My E36 318ti Hybrid

[1ofakind71]

When I first started talking about doing a swap like this the bmw faithful said it would cost too much and not be worth doing, so here I am
You might want to do a bit more research on the e46 you have as there is a bit more complicated electronics on the 1999+ cars, especially if
you want to use the stock gauge cluster, abs, traction control, ect..
I couldn't keep the traction control as the stock ecu would just close a door on the intake tube going to the motor causing it to bog down when a slip was detected on the rear wheels
cheesy setup if you ask me but on the e46 cars it gets more involved. If I remember right the gauge cluster and most other electronics talk to each other on a can bus I think its called,
think of a bunch of small computers networked together, If I am wrong, let me know....I do like the idea of the e46 swap and I hope it all works out for you.

 

[notacarlo]

I did a search on the BMW forums to see if this had been done before. I saw one post that mentions an LS or LC2 swap. It was pretty interesting. It seems the consensus that there are better engines out there. I hope you show them this mill is no joke. Good for you!

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[trixdout]

This is great thread. Im wanting to do the same swap but with my 2000 323i. My 2.3 liter is a pig and I see kids putting turbos and thousands of dollars into their cars just to get 275hp at the rear wheels. I mentioned the idea of this swap over in a BMW forum and they werent too receptive. Go figure. My goal is to mate the bmw electronics to the buick motor and retain full traction control and whatever goodies the germans included with the car. Its funny because I will be able to sell my current engine and trans to recoup the entire cost of the swap (sans tuning).

Yea most of those guys are purists. And by purists I mean they see those bmw engines are the alpha engines, sort of like we do here.

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[notacarlo]

, sort of like we do here.

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Yeah, but we're right.....

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[pistonhead76]

When I first started talking about doing a swap like this the bmw faithful said it would cost too much and not be worth doing, so here I am
You might want to do a bit more research on the e46 you have as there is a bit more complicated electronics on the 1999+ cars, especially if
you want to use the stock gauge cluster, abs, traction control, ect..
I couldn't keep the traction control as the stock ecu would just close a door on the intake tube going to the motor causing it to bog down when a slip was detected on the rear wheels
cheesy setup if you ask me but on the e46 cars it gets more involved. If I remember right the gauge cluster and most other electronics talk to each other on a can bus I think its called,
think of a bunch of small computers networked together, If I am wrong, let me know....I do like the idea of the e46 swap and I hope it all works out for you.

Yeah, Im in the planning stages for this right now. Im thinking next summer should be the time for the swap. The plan is to fool the bimmer ecu into thinking the factory engine is in there. The biggest obstacle I see so far is the VANOS (bmw's variable valve timing). Ive talked to a couple guys and was told this can be deleted from the ecu and the trouble code set to "ignore". The CAD file for the crank trigger wheel is out on the web somewhere. I think on the Megasquirts forum. Next I need to find out what signal the 3.8's cam sensor signal is like compared to the 6cyl in the BMW. I might need a custom reluctor ring in there too. I definitely see a MAF tuner in my future. My traction control is at the throttle body. My throttle is still cable actuated but theres a little motor on the TB also the closes the throttle when it senses wheels spin. Thats all part of the ABS too. Its a great system, thats why I dont mind the work to keep it.

So I do have some questions about the 3.8 though. I know fuel and spark are ecm controlled, but what about fuel when boost starts to build? Is the enrichment handled by the ecm also or is it strictly mechanical via a boost referenced Fuel Pressure Regulator?

 

[pistonhead76]

I did a search on the BMW forums to see if this had been done before. I saw one post that mentions an LS or LC2 swap. It was pretty interesting. It seems the consensus that there are better engines out there. I hope you show them this mill is no joke. Good for you!

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Yeah, they have no idea this little American engine from the 80's would spank most of their precious M3 motors. Even when you tell them they wont believe you. I saw the LS swap too. That was sweet.

 

[1ofakind71]

I would think the ecm would handle the fuel enrichment loads via preset or custom maps set on the chips as well as the fpr, but hopefully
someone with more knowledge on this subject will chime in and clear it up for you.
I also placed the post for my swap on bimmerforums and 318ti.org and people there have interest on how this will turn out.
They also have a growing number of ls swaps, 2jz, 1jz, and 5.0 swaps there too; i even saw a coyote and a cobalt ss swap

 

[earlbrown]

So I do have some questions about the 3.8 though. I know fuel and spark are ecm controlled, but what about fuel when boost starts to build? Is the enrichment handled by the ecm also or is it strictly mechanical via a boost referenced Fuel Pressure Regulator?

It's both. The buick ECM goes into 'power enrichment' mode under load. The fuel pressure regulator has a manifold signal on top as a reference. That way the injectors have the same pressure drop on both sides at all times.


On your mass air problems, can't you just use the factory BMW mass air system on the intake tract? That seems like a cheep and easy solution. (and I do like me some cheap and easy )

 

[BEATAV8]

Great project and nice work man! I'm rooting for ya!

 

[WIKEDV6]

Awesome, Keep it going!
Prasad

 

[1ofakind71]

Spring has arrived to the WI area and now I can get back into my build. Today I sent out my a/c lines to get a slight modification done to them so I can mount the radiator, trans cooler, fan, and intercooler all in one shot. This will get interesting....

 

[Jay J]

Glad you are back on the project--will be watching!

 

[1ofakind71]

After getting everything mounted up, boy things are getting very tight in this engine bay...now where did I put the air filter???

 

[trixdout]

After getting everything mounted up, boy things are getting very tight in this engine bay...now where did I put the air filter???

I'd say ditch the stock maf and go with a 45 degree angle silicone coupler to an lt1 or ls1 maf then the air filter, with a translator.

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[gtfrede]

That dam thing is gonna be a blast to drive...if you want to run on the stock maf go to pepboys or anywhere that sells the k and n PRE filters and hose clamp the pre filter around the inlet of the maf....trust me on this it works and I daily drove my talon with one for a year or so with not a single issue and it would get you by till you get a different maf setup while protecting your compressor wheel

 

[1ofakind71]

Thanks for the ideas guys, I will check into both of them!

 

[trixdout]

Thanks for the ideas guys, I will check into both of them!

Yea the stock maf is bound to flake sooner or later and all of the replacements from any store are no guaranteed bet to last as long as the originals did. But the originals flaked randomly too.

 

[Fatpig]

Very cool build. Not much room left under that hood

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[1ofakind71]

Here is a quick video of the beast starting up...

 

[trixdout]

That sounds sooooo mean.

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