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Re: In-depth motor questions Posted by Justin VanAbrahams [Email]  (#32) [Profile/Gallery]
(more from Justin VanAbrahams) on Thu, 16 May 2002 01:13:24
In Reply to: In-depth motor questions, Lazarus, Wed, 15 May 2002 19:28:25 Members do not see ads below this line. - Help Keep This Site Online - Signup |
First off, which engine do you have? The "eta" engine is a 2.7l which was fitted only to the 528e ("Super Eta") and the 325e. It's the largest iteration of the "small block" six cylinder dating back to the late '70s. I never quite understood this engine - for all its displacement it runs fairly low compression and puts out terrible horsepower numbers. With its long stroke it was clearly designed for torque and not much else. Reminds me of something American manufacturers were doing about that time... like the GM 2.8V6.
My personal opinion is that this engine isn't a terribly good candidate for any sort of performance mods. It has a painfully low redline (4800rpm, IIRC) which means horsepower is simply not in its future, and the long stroke and relatively fragile bottom end means increasing redline isn't going to be easy. It has the tallest rear end of any BMW 3-series AFAIK and makes plenty of torque to turn it, so increasing torque through a turbo probably won't get you much, unless burnouts are your thing. Even so, the engine isn't really capable of handling a lot of stress, and I think adding forced induction would probably be just creating a time bomb.
Beyond all that, doing any of this would probably require some fabrication, though you may be able to adapt a turbo kit from the E30 325i/is to do the job. The end result would probably be a car that could tow a semi but wouldn't be any faster in the real world. I'd love to see it munch the driveshaft guibos though... mine went through them fast enough as it was.
If you're looking for speed, I'd suggest staying NA. Swapping the head with the 2.5l head, getting some lightweight pistons and stronger con rods along with the 2.5l computer & wiring and a quality aftermarket ignition to manage the redline would probably net you a much more flexible motor. IIRC the 2.5l head swap is supposed to be good for 30-40hp, which is probably all you'd end up with turbo-ing anyway. The head swap is a heck of a lot easier, and probably would completely escape emissions testing.
In the end, you can turbo anything you want. The question you have to ask yourself is, "why?"
-Justin
posted by 64.166.4...
, Thu, 16 May 2002 16:40:20, Thu, 16 May 2002 16:40:58, Thu, 16 May 2002 01:13:24 <-- Viewing This Message
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