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BMW 3-Series (E90 E92) Forum > BMW E90/E92/E93 3-series General Forums > General E90 Sedan / E91 Wagon / E92 Coupe / E93 Cabrio > Turbo LS swapped E90



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      03-25-2017, 02:02 AM   #67
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Amazing! Congrats!
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      03-25-2017, 08:37 AM   #68
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Quote:
Originally Posted by n55jb4 View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by tlow98 View Post
There are lots of n54s in 'A' condition. For 2500-3k. I'm actually surprised they aren't cheaper.

I suppose after shipping you'd likely have near 4K in it.
I agree, it's just I went with a margin to spare. I was replying to a poster who said used n54 engine cost $8k

To be honest, OP has amazing skills, but I would rather seen a n54 swap then LS1. LS1 is a great engine, but for me n54 is a step above in terms of engineering design. You can milk as much hp/tq as you want (within reasonable limits of course) especially with OP skills he could have built some crazy 1000hp n54 I'm sure (given that there are many 800hp single turbo ones that were built by folks with much less engineering skills) and all this while being a much smaller displacement than LS1. For me that's a no contest, but majority of folks in US know a lot about LS1, yet don't know much about n54. Muscle cars country......smh
Ha, there's already n54s in stock e90s. Why would that be original?

I think the SBC swap is awesome. I need one in my life.

For your custom halfshafts, I'm curious, how did you heat treat them? I used to work at an axle manufacturer as the metallurgist there, and we induction hardened our shafts, I can see that being pretty difficult for one offs though. Did you just use a torch and a bucket of water?
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      03-25-2017, 09:24 AM   #69
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Better yet a torch and a bucket of Ammonia. Makes it a lot harder than plain water quenching.
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      03-25-2017, 02:09 PM   #70
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Originally Posted by rothwem View Post
Ha, there's already n54s in stock e90s. Why would that be original?

I think the SBC swap is awesome. I need one in my life.

For your custom halfshafts, I'm curious, how did you heat treat them? I used to work at an axle manufacturer as the metallurgist there, and we induction hardened our shafts, I can see that being pretty difficult for one offs though. Did you just use a torch and a bucket of water?
Heated in a heat treating furnace we use at work. Heated, oil quench then tempered. From my research the 4340 was able to be through hardened so it was an easier process since I could use the furnace.
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      04-02-2017, 03:15 PM   #71
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A used LS motor less then $1k all day long, and if you're in the business like a guy I know, $350.

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Originally Posted by n55jb4 View Post
AFAIK n54 engine from a scraped car is $4k. For $8k you can buy a high miles 335i in good condition

Last edited by tmsnyder; 04-02-2017 at 03:21 PM..
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      04-02-2017, 08:12 PM   #72
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A used LS motor less then $1k all day long, and if you're in the business like a guy I know, $350.
Cheap doesn't mean good. I can buy a junk domestic engines like LS1 a dozen for a dime, but I don't think anyone would want to install that piece of garbage into a German sport sedan. If that's done just for kicks - knock yourself out, but it's same as buying a beautiful brick house mansion and installing a junk boiler
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      04-02-2017, 09:40 PM   #73
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I think you've mistaken inexpensive for poor quality.

Maybe you missed this part too:

"Took the car to a dyno night during tx2k and made 687 hp at 13ish lbs of boost. "

The guy has fabrication skills, I respect what he did. There's loads of potential in those LS motors, and they're cheap, that's not a bad thing. And 13 psi boost is just the tip of the iceburg.

Last edited by tmsnyder; 04-02-2017 at 09:49 PM..
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      04-03-2017, 09:16 AM   #74
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tmsnyder View Post
I think you've mistaken inexpensive for poor quality.

Maybe you missed this part too:

"Took the car to a dyno night during tx2k and made 687 hp at 13ish lbs of boost. "

The guy has fabrication skills, I respect what he did. There's loads of potential in those LS motors, and they're cheap, that's not a bad thing. And 13 psi boost is just the tip of the iceburg.
I get it, but look at it from different perspective: how much displacement LS engine is? Compare it to n52 or n54 - they are both 3.0L engines. A lot smaller right? And yet n52 makes 550+ whp with 13psi boost (DigiDon's car) being 3.0L instead of 5.7L - I'll let it sunk in for a moment. And we all know what n54 is capable with single turbo - north of 800 whp. Now that is an design gem to make as much power from almost twice as less engine than LS. To put it simply for LS to match same hp/tq per displacement - it needs to be making 1500+ whp - can it?
LS is nice engine, but not in the same league design wise. Just my opinion man. OP for sure has great skills - that goes without saying

Last edited by Captain comic; 04-03-2017 at 09:21 AM..
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      04-04-2017, 08:10 PM   #75
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Captain comic View Post
I get it, but look at it from different perspective: how much displacement LS engine is? Compare it to n52 or n54 - they are both 3.0L engines. A lot smaller right? And yet n52 makes 550+ whp with 13psi boost (DigiDon's car) being 3.0L instead of 5.7L - I'll let it sunk in for a moment. And we all know what n54 is capable with single turbo - north of 800 whp. Now that is an design gem to make as much power from almost twice as less engine than LS. To put it simply for LS to match same hp/tq per displacement - it needs to be making 1500+ whp - can it?
LS is nice engine, but not in the same league design wise. Just my opinion man. OP for sure has great skills - that goes without saying
Thanks for the feedback guys!

