Panty Soaker 5000 - Beamer E90 LS Swap Turbo Build

ckruzer

ckruzer

Infidel
Joined
Jul 2, 2015
Location
asheville nc
This project has taken forever to get to a manageable starting point. Three car sales fell through. Some other BS, finally by the third bank wire I acquired the an "old man's" bmw 3 series. Its gunna make for a hillarious build when i post the picture of it.

I had my hands on a 6.0. Sadly it was going to make the build too pain in the ass. Now i just recently acquired a 4.8 ls, so now it can all officially begin.

Goal is 500-600 range HP

Going to at a minimum rering it with proper gaps. Havent decided if complete bottom in rebuild or not. Stock heads like IDGAF champion. Bulster the valves, springs, push rods, etc. Redeck and ARP. Going to run it on Holley and havent decided what trans I am going to run. Either a 4L80e with a manual valve body or a standalone tcm. Ford 8.8 rear. Ill throw on some M3 components before i hammer the throttle out of a corner.

Not taking it to the track probably ever. It will be for dicking around on the streets and collecting panties at Aville feminist marches.

Totally open to input for the final recipe of this build. Budget is 10k, car and engine already owned.

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[RESERVED]
MOST RECENT RECIPE UPDATE HERE
4.8L - Gen 3
2008 BMW 3 Series E90

(.)(.) denotes purchased Item

Intake: Low Profile LS7 Intake 102mm w/ MAP
Injectors: 80lb, maybe Siemens Deka or accel, maybe just go for 96lb to be ready for future fun
Turbo: 75mm Range, VS7875? or, summit s475
Wastegate: 50-60mm Range, looking at the Turbosmart Gen5 ProGate WG50
BOV: Turbosmart BOV TS-0204-1107
Valve Springs: BTR Dual Spring 0.645 with Titanium retainers (.)(.)
Push Rods: BTR Chromoly 7.4 5/16 .080 (.)(.)
Lifters: LS7 Lifters and new trays (.)(.)
Trunion Upgrade: BTR Trunnion Kit (.)(.)
Head: 862 Heads: Lap
Head Bolts: ARP Head Studs (.)(.)
Block: Leave as is
Connecting Rods: Gen4 4.8 OEM Rods (.)(.)
Pistons: Gen 4 Clevite 4.8 Pistons (.)(.)
Timing: JP Perf Billet LS1 Single (.)(.)
Trans: 4L80e
Tune: Holley Terminator X
Cam: BTR Turbo Cam Stage 2 (.)(.)
Rearend: 2007 to 2010 Ford Explorer IRS 8.8 rear diff, chromoly shafts. 358i Hubs
Fuel Pump: Walbro 450
Intercooler: ????
Oil Pan: Holley 302-2 pan

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Did I miss the part where you’re converting it to 4x4? You know…. because NC4X4 :flipoff2:
 
BigSouth said:
Did I miss the part where you’re converting it to 4x4? You know…. because NC4X4 :flipoff2:
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Bring over some beer and Ill let ya paint on the 4x4 symbol, and we can throw some all terrains on. Itll be more "4x4 ready" than most others peoples "projects"

The engine deserves some BTL easter eggs painted in some places
 
adamk said:
I’m in to watch this one. Recently bitten by the go fast bug so I’ve been looking around at little project cars to tinker with. Excited to see what you put together
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Awesome. Me too. Been planning this one for awhile, reviewing all the common ls swap hosts out there. Its pretty straight forward. The hardest part of the whole process is going to be locating a 4l80e and a 8.8 IFS rear.
 
ckruzer said:
Goal is 500-600 range HP

Going to at a minimum rering it with proper gaps. Havent decided if complete bottom in rebuild or not. Stock heads like IDGAF champion. Bulster the valves, springs, push rods, etc. Redeck and ARP. G

Totally open to input for the final recipe of this build. Budget is 10k, car and engine already owned.
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How are you planning to make 5-600 on a 4.8 ? Adding boost ?

If the engine is working fine I wouldn't do anything for that power goal. Put valve springs in it, a cam, ebay s475, decap the stock injectors, add a Walbro 525 and that's it.
 
orange150 said:
I totally glossed over the E90 part and was very surprised when the pic wasn't an E30! Should be interesting!
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He was probably able to grab the E90 for what people want for a clapped E30/36 these days.

In for the LS swap fun. I was very close to buying an LS e46 before snatching up the YJ.
 
