Anybody miss their M20?

[Wh33lhop]

Yeah, k&n drop-ins net you exactly zero power.

[markseven]

Not true. If you have driven it enough and know the ins and outs of the car you would be able to notice 12 more. Hell when I first got mine back in '06 drove it for a few months then threw a K&N drop in air filter in I could feel that little extra oomph. I know some will say "placebo" but my Dad drove it a good bit before the air filter then drove after the filter w/o knowing it was in there and he could tell a difference.

Placebo. The increased induction noise must have fooled you. :)

[Raxe]

My seta is my DD, but sometimes it is nice to switch from the s38 to the m20. Quieter, better on fuel and it does have a certain little "eager" feel I love about it. Like it knows it's no s38 but hell if it's not going to try its best anyways. :)

[E30auddie]

My old M20 made 148hp/148tq. I don't think I would have noticed the additional 12 ponies.

Not true. If you have driven it enough and know the ins and outs of the car you would be able to notice 12 more. Hell when I first got mine back in '06 drove it for a few months then threw a K&N drop in air filter in I could feel that little extra oomph. I know some will say "placebo" but my Dad drove it a good bit before the air filter then drove after the filter w/o knowing it was in there and he could tell a difference.

[StereoInstaller1]

The M20 in my E34 sure is easy to get to. I can see that "bitch bolt" at the top of the bellhousing...plenty of room for sure!

[Wh33lhop]

Do you still have that 88?

...:(

[markseven]

Lol let's all start doing 12v swaps shall we? 160whp m20 sounds like fun though.

My old M20 made 148hp/148tq. I don't think I would have noticed the additional 12 ponies.

[Wishno87]

Lol let's all start doing 12v swaps shall we? 160whp m20 sounds like fun though.

[FredK]

Yeah, a 160 whp M20 is going to be pretty fun. That is better than most tired M50s.

I like the M20's serviceability. It's not that hard to swap a timing belt every 50K miles, and a rebuild is inexpensive and at the same time, you can guarantee another 100-150K miles.

[jlevie]

No, but a lot of them were not properly maintained. Really though I was just referring to my personal situation.

Anyway, really what I miss is the soul of the M20. I think a built M20 car would be really enjoyable, even if it didn't have a whole lot of grunt. I would be willing to go back to an M20... in a different car.

I think you could safely say that hardly any E30's have been properly maintained by this time...

I have a built M20 in my race car and it made 160hp at the rear wheels on a DynoJet. The car is a Spec E30, so chips and the like aren't allowed. The engine and management system has to be bone stock. The car is a lot of fun to drive.

[rThor432]

Miss the M42 at all? I'm going to plunge into doing an M50TU into my 318iS but I do really enjoy driving such a rev-happy motor at the moment!

You will probably miss the superb balance that the 4-pot delivers. I appreciated the balance when I was mixing daily use between my M42 and S52 cars.

This thread is relevant to my situation.. I swapped from an eta to an S52 and now I removed the S52 for an M20i motor. I agree with Curt, eras rock. I miss the eta.. I donated it to a Lemons car build and they blew the fuck out of it..

[jahnaboi]

this....m20's suck
every time I wake up and start a swap car I think of

broken rockers
broken timing belt
over heating
oil leaks
broken timing belt again
blown/leaking head gaskets
oil return tube leaks
vacuum leaks
valve adjustments
vbelts
......nope dont miss it at all

Amen. I don't miss mine at all.

[MR 325]

Anyway, really what I miss is the soul of the M20. I think a built M20 car would be really enjoyable, even if it didn't have a whole lot of grunt. I would be willing to go back to an M20... in a different car.

Do you still have that 88?

[Leo_328i]

How much for the M42+Getrag240 shipped to ADL?

PM sent

[Chaos Theory]

Miss the M42 at all? I'm going to plunge into doing an M50TU into my 318iS but I do really enjoy driving such a rev-happy motor at the moment!

How much for the M42+Getrag240 shipped to ADL?