s50b32- how reliable? How expensive to maintain? Practical for DD street

[Chistakoff]

Buy a m50 stroke it to a 3.0 throw on a .140 headgasket along with arp studs...throw on a gt30 at 10 psi which should put you close to 400 at the wheel..all this can be done for under 5k

[gobuffs]

3.2 is 7600 stock.

[clydesdale]

The redline is 7500 on the euro motor?

[ChaseN]

Do it once, do it right. You'll be happier with the S54 in the end--remember, 8 > 7.5. ;)

Many euro motors (including mine) spin to 8100 everyday with no problems, bone stock. :p

[stormspike]

Ive had my S50B32 up and going for 6 months now and it is great. Upgraded from the US S52. Power is great. Its like going from the original M20 to the S52. I have not been in a S54 powered E30, but I can say that the euro motor has not had any issues since install. Dealer can get all parts. Some do take a little while longer. If you make sure motor is freshened before install, it will run like a champ.

Go with the 6 speed when you install.. The extra gear is great!

[Wh33lhop]

The euro motor is a nice looking piece, but as stated many times you can find an S54 for a few grand less, and it's the better motor through-and-through (in addition to parts availability and BAR certification possibilities if you're careful). You'll spend more sorting out engine management, but it'll still work out to be cheaper than the euro motor in the end if you play your cards right.

Do it once, do it right. You'll be happier with the S54 in the end--remember, 8 > 7.5. ;)

[e30polak]

Bolt-on US s50/2 + Schrick cams & or FI , or s54. The Euro motor is nice, but you can find an s54 for cheaper, and its a better motor hands down.

Electronics aren't necessarily an issue with the s54 any more. Talk to UweM3 on s14.net, his guy in Germany will be re-programing an the s54 DME for me to run like factory for my swap this summer. He's done it for numerous cars, along with s62s.

Factory DME reliability, with wiring instructions, for 900 Euros CAN'T be beat!

Here's a link to the thread where Uwe talks about the re-programing. The guy that does it is from 300mm.de.

http://www.s14.net/forums/showpost.php?p=437757&postcount=17

[clydesdale]

I need there to be enough info on it so that I can just follow directions. Which one is cheaper to operate, s54 or s50b32?

[Andrew325is]

IMO go S54. The swap is gaining momentum at becoming mainstream. The engines are in a sweet spot right now considering age/cost/miles. There's one from a 2006 Z4 M with 10k miles in RI for $5800. Search car-part.com. The swap is nearly identical to a S50b32 swap.

[bad_azz_bmr]

http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=190056

Buy that and have the ultimate e30 swap c/w e30 5 lug and a bunch of other goodies :)

[clydesdale]

OK, I still need more help with choosing.
I was thinking euro motor with 6spd. But, there is still the idea of a US s52 with a tranny. But, I forget, would that tranny then be a 5 speed again? What would the prices be like for these two swaps? Thanks guys. I thought I was sold on the euro motor. The 316hp seems like a lot more power than the 240hp. But, I would love to hear more thoughts on the two. Thanks.

[M3 euro ltw]

Qft

Good luck finding another sub-50k mile Euro 3.2.

I just got a list from one of my large volume breakers. He's got several that are over 100K miles, ONLY one of the 8 has miles under 60K, and one has 80K.

You KNOW he's not going to sell me the two sweet ones without my buying 2 of the higher mileage ones too...... Makes it tough as I'm not very excited about buying 3.2 euro's with 100+ miles on them....

I have one "ready to go" in the warehouse (with 71K miles)... so, its time to replenish stock, but I don't like the prospects of what is being offered......

Just sold off a 53K mile S50B30, and a 65K S50B32 ex-smg......so I'm re-loaded, but nothing to shoot at!

Alex.

[sharky]

I can sell you a S52 w/ zf tranny and 140K for 2700 if interested. Obd2 swaps are fairly documented also. I run a S52 obd1 w/ a AA stg 1 in my car, super reliable and way more power than you need for a dd e30

[evandael]

Euro motor is sexy. Sexy things cost a lot.

An OBDI US S52 will cost about half as much, and be really damn fast. Not as sexy..

[clydesdale]

Anybody have any further thoughts on the s50b32 vs ????? I thought I was sold on the euro motor. Put it this way, I am looking for a fairly simple, straight forward, easier to own, fairly powerful motor. I love the simplicity of the m20. But, obviously the power is simply not enough. Please throw me your suggestions.