Shove 20 lbs in a 4.8 and let it eat!

Gap the rings, rod bolts, decent cam, springs, pushrods, lots of fuel.

Save money for rear tires.

Use a quality torque converter.

Should be a fun rig :D
 
Sometimes I still think my '02 2500HD isn't that old...

That's probably because I was 12 when it was manufactured.
 
Bebop said:
How are you planning to make 5-600 on a 4.8 ? Adding boost ?

If the engine is working fine I wouldn't do anything for that power goal. Put valve springs in it, a cam, ebay s475, decap the stock injectors, add a Walbro 525 and that's it.
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Lol. Reread the thread title. Yes doing a turbo. Yes for that minimal of a power goal, not much to do. Cam, springs, 75mm turbo, new injectors, and the fuel pump. Really tossing around the idea of redoing the rings on the pistons, but if i go that far.... It all depends on the results of the leakdown\compression test i guess

Croatan_Kid said:
Shove 20 lbs in a 4.8 and let it eat! Gap the rings, rod bolts, decent cam, springs, pushrods, lots of fuel. Save money for rear tires. Use a quality torque converter. Should be a fun rig :D
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Roger that. Ill probably stay in the 14lbs range. Based on research the numbers will be achievable. But we will see. Def going to beef up the upper engine. But whats the point if your foundation is shit? Lol Either leave it as oem as possible or rebuild from the bottom up. We will see what decision i make after the first 6 beers tearing it down

UTfball68 said:
Another example of time standing still on vehicle models somewhere around 2005 for me. I look at that car and say ‘nice NEW BMW’…not ‘ehhh, probably time for an engine tear down’.
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Lol. Yeah but these like to hide all kinds of common ailments. Leaks at the oil filter housing. Sagging headliners. Amp/Head Unit/Speakers go shit by this time. Driveline webos start to give. Blah blah blah. It sits super comfy, and feels very business class. Its definitely about to get a sex change operation lmao

Croatan_Kid said:
Sometimes I still think my '02 2500HD isn't that old...

That's probably because I was 12 when it was manufactured.
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Because of the old man statement? Born 87, so a 2008 doesnt feel "old" to me. The comment was pointed at the color haha
 
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When you start doing 600ish+ hp, and chasing 200mph, the rear diff and axles/suspension became the big problem. At least this was true on a 98m3 I worked on.

The final result was to 9” swap with links and coil overs mounted to a fabricated subrame to ditch the irs.

But it was a ball of fun leading up to that 🤣.

I don’t know how many broke pistons (ring lands) and rear diffs we went thru 🤣.

I know the fun and stupid levels were higher than the boost.

That and laptop tuning on Mexico back roads and blowing charge pipe connectors and Inter coolers apart.

Great memories and thanks for taking me back with this thread.
 
A productive evening with some beer and music. Pistons are pulled and rigged af lol. Crank is loose and ready to be pulled out on transport day to the machinist. Stock rings gapped. Have not decided if going to buy sterner rods or not.
 

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ckruzer said:
A productive evening with some beer and music. Pistons are pulled and rigged af lol. Crank is loose and ready to be pulled out on transport day to the machinist. Stock rings gapped. Have not decided if going to buy sterner rods or not.
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Stock Gen3 rods and stock pistons or upgrade for $1200... ugh. Idk
 
Chris_Keziah said:
Embrace the Sloppy Mechanics and run the stock stuff
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Nah. This engine got hot. Wrist pins are seized. Oil ring is melded to the 2nd ring. I'm definitely not reusing the wrist pins, and the gen3 pistons are a roll of the dice. Tensile strength on the gen3 rods is so low that if I'm putting money into a new dish, f it, just do the bottom end right.
 
If you've gotta replace them...I'd upgrade. Or just find another, good 4.8 and roll with that instead.
 
Croatan_Kid said:
If you've gotta replace them...I'd upgrade. Or just find another, good 4.8 and roll with that instead.
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just gunna slap in OE gen 4 rods. probably slap some wiesco or cp carillo pistons on
zero aftermarket support for 4.8 rods. Zero. Every place says you have to upgrade the block to a 5.3 crank. Gayyyyyy

Every machine shop in the tri county area is booked out 6 months etc. So gotta start calling into TN and GA and hunt a Miller Lite Mater who will deck, hone, and toss in the bearings/crank/rods
 
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