Opinons

[Jordan]

There are pleanty of turbo e30s running around with 400whp... although I do admit they are in sweden. lol.

There is a guy local to me with a 3.5l m30 swap, and a big snail. Last I knew he was over 350whp and shooting for 400whp+ after he got it tuned.

He has only been driving the car a month or 2.

He is in a coma at a local hospital after he took out a bus stop sideways at 70mph or so and mangled himself and the car.

Alot of you know him as BMW335IST.
This is his CarDomain page: http://www.cardomain.com/memberpage/629515

[matt325is]

Forced induction is the only way you will be able to make an e30 a 10 second car. I have over 300whp, and will probably not break into the 11's without more mods. The head simply does not flow enough to make a lot of NA power.

matt

[uflnuceng]

He is in a coma at a local hospital after he took out a bus stop sideways at 70mph or so and mangled himself and the car.

Alot of you know him as BMW335IST.

NO SHIT! I have been reading up about his mods and stuff so I don't know the guy personally... Jesus... I hope he pulls out of it ok. I save my insane speeds for the dragstrip or BeaveRun. Mostly cos the roads around here are so shitty with potholes that I just can't get that kinda speed. Guess thats a good thing. Im also deathly afraid a kid will run in front of my car and I just couldn't live with that. Going to BeaveRun showed me that you can't just stop when you want to... you have time to think about that kinda stuff when you are slidding through turn 3 at a 90 degree angle, knocking over cones, and hoping to god you don't roll.

As far as the original post, unless you turbo the hell out of your m20 you are not going to see anything under 13.8. Metric Mechanic makes a pretty serious 3.2L stroker I was thinking of buying but that will get you maybe 240hp at the crank. And thats with all the moons aligned in your favor... and that you have $9000 burning a hole in your pocket. Bimmer Jim is running a pretty aggressive turbo, but as could be expected he blew a hole in his block because the m20 bottom end just isn't strong in its stock form.

Im swapping in an m30b35 which will probably get me in the mid-14's with a chip and a light-weight flywheel and a 3.73 LSD. We'll know in a few weeks when Im done. The thing about the m30 engine though is it has a much stronger bottom end. BMW made the m102 out of it which was an OEM turbo engine. M30s can handle 15 psi no problem and have significant potential for more. But even the m30 in its stock form, shoved into an e30 is not going to lay the smack down on a proeprly modified honda. Now these little wanna-bes running around my neighborhood with an exhaust and poorly assembled body panels are gonna get owned when I see them at the track.

You can read about my costs/work/progress here

[Jarvis]

Bimmer Jim is running a pretty aggressive turbo, but as could be expected he blew a hole in his block because the m20 bottom end just isn't strong in its stock form.

Wasn't that because he was running A LOT of boost along with nitrous?
Doesn't seem like the M20 bottom end fails all that often. There are lots of other, weaker, engine components that people ruin with boost long before the bottom end fails. Also, you can use the 324/524 diesel's forged crank if you're worried about the bottom end.

[decay]

Wasn't that because he was running A LOT of boost along with nitrous?

close- he ran nitrous for a while before going turbo. also, his first few months of turbo were with a pretty restrictive turbine housing... plus the thing was 150k+ miles... so yeah, that motor saw a lot of hard use; it didn't necessarily blow JUST because of the 1bar he was running through it.

[nando]

don't forget TCD. doesn't he have over 300 to the wheels, on an otherwise "stock" M20?

[Jarvis]

don't forget TCD. doesn't he have over 300 to the wheels, on an otherwise "stock" M20?

I think they got ~290whp on 14 or 15psi intercooled with NO tuning.
Their test motor was in great shape for a 150K mi motor though. I think it put down 143whp on their base dyno. I think $5200 is not a whole lot to pay to literally double stock power without having to open up or even move your engine.
Todd said that getting rid of the stupid AFM for an MAF and a little tuning could easily yield 350whp.

PS: Their kit looks gorgeous in person, too. Makes it look like 325i's should have come turboed from the factory.

[japspecvr6]

i get the point now i guess......although i told everyone i dotn really want to do quarter mile times... i just want a decent performance from a daily driving car......i just said i want a honda beater because i want to see what everyone was going to post going all motor....but as i cann see people around love their turbo charged vechicle..... but i guess i have an idea what to do....... Thanks

[BavarianBimmer]

Keep in mind, M20's were developed in the early 70's,where hitech was uncommon, and it's European
don't expect too much of it, It's a piece antique and all of them love it .

[uflnuceng]

Hey... we don't necessarily love turbos here... wish I could fit an 850 hp big block in my car like my brother-in-law's '70 Chevelle SS... but small spaces require small engines. Small engines require forced induction to be quick.

[japspecvr6]

but im tryin to stay away from turbo because..

1. my motor has 78,456 miles on it
2. two much money to get the kit
3. i live in new york it will get stolen in heartbeat

[BahnE30]

no one will know it's a buiilt motor or a turbo aslong as you don't buy a loud BOV, get one that came factory on a car, yes shitty i know. but everything is about comprimise.

[japspecvr6]

well i yur right....but who are you doing it for everyone or yur self

[BahnE30]

if you were doing it for yourself you wouldn't be on here asking questions.
personally i would say fuck the M20 swap an S52 in and call it a day. but thats just me, as far as i'm concerned M20 stroker is a waste of time if you want any big numbers.

[japspecvr6]

keep in mind s52 doesnt equal 18 year old budget so imma have to pass ont that for now......plus i got a quote on a mechanic he said over 4k...... :roll: