S50/S52 swap... is it worth it?

[sharky]

M52, gasket, studs and a well tuned pieced together turbo kit. S52 will never make 300 without FI and or major expensive internals. Hell my S52 obd1 w/ AA stg1 SC only does like 310whp

[nando]

^ easy, they're reverse calculated imaginary crank #s from an already inflated dyno sheet. you can pretty much make up any crank HP # you want with a correction factor pulled from thin air..

[dinanm3atl]

Well, my buddy's OBD2 S52 that only has M50, underdrive pullies, CAI, AA Race headers and AA race exhaust, and a conforti tune for a bone stock motor puts out 245whp (*1.18 = 290bhp). So I'm going to go ahead and call bullshit on your numbers. An OBD1 S52 would be another 10hp or so higher, as would his if he had a tune for the mods. Or a 3.5" maf/CAI. Or cams.


For an S50, yes, you need all that stuff. For an S52, no, you really don't.

Must have stumbled onto some secret as I know cars with those mods or very similar and they are not making the same power. As said before that exhaust cost almost as much as a used S/C kit so outside of making a bunch of noise it just is not worth spending that money. This is not typical gains for N/A bolt on mods.

ugh, I hate it when people post BS like this

who cares? the M20 has dual valve springs, nobody's doing 12v swaps? The later motors have better, lighter drivetrains, that don't need dual springs, and better, lighter bottom ends, that can rev higher out of the box. the NV motor is an antiquated relic compared to something like an M52B28.

also, I want to know where all these 300hp S50's are. The ones that didn't cost $10k to build..

Shoot. I want to know where all these 300hp S52s are that only have basic bolt-ons. And on top of that again... you will spend as much in N/A bolt-ons that supposedly get you to 300hp(or more) as it would to buy a used supercharger. I have heard of now 1 supposed '300hp' S52 and it is right here on this forum. All the E36 M3s are not putting down 245hp from basic bolt ons and the amount of money spent for that mod list is just too much for what you are getting.

Also the other thing to consider is I have seen a stock late model car put down 218 before. Thus considering if you got another strong factory motor your 'gains' are not as much as the estimation. There are plenty of threads on bf.c talking about the kind of gains you can see and what you can do. 300hp means cams for almost anyone you ask.

And yes. The N/V had this time period when everyone had a hard on for it but that time has passed. It isn't THAT great. I wouldn't waste your time on it. VANOS is a good thing.

[merrrr]

or just do as much by yourself as you can and then take it to him..

[merrrr]

i dropped in the engine/tranny and didnt want to deal with the wiring... the shops doing a full wire tuck in the engine bay, interior wire tuck/ he custom fabbed the driveshaft support bearing from the e36 to work in my car, repairing rust spots in the trunk and various spots. throwing on the fenders hood bumper, fixing the mounting tab on my smoked euro smileys.setting up exhaust/shorty headers. the owner gave me a sick deal cus he loves e30s and custom engine swaps on all kids of cars. And the best part is he doing it all for 1500. moral of the story is talk him down!!! lol

[nando]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't m50nv have dual valve springs while all other vanos m5x/s5x motors do not?

ugh, I hate it when people post BS like this

who cares? the M20 has dual valve springs, nobody's doing 12v swaps? The later motors have better, lighter drivetrains, that don't need dual springs, and better, lighter bottom ends, that can rev higher out of the box. the NV motor is an antiquated relic compared to something like an M52B28.

also, I want to know where all these 300hp S50's are. The ones that didn't cost $10k to build..

[bimmerteck]

$2500 in labor? Certainly I didn't read that correctly?

If so, that's beyond a rip-off. If it was a friend, I'd help them do the swap for free, maybe make them buy some pizza and beer or something.

My customer's (turnkey) swaps usually run around 2k in labor for US spec motors, if the tech is prepping the donor motor and removing the m20 2500's about right. If the OP wants to save money and has the skills he should get and prep the donor motor before it's brought to the shop, but if he felt comfortable doing that he could likely complete the rest swap as well. The mechanics of these swaps are not complicated as swaps go, and the electrics aren't too bad if you can read the diagrams BMW provides. If you don't have the tools/place to work 2k+ to have the swap professionally completed could be a bargain.

[z31maniac]

lolling at the kids who've never had a 24v car dishing out advice on them.

[matthugie]

I'm in almost the exact same spot, and I can tell you 2500 for labor is waaaay too much. As for whether it's worth it, I have no doubts (even though my swap probably won't be done for another 2 months).

[HarryPotter]

I have a m50 turbo 500 hp fun. Misinformation runs rampant.

[e30lyf]

i might sell my s50 if your serious and i'm socal. TNG (Armen) he can install for you. if you want a quality job NOT quantity.

[mohamadr89]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't m50nv have dual valve springs while all other vanos m5x/s5x motors do not?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VANOS

[phreshkid]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't m50nv have dual valve springs while all other vanos m5x/s5x motors do not?

[mohamadr89]

i was told by a reputable tuner that 11psi on a nvm50 was 400ish whp... that said.. 15-20 psi..yeaa your gonna need low comp. pistons and strong rods lol

okay last questions lol sorry im picking your brain. how about 11psi on a s50? cant they take more than a nvm50? and what is the difference between vanos and non vanos?

[mohamadr89]

Non Vanos M50 is tough as shit.

but i have a s50 not a nvm50. s50s are tougher arent they?