M52 swap is worth it, right?

[moh a]

Before I put the nail in the coffin, is a M52 swap worth it, in respect to power and cash? I have the motor sitting at a shop, and I have just about everything necessary for the swap now. I ask mainly because I don't see M52 swaps very often. It's usually just M50, S50, or S52.

[JGood]

Well that would greatly depend on what you spend, and what you consider 'worth it'... If you spend $5, yes, it's worth it. If you spend $15,000, no, it's not. But then that's just my opinion.

Sarcasm aside, if you do a chipped m52 with an m50 intake manifold, you're looking at, what, 190 whp? So decide if the 50whp gain over an m20b25 is worth it for you. It will probably run about 14.2-14.4 at 96mph or so, compared to stock 15.2-15.6 at 88mph or so. To me, that's worth about $1.5k. Is that worth it for you for what you're spending? That's not really a question we can answer...

[gverelli]

m52 with s50 cams, chip, exhaust can easily make 200whp. Add a lightweight flywheel, the right diff should be pretty fun

[moh a]

I ask mainly because it seems that you can get an S52 for another grand, but then, is it worth spending that much for it?

[DREWHALL]

I just did an M50 swap because I was strapped for cash, needed to get the car on the road, and found a good deal. Total I'm just under two grand after having to buy all kinds of stuff. Considering I got the car for 700 bucks I'm pretty happy with it. My way of thinking is in another year or so it's either getting a turbo or OBD1 S52 so the hard part is out of the way. I haven't gotten a chance to really flog on it yet but it seems much more fun to drive around than the M20 was.

[JGood]

I ask mainly because it seems that you can get an S52 for another grand, but then, is it worth spending that much for it?

Again, that depends on your definition of 'worth it'. It's an extra 30-40whp through the entire powerband. Is that worth $1k to you? This isn't a question that can be answered by anyone but you...

I'm perfectly happy with the m20 in my track car. An m50, m52, or s52 would not be 'worth it' to me, as it's not the bottleneck in performance. In my street car, I wanted more power. An m50 w/ s50 cams was worth it to me because it was very cheap. An s52 would not be worth it to me, as i don't need that much power nor am I willing to pay for it. To other people, an m50 is a waste of money, it's s52 or nothing.

[Mike The Bavarian]

it's all the same shit. nowadsay it's becoming so cheap that it's worth it.

[xwill112x]

its all in what you want. i have a non vanos m50..

[dinanm3atl]

When I go out to the car and turn the key and the motor appears to know it is about to fire and in a split second fires. I love it. The idle is smoother. I blip the throttle and the engine revs up. It sounds better. It doesn't fawking tick from valves. I love the damn thing. It is MORE than just XXhp increase. Vanos is a positive thing. It makes more torque and it makes it sooner and keeps making it longer. Worth it IMO.

PLUS if you bargain shop you can get an M52 AND a used Centrifugal S/C kit for what just an S52 costs. At that point you know which is a better value.

I love my OBD1 M52.

[moh a]

When I go out to the car and turn the key and the motor appears to know it is about to fire and in a split second fires. I love it. The idle is smoother. I blip the throttle and the engine revs up. It sounds better. It doesn't fawking tick from valves. I love the damn thing. It is MORE than just XXhp increase. Vanos is a positive thing. It makes more torque and it makes it sooner and keeps making it longer. Worth it IMO.

PLUS if you bargain shop you can get an M52 AND a used Centrifugal S/C kit for what just an S52 costs. At that point you know which is a better value.

I love my OBD1 M52.

I thought you were looking for a S52?

[Schwarz325]

Hell yes it is, i had an m50 laying around and swapped that in. I hate m20 motors when they sound like they're gonna blow up all the damn time lol

[rpob5t]

you'll probably miss the torque on the 2.8 for street use (vs 3.0 or 3.2, the m52 has bags more torque than you could ever pull reliably out of an M20), but I have a ODB1 M52 with S50 cams, Euro/540 MAF, header, and flywheel in my E30 and its a hoot to drive on the track. If you have track intentions with that setup be prepared to address your brake system quickly...

[dinanm3atl]

I thought you were looking for a S52?

Not really. One popped up stupid cheap I would consider swapping... like it would cost me less than 200-300 dollars. Otherwise I wouldn't do it.

[surebimmer]

M52 with S52 cams is the best budget swap for the money in my eyes.

[StereoInstaller1]

M52s are fun to drive, and (as said above) nice and quiet. Better MPG too.

If you can do it for under $2K, win.