For the Turbo Guru's-Help with advice

[Smartiesman]

My friend owns and drives a 2001 E46 318i with 300000+ on clock.
The is no smoke or fault on the car, clean and goes well except for 1 thing, lack of power. We discussed installing a turbo, now we not talking big power, just something to giving him a little kick in the behind. His words "I can't keep up with you"

So what we need to know is, can this be done, what are the cost involved and the pros and cons of this.
thanks

 

[Cole]

anything can be done, but a custom fabrication is expensive, have you searched online for any bolt on kits?
they are always cheaper by a long way.

 

[P1000]

It will be more cost effective to sell it and buy an E90 330d.

 

[Spy007]

It will be more cost effective to sell it and buy an E90 330d.

+1000

Was thinking about this when I just got gopher and price then 2010 was around 15k to do.

 

[moranor@axis]

honestly no point just buy a bmw with a bigger engine...

 

[Legacy]

If its only 15k for the entire setup I can't see how its cheaper to buy a 330d. E46 318i with M43 should be about R45k plus 15k for a huge turbo setup. That's R60k for 200+ kw...

Who needs a project? :fencelook:

 

[P1000]

No way you will do a proper turbo setup for 15k, not even if you boost 0.4bar

 

[Smartiesman]

Selling won't be an option for this guy, he loves this car a bit too much.
Buying a 330d E90? That makes no sense.

Well, I will just tell him the big hole he gonna make in his pocket.

 

[Legacy]

No way you will do a proper turbo setup for 15k, not even if you boost 0.4bar

Just as I thought.

 

[Psymon69]

I think around 25k should cover most of it. Speak to Racing Snake. Hes the one for these crazy things:thumbs:

 

[Spy007]

No way you will do a proper turbo setup for 15k, not even if you boost 0.4bar

Got that from a Fellow fanatic but was 2 years ago.

Didnt some one do the rear turbo??????

 

[zaleonardz]

Im pretty sure thats N42 motor,

Your on your knees begging for shit if you do this.

I am not saying that it cannot be done, but not on a budget mod.

I would rather say, just buy a 330i motor, slap it in there and call it a day, conversion is going to cost you pretty much the same if you know how to shop then a turbo conversion would.

At the time I did research, there was no aftermarket ECU that could run both Vanos and VVT, perhaps its changed, but I would be afraid of this mod.

 

[netercol]

apparently not even a 100k can buy you a proper turbo conversion these days..

:fencelook:

 

[Major]

apparently not even a 100k can buy you a proper turbo conversion these days..

:fencelook:

 

[Spy007]

apparently not even a 100k can buy you a proper turbo conversion these days..

:fencelook:

:biglol:

 

[osiris]

sure you can get a turbo setup for 15k! it will take the guy fitting it probably a year or two to do the job for you, he will use bubble gum to stick everything together and there will be no software to regulate the whole setup properly as that alone will cost you in the regions of R5k.

and then because of this lack of tunning the engine will last a couple hours and then go pop!

Rather sell it and get an E46 330d if he is fixated on having a E46! because a proper turbo setup will be something from Savspeed and that will set you back easily 74k but then at least the car wont break on you and he offers a very good warrenty and his work is very good.

 

[Pfw28]

Apologies for the hijack, but I am in the same boat with 2 of my clients. Both E46 318. To modify or transplant, that's the question! Replacement is not an option, resale on them is too low. Opinions?

 

[S50B32turbo]

It can be done. It could even be done neatly and reliably. Especially considering the high mileage its value is low, so why not inject some fun into it. The thing is he has to remember that with power comes responsibility. Meaning if he goes this route he needs to understand that turbo cars require more of maintenance. If he is prepared for this then go for it. Turbo cars bring lots of joy!

 

[Smartiesman]

It can be done. It could even be done neatly and reliably. Especially considering the high mileage its value is low, so why not inject some fun into it. The thing is he has to remember that with power comes responsibility. Meaning if he goes this route he needs to understand that turbo cars require more of maintenance. If he is prepared for this then go for it. Turbo cars bring lots of joy!

Thanks Bud. I spoke to him and decided he wants to upgrade to a later model and bigger engine capacity.

Thanks to all the guys for there advice on this matter.
:thumbs: