M30 swap for my Olive Drab Vert! by RagtopE30

M30 swap for my Olive Drab Vert!

60lb Siemens Dekas, 3.5" down pipe that reduces down to 3" from the down pipe all the way back. And at the moment just a generic cone filter

And thank you Otis.

Positive manifold pressure is within sight! 

Today I got in my piping for the wastegate and started the process of plumbing it in. I also had some oil lines made so I can get oil to and away from the turbo.

I also have skipped posting a few steps showing progress on the gauge plate but here is the nearly finished part. Keep in mind there will be 3 gauges across the top and other items on the bottom half. I am considering making these for the community, let me know if any of you would be remotely interested.

Down pipe progress!!!!!

Added a V-band at the bottom and finished the day with a wrap. Ignore the welds, I did!

Positive manifold pressure: CHECK!

Did a little test run at 1am down some country roads and HOLY HELL! This car is scary fast and I have driven some fast cars in my day. 14psi +/- and it pulls like it is being chased by every demon in hell! I cant wait to get it back on the dyno for some new numbers. I am going to guesstimate 415whp I hope I am right.

I will post some videos in the following days but for now I need to make sure she is ready for the WNC picnic. 

LIFE IS GOOD

Videos will be up hopefully this evening. No one is willing to record yet. They have been to busy clinching butt cheeks

Accelerating onto the interstate under 3/4 throttle and boost near 12psi the car looses traction and the rearend wants to slide out at 60+mph. So much fun

I would offer you a place to stay but I live in the Mountains which are 3+ hours away from the vintage. Otherwise you would be more than welcome to stay at my place and hangout at my shop.

Jeff thanks for holding the camera. I cant wait to get this thing tuned correctly and realize the actual potential this set up has. Hopefully next time you ride in it I will be making more boost and have some wider rubber on it.

I will probably need to upgrade my tuna can suspension to a more hardy Halibut setup

Using the video time as a measure it looks like I made it from 60 mph at 0:55mins to 100mph at 1:01 so my 60-100mph time is 6 secs. Then I hit 120mph at 1:04 which puts my 60-120mph time at 9 seconds. Kinda slow..... I will have to work on that. I am still learning this "new" car and power.

The wastegate spring is a large green spring for my 44mm Tial which is rated at .8bar or 11.6 psi and I don't have a boost controller as of yet so this is running on the low side of my boost goals.

And just so you know the gear change was from 3rd to 4th and this is still with just minimal tuning on above 90 cells on the VE table.

After doing some research on 60-100mph times and reviewing my video I am impressed with the time. 1st point, I started at 60mph from a deceleration and all vacuum.... The official numbers posted by supercars are derived from a continuous pull from 0 mph up to a speed well above 100, so no loss of boost/power. 2nd point, I shifted during the pull even though my gearing will take the car past 100mph in 3rd gear. SOOOO I will be attempting this time again correcting these two very important details because as it is my current (messed up) 60-120 pull is already in the company of cars such as the Ferrari 512m and the Noble M12 GTO-3r which both do it in 5.1 seconds. I would like to see my car do better and post a 4 second pull at 11psi which will put in the company of the Koenigsegg CC8S. Doable? You betcha!

Another attempt today for the 60-100mph. Same tune, same low boost, just different approach. I feel like I can definitely do it faster even with the current tune and boost. But in this video I am dead on 5 seconds flat.

How do you embed this thing?

Yes MAP for now. I need to get a variable TPS rather than the stock closed throttle and WOT TPS before we can tune with it. The stock TPS made Mega Squirt angry. What are you using?

For those of you who are following this thread for inspiration or knowledge let me put something out there. If you are lucky enough for Otis (Good&Tight) to share his knowledge with you take it as gospel truth and don't let anyone tell you different not even a hot shot machinist. 

After running the car for almost a week with the turbo installed I have noticed a "hiccup" at 12 psi at WOT. At first I thought it was my timing being slightly off but then I also had a couple of overheating situations where I lost a lot of coolant out of the overflow tank. I had to admit to myself that I had a head gasket issue. So I tore into it this evening to confirm. ONCE AGAIN, Otis's advise is the gospel truth!!!!!!!! 

You can see where the exhaust pushed through from two cylinders under the head gasket. There was only one that leaked above the head gasket.

And the underside of the head. ONCE AGAIN OTIS IS THE TURBO M30 GOD!!!

