How Satisfied are you with your S/M5x Swap?

[graphikg]

I like my S50 and everything, but for some reason, I thought it would FEEL more powerful. That and since it has gone in the car I havent been able to drive it much. Waterpump has failed just 500 miles since I got it. I feel more stressed driving it, like it is not as reliable as my M20.

[Miasma]

Once you get those few bump in the road over with you will fall in love. You sure the motor is running properly?

[e30s52]

I like it but I am driving mine till it pops then its getting boost or I will throw it out and put an ls1 in it. overall I wouldnt hesitate to drive my car anywhere at this moment.

O and I would never ever take an m20 over it.

[Van Westervelt]

They are strong, but they arent crazy powerful. You have to breach that 10:1 ratio, and from there its just better and better.

x2 on driving anywhere. I would head to the other coast if I had a reason to.

[graphikg]

Once you get those few bump in the road over with you will fall in love. You sure the motor is running properly?

Luckily enough, I did get it from San Diego to Norcal before the H20 pump went out. SO I think the motor is running alright. Last owner said it has been rebuilt and should have less than 12k miles on the rebuild now.

[MR 325]

My S50 has been running since November of 2007. Never has it let me down.

24v > 12v

I'd even take mine cross country. :)

[balooshinakus]

I have an s50 I just completed. I thought I would feel the power more, but having said that it is pretty damn fast. I feel like it is pretty reliable, I just have a vacuum leak issue to fix and I need to get a bigger fan for my 318i radiator, I'd be screwed on the freeway in traffic on a hot day. The vacuum leak is kind of annoying with driving, revs don't want to drop when I shift sometimes, just bothersome.

Overall, I think it's pretty fun to drive, but I wish it didn't cost 6k. Now I need new suspension as well as my car rocks like I boat when I floor it with HR Sports.

I guess I'm sort of undecided, on one hand it's fun, but I'm not a crazy driver so I'm not constantly racing everyone and whatnot, so the power isn't that needed.. I guess I'm just not sure if the power was worth the cost, I'm sure in a few months I'll be happy though when I forget about the cost..

[graphikg]

Oh yeah. And my brake booster is missing the non-return valve. So my brake booster is taking too much vaccum from my manifold. Result: my car shuts off when I brake too hard, including while on the freeway. The part is a little 1" by 1' part or smaller. Found out it is 100 bucks at the dealer. Must have forgot about maintainence and parts prices on a newer BMW engine.

[e30polak]

Despite the numerous headaches that my swap has caused me over the 3 years I've had it, I LOVE IT!

My car is very quick, but I would not consider it "fast." Hopefully the custom ground cams, and a re-tune, will bring it to the point where I'll be happy with the power for another year or so. After that, I will probably save for an s54 swap or a blower. :twisted:

If I was to do it all over again, I wouldn't have paid the extra for the s52. I either would've done an m50 NV turbo, or and OBD1 m52 w/ m3 cams, and later put a used blower kit on it.

OP what trans and gearing are you running?

[z31maniac]

I loved it until the headgasket popped with about 200 miles on the swap.

[FredK]

I just turned over 10k miles on my swap. It's been very reliable. I agree with e30polak. The S50/2 swap is not "fast", but it is quick. I just wanted an engine with a proven record of being fairly reliable, assuming the cooling system has been maintained.

You can easily find a brake booster check valve for nearly free off the forums.

[JGood]

I voted "I love it" But if I had spent $2k like your other options suggest, I'd say "not worth it". If you are paying that much, you are probably doing it wrong.

[Charlie]

I voted "I love it" But if I had spent $2k like your other options suggest, I'd say "not worth it". If you are paying that much, you are probably doing it wrong.

Unless you're going junkyard everything, how you keeping it much under 2k? There's a lot of "little" parts you need for the swap, and I went ahead and went new, just for piece of mind. That stuff adds up quick.

-Charlie

[FredK]

That stuff adds up quick.

Indeed. When I did an M50 swap, I did a "no-crap" swap, where I wanted to get maximum reliability so I replaced everything that is a weak point on the M50.

I obtained the engine and transmission for $680, including the DME, driveshaft, and wiring harness. I got a new radiator, new cooling hoses, new water pump, barely used clutch kit, new throwout bearing, guibo, and a crapload of fasteners. I got a used 3.46, 525i oilpan, and Porsche booster from the pick and pull.

It came out to around $1550 with the ghetto exhaust I fabricated.

If you have the space, time, and understanding neighbors, I guess you could find a donor E36, chop it, and make your money back on the little things so you can end up getting a nearly "free" swap out of the deal, the only investment being your time.

[shiboujin]

I est I spent about $3k on parts but I haz a turbo too. So... do I not qualify for this poll?