m52 mods ?

[sasha18yug]

Hello guys this is my first post ... here on r3v ..:)... i've been reading and thinking about starting a project car ( e30 with m52)... I have heard about the s52 cams that goe into the m52 head and make decent power 220 whp aprox...
I am located in Romania and the cams are not available only for the us market...it will be complicate and expensive to shipp them here ... what European cams can i use for the engine and what other mods would you guys recommand...what headers ? what chip ? what MAF from what engine?
Can i get 200 whp with just Intake/Headers/Exhaust/chip ?


:) I'll appreciate any input ... please excuse my english ...

[phreshkid]

You would be getting around 200-210 whp with s50/s52 cams but you would need need a chip to utilize the cam's power efficiently. I too am from Romania, Timisoara to be exact.

[sasha18yug]

You would be getting around 200-210 whp with s50/s52 cams but you would need need a chip to utilize the cam's power efficiently. I too am from Romania, Timisoara to be exact.

Nice to hear that you're a fellow romanian ..:))... timisoara is my home town..:P...
About the chips ... i don't really trust chips made or tuning made in Romania so... what would you recomand ... can i make it in germany... ?

[samiam3356]

M52+turbo...that is all

[phreshkid]

I hear many good things about trm (the racers market). Find and message "Matt" on here. He is the TRM man and will tell you what you need to know.

[sasha18yug]

M52+turbo...that is all

No turbo for me... NA power ...inline 6 sound is so nice NA and power delivery is smooth..:D

[phreshkid]

I actually am m52 swapped right now too.

[sasha18yug]

Some more input guys...what headers are good ? are ebay headers any good ..? what about the euro m3 headers..? :)...

[FredK]

Yes, some Ebay headers are good. The Euro M3 headers are really nice pieces, and they're fabricated really well. If you can get them inexpensively, then in my opinion, they'd be your best option.

You will have to clearance (pipe will interfere) your subframe in order to fit Euro headers, though.

[sasha18yug]

Yes, some Ebay headers are good. The Euro M3 headers are really nice pieces, and they're fabricated really well. If you can get them inexpensively, then in my opinion, they'd be your best option.

You will have to clearance (pipe will interfere) your subframe in order to fit Euro headers, though.

I would like to know wich ebay headers are good and what is the price range... i can get some m3 headers somewhere in betwwen 260- 300 euros ... not really the cheapest ... Would i see 200 whp with headers, exhaust, m50 intake , CAI , and CHip...? this is the first plan of atack and then the next one : S50 cams , port and polish and if valvetrain upgrade if neccesary ....
Thanks for the reply ... lets se some more opinions..:)

[FredK]

You require S50US cams in order to get to 200whp. It cannot be done with a good exhaust, M50 manifold, CAI, and chip.

The Supersprint US header copies are the ones you want. Do not get the Euro knockoff headers. The piping is WAY too large. It's best to link the different headers that you can identify, that way we can tell you for certain what is what.

Some shorty-style Ebay headers will work fine as well.

[sasha18yug]

You require S50US cams in order to get to 200whp. It cannot be done with a good exhaust, M50 manifold, CAI, and chip.

The Supersprint US header copies are the ones you want. Do not get the Euro knockoff headers. The piping is WAY too large. It's best to link the different headers that you can identify, that way we can tell you for certain what is what.

Some shorty-style Ebay headers will work fine as well.

ok i get the point ... is there annyway to make 200 whp whitout cams... maybe m3 trottle body, port and polish head...? just an idea :D

[EduardoGomez]

is there annyway to make 200 whp whitout cams... maybe m3 trottle body, port and polish head...?

Romanesc. Bigger throttle body will not give you more power. Stock M52/M50 TB is big enough and there is no restriction. Port Polish head will not give you more power because BMW did a good job on these heads.

The only way that you can raise horsepower out of that 2.8L engine is if you use pistons out of M50tu engine, this will raise the compression to 11.5:1 and that alone will get you close to 230hp, no need for different camshafts nor ECU.

[sasha18yug]

Romanesc. Bigger throttle body will not give you more power. Stock M52/M50 TB is big enough and there is no restriction. Port Polish head will not give you more power because BMW did a good job on these heads.

The only way that you can raise horsepower out of that 2.8L engine is if you use pistons out of M50tu engine, this will raise the compression to 11.5:1 and that alone will get you close to 230hp, no need for different camshafts nor ECU.

Thanks for that valuable reply... :)

[10Toes]

Romanesc. Bigger throttle body will not give you more power. Stock M52/M50 TB is big enough and there is no restriction. Port Polish head will not give you more power because BMW did a good job on these heads.

The only way that you can raise horsepower out of that 2.8L engine is if you use pistons out of M50tu engine, this will raise the compression to 11.5:1 and that alone will get you close to 230hp, no need for different camshafts nor ECU.

Can you show me how you calculated the comp for the M50b28 crank & rods with M50tu pistons. I'v seen other people claim a lower compression ratio. I started building one, I have a comparison pic of the two different pistons side by side in the block using the same rods. I'll try and upload the pic.

I would also love to see a dyno of one, especially with s52 cams.

http://www.rmeuropean.com/bmw-e30-m50-swap.aspx