S38 or S52 motor swap delima

[Alpina]

If S54 is going in an E30 .. you must change headers,, they are sold at ,,VAC motorsports

also the electronic part is A LOT more difficult vs Euro S50B32

But lets have one thing clear,, in the states ,, the S54 is ALWAYS a better idea vs Euro S50B3x,, because many engines available around you folks,, but Euro S50 is not


in Europe the S50B32 is for many E30 owners the ultimate ideal IL6 swapp,, and i agree with them

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OFF TOPIC
i took the S38B38 because i wanted to ,, and my car is extremely individual
((cabrio ,, S38B38,, E30 M3 5 lug)) as far as i know i was the first or second in the world to do this complete swap in an E30 cabrio,, and i think ............ MABY 4 or less cars are around,, not sure ,, but i think so

S38 will never be as good idea in an E30 as the S5x ITB engine ,, the volume and length of the engine speaks for itself.. BEEN THERE DONE THAT,,

If someone is searching for high-output engine i would for sure recommend S52 turbocharged,, unbeliveble force that can be made with a right build,,,

for my self i would not sacrifice an oem ITB BMW S-engine to be turbocharged

just my opinion

[Wanganstyle]

If S54 is going in an E30 .. you must change headers,, they are sold at ,,VAC motorsports

also the electronic part is A LOT more difficult vs Euro S50B32

But lets have one thing clear,, in the states ,, the S54 is ALWAYS a better idea vs Euro S50B3x,, because many engines available around you folks,, but Euro S50 is not


in Europe the S50B32 is for many E30 owners the ultimate ideal IL6 swapp,, and i agree with them

-------------------------------------------------------------





OFF TOPIC
i took the S38B38 because i wanted to ,, and my car is extremely individual
((cabrio ,, S38B38,, E30 M3 5 lug)) as far as i know i was the first or second in the world to do this complete swap in an E30 cabrio,, and i think ............ MABY 4 or less cars are around,, not sure ,, but i think so

S38 will never be as good idea in an E30 as the S5x ITB engine ,, the volume and length of the engine speaks for itself.. BEEN THERE DONE THAT,,

If someone is searching for high-output engine i would for sure recommend S52 turbocharged,, unbeliveble force that can be made with a right build,,,

for my self i would not sacrifice an oem ITB BMW S-engine to be turbocharged

just my opinion

s54 takes well to cable throttle conversion, you can even use S50b32 parts for this.


S54 can use all S50b32 electronics; this has been proven by a european who installed s54 into his e30 with s50b32 wiring, sensors, dme.

I was under the impression that custom headers is needed for RHD + 24v swap into e30 - yes no? I would assume headers needed regardless; buy some Ebay china S54 headers and have them cut up- they are actually very good quality.

ITB+boost works, but why? single throttle +turbo is the easy big power; supra style.

yes, my local guy has boosted S52 to over 1,000 wheel also - reasonably reliable for what it is.

[Bemdub]

Boosted S38 FTW

[The Dark Side of Will]

Can anyone really document that these are that close in weight?

It seems virtually impossible to me that a dressed S38 with the big block, heavy alternator, large cylinderhead, clunky headers etc etc etc could not seriously outweigh a small block S54.... just doesn't seem possible.

Any official documents anywhere we can reference on this?

Ditto... S54 should be significantly lighter than S38. Not only is the S38 a "big block" and the S54 a "small block", meaning that the S38 block, crank and cylinder head are larger, longer and heavier than the S54 counterpart, the S54 ALSO has a redesigned one piece cylinder head that supposedly saved 29 lbs vs. the previous small block twin cam head design.

http://www.bimmerforums.com/engine_faq.php

That info is trash.