135is -> 1M CSL/GT4 build

[Latebeemer]

Originally Posted by Katsunaka

Just found this thread and holy smokes, you've done alot to that 1.

If I knew someone or could myself, I'd love to attempt a 1m conversion.
But I dont so I get to live through your post of actually doing it lol.

Been putting in solid amounts of work and seemingly trying to do it the best way possible the first time and not have to go back and do work over again.

Thank you! It's been a journey for sure.

[ShocknAwe]

Overkill to close with N53 head and ~600whp.

Doing valvetrain? 8k+ is glorious.

[Latebeemer]

Originally Posted by ShocknAwe

Overkill to close with N53 head and ~600whp.

Doing valvetrain? 8k+ is glorious.

I am, the builder suggested to go with the SuperTech valves, springs, collets and top plates. Not too much out there for the N53 head from what I saw.
I'd like to put some cams in but the cost is getting up there. I should have maybe skipped the closed decking and done the cams instead.

What cams do you have? Schrick?

[ShocknAwe]

Originally Posted by Latebeemer

I am, the builder suggested to go with the SuperTech valves, springs, collets and top plates. Not too much out there for the N53 head from what I saw.
I'd like to put some cams in but the cost is getting up there. I should have maybe skipped the closed decking and done the cams instead.

What cams do you have? Schrick?

Shrick low lift and stock N53 valvetrain.

[Latebeemer]

After some delays on the shipment parts and my engine's position in the queue, ARE got around to the assembly of the short block.

These are the rods and pistons:
Diamond Piston and ZRP rods.



Short Block Assembly:

[Latebeemer]

I made this oil cooler setup for a few reasons, but here is the main reason. When making near double the power and substantially more torque than what the M3 differential was designed for with the S65, I concluded that keeping the oil in the differential cool would be of a benefit.

I've rigged it up with two temp switches that switches on at two different temps. the lowest temp 88DegC (190degF) switches on the pump to start circulation of the oil. If the oil temp continues to go up and reaches 93degC (200degF) then the fan kicks on. I've added LED lights on the dash that indicate when each switch is triggered, that way I'll know if this was overkill or if it was worth it.

[F30_320D_UK]

What a build, mate! Love all the fabrication work

[Latebeemer]

It's been a busy few weeks getting the engine back together and tying up all the little things that I wanted to get done before driving the car.


Here is the refreshed N53 head with supertech valve train:










I also opted to go with this Insane 4 pin one piece crank hub:


Next up was to complete the 3D printed manifold by welding it together and welding on a wastegate flange since the groove of that flange came out a little distorted in the 3D print.







Engine back home:



Next up was finalizing the boost piping. I bought some Wiggins style clamps so I could get rid of the silicone hoses.

[Latebeemer]

With the use of some for sale posts of the M3 GTS roll cage, I've reverse engineered the mounting plates and mounting points in the car to be as close to what was done in the M3. I think that doing it this way is ever so slightly better that the off the shelve cages that are available. It also helps that a friend of mine is a welder.







Test fitting:


Mounting plates painted:


Done!



The next thing I'd like to do is to make a rear seat delete kit to match the interior and to cover the opening between the trunk and cabin and the area where the accusump its located to finish off the interior

[Latebeemer]

[Latebeemer]

I've uploaded these pictures a size larger, hope it looks ok.

The turbo manifold that I designed and printed failed, and I wanted to share with you guys what I think happened. I started hearing an exhaust leak about two days before I took the car to the dyno, the leak was only audible at cold start and went away as soon as everything got hot.

On the day of the dyno after the first test pull and after the car stood for a little while, while waiting on software and such, the noise was a little louder. We did one more pull and it seemed like the wastegate couldn't hold pressure for the turbo to keep boosting at high rpm so we called it, to change out the spring in the wastegate to a slightly stiffer on. We unhooked the car off the dyno and with the next start up the exhaust leak was very loud and had clearly gotten worse. I had insulated the manifold, turbo turbine housing and exhaust so seeing where it was coming from was not at easy task, however there was a hole blown through the DEI aluminum heatshield that I had over the manifold.

When I got home I let the car cool down before trying to see what damage was.

