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N54 powered E87 hatch

10K views 37 replies 15 participants last post by  grt 
#1 ·
A quick timeline of ownership with this car

May 2019 - Bought a 2006 BMW E87 130i manual as a second 'fun car'

June 2019 - Bought a 2008 BMW E82 135i manual write off as a track car

Aug 2019 - New Enkei ES Tarmac 17x9 inch +40 wheels with Kumho V720 tyres, H&R springs, M3 lower control arms, 135i front brakes

Oct 2019 - Plans changed with the 135i so decided to swap the N54 driveline into the 130i (more on this below)

Jan 2020 - LCI dash update and HIZPO stereo (works incredibly well!)

Mar 2020 - I broke it

Current spec - July 2020

Driveline

135i N54 engine
135i 6 speed manual
E82 3.46 open diff
JB4
Catless downpipes
VRSF intakes
VRSF intercooler

Suspension/Brakes

135i 6 piston front brake callipers/discs
Braided brake lines
H&R springs on factory M-sport shocks
M3 lower control arms
90mm stud and nut conversion

Wheels/Tyres

Enkei ES Tarmac 17x9 inch +40 wheels
Kumho V720 245/40 tyres

Interior

HIZPO stereo
M-sport interior trims

Conversion

In about October 2019 I decided I wanted to attempt the N54 swap. I know a few E87s are floating around with N54s but couldn't really find much. It was actually reasonably straight forward. Everything bolted into the E87 body. Keep in mind I had a complete E82 to work with. I ended up using the E82 engine mounts, radiator, AC lines, PS lines, gearbox mounts, gearbox linkage, driveshafts, 3.46 ratio diff, instrument cluster and exhaust. The only thing that was modified was the E82 exhaust rear section as it was too long. The pain in the arse part of the swap was the wiring. Mainly because no matter how hard I looked I never found a completely accurate wiring diagram for either car, and I spent hours looking. Once done it was an awesome car to drive and very unsuspecting! Unfortunately, when I did this conversion I cheaped out on maintenance, something which came back to bite me.

Current state/plans

In about March 2020 I had a major coolant leak. I found the rubber part of the transfer pipe leaking. I attempted to replace it then realised you have to remove the downpipes to get to it thus meaning I had to remove the subframe. I noticed some of the other coolant hoses looking pretty tied and the valve cover leaking. I ended up ordering most of the coolant hoses, gaskets and all the other maintenance pieces required. I figured when they arrived, I would remove the subframe and do it all at once. Then I got thinking, if I am removing the subframe, why not fix the turbo waste gate rattle. That idea quickly went to, why not just replace the turbos? A couple of days later I ordered a pair of Dynamic Autowerx TD04 turbos, larger VRSF intakes and a full gasket kit.

As it currently sits, I am still waiting on the turbos to show up. Whilst I have been waiting, I have been gathering all kinds of parts. I got a hold of some used Eibach coil overs and Recaro seat. There is going to be a fair bit of work to make coil overs fit with 9-inch front wheels. I also bought a M factory plate type LSD centre to go into a E82 automatic 3.73 ratio diff which I will install later on.



















 
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#3 ·
Nyxeris said:
Awesome stuff, subbed. It's going to be well worth the recovery efforts!

Wheels look really cool too, any idea about the model/offsets? Had a quick look on Enkei's website but they don't let you filter by PCD.

Keep the updates coming :thumbs:
Thanks. Turbos should be here next week.

The wheels are Enkei ES Tarmac 17x9 +40.

I think they are pretty hard to come by. I haven't seen them in this size and offset before.
 
#9 ·
Fantastic job!

Being a pre LCI 130 it's the nicer dash material and hydraulic PAS I guess.

Please share some more pics.

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#11 ·
jonwilli said:
50pence said:
Being a pre LCI 130 it's the nicer dash material
Really?? I have had both and facelift dash and interior is way way nicer. Trade off for HPAS is probably worth it though.
Yep, I'm talking about the surface of the main area of the dash, the leather grained finish, it definitely felt more substantial and tougher in our 2005 E87 relative to my 2010 E81.

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#16 ·
CalvinNismo said:
Really cool, are you chasing a particular number with the Stage 2+ turbos? Also are you running the coupe front bumper? If not have you made some previsions for the oil cooler in the hatch bumper?
Not at the moment. I will probably need some fuel upgrades and other bits and peices first. I think it should be good for over 300kw at the wheels.

I am running the standard 130i bumper. The front right fog light is missing for the oil cooler. The intercooler fits behind the standard bar without issues.
 
#17 ·
Update

I have reassembled most of the car within to much issue. That is until I filled the cooling system with approximately 3 litres of water.... which came straight out the bottom :cry: It seemed the internal gasket in the water pump was leaking. Of course the water pump was the only thing that wasn't replaced during this overhaul. I ordered a new pump and fitted it up without issue. Next part is to manage the coolant/intake hoses with minimal rubbing. The 2 inch intake hoses are a fair bit larger so they rub on everything. I think a few hose spacers and zip ties should do the trick. I plan on changing the charge up and installing a Tial blow off valve in the near future which should tidy up the intake area. As you can see from the photos the hoses are really compressed together, especially around the bottom near the water pump.







