Some concerns after putting m3 cams in my m50

[JGood]

Nice, I'll be running the same setup. Did you have to shave down the flywheel at all or is it stock mass?

Yes, it needs shaved about 6mm on the block side to clear the oil pan (as opposed to grinding down the oil pan, which IMO isn't a great idea, especially in comparison to shredding extra weight from the flywheel). Only cost me a few bucks more then the normal resurface at the machine shop.

[Wh33lhop]

Nice, I'll be running the same setup. Did you have to shave down the flywheel at all or is it stock mass?

[JGood]

:D What flywheel are you running? That is damn quick. I'm excited to go get my NV swap car tomorrow assuming the muffler shop biscuit doesn't find a way to fuck my day over again.

m20 single mass. g260 and 3.73 LSD. 2720 lb without driver, so she's a pig...

[Jean]

Glad you figured it all out!

[JJe30]

Good stuff, I have s50 cams waitin to be put in once I gather up all my other parts.

[Wh33lhop]

:D What flywheel are you running? That is damn quick. I'm excited to go get my NV swap car tomorrow assuming the muffler shop biscuit doesn't find a way to fuck my day over again.

[JGood]

It's a little difficult to see the difference in the video. ~20whp isn't THAT much, just a noticeable difference to the driver. I didn't launch it, just rolled into the throttle in first gear. I ran a 14.4 @ 95 without the cams, it feels like I should be able to do 13.9-14.0 @ 98-99 or so with the cams.

WITHOUT s50 cams

http://vimeo.com/6548488

WITH s50 cams and cam software:

http://vimeo.com/8649991

The bottom end still feels a little weak, I'm not sure if it's just the increase in power up top that makes it feel that way, or what. I know the seal kit takes 200 miles or so to break in, so I'll give it some time.

[Wh33lhop]

Nice man. Makes me wish I held out for a vanos motor. Take some tach/speedo video if you get some time, I want to see how quick it is. :)

[JGood]

Got the Beisan seals in, and installed the later style diaphragm spring and discs on the intake cam.

The engine is silent, the car has regained it's low end power, and it feels perfect overall. Lots of smooth top end power with the cams. Below 4500 it feels the same as stock. Really comes alive above 5500, the whole way to 7k.

For anyone looking to do this cam swap, be sure to install the newer style disks and spring if your car doesn't already have them, and spend the $30 for the seal kit. The vanos removal/install procedure is way to long and tedious to do it twice. It only took me about 8 hours from the time I took the hood off until the time I put it back on, but it's 8 hours that I shouldn't have had to spend on it if I would have done it right the first time.

You also need an inch/lb torque wrench for this job. Getting the intake cam sprocket nuts to the proper torque is critical, there is no way to do it by hand.

Thanks to Fredk for the tools, the seals, and the disks. :p

[dude8383]

You can also see the TDC mark on the block perfectly with the radiator and grilles removed.

Nice bit of info there, I didn't remove the radiator when I removed my vanos unit only because I didn't feel like bleeding the system again. Shit sucked though, there was literally like a waffleswaffleswaffleswaffles hair of work space! I just ended up using a mirror :)

[JGood]

There's a lot of conflicting info out there, but out of curiosity did you need any other corresponding S50 parts to install these?

You don't NEED anything.

But I'd highly recommend the upgraded spring plates if your m50 is pre-3/95 (see post #3), and the Beisan Systems seals while you have the vanos out.

I also just noticed you can rent the tools from Beisan for $30.

You need the cam lock tools, the tensioner tool, the vanos turning tool, and you might want the flywheel lock tool if you are using an m50 flywheel (doesn't work with m20 flywheel). I had no trouble keeping my crank at TDC throughout the process. There is no force acting upon the crank so I'm not sure why you would need it. You can also see the TDC mark on the block perfectly with the radiator and grilles removed.

[BenM]

Sucks you have to take everything apart again, but sounds like it was worth the work. A guy from another board with an E36 track car described the M50 w/ S50 cams almost like a mini S38. I've had a set of S50 cams for about 1.5 years and still haven't installed them in my M50TU.

There's a lot of conflicting info out there, but out of curiosity did you need any other corresponding S50 parts to install these?

[JGood]

Wait till you fix the Vanos man...its going to pull everywhere :)

Well, it was working fine before I removed it, so I'm assuming it will be about the same as it was before. From what I understand the cams don't do anything below 4k. I was a little rough removing the vanos as I didn't loosen the 4 exhaust cam sprocket bolts (don't ask...) so I bet I ruined the seal on the piston.

I will report back with my findings and some video's. I did a 0-100 video with the m50 cams, so I'll do one with the s50 cams and compare them.

[dude8383]

Wait till you fix the Vanos man...its going to pull everywhere :)

[JGood]

I took the car for an extended drive tonight and actually got on it a bunch of times and came up with some conclusions:

1. My vanos is not functioning properly. It is very very laggy and powerless below 4k or so, and surges, just like what malfunctioning vanos systems seem to do.

2. The rattle is present up until about 4k, where it is either drowned out by the exhaust or fades away. I don't know if this is a function of the vanos being bad or the spring plates. I am putting both the spring plates and a Beisan seal kit in on Saturday, so we will see.

3. The rattle is accompanied by a loud intake sound. It's that very deep suction sound that ricers always have with big intakes, but BMW's never seem to have. I'm guessing this is due to the aggressive cams matched with improper timing since vanos isn't working? It's only below 3k or so, then engine noise takes over.

4. This thing is a fucking monster above 4500. I never thought an otherwise-stock cammed m50 would pull that hard. It just keeps pulling, the whole way to 7k. If I can get all these issues straightened out, then this cam swap was worth every penny, and I'd recommend it to anyone.