My 535is Turbo Buildup Thread! - update 11/26//09

[Brad D.]

I got my turbo flange from a local shop but ebay and lots of other sellers sell them cheap. For the triangle shaped 3 hole manifold flanges I made my own out of 1/2 plate. Wastegate flanges came with my WG, but can be bought separately.

[Nebraska_e28]

lol where did you get the turbo flange and other associated flanges?

I've also found most of them on ebay & the cartech site also.

[Brad D.]

I did try to find a source for the manifold to downpipe flanges but to no luck which is why I ended up making my own. I contemplated having some made but it really wasn't worth it.

[alijonny]

hmm maybe a trip to the local scrap yard is in order for a piece of plate steel. muhahaha!

Also, in the phase of mocking up the mani, did you already have your turbo? I'm trying to find a junk unit similar to what I'm going to have for mock up purposes until I gain enough bread to get the real deal...and get it running.

I scored some 3" mandrel bends for my exhaust via a later model GMC truck whose owner just needed dual exhaust. I gained one 90*elbow,two 45* elbows and one goofy 110* or whatever elbow. yeah!

[Brad D.]

It is better if you have the turbo to mock everything up as available space disappears quite quickly and there is lots of stuff to cram under the hood. Hood clearance, downpipe and wastegate clearance are all things that are dependant on your turbo and it almost makes having it a necessity.
Nice score on the mandrel bends.

[Brad D.]

Recently I had become curious what my car would sound like without a cat so I set out to remove it and replace it with a test pipe. Removal was no where as easy as I had anticipated it would be. I made the mistake of not flanging the connection and using u-bolt style clamps which cut into the metal and almost "swage" the two pieces of pipe together. This makes it hard to pull the pipes apart. I ended up having to cut a notch into the cat with a die grinder to get it off.
When I eneded up getting it out of the car I was greeted with a cat that sounded like a maraca. The brick is pretty much wasted being blown apart and melted. This is with about 8 months of driving and tuning. It definitely did not hold up well and had to have been costing be power. Looking through the matrix with a light shows a good portion of what was left is clogged. I cut a section of tubing to replace the cat and clamped it in place with Dynaflex Truseal clamps which are awesome. I haven't driven the car far yet with it out but the exhaust note is almost unchanged at idle but sounds so much raspier and has much more character than it did with the cat under load.


It's much worse even that it looks in the pics as it is has crumbled inside the matrix and it is hard to get it to show up in a pic.

[Nebraska_e28]

I'm suddenly reminded of the dyno session w/grsmonkey the other weekend when his cat fired an e28-to-air projectile out the rear!

[Brad D.]

I don't recall a singular backfire that took it out but I know that I had gotten it to smell like sulfur a couple of times which is typically a result of running rich. I didn't get the dramatic cat destruction that Mike got, but I am glad it's gone.

[Jays535is]

I've seen the triangles for sale before. Heres some
http://frugalmechanic.com/auto-part/723 ... ust-flange

[Brad D.]

It's cool that they are available but they definitely aren't cheap.

[Jays535is]

It's cool that they are available but they definitely aren't cheap.

Yea i was shocked at the price!

[Brad D.]

Well, I can say that after having driven the car today without a cat it sounds a little throatier under load but definitely not loud. It doesn't even come close to loud like a Tri-Flow on an NA car. Boost builds a few hundred rpm earlier and I would be willing to bet that post turbine EGTs are also down (I don't monitor them). It also feels like it revs much freer now.

[Nebraska_e28]

Well, I can say that after having driven the car today without a cat it sounds a little throatier under load but definitely not loud. It doesn't even come close to loud like a Tri-Flow on an NA car. Boost builds a few hundred rpm earlier and I would be willing to bet that post turbine EGTs are also down (I don't monitor them). It also feels like it revs much freer now.

I can attest to the the triflow on a NA car, had this setup & got tired of it quick! Although I am quite curious how a triflow would sound on a FI ride. I'm sure it's even faster than before. Might be making another scoot down that way, will keep ya posted.

[turbodan]

My favorite kind of exhaust clamp. I wub dem.

[George]

My favorite kind of exhaust clamp. I wub dem.

I use 3 of those with the TCD exhaust

[turbodan]

I have two. They're clamptastic.

[M. Holtmeier]

Well, I can say that after having driven the car today without a cat it sounds a little throatier under load but definitely not loud. It doesn't even come close to loud like a Tri-Flow on an NA car. Boost builds a few hundred rpm earlier and I would be willing to bet that post turbine EGTs are also down (I don't monitor them). It also feels like it revs much freer now.

Not surprisingly, my car felt the same once the cat. was gone too. As you stated there was no climactic failure, I wonder how many other cats. suffered this same demise and thier driver's are none the wiser. I think you're right on with the inclusion of tuning having an impact on the failure.

[alijonny]

hey, before you go spending $30 on those 3 bolt flanges, I can get the same (or similar) flanges from one of my exhaust suppliers for less than $5 each depending on size. they are mild steel and are not coated with anything.

[Brad D.]

My favorite kind of exhaust clamp. I wub dem.

Those are exactly what I am using now. They are great! So easy to use and easy to remove the exhaust when needed. I can't wait to get my car on the dyno in November. I need to get the car tuned to 10-12 psi so I get this compressor closer to the heart of its efficiency.

[jbd5015]

Great thread!! Ive been pondering doing a turbo on my 83 6er for quite some time now. I looked at TCD and have talked to them a few times now, but it's really out of my price range. Im also very keen to do all the work on my own anyway.

Ive had a chat with George K about his experiences with megasquirt, and i think im going to do this as well. Ive got a spare ECU for my car and would love to be able to utilize it to build the new ECU. Ive also got a friend down here in Oz whose mechanic is very good at building one-off turbo set-ups. Dont know if youve ever seen Julian Seegers B7 replica 6er? He is running MoTec though which is much more expensive but is a cool system. Currently he is putting out around 515whp with 540lb/ft at the wheels too. After getting a ride in that car, id be happy with 1/2 that!!!

Anyway, keep up the good work, ill be learning more about metal fabricating in the next year or so, which would definitely help bring the costs down!!

cheers,

-Jeff

[George]

Hey Jeff, Glad to see you found the wealth of knowledge.

FYI, if you want to do any fabrication down in Baltimore, I just got new TIG and MIG welders and a plasma cutter. I need something to try them out on. I've got hammers too so we can test the welds

[jbd5015]

Hey Jeff, Glad to see you found the wealth of knowledge.

FYI, if you want to do any fabrication down in Baltimore, I just got new TIG and MIG welders and a plasma cutter. I need something to try them out on. I've got hammers too so we can test the welds

The only welding ive done has been stick welding. So ill have to brush up on my MIG welding next semester! But hammers are definitely more in my expertise of fabricating. I think the saying goes,"It doesnt fit? Get a bigger hammer!!!"

Definitely looking forward to checking out this section of the site some more. Its always been a good one to browse for parts!

-Jeff

[Brad D.]

Your e24 would be even sweeter with some boost. Buidling your own turbo setup is quite rewarding as it is quite satisfying to be able to enjoy something you built and tuned with your own hands. There is plently to be learned on this forum and if you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask.

[babisbabou]

BBR i am happy for NOT using a cat myself

Hey Jeff, Glad to see you found the wealth of knowledge.

FYI, if you want to do any fabrication down in Baltimore, I just got new TIG and MIG welders and a plasma cutter. I need something to try them out on. I've got hammers too so we can test the welds

Can i come?

[freeriden]

I have about a week until I start my e34 M30 build, just out of curiosity, what made you decide to go with a bypass valve instead of a blow off valve?