1987 E28 M545i Turbo

[sandy washburn]

Two years ago, I purchased a 1987 E28 535i from Brian Witkowski (Wittycow) in South Carolina which was in perfect shape, but had about 200,000 miles on the odometer. The car had been fitted with factory
M-tec bumpers and Zender side skirts. The staggered type 32 wheels had Proxes 235/17 in front and 255/17 in the rear, which required mildly rolled rear fenders. The trim was treated with black Shadowline paint. The car had a 3.25 limited slip rear and Bilstein sport shocks. Performance was typical of a mid 80s 535i, with about 150 rear wheel power on the dyno.

This car was my third 1980s 535 (fourth if you count the 1977 E12 530 which was purchased new in 1978) and it is my favorite BMW which will be my daily driver. Last year I installed the Ireland Engineering big brake kit, M5 sway bars, front camber adjuster, and poly rear suspension bushings. I also installed H&R lowering springs.

This winter my son, Bill Washburn, co-owner of DENT Sport Garage in Norwood, MA suggested that we install a 1985 BMW 745 turbo kit which a friend had sitting in his garage. DENT Sport Garage is custom fabricating an intercooler and aluminum piping, a custom aluminum intake manifold designed like the BMW 3.0 CSL racing engine, and a custom 3" exhaust system, which together with a Megasquirt controller will hopefully produce about 300 rear wheel HP. The engine is being totally rebuilt for the turbo application, with a VAC prepared head, and a new 270 cam, main and rod bearings, metal head gasket, and custom forged pistons from Ireland Engineering. The five speed BMW transmission will use a Clutchmaster racing clutch and pressure plate and a high performance radiator from Speedway Motors has been installed.

I will document the engine preparation and rebuilding with photos as well as the finished car, showing brakes, suspension and custom fuel pump and piping installed in the trunk. All of the fuel lines will be braided stainless, as are the flexible brake lines. If I ever decide to use the car in time trials, a basic roll cage will be installed. [/url]

[turbodan]

Any particular reason you're planning on running the 745i parts? If you're going to do a budget build and you're not too concerned with results, thats one thing. It sounds like you're going to put some time and effort into the build. Using a modern manifold and turbocharger would make the result much more reliable, efficient and enjoyable.

[sandy washburn]

The 745 turbo kit cost $500 and the Porsche 944 turbo and blow off valve showed very little wear. The 745 exhaust manifold is reasonably efficient and fits the car with minor metal bending. We would have preferred to go with a new more efficient turbo system, but I decided to go this route for now, with the option to upgrade in the future. However, 300 rear wheel HP for a daily driver 535 suits me just fine.

My son and I built a full race car for my time trial use several years ago which was a dream of mine for 40 years. We took a 1973 MGB GT and recreated an MGC GTS Sebring model with flared fenders, modern brakes and suspension, and a Toyota 1JZ double turbo engine with straight pipes off the turbos. Rear wheel HP is 260 with low boost in this 2000 pound car. The car uses the Toyota 154 five speed transmission and a Ford 8.8 limited slip rear end with 10" disc brakes.

[turbodan]

300rwhp is satisfactory in an e28. I don't have any information about the 944 turbo. Do you know the diameter of the compressor wheel at the inlet?

[mooseheadm5]

It is a K26 of some sort, right?

[Brad D.]

It is a K26 of some sort, right?

Pretty sure that's what the 944 had. If it is from a 944, my thought is that it's way too small for an M30.

[turbodan]

The 944 was a turbo 2.5 right? So that little compressor would have a hard time keeping up.

[mooseheadm5]

I seem to remember reading about 944 owners upgrading to the K27 from the 745i.

[sandy washburn]

The turbo is a K27 which came with the 106 745i engine.
I understood that it was the same turbo used in the Porsche 944, but perhaps that is not correct.

My son is a Tomei and Garrett distributor and considers the K27 to be adequate for an M30 turbo application with mild tune.

The dyno figures will tell us in several weeks what the engine produces. I can't wait to test the car on the road or track!

[Jeremy]

There were a few variations of the k27, they weren't all the same.

[clongo]

15psi MIGHT get you to 300whp on that turbo. Mine made 270rwhp on a stock b34 @ 15psi.

[DangerWillRbnsn]

I have one of each car, so I figured I could help out a bit.

Porsche 944 turbo's (951) came with a factory K26 and a 2.5l engine. That's WAY too small a compressor for a 3.4 l6.

BMW 745i's came with a factory K27 and 3.4 l6. Even the K27 is technically out of it's efficiency range for the 3.4.

Also note: the Porsche K26 and BMW k27 turbochargers each have a different turbine housing inlet shapes. The K27 from the BMW is a tiny round hole, about the size of a golf-ball. The P-car K26 is actually opened up quite a bit, and shaped like an hourglass of sorts.

The footprints are likely the same, though.

[marc79euro645]

my first sports car was an 69 mgbgt. I remember drooling over the widebody factory race cars. I still think they're way cool. I saw an british green one at "the Mitty" event in Atlanta a few years ago. I'd love to see a pic of yours.
marc

[sandy washburn]

I will post a dyno run video below

[wkohler]

What's an M545i?

[canyoncarver]

for grins.....heres a link to the mgc gts thats referred to earlier.......

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=to0JzoF_u6w

[ldsbeaker]

for grins.....heres a link to the mgc gts thats referred to earlier.......

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=to0JzoF_u6w

Wat.

[sandy washburn]

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndO91sokcaY

[marc79euro645]

beautiful car,obviously, you've got a lot of time invested.
nicely done
marc

[TodB]

+1 for Dent. Matt is a terrific tuner. This is where I had my Dyno work done.

Sandy, you and I met a year or so ago when I brought my white 5er to Dent for some dyno runs. Take note of the recommendations here for more current turbo apps. There are better, more efficient/up to date options. You might not get to your HP # with a 745 kit especially on the Dynomax Dyno.

[ahab]

Also knowing quite a bit about the Porsche 951, the later Turbo S cars used a variation of the K26 with a larger impeller on the cold side. The regular turbo used a K26/6, vs the later K26/8 on the S which helped boost power from 217 to 247hp (amongst a few other things). I would guess it's still too small for an M30 though. Porsche did fit the K27-7200 to the 964 when it was a 3.2 liter offering, and retained it for the 3.6 liter changeover in 1994, increasing output by 40hp to ~355.

[Jelmer538i]

This is what an TCD K27 does on a build S38B36:

http://www.mye28.com/viewtopic.php?t=111793

[Jeremy]

This is what an TCD K27 does on a build S38B36:

http://www.mye28.com/viewtopic.php?t=111793

That's not a stock k27 setup by any means.

[Nebraska_e28]

This is what an TCD K27 does on a build S38B36:

http://www.mye28.com/viewtopic.php?t=111793

That's not a stock k27 setup by any means.

You mean there's a couple of tricks in that build?