1986 BMW 325 ES

[Mongrel]

my friend just got one and was thinking about tuning it, what would be the best way to go when modding this car? supercharger, turbocharger, ect. ect. anything but N2O, all suggestions welcome, cause right now my t-bird could take this thing for a ride on any type of track (straight or curves)

[Anzeige eBay]

Hallo Mongrel,

 

kennst du schon 1986 BMW 325 ES (Anzeige)? Dort ist vieles zu finden.

 

BMW Ersatzteile (Anzeige) | BMW Zubehör (Anzeige)

[thepolarfoxqx]

the 325es (i had one) was built for fuel efficiency, it compresses only 8:1 and makes 127hp, though 188ft/lbs of torque (if i remember right). I would rule out NOS, old BMWs don't like it much, especially a dry system. That engine naturally aspirated could pull 200hp, it just needs higher compression pistons/rods and a new cam, as well as a computer upgrade. If you wanted, a supercharger is an easy bolt on to that motor, and due to the low compression, you can boost pretty high, but either way, you'll still need a new cam,the one in there is really sad.

Then again, they do get great gas mileage. :roll:

[Mongrel]

yea, new chip and superchager is pretty much what we are going to do first, but do you think after that he could take the thunderbird (140 hp and between 210-240 lbs tq)?

[reggid]

new cam from an i and valve springs is the best way to start

[thepolarfoxqx]

a new cam and springs alone and he could take it.

[Mongrel]

oh well, the bird is dying the end of the month, so he wont be able to beat me by the time he tunes it

[LateNightCable]

a supercharger is an easy bolt on to that motor, and due to the low compression, you can boost pretty high.

Polar, you know better than that, shame on you :roll: .

[thepolarfoxqx]

listen, i've driven that car. It needs something, the 325i from back then was cool, 325e needed help!! my first choice would be new cam and gear, as well as to crank up the compression, but this is one of the very VERY few BMWs that respond well to supercharging.

[Mongrel]

do you think we could get a M3 engine in it?

[djfux69]

haha anything is possible with a 20lb sledge and a plasma cutter.

[Anzeige eBay]

Hallo Mongrel,

 

schau doch mal hier zum Thema Zubehör für BMW (Anzeige)? Eventuell gibt es dort etwas Passendes.

[thepolarfoxqx]

the M3 engine from what year? They'll all go in, they are all expensive. If you want the engine from E36 or E46, the computer and wiring work it a bear and a half, the E30 M3 was a four cylender, and to be honest, a well tuned 325 could be as fast for less money and less work.

[Mongrel]

hehe, thanx, how fast do you think we can get it for not very much?

[djfux69]

thats a tricky question as i am not familiar with bmw swaps. im sure an older car doesnt have that much under the hood, much llike a civic, and we can take one of those out in a few hours. a full swap in an afternoon. but putting in a new bmw engine will be trickier because of custom motor mounts, wiring harness, and possible chassis reinforcments. id say its going to get a little costly.

[thepolarfoxqx]

well, you could pull off a sub 7 0-60 if you got a high performance cam, new valves springs, high compression pistsons/connecting rods, and a performance computer for it. All those things combined would give you probably around 200hp. Just remember though, that engine's bottom end is not very good (they desgined it for low resistence and not much power) as the "e" model is for fuel efficiency, so if you push on that motor too hard, it will give.

[Mongrel]

as far as supercharging goes, would we get more horsepower turboing it or supercharing it?

[LateNightCable]

I would say turbo. It takes power just to drive the charger that I doubt that motor has to give. A small turbo would be best.

[Mongrel]

thats what i was thinking too, but i wasnt sure if the super compensated for the hp it took away, i still like the super cause it gives power all the way up, not just till you get up in rpm's

[thepolarfoxqx]

high rpms, superchargers start to lag on the engine and loose efficiency.

[djfux69]

very true. supercharges cause parasidic drag on the engine and lose efficiency in upper rpms. also you can oly go so far with superchargers, due to pulley sizes. with a turbo you can get a lot more boost. plus i feel a turbo is muchj more forgiving because it only give full boost when you lock the wastegate under wide open throttle. the turbos will be used much less, as opposed to the supercharger running full boost even at idle.

[thepolarfoxqx]

some good supercharged cars have clutches that intelligently will engage and disengage the supercharger (but they are all made by AMG), but you can't vary boost the way a wastegate lets you do,

[kleinefisch]

A turbo is easier to install too.

[djfux69]

i dont know about all that. most suoperchargers are self lubricating, so you dont need to run oil lines. you just take of intake manifold, or in a centrifical, take off the intake and run new belts. turbos need oil lines, exhaust manifolds, vacuum lines, a lot more piping, intercoolers ( to work more efficiently) and other misc. things. you can do a supercharger in a few hours with fairly simple tools.

[LateNightCable]

Good luck crafting the hardware needed to strap a supercharger onto a 325ie, I'm sure it's a real popular modification. Space is no problem in that car's engine bay. I think a turbo system would be simpler to install in that particular application, even with the plumbing. Easier to find a suitable kit as well.

[djfux69]

yeah well finding kits wasnt the problem. klien said it was easier to do a turbo, now if he meant on this car then i agree with you, but if he meant in general i disagree. superchargers are much easier to install. obviously if they dont make a supercharger for your car, its a lot harder to make a custom one, whereas turbo kits all you need is a turbo, then you can make your own piping.

[kleinefisch]

I was referring to the Bimmer, as that was the topic of conversation. Plus, I don't want to be messing with the engine to add either, I don't know about you. I'll change wheels, tires, re-paint, do electrical, do interior kits, but I won't touch brakes, engines, suspension, steering, or ECU's. I don't mess with anything that is very vital to the car functioning properly enough not to fly off a cliff. I'd just assume pay a pro to do the work, especially a blower, they aren't that much money to install.