Turbo Charging M20 UK

[netmgr]

Anyone fitted a Turbo to an M20 motor, without spending a fortune? i see loads of turbo charges on ebay for like £100, if i get the right manifold what else do i need?

any suggestions?
darren

[Specter325]

see also the forced induction forum on Bimmerforums

[netmgr]

Yep, seen that site, and $3800 seems a bit much really, as i say lots are advertised on ebay at 100 quid!

spending that much on an old car isnt worth it especially as you can pick up M5 in the uk for not much more

cheers
darren

[TimGinCentralNJ]

...I can tell you that Todd D. (TCD) is an upstanding guy who's been working on various turbo systems on E23 745's and E28's for quite a while now. He's a good guy to deal with, and I've not heard anything but praise about his turbo-handiwork.

He's a regular at www.mye28.com if you ever want to get in touch with him.

Just my $.02

Tim G.
'91 535iM

Yep, seen that site, and $3800 seems a bit much really, as i say lots are advertised on ebay at 100 quid!

spending that much on an old car isnt worth it especially as you can pick up M5 in the uk for not much more

cheers
darren

[AllanS]

Hey, do you have a link to one of the many 100$ turbo kits listed on ebay? I'm assuming you mean ebay.co.uk, since ebay.com doesn't seem to have anything.

[winfred]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=2477536110&category=33741

what we have here is a bilge blower for a boat, this thing is not designed to produce boost (and at 200 cfm the engine would be sucking on it, a 2.0 engine generally does over 200 cfm on it's own) this product is brought to you by the same goobers that sell the resister that feeds your computer the wrong temp and "gives you 20 hp" absolute crap!

[AllanS]

Bwahaha! I was hoping he wasn't looking at one of those "electric turbos" when he mentioned the price... they're actually pretty expensive when you think about it- 200-300$ for an electric blower is outrageous, especially when it'll just cause an intake restriction, if nothing else.

100$ might be able to get you a rusted junkyard pull from an old Buick gn or such, but then you'd need to have it rebuilt, find a 525td manifold, get a fuel regulator and bigger injectors, exhaust, oil lines, oil pan modification, etc. etc.....

I'm doing a homebuilt turbo project right now, and for the amount of money and effort needed to get it done (properly, that is), I'd of been better off buying a TCD kit. 4k$ may seem like a lot all at once, but I doubt that they're making much profit on it - that kind of **** really does cost a lot, especially if it's quality, and not 100$ junkyard stuff. The turbo they use costs 800-1500$ new, depending on what options it has, just by itself. Injectors will run around 300$, fmu another 300$, manifold is around 600$.... et cetera.

[netmgr]

Ok, i appreciate this is just the turbo unit, however note the prices...

brand new one...
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7901848504

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2477928695

darren

[535ise]

Try searching this US E30 forum for M20 turbo info.

http://www.r3vlimited.com/phpBB2/index.php?sid=898ba482a7dc2c09f0afbf322e7143bf

I think the first thing you want is to do is to find some one that can make you up a custom manifold and go on researching from there.

Look for a book by Corky Bell called Maximum Boost,it whould be a very good referance book for any one going down the turbo road.

Good luck with your project.

Andy
(UK)

[AllanS]

Looks like a remanufactured turbo for an oem application- It's a t25, which would probably be a tad too small for an m20. You'd probably want to use a t3 or equivalent. If it's from a diesel, it would be from something small, like maybe a tractor or the like. You'd have to see what spring the wastegate has in it currently. You also have no information on the specs of this particular unit. You'd probably want to use a t3 or equivalent.

If I were you, in a situation where funds were limited, I would grab a t3 and a manifold from a 525td (turbo diesel), which is (I think!) compatible with the m20 head. You could have a machine shop easily make an adapter for a t3 flange to bolt onto that manifold, or you could simply try redrilling it or cutting it off and having a new one welded on. I've seen these manifolds sell from 50$-200$ on ebay, which is considerably cheaper than an aftermarket one, but it may be easier/cheaper to make on your own using mild steel, if you can't find one at a reasonable price. The diesel BMWs may be more common in the UK, which would be in your favor.

Fuel would be handled by a rising rate fuel pressure regulator, like one from Vortech or Cartech (BEGi). Add some larger injectors, an a/f ratio meter, some work on the piping to and from the turbo, and you can get it done pretty inexpensively. But, obviously, don't expect to get huge power gains or calm reliability out of it unless you start spending the $$$.

[Anton CH.]

From what I remember the 525td manifolds are not compatible with m20.

[AllanS]

I saw references to it one day when I read through the entire Roadfly turbo/forced induction message pages archives, but like I said, I THINK it may be compatible, in that at least the holes may line up.