stveclrk's (slow135) MMP Turbo build thread
- Thread starter Steven@ClarkPerformanceFab
- Start date
Its been a little while since my last update. Thanks for all the support as always as I make progress with all of my projects. One big project that I've been keeping on the down low but I feel comfortable releasing now that I'm closer to fruition is my new business, Clark Performance Fabrication. I've been working on establishing this company for the past 6 years since I already have a full time job but I finally applied for my LLC and I'm ready to start making some cool new products for an affordable price since I'm just starting out. My first product I'm releasing next week is a differential lockdown bracket for the manual transmission cars. I know there have been a few others released on the market but in my opinion they have been too flimsy with 1/8" steel or had poor fitment or were too expensively priced. My brackets are composed entirely of 1/4" steel and will be primed and painted with a gloss black enamel. They are TIG welded and I have had amazing fitment. Also, as far as I know, for the first time on any bracket I will be including new differential bolts 5mm longer to compensate for the bracket so the bolts will have the same thread depth as OEM. All bolts are serrated flange hex heads to prevent backing out. The brackets will be $113.60 shipped to CONUS states with priority mail. I already have about 20 buyers lined up and the first batch will be going out on Monday. I also ordered my new PTE 6466 and I have a block of aluminum to start fabricating my jig for the single turbo manifold. Progress is for sure going in the right direction and I've been making leaps and bounds lately. Couldn't have done it without the amazing support I've always gotten from this platform.
Thanks man! I plan to very soon. I'm trying to get caught up on these brackets so I have a good quantity ready to ship before I advertise. And I'm still building my AT jig so I'll have a supply of AT brackets ready to go too. After everything is all completed I wouldn't mind donating a bracket for a raffle if that would be ok with you.
Also if anyone wants to watch my progress I post updates almost daily to my instagram.
clark_performance_fabrication
clark_performance_fabrication
Yeah absolutely. We are booked on raffles through February so if you want to do something you should reserve a month.
Also, something worth mentioning, the AT has two pumpkins, a 188mm and 215mm just like the manual. Very early autos came with the large pumpkin. I have one on my 09, but the pumpkin was off an 06 production date.
Thanks for the info. I'll for sure reserve a month after the shop is fully set up. I have someone test fitting my MT bracket on an 07 AT in the next week or two just to verify fitment for a 215 AT setup. I should have been a bit more clear and specified 188 vs 215 instead of AT vs MT. Most people dont know differential size but they know AT and MT so I try to keep it simple and I've been clarifying fitment on a personal message basis. I also created a vendor post and just explained my situation so that people aren't expecting me to have 100 brackets on hand right now.
This chart is by VAC:
I will say that the beginning dates aren't entirely accurate, some cars were actually built before august 2006. The differential in my car came from one produced before then and its definitely a large unit.
Yeah I remember reading the thread with that chart last year and they were saying it was a good ballpark estimate up until the 08 production cars. Especially with bolted vs welded ring gears. After 08 it was pretty concise, auto was 188 bolted and manual was 215 welded. I almost procured a bolted 215 out of an 07 335i auto before I jumped on the MFactory group buy this past year.
I haven’t had a lot of time to work on the car since I’ve tried to get the fabrication shop up and running but I finally got some free time today and knocked some stuff out. The PTE 6466 and PSP 900 intercooler should be here in the next week or two. And I was able to source a manifold flange and T4 divided flange from Anthony at ACF along with a couple other odds and ends. So today I pulled about half of the wire loom out of the way to make room to start mocking up the manifold.
I also finally swapped out my plastic coolant flange for the aluminum ebay one thats been sitting around for the past few months.
Then I pulled the valve cover and fitted the ADE PCV delete and ACF flapper delete fittings on.
And finally I tapped and plugged the PCV head ports. And before anyone slams me for not having tape and paper towels in the pictures I pulled them to get clear shots. And I only tapped the holes with the shop vac running to suck up the shavings as I went. Nothing got into the runners or valvetrain.
Just waiting for a new valve cover gasket to show up and I’ll put the cover back on. I still have to modify the catch can to add the AN ports but that is super low on the checklist of things to do. I also pulled my MMP PI rail and rebuilt my PR FPR. The MMP rail is for sale if anyone wants it. It has one used set of injectors and one new set. Plus 7 manifold gaskets. Just PM me if you’re interested. I’m just going another route now and wont be needing it.