This is what I found:





And the damage was so much worse than I thought once removed:


My conclusion for why this has happened is as follows:

1. 316L Stainless Steel is not the ideal choice for this kind of service, the company I used only had this option to choose from for stainless steel.
2. 3D printed parts are approximately 50% less dense than the equivalent cast item and thus very porous

[Latebeemer]

I've decided to make a manifold the tried and tested way, from 304 Stainless steel Sch 40S pipe and elbows.


The weight is in grams, it works out to roughly 8lbs

Compare that to just this collector which is close to 5lbs


That shows the significant difference in density between the two types of materials. Keep in mind that the 3D printed part has a wall thickness of 3mm which is about 1/8" similar to the Sch40 piping

I had some spigots made to fit the ports on the head


I pieced together the manifold for a test fit




While it was in the car, I also found the position for the wastegate and I pieced it together.

[Latebeemer]

Progress pictures on the tubular manifold:

[Latebeemer]

I've designed these ducts based on the M4 Race car ducts that I found pictures of on bimmerworld. I like how they feed the air into the center "bell" and not onto the friction ring of the rotor. Which is what most ducts do that is available for these cars. This design allows for the air to travel through the center veins of the friction ring and cool it evenly on both sides.

These have been 3D printed out of aluminum. I still need to add a heat shield to deflect the radiant heat from radiating to the suspension components like the ball joints and shock body.

[ShocknAwe]

I think you'll like the new manifold better, looks pretty good. Where are you going to put your O2s?

Been thinking about brake ducts too. Planning a switch to the F87c brakes on my build. What's your plan for heat shields? I'm not using any right now.

[Latebeemer]

Yeah this manifold should be pretty good. The sound is going to be incredible at 8000rpm.
I've done a single turbo conversion with the wiring with the MHD software and re-pinning a wire or two to use a single O2 sensor in the downpipe and a singe MAC solenoid for the boost control.

The F8x brake upgrade is a popular one, I don't know too much about it otherwise.

With these brake ducts I have to make custom shields, I've designed some with the brake duct but didn't get them printed because it'll be cheaper to use aluminum plate and cut a shield out of that and attached it to these ducts. I'm thinking of mimicking the OE shields as much as I can. They are further from the rotor right after the pads (the hottest area) and get closer to the rotor as it nears the pads again. It seems like BMW thought that having the shield further away allows for the hot gases to dissipate quicker than what they would if the shield was right up close to the rotor. I could be completely wrong, and it could just be that there is more space to have it further away hahahaha

There is one spot where the shield gets very close to the rotor and that's where the tie rod end ball joint is, which is also the most critical spot for the shield to be if you want those tie rods to last any reasonable amount of time.

I track my car so I do put a substantial amount of heat into the rotors over the course of a track day which is why I look at these kinds of things.

[Latebeemer]

Here are some pictures of the manifold and the heat shields.







This was after running the car for about 170km (~105 miles)

[Latebeemer]

at the end of an afternoon of spirited road driving, this happened








I have yet to remove the turbo to inspect the turbine side to see what actually went wrong. The engine seems to be fine, luckily. If its not clear to me what the cause of the failure was, then I'll send the turbo to a local turbo rebuilder to see if they can tell me what the cause was of the failure.

There are a few bits that fell onto the undertray when I removed the inlet pipe, I'm assuming the impeller nut will be among those pieces.

[Latebeemer]

I also made a turbo support, I figured rather safe than sorry since the old 3D printer manifold didn't survive likely because of the weight of the turbo.

[ShocknAwe]

That's really scary. I'd replace your intercooler.

[Latebeemer]

Originally Posted by ShocknAwe

That's really scary. I'd replace your intercooler.

Oh yeah it was very scary, I thought I had lost the engine. This is a loss for sure, but its much easier to replace a turbo than rebuild and engine.

There is for sure tiny pieces of impeller and loads of aluminum dust on the intercooler inlet side.

[ShocknAwe]

Originally Posted by Latebeemer

Oh yeah it was very scary, I thought I had lost the engine. This is a loss for sure, but its much easier to replace a turbo than rebuild and engine.

There is for sure tiny pieces of impeller and loads of aluminum dust on the intercooler inlet side.

Gonna flush the engine?

I'd definitely replace everything on the hot side with new