GT1749V for a BRM???

Did a search and came up with nothing on this specifically. I have been casually looking for an economical turbo upgrade for my BRM. RC2 is great but has the turbo constantly in boost creep, and a little more (RC 3 maybe) would be nice too.

I know Kerma and Street Toys has plug and play upgrades available but it seems we have to pay a premium to keep the V-band stock exhaust connection. Also saw the Garrett OEM turbo for the euro BMM, but also noticed it is not as big as a 1749.

From what I have read, what would be a simple VNT17 upgrade for the ALH cars would also be a significant upgrade for the BRM if it just fit. I was looking at the GT1749V for a BEW on ebay and it looks very similar on the cold side and even has the smart actuator. Not sure what would have to be done for the oil lines but those and a new down-pipe and it looks like an $800-900 turbo upgrade is possible. Plus a few hundred for oil lines and exhaust work. Looking at the hot side, looks like it would be easy to have an adapter machined up to connect to the stock V-band exhaust if one were so inclined.

What am I missing here? I'm sure it's something or this would have been done already. Keep in mind that I am looking for a modest upgrade to go with the stock PD injectors, not 200 HP.

Thanks!

Do yourself a favor and import low-mileage PD170 or CR170 from EU. You probably pay less for the whole thing than for r&d required to attach GT1749V to your engine. And it will be more reliable for sure.

I have a BMM turbo I purchased to rebuilt, but after doing a research, I decided to let it rust on the shelf.

maloosheck said:

Do yourself a favor and import low-mileage PD170 or CR170 from EU. You probably pay less for the whole thing than for r&d required to attach GT1749V to your engine. And it will be more reliable for sure.

I have a BMM turbo I purchased to rebuilt, but after doing a research, I decided to let it rust on the shelf.

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Did a search and found your old thread on this subject. You never posted a conclusion. What did you end up with?

I found PD 170 (GT1749VC) turbos with very reasonable price tags on them. Just one problem I see, they are for the 16V engine and not our 8V. Could cut off and reweld a 8V flange I suppose. Is that what you did? Otherwise that turbo looks perfect for what I want out of it. Do you know if the ports line up well or does the graft have to happen at the turbo base?

Still have that BMM turbo? Anything wrong with it?

A5INKY said:

Did a search and found your old thread on this subject. You never posted a conclusion. What did you end up with?

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My conclusion is same as it was: R&D for new turbo for BRM engine is just not worth it. There is no plug and play solution, other than BMM turbo (and you still have to add the vane position sensor). I can find a low mileage BMN/CBB engine in EU for $3-4K, add extra 500 for shipping and do the swap. And I will end up with cleaner (DPF), more powerful (170HP), and more reliable (OEM) car.

As soon as I am done with 4Motion conversion (it's been too long already), I will think about the engine swap. One of the reason is BRM ECU might not work with Haldex. And CBB can be coded to 4Motion.

A5INKY said:

Still have that BMM turbo? Anything wrong with it?

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I do have the BMM turbo but it is probably dead. Kerma offered he can take it as a core return.

I have been doing some checking and that GT1749VC might be available w/o the integral manifold, we'll see. Not plug and play but if found for right price it might be mated to one of Street Toys manifolds and still use stock plumbing...or I might just spring for one of their plug and play turbo upgrades and forget about it.

maloosheck said:

I can find a low mileage BMN/CBB engine in EU for $3-4K, add extra 500 for shipping and do the swap. And I will end up with cleaner (DPF), more powerful (170HP), and more reliable (OEM) car.

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You may have found a way around this but customs/EPA is pretty specific about importing engines. Here is a link to the EPA: http://www.epa.gov/otaq/imports/

This stopped me from continuing to pursue a 2.5L 5 cylinder for my van.

maloosheck, Jeff (RC) can turn the position sensor off so you don't have to do an actuator swap with the BMM turbo. Not going to get you great gains, but Oliver's getting solid performance (no boost creep) with RC2 and Jeff is going to try RC3 on it. Should make 160 WHP with that tune.

The PD170 BMN engine mentioned above that I'm lucky enough to have has some dramatic changes over the pd140 2.0 you guys are stuck with.

Forged and lightened crank, 4 counterweights vs 8
Uprated head gasket, decreasing cylinder bore distortion, better sealing
Different, recessed valves to allow flat top pistons, better swirl, higher compression
Extra water jacket around uprated injectors and exhaust ports
Improved oil blowby seperation, including cyclonic
Swirl flaps in manifold, open at 2200 revs - unsure if this is unique though
Uprated EGR cooler, valve and flap
Uprated turbo VNT control, finer adjustment
Uprated flow VC turbo
The DPF obviously

Having driven both, the 170 gives a much bigger kick on boost, and is much more lively from a standing start. Once moving the difference seems less, given the similar torque in the mid range, but the 170 is much more willing to rev, and to keep on giving when it gets hot. I've yet to hear of a 170 popping a turbo once chipped or DPF deleted, but there have been several 140's go over here on cheaper tunes. Hasn't happened for a while now though, so the tuners seem to have gotten that sorted.