But it is not all bad. I had a couple of visitors today. 

First a 1972 3.0 CS came in because of a driveline vibration. A loose driveshaft slip joint nut and Guibo bolt tightened and it is back on the road.

Then a local was out for a test drive in his newly finished project and he stopped by.

Yes to the CS. And the blow out was the result of improper prep and install of the hg. Like I said, if Otis recommends a certain procedure for installation it is best to follow his advice.

Copper spray and multiple rounds of torquing at each interval with "rest" time in between each pass. And I am going to paint my intake manifold

Absolutely! I mean come on, no wonder it gave out when it has low self esteem! Painting the intake will boost it's esteem and therefore will prevent further overheating issues, or steam events!

Boosted esteem = no steam with boost

Yes sir. I got her back up and running yesterday. I drove her home very lightly and I will drive her back to the shop today. Once she has cooled down I will do one last torque on the studs. Then I have an appointment tomorrow evening at the dyno and I have acquired a boost controller so I will either blow my engine or I will show up to the vintage with some pretty good numbers.

No the head was completely gone through at the time of assembly. The hg did great while I was running NA. The leak only showed up when boost above 10psi happened. Otis recommended separating the individual layers of the Mls hg and coating each side with copper sealant spray. Then to step torque the head studs with multiple passes per value with a resting time in between each pass. All of that was ignored and the machinist said it was unnecessary, which it was for a NA application but boost is a different animal

Ok I got the car running yesterday and spent about an hour bleeding the coolant system. Yes I had the front of the car up in the air, the closed hood was at chest height on me. I got all the air out that I could and drove the car home, a very easy 12 miles. I then drove it back to the shop first thing this morning and went about my business. I should mention that I bled the system well enough that even at operating temp the upper radiator hose had plenty of give to it compared to the balloon about to burst feel that you get with air in the system. 

At the end of the day I pulled the valve cover and did one last pass on the head studs with the Snap-On torque wrench and they were all at 90ft-lb. I then buttoned her back up and took her out for a good hard run with several pulls at full boost and WOT. The previous two 12 mile drives were kept under 3k rpm and in vacuum. After pushing her hard I checked the upper radiator hose and it was tight as in pressurized. I cracked open the bleeder screw and only a very little bit of air came out mixed with coolant. I then cracked open the top plug on the radiator and I got some air but as soon as I lifted the reservoir I got coolant. I did not feel any hiccups during the drive and I hope it is just a little bit of air that found it's way up when the engine/water pump turned at higher rpms. I then drove her home with a couple good pulls and the radiator hose seems to be appropriately pliable. Comments?

Secondly, I have noticed a big difference in the engine after redoing the head gasket and changing the oil to a thicker 20w-50. It seems to be turning much more freely even at start up the starter spins faster. 

Also my boost is consistent. Before at full boost my gauge was reading 12-14 psi but my waste gate spring is a 0.8bar or just at 11.6psi. Now the boost gauge is reading a very consistent 11.5 every time I allow it to build. 

The engine feels like it is more stable. I know that is a weird way to describe it but the engine feels smoother and once it gets out of warm up enrichment it wants to rev super fast. 

Lastly I noticed that I am getting much more blow by coming out of the valve cover. The hose that used to return to the intake is now vented to the atmosphere and before the head gasket redo I may have gotten a little steam but not much else from it. Now I am getting what I would expect, hot oil steam and smoke but not smoke in a bad way (I don't think anyways). 

I hope that it is fixed and holds up because I have an appointment with the dyno/tuner tomorrow evening and we will dial it in and see what kind of power she is making. And if all goes well we will turn the boost controller up to around 18psi. I am stoked.

IF YOU SEE ANY RED FLAGS IN MY OBSERVATIONS ABOVE PLEASE SPEAK UP NOW!!! I would rather postpone my dyno death day and drive her gently to the Vintage than blow her up on the dyno and not make the Vintage. OTIS? Jim?

No because I didn't over heat it severely.

I thought I would be able to do both the Vintage and post good numbers. 

Numbers: (I will post the dyno sheet when he emails it to me)

414whp and 427 ft-lbs at 4600ish rpm on 12psi

Then 

440whp and 479 ft-lbs at 4600ish rpm at 14.5psi

AND THEN

This morning I had to get my car towed to my shop due to over heating again. 

