Dlux BMW E21 build

[Miroteknik]

Do you have a good explanation for throttle body spacers? I always saw them as a scam, but you seem to know what you're doing, I'd like to hear your reasoning...

[Erik D_lux]

I don't have a great reason other than I **** regret.

I need to get this car tuned, I don't want to spend the time or money to tune it twice so I want to make sure I have all the mods want right now.

These mods don't give hardly any top gains. Like 15hp overall, which is really weak for $600 or whatever

The bigger picture is that it changes your curves so I think it's like 30 hp gain in the middle of the curve, which also is not huge but again, I **** regret.

Oh, afaik, throttle body spacers don't do anything. This is a manifold spacer, which shows mild gains on the Dyno. I will see if I can find the charts

[Erik D_lux]

It puts stars where I say h a t e? Lol

[Erik D_lux]

manifold spacer.jpg

That is the dyno sheet of the manifold spacer. It shows overall gain of about 6hp and 10tq. If you look at the chart, it gives mid gains of about 13hp at 3800 rpm and 19ish torque at the same RPM. This is jus the manifold spacer.



Ported intake.jpg

That is the dyno sheet of the ported manifold. It shows overall gain of about 15hp and torque. If you look at the chart, it gives mid gains of about 15hp and 22 torque at 3600 rpm. This is just the ported manifold.

So, not huge gains like I said above but decent where you need it. I would have to dig up a chart for the ported throttle body. I am not sure what that supposedly gives.

[Miroteknik]

Thanks for the info!

[Erik D_lux]

Been awhile now but I do have an update. I was able to finally get this car tuned.




What took so long? Well, mostly it was the ECU and figuring out which is best to run.




There is a lot of information out there on the LFX swaps but its all scattered. IMO, one of the hardest things to figure out was which ECU to run in general.




If you read, I think most guys are running a ECU from a 2012 Camaro and on top of that, the info says it MUST be from a manual car.




Now, let me preface this by saying that I dont know a single thing about tuning so I could be missing something super simple.




Here is what I found with the ECU's.




All of them are E39 service #12643248. I dont know if the service number matters, I got it because I was told it did matter.




2012 - Camaro - Manual

This ECU ran with a high idle no matter what I tried or what I messed with in the settings. It would do a cold start and run at a good idle until it got warm and then it would idle around 2k RPM.




2012 - Camaro - Auto

I actually got this ECU to run really well. It did have one slight issue when I shifted. I would put in the clutch and the RPM would go up maybe 200 RPM and then come down. Not really a huge issue and it was actually kind of nice because you could time your shifts and it would shift slowly. One thing I read online is that you cannot get an auto ECU to read the VSS signal. This is not true. I got mine working just fine. If I had to run this ECU, I would be fine with it.




2015 - Camaro - Manual

Ironically this was the best running ECU for me. The motor and trans are 2015 Camaro so I guess it makes sense. I dont know why all the online info and aftermarket cater towards the 2012....? The only issue I could find with this ECU was that the alternator did not want to charge. I just hard wired a 12v ignition source to the alternator and that took care of that problem. Car runs beautifully on this ECU with no hiccups. Oh, on the 1st motor I had, it did have a weird issue on start up it would sputter around 3k RPM until I restarted the motor and it would run fine. The weather was a good bit colder then so I hope it does not come back. Right now, I cant be more satisfied with the way the car is running.




All 3 ECU I could not get the MAF sensor to read. My MAF sensor has voltage and ground, so I think its in the tune...




I had Etuned performance do a remote tune for me. Reuben was awesome to work with and I would not hesitate to look him up on Facebook if I needed another tune.




So, in the end, with intake spacer, ported intake, ported throttle body and tune, I might be looking at 375-400hp at the crank and hopefully around 300hp at the wheels. It seems about perfect for this car. I am still thinking about NO2 though. LOL

[Erik D_lux]

Having had time to enjoy this car now for about 4 months and 4,000 miles, its time to start finishing up what I started. Just a couple of things left...