I see both sides of the argument but this was build for a few different reasons. Financially I can make more hp per dollar with an LS all day long. If anyone is wondering this is a $600 motor. The LS also has replacement parts that are far more available and cheap. I also am familiar with the platform.

All that being said, I just wanted to open people up to swapping these things. Everyone seems terrified to touch them because of the electronics. Well turns out its no big deal.
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      04-04-2017, 08:56 PM   #76
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Captain comic View Post
I get it, but look at it from different perspective: how much displacement LS engine is? Compare it to n52 or n54 - they are both 3.0L engines. A lot smaller right? And yet n52 makes 550+ whp with 13psi boost (DigiDon's car) being 3.0L instead of 5.7L - I'll let it sunk in for a moment. And we all know what n54 is capable with single turbo - north of 800 whp. Now that is an design gem to make as much power from almost twice as less engine than LS. To put it simply for LS to match same hp/tq per displacement - it needs to be making 1500+ whp - can it?
LS is nice engine, but not in the same league design wise. Just my opinion man. OP for sure has great skills - that goes without saying
That's funny, interesting perspective. I didn't realize that races were won based on HP/L of displacement, that's news to me

But to answer your question, yes, and for a lot cheaper.

Recommended reading from 2011, there's much more progress since then but this build inspired a lot of people:

http://www.hotrod.com/articles/hrdp-...g-bang-theory/

1203hp from a 4.8L junkyard LS motor with a couple cheap ebay turbos on it. They paid $500 for the motor, literally from a junkyard. Sized up to a 6.0L, that would be 1500hp, but there are bigger LS motors.

Now, what do you do with a 1200 hp motor in your BMW except smoke every other BMW powered BMW out there? I don't know, seems like overkill to me.

I'm more interested in the OP build which puts more than 2x the stock hp to the wheels! (not at the crank!) using a readily available and inexpensive motor which is MUCH more reliable than any BMW engine ever could be.

Very cool swap option for an engine which frankly, has a lot of shortcomings that no one can deny. I don't recall any LS owners having to walnut blast their intakes after 40k miles. Or run $9 a quart oil. Or break off oil pan bolts by looking at them funny. Or have an engine ruined by ingestion of the serp belt caused by a chronically leaking oil filter housing gasket, a problem which was not corrected from one motor design to the next! Or have oil leaks from the valve cover. Or VANOS problems, ....god it just goes on and on!

What else did I miss?

I don't think you want to get into a quality / reliability comparison between the 3.0L bmw motor and any LS motor. They are in totally different leagues, the bmw problems would never be tolerated by gm. So which one is better engineered? The bmw engine is super cool, I do love certain parts of it that I discover while working on it. But it's a very high maintenance engine, it would be better if it would stop leaking oil constantly and throwing codes!
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      04-22-2017, 05:14 PM   #77
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LS > N54 any day of the week. HP/L is not a valid argument for greatness.

I love the dyno video
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      06-20-2017, 06:25 PM   #78
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Hey man. Awesome work. I just had a quick question about your throttle linkage. Where you able to implement the BMW Drive By Wire system or did you convert it to a standard cable setup?
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      06-21-2017, 05:02 PM   #79
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Read the tread, awesome swap and yes an ls is the way to go to make reliable cost effective power, and it will for years to come. It's simple, lite, and a huge aftermarket support. There are Chevy tuners everywhere compared to BMW. I do agree they are two platforms.
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      07-02-2017, 09:23 PM   #80
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Quote:
Originally Posted by LYEGUY View Post
Hey man. Awesome work. I just had a quick question about your throttle linkage. Where you able to implement the BMW Drive By Wire system or did you convert it to a standard cable setup?
I converted it to a cable throttle pedal.


I see my photos are down, I am working on moving them all over to other hosting.
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      07-03-2017, 09:04 AM   #81
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I see my photos are down, I am working on moving them all over to other hosting.
Yeah, photobucket can phuck themselves...$399 per year?!
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      07-05-2017, 02:06 PM   #82
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Amazing swap! Would you try it in an "xi" chassis? I've been looking to see if an awd 6speed could be done with and LS swap. I know the front diff and oil pan would be a challenge. Is torque split in the xi controlled by the ecu? I so want to try a 5.3 in a E90 xi chassis!
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      07-05-2017, 02:08 PM   #83
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Did I mention that I have a build LS7 just sitting in my garage right now with not one single mile on it?
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      07-05-2017, 02:09 PM   #84
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Sorry, I got "send happy." That should have read "built" LS7.
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      07-10-2017, 11:37 AM   #85
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Definitely following.

Planning on picking up an E91 at some point and this will all come in very handy.
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      07-10-2017, 12:13 PM   #86
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Good god this is an interesting build! I'm a huge LS fan and a fan of the E chassis too, this is too good. Only thing better would have been using a DCT transmission instead of the 6060, other than that I can't think of anything else I would have done differently.
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      10-09-2017, 10:39 PM   #87
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Captain comic View Post
Cheap doesn't mean good. I can buy a junk domestic engines like LS1 a dozen for a dime, but I don't think anyone would want to install that piece of garbage into a German sport sedan. If that's done just for kicks - knock yourself out, but it's same as buying a beautiful brick house mansion and installing a junk boiler
Literally no one cares.
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      10-10-2017, 03:46 PM   #88
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dyezak I like that idea, DCT LS Turbo.

snapc33 very cool build! Can't wait for another update!

-James
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