N52B30 Engine rebuild and head porting

[Ric in RVA]

bimmerlabs tune and 3 SIM are literally magic. Amazing difference. Car just feels lighter and gutsier everywhere. Really the way the sport should have come.

[cerealwars]

Inspiring work! Super impressive, love seeing perseverance pay off for the diligent DIYer on these newer, increasingly complex machines.

Especially appreciate seeing a proper quality build thread in this modern age of ephemeral media. Makes me want to finish my 1UZ 240sx!

Also appreciate the info on the bearing failures. I used to laugh at these cars and their rotating assembly problems back when Japanese sports car ownership cost 1/4 of the German ones. Now the car market has gotten bad enough where I just accept things like potential rod bearing failure as part of ownership because the high maintenance costs are part of what makes these cars attainable for me.

How cold was it in the great white north when the engine first spun a bearing?

[4JawChuck]

-20C, it has since been that cold with no further issues.

Angled spacers solved the check engine light from the lack of primary cats…no more check engine light is a lovely thing.

It’s been nice to be able to rely on the car again.

[tree233]

Hey 4JawChuck can you please summarise everything you've done to get these gains so far?

[4JawChuck]

Replaced all bearings with aftermarket alternatives.

Port exhaust side of cylinder head.

Clean pistons and lap bores with silicon carbide foam pads to remove scratches and embedded carbon.

Have crankshaft turned 0.0005” undersize for additional clearance.

Machine straps for mains caps to strengthen bottom end from flex. Replaced mains bolts with capscrews and increase torque for stability.

Basic gasket replacement and eliminate sealing process from oil pan gasket procedure.

Install headers with 90degree angle spacers for secondary O2 sensors.

Replace factory clutch and flywheel with stock weight single mass Valeo kit.

Eliminate most factory mount brackets inside engine compartment to clean up under hood.

Cosmetic changes to eliminate corrosion and beautify under the hood.

[tree233]

Nice! Thanks, keep up the good work! I'll be interested to see your final power figures

[rackhenry]

Originally Posted by 4JawChuck

Slow uploads, had to redo.

What headers are those?

[4JawChuck]

Roundel/werk.

[MoerE924u]

All of this looks amazing, especially the bronze/AL color scheme.

[kashikoi]

Beautiful work. I would love to be able to do something like this someday.

[KFBR392]

Have you looked into the new 22RPD N52 intake manifold at all? Seems like it would be a good addition given your head porting and headers. https://22rpd.com/shop/product/181

[4JawChuck]

Originally Posted by KFBR392

Have you looked into the new 22RPD N52 intake manifold at all? Seems like it would be a good addition given your head porting and headers. https://22rpd.com/shop/product/181

Very cool intake, I like it!

[NZE90]

Gutted i haven't seen this thread sooner. Great work! Couple of questions.
1.Do you think there's any benefit to polishing/smoothing the edges in the cylinder head combustion chamber area?
2. Did you polish your intake ports?