I pulled the head today with the help of some friends and the MLS headgasket resembled a piece of cooked bacon. I said screw it at this point I dont have time to order a new head gasket and make it to the Vintage within 24hrs. So we cleaned each layer and tried to reseal it with copper spray. We check the head for visible cracks and then reassembled. I have to say my friends helped me pull off an incredible feat, head gasket job done in 3 hours. Once the coolant system was filled and bleed as much as possible we took it for a drive and didnt even make it a mile before the coolant system was pressurized and spewing coolant out of the coolant tank. I bled the system again hoping against hope that it just had a little air in it. NOPE the head gasket is still allowing exhaust into the coolant. 

So I will not be at the Vintage this year..... SUCKS!!!! Feels like I did all this work for naught. Needless to say this has been a pretty disappointing day.

I am still running the factory fuel pump and when I post the graph you will see where it looks as if the fuel pump just can't give anymore. At the top of the rpm range and at full power the afr's on the last pull went from 11.3 to a 12.8 which. Or ally wouldn't be a problem but the tuner believes that the fuel pump starved the engine just enough so the timing no longer worked and shit happened. 

All I know is that I am going to get another cometic and spray it from the get go. Then I will over torque the studs to 105ft/lbs and I will keep the boost at or under 14psi. I also will be having the head checked before reinstallation. Not to mention new fuel pumps, that's right dual walboros! Then I should be good

Thanks man. I hated missing it this year more than I want to admit! 

The cam and crank are dead on the marks. I will definitely check it with a timing light when I get the new head gasket and reassemble it

There was no noticeable detonation. But I will definitely check with a light.

Then again the head gasket may have been to far gone before I pulled it apart the first time. It was suggested that the head gasket could have been leaking from day one but not to the extent of being really noticeable. If that was the case the resealing was just a temporary fix and a ticking time bomb. After some consideration I am glad that it gave out near home rather than after some spirited driving on the way to Winston Salem. I am going to check every block and not take anything for granted when it goes back together. The head will be checked, the deck will be checked, the head gasket will be treated to the Otis method, and the timing will be confirmed with a timing light at a minimum.

It took a little time but here they are as promised.

This is the best NA pull during the original dyno session for reference.

Here is the comparative dyno sheet which shows the original NA baseline and the second and last turbo'd pulls.

Here is the last pull 440whp and 479ft-lbs

Just finished putting this together and placed an order! Don't worry I ordered some extras and if they are decent quality I will pass them on at a break even price!

I am ordering from two different sources in order to find the best quality. I should have some in hand in a week or two.

First batch from carstickers.com 

100mm X 57mm 

$7 shipped in the lower 48

I am still waiting for my second order which are coming from England in a week. They will be exactly the same size, color, and font as the originals but they did cost quite a bit more.

^Awesome!

I finally got the second order in today and rather than continue selling them through my build thread I made a new thread with the decals. Check it out and please post your "installed" pics on the new thread.

http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/show...49#post4164149

Not a M30 update but it is an update.

I have started another project because I have everything I need to complete it without spending money, which currently I do not have.

Check it out!

I got home from Wisconsin yesterday after a 3 week training I had to attend. I was welcomed home by these beauties! 

Progress will soon follow. I want to have the car back on the road by the end of the week. Bigger cam FTW!!!!

It is the cat cam turbo cam. 292/274 it came with a spec sheet. I will post up the details later tonight

So the goodies include:

IE HD rockers w/new eccentrics

Rocker shaft locks

New High performance springs from VAC

And the Cat Cam from VAC

The Cat Cam is a 292/278, sorry I posted wrong info earlier. It is supposed to be good for between 40-100hp at the wheels depending on boost and tune on a standard m30. I am hoping that it will get me above 500whp at or below 14psi so that I can run pump gas. Here is the cam data sheet.

Got a couple of hours in today. Now some porn and sweet sweet sexual healing through the power of photobucket and a camera that is INSIDE of my phone! I know, crazy right!?

New Spring on the right compared to old on left.

New rocker on right compared to old on left

NEW CAMSHAFT!!!!! 292/278 Turbo Cat Cam

MONEY SHOTS

It's alive! ITS ALIVE!!!!!!

The cam is surprisingly smooth even at idle. I feel like it has a much more linear power curve but only the dyno will say for sure. 

