54 powered bmw with the intentions of building a more or less dedicated drag car. i will start by saying i still have plenty to learn about cars, im not a professional mechanic just another average car setting out to build a car that rowdy, a little sketchy and most importantly fast.

i want to start this thread to document the build which began a couple months back and to open some lines of communication with some more knowledgeable people for when i inevitably run into n54 problems!

car is currently apart and getting put back together at the moment.

current list of mods that are being installed on the car:

-fully built th400 reverse pattern, manual valve body with a trans brake and dump. (Rated for 2000hp) built by all fast torque converter
- b and m ratchet shifter
- custom torque converter 5000-5500rpm stall 9.5 inch converter
- built Ford 8.8 inch rear end
- trutrack dif centre with 3.73 rear gears and 31 spline full billet out law axles from g force
- chromoly drive shaft (waiting to fit trans for exact specs required but this is only thing left to purchase)
- stage 4 kit from fuel it it with both pumps upgraded to walbro 525 and port injection injectors upgraded to 950cc, fuel reg, return kit, upgraded lines etc. port injection run off split second controller.
- billet forward facing intake manifold
- full custom single turbo kit utilising a pulsar 7375 (g-42 -1200 rep)
- turbosmart gen v 60mm powergate
- 4 inch straight pipe exhaust for street but removable and able to be dumped out the fender for race
- line lock kit
- weld pro star 15x10
- Mickey Thompson et street R 275/50/15 (will attempt to fit a pro radial and go to a shorter rear gear once ive gone through these tyres)
- oil catch can
- stand alone 57l fuel cell
- 27mm stiffer rear sway bar
- Viking drag shocks all round
- upgraded oil cooler
- upgraded radiator
- upgraded mishimoto trans cooler and fan
- PR coil packs upgrade
- 3.5 bar tmap sensor
- small brake kit on the rear assembled using oem bmw parts
- heads been freshly carbon cleaned
- ARP head studs from MMP with 50% more thread engagement
- bare metal stripped interior except dash
- kirkey pro street driver seats
- kirkey alloy passenger seat
- single cross bar to mount seats
- VRSF 7.5 inch race intercooler
- solid aluminium dif bushings
- solid aluminium subframe bushings
- upgraded pcv
- ugraded front rotors for stock brakes
- braided brake lines
- aeroflow turbo blanket

probably a few things ive missed. plenty more planned for the car but i need to save some more funds before we move any further than the above mentioned.

will be buying a block once the car is buttoned back up and running to get converted to a closed deck and and begin slowly putting together a built bottom end.

i am based in perth, western australia. the single turbo kit is being custom fabbed by spool autoworks with the exception of a simply tuning manifold. simply tuning also supplied the transmission adapter.


primary goals with the car:

- run 9s (cue n54 haters saying 9s is unrealistic)
- do fat transbrake skids
- be somewhat reliable as far as a race car goes


love to hear from some other n54 guys about their builds and experiences and tips. as i mentioned earlier whilst not dumb im certainly no mechanical wizard and still learning my way around the platform so always keen to chat to those more experienced and learn.


trans adapter landed last week and will be dropping it to the shop this week so we can dummy fir the th400 and order the correct driveshaftfor th400 to ford 8.8

have attached a few photos of my car and a few various parts.

any questions about the build are welcomed and encouraged.

- nasty54
 

Attachments

  • 8F2AF604-928E-4894-B9AE-22B5632F0B4E.jpeg
    8F2AF604-928E-4894-B9AE-22B5632F0B4E.jpeg
    508.5 KB · Views: 183
  • 8C5E6361-A1D4-4900-AAB6-BC95E02A803C.jpeg
    8C5E6361-A1D4-4900-AAB6-BC95E02A803C.jpeg
    475.6 KB · Views: 124
  • CF55C963-6CAB-4CF1-924C-35496871CC03.jpeg
    CF55C963-6CAB-4CF1-924C-35496871CC03.jpeg
    321.5 KB · Views: 117
Last edited: