2JZ in a Z4 Coupe - Custom Project

[NickyC]

Originally Posted by dre99gsx

Being that most parts are used or recondition, and also spare parts I had laying around from my Supra (past builds and rebuilds), the cost in parts is fairly low for me so far - not including any cosmetics like wheels/suspension/lips.

As for resale, I haven't even wrapped my head around that, but as with anything, money talks! In the end, I'm leaving enough wiggle room to quickly swap back to 100% stock in case I do need to sell quickly. Or, sell the project as is for anyone who wants to take on the challenge.

The hard part is done - fitting it in there. It fits. Now is just tying up loose ends, wiring, tuning the motor and "coding" the BMW electronics.

Perhaps I'll beat Toyota/BMW at their game to the supposed "Z5/New Supra"

So you're planning on selling this car? Siiiiiiick.

[dre99gsx]

Completing the weld



Thought this was a fuel-return line! Found out it is a fuel tank breather line that ties into the intake manifold for EVAP. Will eventually need to hook this up somewhere...


Fuse box which powers the DME and engine accessories - nice and compact


Bought a spare OEM Z4 fuel pump/fuel filter/FPR from junkyard. Will be modifying this for a custom return system and Dual Walbros


OEM Fuel pump from the Z4 3.0si. Other then this cryptic message, no idea who makes the pump nor flow rates.


Manual conversion requires some new radiator plastics


Found a push-on to 6AN fuel connector - will be utilizing the OEM fuel supply line


Pulled it out to wash


Drilling out starter motor to slip onto new studs from the Collins kit


Testing Flywheel and clutch fitment


Clutch can support ~750torque from Clutchmasters, good enough for my goals


Testing Starter motor engagement - check


NOW THE PROBLEM: Collins supplied a pilot bearing adapter which is too short. You can see their adapter is in RED. I designed an appropriate adapter in YELLOW:


Sent this out to Collins - either they sent me the wrong adapter, or they'll need to machine me a new one with above dimensions. I think I'm the first ever to adapt the GS6-37BZ to this kit, or, someone fucked up over there!

[Vanne]

Wow man.. gotta love the updates. keep em coming pls.

[dre99gsx]

3.5" intercooler core and some endtanks came in


Motor/Trans back in car for more mockup while I wait for the correct pilot bearing adapter. 2J Starter motor clears steering shaft


Frontmount clears with no more room to spare. Ordered aluminum piping. Routing will be really short as well.


Upper coolant hose routing/mockup - straight pipe to mate the two ends, like this was meant to be!


Since I'm using the Z4 heater core hose routing, the 2J heater core hoses are not needed. Decided to bridge them


Was curious - about 0.5" spacing behind the front wheel and the shock tower. Not much room for wider wheels up front


Wiring! What you see here: VVTi Aristo harness, BMW 330i harness, and AEM Infiniti harness in the back. Need to somehow strip all of these and mix/match. Tough ordeal when the VVTi wiring diagrams are in Japanese, the BMW pinouts are in German (although I have some conversions floating around), and the AEM is flying lead. As the famous Bart Simpson would say: "Aye Carumba!"


Wire routing. Ordered some sleeving and shrinkwrap.

[NickyC]

Fantastic, please keep the updates coming!

[dre99gsx]

Had to modify the end tanks a bit


Welding them up to the core



Core completed


Pre-FMIC pipe completed. Looks long, but wait until you see the post-FMIC


Installed, just enough clearance from the frame rail


Post-FMIC pipe, with air temp and meth bungs ready


Tight fit!


Welded up some FMIC brackets


Fully supported


Driver side bracket


Bumper on temporarily, checking clearances...


Overview - have a bunch of old non-used Supra modifications laying around, luckily they are being put to use - saves me quite a bit on this project


Reinstalled the front support brace with a small modification for clearance


Upper intercooler pipe, custom made

[crfine88]

Epic build!
Great stable mate for your Supra!
So much knowledge needed to pull this off, you rock

[tiltmode43]

Why has it taken me so long to view this thread? Awesome work, absolutely love this!

[wspohn]

Great thread!
I envy you your energy - this is the sort of project I used to do when I was younger and would fearlessly attack just about anything, so I can appreciate the thought and effort that goes into it. Very satisfying to find creative solutions to all sorts of problems. Keep up the good work and post your progress.

The 2JZ is an amazing engine and a great choice for this.

[dre99gsx]

Thanks guys.

Decided to remove the annoying bumper mounts and create aluminum brackets which allow me to bolt the bumper on using flush-mounting pan head bolts. Much easier to manage when I know this bumper will be off and on many times during the life of the vehicle. May paint the reflect sometime down the line...




Wiring, tons of it. Mounted the AEM and DME, as well as the 2JZ igniter.

[KPop]

Wow, very impressive build! You should take and post some videos once you get it running.

[dre99gsx]

WIRING MAYHEM! Powered up the AEM, started setting up sensors and what not. Got the N52 DBW throttle body working great with the pedal. Was able to get the electronic power steering to work, but took some effort!


Still more wires to pin, but this gets messy real quick.


Started CAN sniffing and writing some code to inject CAN messages. Working on RPM signal here:


Found the correct ID and bytes for RPM - works!


Here is the speedo fooled"


Bit of explanation needed here, but RED = input frequency signal, YELLOW = simulated output crank signal 60-2 (2 pulses missing every 60)


Powering up the 2JZ with the AEM is cake, but integrating with the entire BMW electronics so that everything works as a system, is not cake. To get electric power steering, DSC, abs, and other items to work correctly, the Z4 needs to see a stock ECU which also sees a running and happy engine.

The crank signal is important here, but since the 2JZ tooth pattern is not 60-2, I can't just plug in the magnetic crank sensor to both the AEM and the stock DME. I decided to create a circuit out of a cheap PIC microprocessor I had laying around, with some simple code. The idea is to setup a Lowside driver on the AEM that outputs 1khz for every 1000rpm. Then, with the PIC, I will output the same signal, but cut out two pulses every 60 pulses, which mimics the N52 motor crank. You can see this working on the scope picture above.

I tested this on the Z4. Using a function generator set to 1khz and this circuit, connected to the stock DME, mysteriously the stock ecu thought the engine was running. Once this was done, power steering was enable, and all other ecus in the vehicle were able and ready to go.

This should allow me to continue working on OBD2 as part of this project involves full integration with no codes.

[StickMon]

OMFG! I'm an Electrical Engineer for NASA, and even to me this is serious Rocket Surgery!

[dre99gsx]

haha - I thought NASA was having layoffs! I love doing this stuff - wish I could do it for a living and make a living out of it!

[crfine88]

This is so damn cool!

[inTgr8r]

^i agree.
Fantastic work here!
It must be a ton of fun to work through all these challenges.

[Finnegan]

Mind officially blown.

[Westersund]

Really cool project integrating the 2JZ and the BMW. There's a similar project car in Sweden and I read his thread, don't know how he solved it but he didn't do this kind of rocket science stuff to make it work with the power steering etc. His is a race car (not road legal) though so he can cut corners and do some custom stuff.

But this is cooler.

[TRiCC]

The custom aluminum bumper side mounts are a great idea! Those POS oem plastic bumper BMW mounts don't hold anything. I destroyed the push tabs that hold the bumper to the bracket everyday because of my widen wheels and tires. Will probably do a custom sidemount to make sure my bumper stays on while I am doing 100+ on the track. VERY EPIC BEAUTIFUL UNIQUE build you have WOW!

Originally Posted by dre99gsx

Thanks guys.

Decided to remove the annoying bumper mounts and create aluminum brackets which allow me to bolt the bumper on using flush-mounting pan head bolts. Much easier to manage when I know this bumper will be off and on many times during the life of the vehicle. May paint the reflect sometime down the line...




Wiring, tons of it. Mounted the AEM and DME, as well as the 2JZ igniter.

[Domotron]

Originally Posted by dre99gsx

Spent quite some time trying to find other E46 swap threads, details, photos, etc. I haven't found a single technical photo, specifically of the motor mounts (and there seems to be quite a few of these swaps on E46s done).

Had some delay, waiting for parts.. ordered some 2J - E46 motor mounts. 15lbs massive steel mounts that didn't even align properly, and cost me a bundle. Returning them and fabbing my own. Will be welding 1/4" thick aluminum, should be stout.

do you think those mounts you're making would fit on a e90 ?? sometime this coming summer im thinking about staying 2jz swap as well but cant seem to find any info on it.

[RedOctober]

This must surely go down in the annals of epic history-making builds!
I watch the russians do crazy stuff but this build thread leaves me speechless!
Hats off!!
I join with everyone to encourage you to see it through, wishing you the very best of luck!
When you find time, I think there's a long line of eager beavers waiting to read/see your updates.

[Vanne]

Originally Posted by dre99gsx

WIRING MAYHEM! Powered up the AEM, started setting up sensors and what not. Got the N52 DBW throttle body working great with the pedal. Was able to get the electronic power steering to work, but took some effort!


Still more wires to pin, but this gets messy real quick.


Started CAN sniffing and writing some code to inject CAN messages. Working on RPM signal here:


Found the correct ID and bytes for RPM - works!


Here is the speedo fooled"


Bit of explanation needed here, but RED = input frequency signal, YELLOW = simulated output crank signal 60-2 (2 pulses missing every 60)


Powering up the 2JZ with the AEM is cake, but integrating with the entire BMW electronics so that everything works as a system, is not cake. To get electric power steering, DSC, abs, and other items to work correctly, the Z4 needs to see a stock ECU which also sees a running and happy engine.

The crank signal is important here, but since the 2JZ tooth pattern is not 60-2, I can't just plug in the magnetic crank sensor to both the AEM and the stock DME. I decided to create a circuit out of a cheap PIC microprocessor I had laying around, with some simple code. The idea is to setup a Lowside driver on the AEM that outputs 1khz for every 1000rpm. Then, with the PIC, I will output the same signal, but cut out two pulses every 60 pulses, which mimics the N52 motor crank. You can see this working on the scope picture above.

I tested this on the Z4. Using a function generator set to 1khz and this circuit, connected to the stock DME, mysteriously the stock ecu thought the engine was running. Once this was done, power steering was enable, and all other ecus in the vehicle were able and ready to go.

This should allow me to continue working on OBD2 as part of this project involves full integration with no codes.

HOLY CRAP!!! man, some serious your way.