Currently keeping the boost at 12.5psi until I can re torque the head studs and adjust the valves after a few heat cycles. But man oh man did I miss my car.

Finished this up today. I still need to go back in and fix a little spot of rust but I like it.

Thanks guys! I am re torqueing the head and adjusting the valves again tomorrow. Then I will turn the boost up to 195kpa or 14psi. I have an appointment for the 20th of Sept to put her back on the dyno and put down some real numbers. My challenge will be to find the previous run that was at 195kpa to do a good comparison of the two runs. After reviewing my MS logs from the last dyno visit I found that my final pull hit 211kpa or 16psi. I do not intend on going that high again until I install some sort of octane booster (meth injection) but that will have to wait for a half cage, bigger brakes, and wider tires.

I am going to try to get her on the dyno earlier but the 20th is for sure.

I have quickly learned that the awesomeness of my car is limited by the availability of roads and opportunities to really open her up without having to immediately apply the brakes. The car does not enjoy going slow ( <65mph) 3rd gear at 2700rpm is 65mph and building boost. Not complaining just an observation.

It is a super cereal problem! I also live in the mountains so even though the roads are a blast to throw the car around there are not to many straight roads without LE presence. I punch the throttle in 3rd and when I build full boost and shift to 4th I am already exceeding 100mph with 2 gears at my disposal. I normally cruise down the interstate in 3rd with the rpms on the verge of building boost because it is so nice to pass people and hear the jet engine under the hood. There is also something to be said for matting the pedal just behind and at the same speed of the person you are passing then looking them in the eye when you pass them like they are standing still. Their faces are priceless!

Then you apply the brakes so that the LE around the next curve don't getcha.

I took my wife for her first ever boosted ride. You know how your significant other will fuss and smack you on the arm when you get a little crazy, such as a friendly burnout or impromptu light to light duel? My wife left bruises and used curse words that I have never heard in my life during a partial throttle pull in 3rd gear between 35mph and 75mph (took a couple of seconds). 

Did I mention that I love this car!?

flares came in...... Next update will include some more fabrication and flares!!!

Went to the dyno today for 3 runs and no tuning. 

Because I want a reliable daily driver I along with the help of Otis and another friend changed the spark map to a more conservative tune.

I also removed the boost controller and ran off of the wastegate which is 12.5psi

All that being said,

In May the car, with a more aggressive spark map, made:

414whp and 427wtq

Today the car, with the new cam and conservative tune, made:

407whp and 464wtq

I lost a little bit of hp but gained tq. I am sure that if I went with a more aggressive tune I could also see gains in hp but my goal is to have a reliable daily driver. The question on my mind is this, Was it worth paying the $500ish for the Cat Cam?

Long answer short- Yes.

Even though the Hp seems to have suffered on paper the power comes in sooner and smoother. Once the boost builds the tq is amazing. Seeing as how we basically de-tuned the MS the gain in tq says a lot. I am more excited now than ever about getting meth injection on this car and turning it up.

I want to know what e85 or meth injection would allow it to make if the boost were turned up to 18psi! And sorry no dyno pics. I was in the passenger seat keeping a careful eye on my MS dashboard.

I am heading to the shop after lunch and the only goals I have for today are check and install the TPS and Tidy up the shop a little bit. Should be a good day at the shop, I left my schedule open for today just incase something catastrophic happened at the dyno yesterday.

I am looking forward to being able to see the TPS data on the logs. It will allow me to do so much more as far as fine tuning and idle control.

I just got invited to do some test and tuning on my car at a local municipal airport with a 3000ft runway. Shenanigans will happen!

It easily hits 140 with the top down. I plan to test what it will do on a 2/3 mile runway

At least not in an e30 on a 3000ft runway.

Another downside to this car... I know, I know, 1st world problems! 

If you drive it like it was built to be driven you can literally (and I am not exaggerating at all) watch the fuel gauge drop.

Holy Crap was that fun! The 3000ft runway was very short though. Because it was a county airport there was a fence at foot 0 and at foot 3000. The pavement was no where near perfectly flat so there was some up and down that got kind of hairy around 120mph. BUT MAN WAS IT FUN!!! 

The video looks slow but I assure you that it was freaking quick. The fastest I was able to go with the wavy pavement and limited braking area was 125mph. I am sure with more runs I would have built my confidence and made faster runs but I ran out of time.

Video for proof