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01-04-2018, 11:27 AM | #1 |
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Input Request - Search for Power
Hi All...I know there have been other threads on this topic but I wanted to start an opinion and factual thread in one spot for my own benefit
Purpose: Motor work for a track orients street M54 powered BMW. I'm slowly turning my non-M Z4 into a dual purpose track and street car. I've done suspension, brakes and now seats, to my liking. I'll be investing in track rubber shortly. Now my attention turns to engine work. Summary: I want more power. I have headers, intake and a tune. Roughly 280 at crank dyno'd. I'm planning on upgrading my water pump (metal impeller) and will also be looking to take car of the oil pump nut issue in one way or another (was thinking cotter pin). I was considering a VF supercharger, but I've read and been told multiple ways that the heat generated will quickly ruin gains from forced induction on the M54 on a track day. I'm still leaning this way. The other option is cams, which might be a little cheaper and easier on the wallet if not as much power. I'd like to get over the 300 crank mark in all honesty. I know an S54 motor needs to have the valves checked quite often. Would this be something of a concern with aftermarket cams? Chime in your thoughts and experiences. I welcome all. |
01-04-2018, 12:55 PM | #2 |
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Heat soak is a concern with a blower. WMI does help in that regard.
Honestly the best bang for the buck IMO is a lower gear ratio Swap in a 3.64, 3.73 or if you are really crazy a 3.91 from an X3. The torque multiplication of a 3.73 over a stock 3.07 is 21% more. I can attest to the seat of the pants increase. You in to the power band so much quicker. 60 mph has the engine revving at 3000rpm. http://www.bokchoys.com/differential/GearRatios.htm For me cams are only worth it on an all out race build.
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01-04-2018, 12:58 PM | #3 | |
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01-04-2018, 01:51 PM | #4 |
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None are LSD stock
Aftermarket for that
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01-07-2018, 01:14 PM | #5 |
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01-07-2018, 02:03 PM | #6 |
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We need to meet up this year.
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01-08-2018, 04:09 AM | #7 | |
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A supercharger can increase the magnitude of crankshaft vibrations, theoretically making oil pump failure more likely, although there isn't enough data out there to show that FI cars are more prone to failure. The cotter pin method isn't a reliable fix for the oil pump problem, as the oil pump's shaft can shear. The ATI super-damper and an upgraded oil pump are the only methods I know of that truly minimize the problem. I highly recommend an LSD, even before supercharging. Be careful of going too aggressive on the final drive, as your car will require more shifts (potentially mid-corner). I've been thrilled with my Quaife LSD and 3.46 final drive. I had a 3.64 open diff before picking up the 3.46 Quaife, and it made the car a whole lot more fun too. However, it had traction problems coming out of corners with the supercharger. The Quaife made a night and day difference in corner exit speed. As Dave pointed out, cams aren't really worth it on these motors any more. Previously, hotter cams could partially bridge the gap between the M54 and S54 at a fraction of the cost of moving to a Z4M or M3. These days, you can buy a whole ZHP motor for $1200, and a Z4M is <$20k. With aggressive Schrick cams, you will pick up 15-20 hp, but only at the very top of the rpm band. Cams essentially move the powerband, meaning cam choice is a compromise between power at low rpm and power at high rpm. Aggressive cams make less power than stock at low rpm. If you do install a VF kit, WMI is great for cooling the intake charge, but I wouldn't recommend having a custom tune that requires WMI on the track. As the water/meth is used, the remainder sloshes around in the tank, and the pump doesn't provide reliable flow under high cornering loads. Therefore, I wouldn't use it for anything beyond supplemental cooling, and a lot of track guys don't recommend it at all. Your best bang for the buck is going to be moving up to a Z4M, which is nearly track ready. I fully understand wanting a unique car; just be aware that it will be much more expensive in the long run if you try to mod your car into Z4M territory (let's not forget that a Z4M can be modded into supercar territory). You'll spend $6k on a supercharger after all is said and done, and it won't add to the resale value of the car. It will be a hassle to pull the supercharger off to sell for half of what you paid, and in the meantime you'll need to store all your stock parts. Consider it a sunk cost. I'm not saying don't do it, but take into account the true lifecycle cost. The S54 is a better track motor. While they do fail from time to time and suffer from a handful of Vanos / rod bearing issues, the S54 is still pretty stout. The M54 is a great commuter motor that can be modified to impressive power levels. On the track, the oil pump issues make it a timebomb, and the fixes cost half as much as it would be to upgrade to the more powerful S54. Therefore, I don't recommend a supercharger for an M54 track car, but not because the supercharger itself will cause any problems. They're reliable on the street, but the M54 isn't track-ready.
