Cracked head, seriously thinking of a non vanos 2.9l rebuild

[bimmerobsession]

I want to rebuild my non vanos m50 to 2.9l, here is the info i have conjured up. I'm going to need an

s50 crank
m50 vanos pistons
Schrick or s50 intake cam and swap the non vanos m50 intake to exhaust cam
Custom software
Thicker head gasket

Now I know the m50 vanos requires s50 rods, but from what i have heard you can keep the non vanos rods?

Also the engine doesn't need to be bored, correct?

If anyone has done this, how much did they end up spending in parts. What did your car dyno? What did you use for software, AA makes a chip for this setup but it costs $800 very overpriced.

I want to gather as much info as possible so I can start tracking down the parts I need. it seems that all the info for a 2.9l build is all over the place and kinda having difficulty gathering it all up.

[PiercedE30]

Ok, here is my take on this.
I am doing a full factory-plus fresh rebuild. I'm checking all clearances, balancing internals, a nice amount of headwork and going stand alone. I am still buying parts, but only have a couple of things left (ie cam, headgasket (this week), clutch, and ECU (still have to decide between AEM or Tec3R)) but when I added everything up I was up to 5000, which included cost of the motor, all parts, and the car. I have had a few holdups, like wrong piston rings and rod bolts, hold ups on machine work, etc.
I've also got a direct port nitrous kit to throw on it, for a little extra "ooomph" when I need it.
Check out my build page and then you can see how much work I have put into this motor.

[bimmerobsession]

Your engine looks beautiful, once its all done the time and money will be worth spent. I'm trying to spend under 2k for parts. From my research here is what I will be requiring to stroke to a 2.9l.

s50 crank
s50 connecting rods
shorter pistons (I heard m54 will work but the compression won't be as high so not as much hp :/
S50 or M50 head (not sure which would be better for clearance purposes)
Schrick or s50 cams
Custom software.

I also tracked down this kit from zionsville for a 2.8 stroker that uses m52 parts. It looks very reasonably priced and I figure I would be making about +30hp from now and maybe some new cams and that would leave me plenty happy. I wonder how much more power I would be making if I put together my own 2.9l with s50 parts? http://www.zionsvilleautosport.com/s...egory_Code=CKE

[PiercedE30]

If you go over to BF.c and search, there are dyno's of 2.9L making an easy 250 RWHP, with the right mods and tuning.
For a reliable build, you will be hard pressed to spend under 2k. Does your budget include tuning/ECU setup? You WILL need knock sensors, no way around it when running over 11:1 CR and on pump gas.

[bimmerobsession]

What do you plan on doing for custom software, spending $800 for an AA chip just seems to be out of my budget. However getting an s50 crank and connecting rods shouldn't cost too much and seems pretty straightforward. The next problem I would run into is the need for shorter pistons for clearance on the m50nv. How much would a shop charge me to shave those down. Then buy a 252 schrick intake cam and swap my m50nv intake cam to the exhaust side. This is the kind of setup that sounds it will be making about 250rwhp

I was thinking of maybe going a different route and getting the zionsville kit 2.8l stroker kit, and their software is only $150, throw the same cams set up and knife edge my crank. This route might end up costing me a little less and I won't have to take forever finding all the parts necessary for the 2.9l. Hopefully this setup will make about 220rwhp. This might be much more cost effficient.

I just kinda want s50 parts and a 2.9l is the dillemna

[PiercedE30]

Well, I won't be using custom software, I am going to be either using an AEM ECU or a Tec3R ECU, not sure on which one just yet since both of them are about $2500.
The 2.8l zionsville kit includes USED parts. I am pretty certain their software is for the 413 ecu, which is for the VANOS motor. If you were to go that route, then you would need to change over the harness, a few sensors, and the crank trigger wheel to get to where you can use the software.
I'm not trying to tell you which route to go, just look into everything a little more in detail to figure out which would be best for you.

[bimmerobsession]

$2500 ouch just a tad bit above my whole budget :).
Yeah i tried to look more into the zionsville kit and it sounds less and less appealing. The 2.9l route would be awesome, I met someone that has done it to their e36 and he says he pulls on e46 m3s, can't imagine the setup in an e30. Thanks for the info piercede30!

Oh by the way I made a new post on bimmerforums, did some more research and have a better understanding of what is needed. If you have any more answers that would be awesome, you have been of great help.

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?p=10151453#post10151453