M30 swap for my Olive Drab Vert! by RagtopE30

9 minute(s) of a 219 minute read

Not a M30 update but it is an update.

I have started another project because I have everything I need to complete it without spending money, which currently I do not have.

Check it out!

8-23-2014

I got home from Wisconsin yesterday after a 3 week training I had to attend. I was welcomed home by these beauties! 

Progress will soon follow. I want to have the car back on the road by the end of the week. Bigger cam FTW!!!!

It is the cat cam turbo cam. 292/274 it came with a spec sheet. I will post up the details later tonight

So the goodies include:

IE HD rockers w/new eccentrics

Rocker shaft locks

New High performance springs from VAC

And the Cat Cam from VAC

The Cat Cam is a 292/278, sorry I posted wrong info earlier. It is supposed to be good for between 40-100hp at the wheels depending on boost and tune on a standard m30. I am hoping that it will get me above 500whp at or below 14psi so that I can run pump gas. Here is the cam data sheet.

8-27-2014

Got a couple of hours in today. Now some porn and sweet sweet sexual healing through the power of photobucket and a camera that is INSIDE of my phone! I know, crazy right!?

New Spring on the right compared to old on left.

New rocker on right compared to old on left

NEW CAMSHAFT!!!!! 292/278 Turbo Cat Cam

MONEY SHOTS

8-29-2014

It's alive! ITS ALIVE!!!!!!

The cam is surprisingly smooth even at idle. I feel like it has a much more linear power curve but only the dyno will say for sure. 

Currently keeping the boost at 12.5psi until I can re torque the head studs and adjust the valves after a few heat cycles. But man oh man did I miss my car.

8-30-2014

Finished this up today. I still need to go back in and fix a little spot of rust but I like it.

9-3-2014

Thanks guys! I am re torqueing the head and adjusting the valves again tomorrow. Then I will turn the boost up to 195kpa or 14psi. I have an appointment for the 20th of Sept to put her back on the dyno and put down some real numbers. My challenge will be to find the previous run that was at 195kpa to do a good comparison of the two runs. After reviewing my MS logs from the last dyno visit I found that my final pull hit 211kpa or 16psi. I do not intend on going that high again until I install some sort of octane booster (meth injection) but that will have to wait for a half cage, bigger brakes, and wider tires.

I am going to try to get her on the dyno earlier but the 20th is for sure.

I have quickly learned that the awesomeness of my car is limited by the availability of roads and opportunities to really open her up without having to immediately apply the brakes. The car does not enjoy going slow ( <65mph) 3rd gear at 2700rpm is 65mph and building boost. Not complaining just an observation.

It is a super cereal problem! I also live in the mountains so even though the roads are a blast to throw the car around there are not to many straight roads without LE presence. I punch the throttle in 3rd and when I build full boost and shift to 4th I am already exceeding 100mph with 2 gears at my disposal. I normally cruise down the interstate in 3rd with the rpms on the verge of building boost because it is so nice to pass people and hear the jet engine under the hood. There is also something to be said for matting the pedal just behind and at the same speed of the person you are passing then looking them in the eye when you pass them like they are standing still. Their faces are priceless!

Then you apply the brakes so that the LE around the next curve don't getcha.

I took my wife for her first ever boosted ride. You know how your significant other will fuss and smack you on the arm when you get a little crazy, such as a friendly burnout or impromptu light to light duel? My wife left bruises and used curse words that I have never heard in my life during a partial throttle pull in 3rd gear between 35mph and 75mph (took a couple of seconds). 

Did I mention that I love this car!?

9-6-2014

flares came in...... Next update will include some more fabrication and flares!!!

9-20-2014

Went to the dyno today for 3 runs and no tuning. 

Because I want a reliable daily driver I along with the help of Otis and another friend changed the spark map to a more conservative tune.

I also removed the boost controller and ran off of the wastegate which is 12.5psi

All that being said,

In May the car, with a more aggressive spark map, made:

414whp and 427wtq

Today the car, with the new cam and conservative tune, made:

407whp and 464wtq

I lost a little bit of hp but gained tq. I am sure that if I went with a more aggressive tune I could also see gains in hp but my goal is to have a reliable daily driver. The question on my mind is this, Was it worth paying the $500ish for the Cat Cam?

Long answer short- Yes.

Even though the Hp seems to have suffered on paper the power comes in sooner and smoother. Once the boost builds the tq is amazing. Seeing as how we basically de-tuned the MS the gain in tq says a lot. I am more excited now than ever about getting meth injection on this car and turning it up.

I want to know what e85 or meth injection would allow it to make if the boost were turned up to 18psi! And sorry no dyno pics. I was in the passenger seat keeping a careful eye on my MS dashboard.

9-21-2014

A friend sent me a video he took. The sound is not the best of quality but here is the most (Thankfully) uneventful 400+ rwhp pull ever!

I am heading to the shop after lunch and the only goals I have for today are check and install the TPS and Tidy up the shop a little bit. Should be a good day at the shop, I left my schedule open for today just incase something catastrophic happened at the dyno yesterday.

I am looking forward to being able to see the TPS data on the logs. It will allow me to do so much more as far as fine tuning and idle control.

I just got invited to do some test and tuning on my car at a local municipal airport with a 3000ft runway. Shenanigans will happen!

It easily hits 140 with the top down. I plan to test what it will do on a 2/3 mile runway

9-22-2014

My balls are no where big enough to hit 200mph!

At least not in an e30 on a 3000ft runway.

9-23-2014

Another downside to this car... I know, I know, 1st world problems! 

If you drive it like it was built to be driven you can literally (and I am not exaggerating at all) watch the fuel gauge drop.

9-24-2014

Holy Crap was that fun! The 3000ft runway was very short though. Because it was a county airport there was a fence at foot 0 and at foot 3000. The pavement was no where near perfectly flat so there was some up and down that got kind of hairy around 120mph. BUT MAN WAS IT FUN!!! 

The video looks slow but I assure you that it was freaking quick. The fastest I was able to go with the wavy pavement and limited braking area was 125mph. I am sure with more runs I would have built my confidence and made faster runs but I ran out of time.

Video for proof