I also finally swapped out my plastic coolant flange for the aluminum ebay one thats been sitting around for the past few months.
Then I pulled the valve cover and fitted the ADE PCV delete and ACF flapper delete fittings on.
And finally I tapped and plugged the PCV head ports. And before anyone slams me for not having tape and paper towels in the pictures I pulled them to get clear shots. And I only tapped the holes with the shop vac running to suck up the shavings as I went. Nothing got into the runners or valvetrain.
Just waiting for a new valve cover gasket to show up and I’ll put the cover back on. I still have to modify the catch can to add the AN ports but that is super low on the checklist of things to do. I also pulled my MMP PI rail and rebuilt my PR FPR. The MMP rail is for sale if anyone wants it. It has one used set of injectors and one new set. Plus 7 manifold gaskets. Just PM me if you’re interested. I’m just going another route now and wont be needing it.
I wonder if there is an easier way to plug those ports which don't involve tapping the hole? Is there some sort of other material that could be put in there?
I don’t see any reason why the hole couldn’t be epoxied shut. But the tap and plug is cheap and documented effective so I went that route. It only cost about $10 all in so there wasn’t any harm going this route. I put about 1-2mm worth of silicone gasket maker under the set screw to seal the threads and make sure the hole was sealed shut. The ADE delete fitting is supposed to not need the ports plugged either but I did it anyway for leak testing.
So I’m going to attempt something. And its because I’m cheap. So I want to keep studs holding the intake manifold instead of bolts. The stock studs are M7x1.0 thread and about 60mm long. Not sure if anyone has ever tried to find a set of M7x1.0 80mm double sided studs but its F’n impossible. And the only person I know selling them is Twisted Tuning and I am way too cheap to spend $65 on 7 studs. So I have an idea. I’m going to drill and tap the intake manifold holes to M8x1.25 which can be found almost anywhere. And better yet, a set of 10 A2 stainless steel studs can be gotten for around $11. I ordered 25 stainless serrated flange nuts to match the studs for $6. So my total investment currently is about $18 including tax and shipping. I’m going to use my PI rail to make sure the drill bit and tap is absolutely square on the holes and I’ve already checked to make sure a M8 bolt will fit the rail and manifold and it does. Everything should be here in about a week or two and I’ll post results up here. My whole goal is to allow the manifold and PI rail to sit perfectly flush while I equally torque down the nuts to have a perfectly even distribution of force across the head flange. Is it overkill? Yes, it probably is.
FYI, if you just call McMaster Carr and give them 5min to source you studs they'll have exactly what you need in your hands within a day or two.
But, since you're saving money go for it. Drill into your head. It's not like a simple mistake *could* cost you 10x more than twisted's $65 studs. I don't know how many times I've seen someone do something risky to save money only to end up spending multiples of the money they would have saved due to a simple mistake.
But, since you're saving money go for it. Drill into your head. It's not like a simple mistake *could* cost you 10x more than twisted's $65 studs. I don't know how many times I've seen someone do something risky to save money only to end up spending multiples of the money they would have saved due to a simple mistake.
I’ll call them and ask but its also for ease of availability. Having the option to just easily locate hardware anytime I need it is the real benefit. Honestly BMW should have used M8 x 1.25 in the first place instead of M7 x 1.0 which is an unbelievably uncommon thread size. To be honest I wouldn’t put it past them that the only reason they chose that size is to force you to buy OEM if it ever failed. Like I said though, I’ll shoot them a phone call since it wasn’t listed on their website just to confirm.
Just make sure you position yourself correctly. On the phone tell them you are a purchasing agent looking for QC samples of XYZ. Tell them you need 10x of them and explain the issue with availability of this size vs M8 and trying to make a good decision on which way to go for the future of the product blah blah blah.
You don't want to sound like some schmo who only wants to buy 7 screws from them. You want to sound like a guy making a decision on a big purchase who needs to review the quality of whatever limited availability is out there for this weird size fastener.
You don't have to lie, just put your statement and needs in a light that they respect.
I completely understand that. I checked again on the site and there was only one M7 threaded stud available period. No length options or anything. I wish it wasn’t such a crap thread size.
