Tuning the M57R diesel - head porting?

[Rob Bell]

Just following on from my tale of woe - since the cylinder head was off to remove a fractured glow plug, I was wondering about getting the cylinder head ported. Improve gas flow and volumetric efficiency, and one might expect some modest power gains.

Curiously though, searching the internet hasn't really revealed much in this area. I have one of Ron's synergy boxes already. And I plan an induction mod. Oh, and I am also investigating a de-cat exhaust and potentially a new turbo manifold. Plus a bigger intercooler may be on the cards if I go down the tuning road in a serious way...

What's everyone's experience with tuning this engine - has anyone gone beyond altering external parts and looked at cylinder heads etc?

[James.uk]

Why not sell your car and buy one more suited to your needs? The m47r wasn't meant to be a high revving sports engine..

You may end up spending a fortune on it only to blow it up six months down the road...
...

[tvpcop]

Have to agree with James, as much as i love these cars they are limited, ive just done the usual mods to mine (synergy/pierburg/intake/egr) to improve the driveability.....im sure throwing loads of money at it could get some more power BUT a bmw 330d will still probably eat it before its even been played with. I'd just keep it standard-ish and enjoy it, however if you are determined im sure you could get over 200 bhp.

Im sure flowing the head would give improvements but i wouldnt have thought they would be that noticeable, i would have thought the money would be better spent on a remap which coupled with the synergy can give very good results.

All the best
Graham

[Tatts]

Ti Rich did a fair bit of meddling with the engine and had very good results & no maintenance issues IIRC.

If this link does not work, look for his user name & check out his posts.

http://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/foru...archid=2873407

[Rob Bell]

I think fair points made chaps. Also, more power also means more fuel consumption. Given the cost of diesel in this country, increasing fuel consumption is probably exactly the wrong thing to do.

As it turns out, I'll probably not get the head ported - although improved volumetric efficiency is quite an easy way of improving the efficiency of an engine - plus the advantage of keeping the intake charge cooler... the advantages aren't all at high revs

I've seen a LR Freelander autocross car with an M57R tuned to 190bhp. Couldn't comment on its longevity though!

Probably better to keep it simple - exhaust and intake modifications, and possibly a larger intercooler.

That said - I thought this might be an interesting discussion point!

[Jake]

I am not sure how much difference there is, but I believe the twin turbo diesel out of the 123d is a derivative of the m47 unit and there is sufficient room behind the engine to fit that secondary turbo on our cars.

Hopefully on the cards as a project next year.

[geofftl1000r]

I have heard reports on here of engines in the 600K mikes range so doubt very much a little head porting will cause an engine blow up!
I have used a company called Vulcan Engineering for cylinder heads before, seem to do a pretty good job. No idea if diesels are 'special' in any way? You are still trying to get as much air in as possible!
Having the valve seats cut and matched to the ports is usually a good way to go.
A lot of people think porting on turbo engines is pointless but it does help, more boost just creates more heat... not always a good thing.
Get some before and after numbers on the flow bench, I'd be interested in how much gain they can get.

Guessing these are heavy old cast iron heads?

[Rob Bell]

Thanks Tatts - I do recall Ti Rich's efforts - will search out to see what the ultimate specification he came to

[Rob Bell]

Originally Posted by geofftl1000r

I have heard reports on here of engines in the 600K mikes range so doubt very much a little head porting will cause an engine blow up!
I have used a company called Vulcan Engineering for cylinder heads before, seem to do a pretty good job. No idea if diesels are 'special' in any way? You are still trying to get as much air in as possible!
Having the valve seats cut and matched to the ports is usually a good way to go.
A lot of people think porting on turbo engines is pointless but it does help, more boost just creates more heat... not always a good thing.
Get some before and after numbers on the flow bench, I'd be interested in how much gain they can get.

Guessing these are heavy old cast iron heads?

That's my thinking too Geoff. There isn't anything particularly special about diesels. They are turbo engines, which means you can get away with cruder castings by simply turning up the wick of turbo boost. Which as you say, comes at the expense of a hotter intake charge.

Whether I would see much of an advantage to getting the valve seats cut with three angles is another question of course - the benefits may be bearly perceptable.

I may yet chat to Dave Andrews - these are iron cylinder heads, so actually a good substrate for DIY modification - but sadly I think time is against me.

Anyone got a spare M57 cylinder head???

[Departed 32016]

how about the alpina d3.

197 bhp m47 engine. do some research on that.