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1999 E36 318is with downing atlanta supercharger

54K views 133 replies 23 participants last post by  Islandboy671 
#1 ·
thought id post this in here aswell incase anyone was interested in doing the same!

overall this took me around 10 hours to fit but thats with a good few breaks and a few snags so think if i did it again i could nearly half that time!

anyway heres some pics as i went!

all the kit laid out



had a laptop set up with the installation guide on



removing bits









upper manifold off


fuel rail removed






i hate wiring and ended up having to ring neil a couple of times for advice! so cheers neil :wink:



didnt have a clue what was what so had to label everything up with different coloured tape so i knew where they went back



lower manifold off



steel braided fuel lines fitted



new idler pulleys fitted



new gasket fitted



supercharger going in



and then how its been left till 2morro



once the bolts are tightened there isnt too much more left to do!
however there is a couple of small rubber hoses that i cant seem to find where they go! :oops:

well i carried on today! and she lives!!!!!!! :twisted: however i broke the bleed screw and i snapped the aircon tensioner bolt

heres the pics!

manifold tightened up and fuel rail fitted



throttle body and maf fitted



air fiter on the elbow wouldnt allow me to refit the pipercross as its a touch to large but i'll sort that soon



belt refitted



my johnny age 5 diagram to help me :oops:



sheared off the aircon tensioner :oops: so no aircon for the moment





and finished bar bleeding it! grabbed the camera to film the first start but it died! :oops: (sounded like a bag of nails the first start anyway!)

after adjusting the throttle cable i got it to idle ok and then went to bleed it and broke the bleed screw! :oops:
so you'll have to wait for a vid until i get another!

but it does sound mean when you rev it!

well changed the broken injector today and that sorted all the problems out so im chuffed to bits and took it out for its maiden voyage and im still speachless
its totally transformed the car!
another thing on the list of things to do was upgrading the speakers etc but i dont know how often that going to be used now as i have a new favourite tune! :twisted: :lol:
heres a quick vid just after the 1st start up! only on a crap digi camera and it does it no justice!



as always comments good or bad are welcomed! :wink:
 
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#91 ·
Well, I have had a response from Eaton - they don't sell directly but pointed me at their resellers. I see that Magnuson Products in America still supply the MP62 and Harrop Engineering here in Australia supply a compatible blower called the HVT1320 using Eaton internals.

Sadly, neither do the BMW kit. SO, I have sent an email off to Jim Downing at Downing Atlanta and here's hoping I get a response. I say this because Bavaria Cars again here in Australia said they stopped stocking the Downing Atlanta kit because DA never responded to his emails......
 
#95 ·
not 100% sure it is the problem yet (could be a wiring problem) but it looks like my fuel pump has given up the ghost! so if it is i'll be uprating it to a walbro one! just thought i'd put this up on here so anyone planning on supercharging their's can add this to the shopping list! (prince =get it o the shopping list! lol)
 
#104 ·
well i did take my camera with me today but i didnt check the battery and surprise surprise it was dead! :sarcastic
but anyway i changed the fuel pump with a uprated walbro 255 one and its now alive again! :cool
it was easier than i expected but i've now got a stinking headache from the petrol fumes! :frown
 
#105 ·
can you fit any walboro 255 to any bmw? and what sort of difference would it make to normal driving as I notive everybody seems to be using them for any tuned car...
 
#106 ·
just a little update for this i finally had it all mapped
and upgraded a few bits to get the most out of it



thats a uk 325 maf
30lb injectors to replace the standard 19lb ones (from a volvo turbo still on the volvo fuel rail in the pic!)
and the injector adaptors (as the bmw ones are longer)

the map itself was done by enda who is a great guy and explained everything and showed me all the changes he was making to the map etc (even though it was mainly over my head and looked like i was looking at the matrix :rofl)

but the result is fantastic and not only does it have more power but also is more drivable!
and has got rid of the rising rate fuel pressure regulator! and upped the rev limit a little :hihi

all in all i'm very happy and will be putting it on a dyno pretty soon to see what its now making
 
#108 ·
sorry mark only just seen your comment its wasnt done on a dyno mate

and another supercharger related drama happened a couple of weeks ago now!
i'd always heard the idler pulleys that came with the dasc where not really anygood and always planned on replacing them but as luck would have it not soon enough as i was driving along slowly and then all of a sudden i lost power steering so immediately thought it was something to do with the pump etc so pulled over to have a look to see this





so i set about looking for a more reliable set! and as luck would have it i found a guy on a forum that is a dab hand at fabbing stuff up so he made me a couple out of alloy and with top quality double row bearings etc





and all fitted

 
#109 ·
just to keep this up to date after fitting a bigger maf i'd been on the look out for a decent induction kit and ended up going for the k&n (dave f kit) as i'd seen dyno proven results for it before

also after removing the hose that used to feed air to the injectors there was a matter of sourcing a new intake boot but after a few cuts in the right places i managed to reuse the 318is boot and plugged the hole with a brake calliper dust cover!



and a few pics of it fitted!







next update should hopefully be a dyno result!! ;)
 
#110 ·
someone elsewhere asked me to do a quick sound clip of how the s/c sounded so loaded a quick vid to youtube
as per any video filmed on a phone it does the sound no justice at all but you get the picture
i'm filming it on my phone with my left hand so didnt change gears just stayed in 2nd
(yes i know the brake pad sensor light is on! but its just a broken wire :oops: )

oh and its on a private road on a camp :lol:
Supercharged 318is dasc - YouTube
 
#111 ·
good to see the step by step, also got a 318is and supercharging is the route id like to take. but those downing atlantas aren't flowing freely around the web.
ill be calling on you for tips when i get my hands on one.
how long has it been fitted now? running nice and sound?
 
#112 ·
There's one on eBay atm and it's been on there for about a month.

It's been on the car since May last year and has ran very sweetly ever since. Feel free to ask any questions but I'm actually selling the car now. I'll still be available on the forums though as a change of badge won't see me leave the BMW forums.
 
#114 ·
DA SuperCharger Installation Manual

Hi All,

I am new to this forum and in need of assistance. Went through most of the forums regarding Downing Atlanta SuperChargers and most were really nice pics and stories, but none on how to's. Just recently picked up a used DASC for my 1997 318i Saloon, and I have no idea how to install. Apologize if I am beating a dead horse, but does anyone know where I can get an installation manual? Tried Downing Atlanta website but it has been a week since and no replies.
 
#115 ·
Hi All,

I am new to this forum and in need of assistance. Went through most of the forums regarding Downing Atlanta SuperChargers and most were really nice pics and stories, but none on how to's. Just recently picked up a used DASC for my 1997 318i Saloon, and I have no idea how to install. Apologize if I am beating a dead horse, but does anyone know where I can get an installation manual? Tried Downing Atlanta website but it has been a week since and no replies.
Is your 318 a single cam or twin cam ?
I mean what does the actually engine look like ? DASC doesn't fit certain M4x engines.

If you don't know your engine type, send me a PM with the last 7 digits of your VIN & i'll find your engine via RealOEM.com :thumbsup


But good on you for having that nice bit of kit! No doubt it will bring a lot of smiles per miles ;)
 
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