 
#34 ·
Update

I have reassembled most of the car within to much issue. That is until I filled the cooling system with approximately 3 litres of water.... which came straight out the bottom :llorar: It seemed the internal gasket in the water pump was leaking. Of course the water pump was the only thing that wasn't replaced during this overhaul. I ordered a new pump and fitted it up without issue. Next part is to manage the coolant/intake hoses with minimal rubbing. The 2 inch intake hoses are a fair bit larger so they rub on everything. I think a few hose spacers and zip ties should do the trick. I plan on changing the charge up and installing a Tial blow off valve in the near future which should tidy up the intake area. As you can see from the photos the hoses are really compressed together, especially around the bottom near the water pump.








[/COTIZAR]
hola buenas , que kit de tuberias pediste para el cambio ?? muchas gracias
 
#19 ·
Update.

The 130i is back together and running. I took the car around the block and even on low boost its crazy fast! After the test drive there seems to be have a small oil leak from the rocker cover gasket which sucks because that gasket was a pain to replace. Apart from that there are no other issues. Very happy with the performance.

I was suppose to replace the coils and spark plugs but I didn't have a skinny 14mm spark plug socket. Thanks BMW! I will have to wait until my socket arrives.

Next up is to get the LSD sorted.

 
#22 ·
Update.

I have been driving the car a fair bit and it works really well. It's very quick! I will take some videos soon and upload them.
Heaps has been done to my car since the last update. The oil leak I first spied after the rebuild was just residue from one of the heat shields.
I have finally booked into a track day on the 5th of November. So incoming onboard videos!

Front end upgrades

I have done some maintenance to the front end. I have installed new wheel bearings, studs, nuts and completely new front brakes. I went with DBA front rotors and Hawk pads. The car already has braided brake lines. I will be doing some track work so these should be ok. I not super fussed if they aren't up to the task. I have a set of AP racing Pro 5000r calipers ready to go if I start struggling with braking at the racetrack.

Charge pipe

I stalled a VRSF charge pipe and Tial BOV. There are heaps of write ups on these so I won't get into detail. I am very happy with the install. It tidies up the engine bay and the fit/finish are good.

Interior

I installed a BMW performance handbrake and gear knob, a Dinan short shifter and a new carbon wrapped steering wheel trim. This really tidied up the interior. These few interior upgrades would have to be one of the best 'bang for buck' things I have done to this car. The shifter feel is awesome. They make driving really enjoyable. My M sport wheel is pretty second hand so I am looking into retrofitting a F30 M sport steering wheel. I installed a fire extinguisher in front of the passenger seat. I just made up a bracket from a metal plate and bolted it in between the seat rail and floor so I can easily remove it.

M factory LSD

I attempted to install a M-Factory plate type diff. I got it assemble without any issue and installed it in the car only to find the rear E90 tail shaft section does not fit onto the front section of a E82 tail shaft. What a fail. Which time not on my side I had to reinstall the open center diff and send the tail shaft away to get shortened as I wasn't able to source a tail shaft locally.

That's all for now. Stay tuned for track day content!















 
#24 ·
jonwilli said:
Looks an awesome build and you make the custom work look so easy! What sort of power are you running at the moment?
I haven't had it dynoed yet. That will be in the future. I would guess around 300kw at the wheels? I think full bolt on N54 with hybrids would make that. Although I don't have a great fuel system to support it. All in good time. :)
 
#25 ·
Update.

Please excuse the lack of photos and videos.

I completed my first track day and only managed three sessions before the car sprung a power steering leak. Not bad by any means (1/2 drops) but in typical BMW fashion my bonnet cable snapped so I could pop the bonnet to check fluid or actually see where the leak was coming from so we called it a day. Unfortunately my Gopro didn't work so no on boards.

Things to note/upgrade from the track day.

Lack of LSD. I have now installed my M-factory LSD with the auto ratio. Makes a huge difference in corner exit grip.

Lowered springs and M-sport shocks. I have bought and installed a set of KW V3 coil overs with Dinan fixed camber plates.


With new suspension and LSD the next track day will be solid. I plan on getting new wheels/tires before the next track day as well.

Again sorry for the lack of videos/photos. I bought a Gopro 8 Black so next track day there will be plenty of videos.
 
#26 ·
Update.

M Factory LSD

I install the M factory LSD and KW coilovers without issues. The M factory LSD is very tight and almost impossible to use when the car is a daily driver. IT clunks and bangs with any sort of load and steering angle is applied. I'm not sure if this is actually normal but it seems to happen a lot when the diff oil is cold. I have tried a few different oils and it doesn't seem to make a difference. I also a diff brace but again it didn't make a difference. I have reached out to M factory to see if there is a solution.

Rear end work

I decided to do a complete rear end refresh. I removed the whole rear subframe and replaced the diff bushes, subframe bushes and shock absorber bushes with SuperPro items. Pretty easy install. I used a blow touch to melt the bushes out. I installed a 20mm SuperPro sway bar with new end links. This was partly due to wear and tear and also seeing if anything made a difference to the clunky diff.

Rear brakes

I installed some new 2 piston Brembo brakes from a 135i. I used new DBA rotors and pads. I install ECS tuning braided brake lines.

CSF radiator

My standard radiator sprung a leak so I install a new CSF alloy radiator.

New wheels

I purchased a set of Weds wheels about 3 months ago and they finally arrived. Specs are Weds TC105x 18x9 +45. I have a set of Kumho 255/35 R18 tyres. Fronts require a 10mm spacer to clear the struts but the rears are fine. I have pumped the front guards a fair bit so 9-inch wheels aren't an issue. I will upload so installed photos later.

Fresh parts



Rear end removed. All bushes removed



SuperPro 20mm sway bar



135i Brembo brakes



CSF radiator



Weds wheels. Sneak peak.



Weds wheels. Test fit

 
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