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01-08-2018, 11:15 AM | #9 | ||||
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It's not worth me changing and moving to an MZ4. I know that's the ultimate solution (which is always everyone's first suggestion) to sell and move to M. But for a decent M I'd have to take a hit on my current car and still spend an additional $15k. So not quite cost efficient. This is a thread for specifically not going that route (as odd as it may seem). Quote:
Fantastic input, thank you! That's forum gold! So what about buying a crate M54 or looking at a high flow head and cam option? Looking at more of a built M54 with the oil and such taken care of? |
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01-08-2018, 11:46 PM | #10 | |
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Pump and Damper
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IMHO, only modify a car if you want something unique, or if you want to keep it for a very long time. Keeping the car for many years is the only scenario where you'll spend less money over the entire lifecycle. In an extreme example: spending $20k modifying a $10k car and getting as much enjoyment out of it as you would a $60k car sounds great up front... but when you go to sell it, the $10k car is worth $7k-8k (despite your mods) and the $60k car might be worth $45k. Overall, the cost of driving a modified $10k car would be $22k in this example, and the cost of the $60k car would be $15k. Some people, like me, love the M54. I've had my non-M for 12 years, so the $15k-20k in mods (sunk costs) really only average out to about $1500/year. Still, I've spent that much on a car that's now only worth $8k . I plan to build my motor (if I can avoid another 2 year stint overseas). It's VERY expensive ($10k-20k) to have it done at a shop. If you like projects, are patient and careful, and have an expert to lean on, it's a good option. Otherwise, it's too expensive.
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01-10-2018, 08:14 AM | #11 | |||||
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01-10-2018, 02:55 PM | #12 | |
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Good parts: aluminum-block / head LS engines are lighter than the S54; they're also shorter than the S54, so you can move the weight of the engine towards the center of the chassis. LS engines are trivial to get into 400WHP territory and are easily adapted to the MZ4's 6-speed. Don't know about the transmissions that came in other E85/6 trim. The engine bay is wide enough to accommodate exhaust headers for the V8, but you'll need to cross the driver's side over to a 2-1 collector on the passenger side since there's no way to get exhaust tubing out of the engine bay on the driver's side of the car, without dropping it below the frame, which you really don't want to do. Bad parts: you'll have to use the LS ECU (or maybe, maybe Megasquirt) to stay in that budget, and will lose a lot of the electronic goodies of the BMW. You'll have to use aftermarket gauges and re-wire everything from battery to ignition switch to engine loom, and do it yourself. It'll be reliable, powerful, etc. but a lot of the cost will really be in day-to-day use. Depending on which province you're in, you may or may not be able to continue to drive the car on the street after the swap. Finally, it will sound like an American V8, which frankly is the reason I'm building the S54 rather than doing an LS swap on my car - I couldn't square the experience of the Z4M with the sound of an American V8. And flat-plane setups for LS / Coyote are ludicrous dollars, even compared to the cost of building a 370+ WHP naturally-aspirated S54, which is saying something. |
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01-12-2018, 12:16 PM | #13 |
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Unfortunately I am unable to do the engine work myself so there is a high cost to me doing a swap of any sort really, although maybe one day.
I appreciate everyone's comments and it looks as though my first concern should really be making sure that the M54B30 will be up to track duty first before I consider upping power beyond what I've got already. So my plan thus far: I've ordered a used M54B30 oil pump off ebay for <$75 shipped. I'll be taking it apart and manufacturing a new solution to the shaft and sprocket. I will keep you updated on that progress. When I install the new oil pump into the car I will add an Achilles Oil baffle as well (to help with large G oil movement) and proceed to do the suggest damper and will refresh the cooling system with a high performance water pump. This will tackle a considerable size of my budget for a super charger, so I'll instead put money into better tires and potentially track rims instead of just the stock 18" sports. Thoughts? Last edited by 3GFX; 01-12-2018 at 12:43 PM.. |
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01-12-2018, 04:42 PM | #14 | |
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01-13-2018, 10:38 AM | #15 | |
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01-13-2018, 02:29 PM | #16 | |
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YMMV, of course. |
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01-14-2018, 11:08 AM | #17 | |
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Everyone's input has been fantastic on this thread , thank you! Keep it coming!!! M54 FTW!!! |
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01-15-2018, 01:03 PM | #18 |
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01-18-2018, 09:25 AM | #19 | |
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Edit (01/19/2018): Found some damper info http://www.atiracing.com/products/da...mper_dinan.htm Also Last edited by 3GFX; 01-19-2018 at 02:16 PM.. |
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01-19-2018, 01:58 PM | #20 |
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Minos is a G
A quick conversation on the phone, very helpful and you can tell he has a lot of experience. We discussed the oil pump, and he explained his suggestion and how he manufactures his solution. Ideally i'll create something similar. I have access to be able to make the sprocket and shaft from scratch, so until I have the used one I ordered in hand I can only speculate what to do. As for the damper, I'm on the cusp of needing it or not. Intending to have the car as dual purpose (track/road) I won't really be revving the balls off of it like a full track car. But I don't want to live in fear of pushing the car. So I believe the damper will be on my list of purchases. So for now my intended spring updates: - Performance Water pump - Oil Pump - Damper - Oil Baffle - Track wheel/tires Most importantly, get faster by learning to drive better |
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01-21-2018, 12:26 AM | #21 |
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I think you're on the right track. The only other things you might consider adding are oil pressure and oil temperature gauges. Radar-mirror.com has options to cleanly incorporate the gauges into the rear view mirror, and you can have a kill switch installed if you don't want the data displaying during normal driving. As far as senders go, an oil distribution block is a pain to install but your best option for both temperature and pressure. Temperature can be pulled from the drain plug as well. The P3Cars vent gauge is a good option too, but it can only display one reading at a time.
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01-21-2018, 07:05 AM | #22 |
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Further to Josh’s gauge suggestions.
This is what I have on my M54 for oil pressure and temp. Really nice piece https://store.vacmotorsports.com/vac...m54-p1776.aspx
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