First time I ever saw E24 seats in the back of a 2002, I knew I had to have them.


One of the hardest and most elusive parts I have had to search for is a set of E24 (633CSI) rear seats and arm rest. I had to have black and they had to be in great shape. Most of what I found were either the wrong color or horrible shape. Even the ones in not so good of shape can go for $500 or so. That seems crazy to me.


I got super lucky and found a set for $350 and they are in really, really good shape. I have been putting black shoe polish and leather conditioner on them for a couple of weeks.

[Miroteknik]

amazed at your resolve with all the ECU issues. looking forward to the seats going in and more pictures of the car overall

[Erik D_lux]

I got the E24 seats roughed in. Still need to do all the trim work, parcel shelf and some touch ups.

I made a bracket to span the two mounting points on the E24 seats and that bolts to the stock E21 mount. I am going to drill a hole in the back of the E24 fiberglass and E21 trunk so the back is secured.

You can see in the pics just how much I had to take from the fiberglass and the "foam"

[Erik D_lux]

More work done on the back seat project...


I am a far, far cry from being an upholsterer but am moving forward...


I ended up adding a screw hole thru the back "handle" type thing on the fiberglass on the seats. I put a screw thru the trunk also. This really firmed up the seats and also places them exactly in the arm rest where they need to be. Before, they could move and be a tiny bit off and it really bothered me.


I added E24 receiver buckles in the arm rest. I was trying to be cheap and see if I could implement the E21 buckles but they are just too specific. Since I added the E24 female sides in the buckle, the E21 male sides are not compatible so, I need to find some E24 male sides and then hope they bolt in where the E21 ones did. I love the integrated E24 buckles in the arm rest. Not only for function but also looks.


The biggest project of this weekend was the rear parcel shelf. Its done and I also added some 6.5" speakers to replace the stock 4x6. I am excited to listen to it and hear the difference.


I need to finish up the foam/vinyl on the sides of the seats. It actually does not look too bad without it though.

[gnmzl]

Cool, good job on making them fit!

[Erik D_lux]

My favorite part on the E21 is the interior and the way it makes me feel but my second part is the looks, the body and the way all the doors, trunk and hood shut so nicely, even after all these years.

I do have one major gripe on the E21's looks though. The rear end. I just have never liked it. I have always thought it was the trunk area and being too soft or round....

One mod I love is the clear turn signals on the front of the car. I think it makes it look so much better. With that rational, I figured the rear would look so much better also with some clear tail lights.

I shipped some stock lights off to China to see if I could re produce them in stock colors and clear. I was shocked to see the cost so unfortunately, I bailed on the project.

I started researching how to make my own mold to make my own tail lights but then, just last month, I saw some custom, clear rear taillights and knew I had to have them.

They are on, and I love them! I actually love the back end of this car now! I think it fixes all the things that I didnt love before.

[Fruttolo]

Kill all amber _\m/

[gnmzl]

Sweet.
In case you are interested and haven't seen the DIY on how to make a StarTec taillight replica out of these clear lenses, I can dig it up. StarTecs were never available on E21s and if you were to make 'em, you'd be my hero. It would be even easier, since e21 lenses separate from the taillight itself.

Would you care to share the link to those, I have a buddy who might be interested.

[Erik D_lux]

Kill all amber _\m/

Couldnt agree more

Sweet.
In case you are interested and haven't seen the DIY on how to make a StarTec taillight replica out of these clear lenses, I can dig it up. StarTecs were never available on E21s and if you were to make 'em, you'd be my hero. It would be even easier, since e21 lenses separate from the taillight itself.

Would you care to share the link to those, I have a buddy who might be interested.

Yeah, if you have the info, that would be awesome!

The lights are on Ebay. Just search E21 taillight and they will pop up. He has clear, clear/red and smoked. IMO, they are for a great price too.