Last week, I discovered that the exhaust manifolds on the 3.6L V8 can be swapped side-to-side ... this results in them pointing forward, not backward, and makes the odds of successfully hanging a pair of turbos on them much greater than they would be otherwise. I'm still not convinced that I want to go to the trouble yet -- it was something I'd planned on doing later rather than sooner -- but I've decided the possibility warrants further investigation at this point.

Although the V8 itself fits the Ur-Q engine compartment well, the outlets of the exhaust manifolds in their stock positions are aimed directly at the subframe so either one or the other will have to be modified. Because the engine mounting rails of the Ur-Q chassis tuck in more closely to the engine/gearbox than they do on the V8's Type 44 chassis, it gets pretty tight back there and the downpipes and/or crossover tube will have to be fabricated as the stock parts won't fit at all   By swapping the manifolds around, however, there ends up being plenty of room on each side of the engine compartment to mount a turbo (using one with an integral wastegate, such as the KKK 03 used on the A4 1.8T, should make things even easier) as well as a decent size intercooler ... in fact, it appears the only real uncertainty at this point is whether the stock BMW M5 radiator that I plan to use will have enough capacity to keep the engine cool under boost as there isn't much room between the engine and stock Ur-Q nose panel to fit anything larger.

Surprisingly, adding a pair of turbos should make routing the exhaust much easier since the crossover pipe won't be needed and the radius of the bends required can be larger due to the extra space that's available. It should also be possible to get a straighter run through the subframe and past the gearbox, which should not only make fabrication easier (i.e., cheaper!) but allow the system to flow more freely as well.

Of course, the fuel system will also need to be modified in order to provide more fuel under boost but since I'm planning to keep boost fairly low -- in the 5-7psi range, so I can leave the CR stock and won't have to worry about grenading the Type 016 tranny and clutch (I've heard first and second gears are marginal once you reach 350ft/lbs of torque) -- I think a variable-rate fuel pressure regulator such as the one that Cartech sells may be sufficient take care of this. I assume that since Ned offers a chip for the V8, the stock timing maps are fairly conservative and I believe (hope?) the stock knock sensor setup will be adequate to prevent detonation ... if not, because this is a hobby car and not a daily-driver, I'm willing to run a more exotic fuel blend, if necessary (are any V8 owners still adding Toulene to their tanks?).

Finding room to mount the intercoolers shouldn't be too difficult since there's quite a bit available down low behind the front valance but I think a long water-cooled IC run along the firewall that feeds directly into the air-cleaner box might make for neater packaging. I plan on relocating the hydraulic reservoir for the power steering to the side of the engine compartment (as Audi did with its 80/90 models) and using a Tilton pedal assembly under the dash will let me keep the brake and clutch MCs on the passenger side of the firewall.

I've still got hundreds of details to work out yet, no matter which way I decide to go, but the more I think about it, the more it seems to make sense to tackle the twin-turbo conversion up front as this will prevent me from having to rework much of the installation a second time. And as everybody knows, time IS money...