info please?

okay so heres the deal.i am purchasing a 1992 bmw 325is froma friend.it has its problems and i know that..but i wanted a prject car.i want to give it a good look and a little bit of speed to back up the look.well,i dont plan on entering it into any major car shows.just something i can be rpoud of and enjoy driving.so nothing extravagant will be done(maybe).and as far as peformance i am intending to turbo it..found a nice low boost turbo kit for it.my question is..the car itself has 128k miles on it...need i rebuild the motor if i am planning to run low boost?or are the bmw motors strong?ive never owned a bmw before...just jap cars and one VW.so any information would be awesome...thansk guy...cant wait to get back into a german car...im stoked...peace

the engines are pretty tough but there are a couple things to consider. One is that the engine is probably already pushing around 10:1 compression (a lot of your jap cars are like my honda are around low 9 ish) and that is quite high for adding boost. second, if your like most of you WILL want to keep turning that boost up and up just to see what it will do.
I hear there is a shim that you can use or a thicker head gasket to decrease your compression ratio.
If you do it, do it right so it will last and not just tear sh*t up and you end up scrapping her!! It costs a lot of money to do it right. Do the studying and find out what is involved and what it costs.

If you are gonna boost it, run low boost. I would recomend getting a thicker head gasket at the least, possibly look into rebuilding the motor, which itself will be expensive. The motors for our Bimmers are strong motors, but they can't handle a a ton o' boost with out modifications. I think the most you can run safely with out messing with the head gasket is about 7-8psi, which is enough for mid to high three hundred at the wheels.

I would recomend if you want to make it peppier, with out spending tons of cash on it, just get the bolt ons (I/H/E), an chip or ECU flash, and maybe cams. If you really wanna boost it, I would recomend looking into the kits available, instead of the do it yourself route. DIY will be cheaper, but I think getting a kit would be the safer route with engine survivability in mind.

well the turbo kit i found was 3300 dollars and was spose to put you at a 56% increase in power at 6psi...amnd for an extra 1,000 it adds a bunch of fuel upgrade goodies like a germen spec safc and a few others.which of course i would get right away.at 6psi u think the motor wkill hold up fine tho right?and if i decide to up boost just add supporting mods to it?

well the turbo kit i found was 3300 dollars and was spose to put you at a 56% increase in power at 6psi...amnd for an extra 1,000 it adds a bunch of fuel upgrade goodies like a germen spec safc and a few others.which of course i would get right away.at 6psi u think the motor wkill hold up fine tho right?and if i decide to up boost just add supporting mods to it?

What kit is this?

http://www.turbo-kits.com/325_turbo_kits.html THAT ONE RIGHT THERE,WHAT YA THINK?

Something about that kit is a little shaddy to me, but its your car and your call. I want to know whats the difference between a 'German' Apex'i SAFC and the Apex'i SAFC a friend of mine is planning on running with his Supra...

Again, its your call. I don't know how many miles you have, or anything like that, so I can't even say if boosting is a good idea. If you want to up the boost, definately get a new head gasket, and look into building up the internals. If you feel your car can handle it, and you think the kit is quality, then go for it, and definately enjoy your boosted Bimmer. I wish I could go with boost.

Turbo might be an idea for quick power, but you may need to reflash the chips. The biggest problem with the 92 motor is that doesnt have VANOS. Instead, it just has hotter cams. At least it is OBD I.

I'd concentrate on internals first. New cams for starters. Also look at the cooling system. That will need to be upgraded. The stock cooling system on the older BMW's is pretty bad as a lot of plastic non composites were used. Upgrade the radiator to at least a composite/aluminum, and if you can all aluminum would best. Water pump needs to be replaced with a higher flow. It needs to be replaced period, dont get an OEM one as they fail just like the stock ones. You need one with a composite impeller, but metal would be best. Turner Motorsports sells a very nice race water pump. Thermostat needs to be replaced too.

A lot of people do M3 boltons for the motors to put out more power. Dont forget to upgrade the suspension as well.

the car has 128k miles on it.and i already had intended to replace thermostat,water pump and radiator...

the car has 128k miles on it.and i already had intended to replace thermostat,water pump and radiator...

128 isnt to bad if its a 92...thats damned good actually. Still, with the miles on it, its not gonna be as tight as it was when it was new, so I would keep boost low. Regarding the kit, well, I have that little voice in the back of my head saying someplace called turbo-kits.com is a little shaddy, but if you think its a good kit, go for it.

does anyone else on here know of any companies that make a turbo kit for the e36?????

Active Autowerkes, but theirs is pretty pricey. I know that there are more out there, most of them are cutsom one ofs that will eventually get marketed (ICS for one.) I would recomend heading over to DTMpower.net or Bimmerforums and asking around there.

the car has 128k miles on it.and i already had intended to replace thermostat,water pump and radiator...

Were they replaced with OEM parts?

Were they replaced with OEM parts?

i said i INTENDED to replace them...didnt say they had been replaced..and i am not going to replace them with OEM..im going to with aftermarket parts.