M50 non vanos prep for turbo??

[amcink]

Ok. I'm a on a low budget and want to prep the M50 non vanos for a turbo later. what are the items that i need to have now so I can have a "plug n play" turbo later?
Also please recommend a turbo set up that can achieve such set up.
Finally this will be a DD and I need to pass California BAR

[chrisbmx68]

good luck with that.

[BergerNJ]

good luck with that.

[evandael]

i'm assuming by low budget you mean you're own a low budget now, and will be on a high budget later for the turbo build. otherwise don't even try it. also i don't know much about Cali but you aren't going to pass BAR with a turbo. at all.

but to answer your question, do a leakdown or compression test and make sure everything is peachy and numbers are to spec and even across the board. then remove the head (check out pelicanparts.com for good tutorials on how to do so), and take the head and block to a machine shop you trust to get the head skimmed and the block grooved for o-ringing.

when you get your engine parts back, assemble it with copper o-rings, an oversized BMW headgasket (not victor reinz shit), and ARP head studs. that should run you, machining included, around $500 total.

after that, do a lot of other preventative maintenance like metal thermostat housing, new waterpump and thermostat, new seals everywhere, tighten that oil pump nut and get the swap running perfectly. now would also be a good time to upgrade the clutch/pp and the rest of the driveline with new mounts and such.


then and only then should you think about turboing it, and when that happens I would recommend budgeting, at the very least, $3K to get a decent turbo setup running and tuned.

[amcink]

i'm assuming by low budget you mean you're own a low budget now, and will be on a high budget later for the turbo build. otherwise don't even try it. also i don't know much about Cali but you aren't going to pass BAR with a turbo. at all.

but to answer your question, do a leakdown or compression test and make sure everything is peachy and numbers are to spec and even across the board. then remove the head (check out pelicanparts.com for good tutorials on how to do so), and take the head and block to a machine shop you trust to get the head skimmed and the block grooved for o-ringing.

when you get your engine parts back, assemble it with copper o-rings, an oversized BMW headgasket (not victor reinz shit), and ARP head studs. that should run you, machining included, around $500 total.

after that, do a lot of other preventative maintenance like metal thermostat housing, new waterpump and thermostat, new seals everywhere, tighten that oil pump nut and get the swap running perfectly. now would also be a good time to upgrade the clutch/pp and the rest of the driveline with new mounts and such.


then and only then should you think about turboing it, and when that happens I would recommend budgeting, at the very least, $3K to get a decent turbo setup running and tuned.

Thank you for the informative reply and en-lighting me on my "naive" perception of turboing my M50 :-(

If I cannot pass the California BAR then preparing the M50 for turbo is not need it; even thou your perception of low cost now and higher budget level later is correct.

Thanks again

[chrisbmx68]

I dont even think you can pass smog/bar with an m50 swap in cali

[amcink]

I dont even think you can pass smog/bar with an m50 swap in cali

Yes! there are some in my area that have done it

[evandael]

I dont even think you can pass smog/bar with an m50 swap in cali

sure you can. it's a newer engine. as long as you retain all ancillaries that were factory installed with the motor, you don't have CEL's, and it passes the sniffer, any motor swap is able to be BARd.


OP, there is always the possibility of other relatively easy, BAR-legal swaps. you could go forward with the M50NV but in my opinion it is not worth it over a nice running M20.

possibly the best swap is finding a M52B28-equipped wreck.. a z3 2.8, e36 328is, or e39 528i. then you can transfer all the OBD2 and EWS components to your car, including the dual catalysts, and get it BARd. afterwords, part out the remainder of the donor car to make some money back. i feel like this would be your best bet if you want a decent amount of power without busting your budget. add S52 cams and run an M20 flywheel with the E30 starter, clutch and pressure plate (in either a G260 or ZF320) and it'd likely run pretty nicely.

another possibility is finding a used Dinan CARB-legal supercharger kit, an M50 vanos head, wiring harness, and DME w/ the Dinan chip, and swapping it all on your M50NV. that would pass BAR, and you wouldn't have to go through the tedium of finding and retrofitting all the OBD2 components. it would also be fairly unique.

or just boost it, rego it in a non-emissions county, and don't get caught by the cops. one thing i wanted to mention, is that you may want to find a later 413 red-label DME. it is farrrrr more tuner-friendly than the DME that comes with the NV motor. you can still run your NV motor with it (i asked this very thing a while ago, in this thread: http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=240790) but it will open up a world of tuning options if you go turbo.

[amcink]

sure you can. it's a newer engine. as long as you retain all ancillaries that were factory installed with the motor, you don't have CEL's, and it passes the sniffer, any motor swap is able to be BARd.


OP, there is always the possibility of other relatively easy, BAR-legal swaps. you could go forward with the M50NV but in my opinion it is not worth it over a nice running M20.

possibly the best swap is finding a M52B28-equipped wreck.. a z3 2.8, e36 328is, or e39 528i. then you can transfer all the OBD2 and EWS components to your car, including the dual catalysts, and get it BARd. afterwords, part out the remainder of the donor car to make some money back. i feel like this would be your best bet if you want a decent amount of power without busting your budget. add S52 cams and run an M20 flywheel with the E30 starter, clutch and pressure plate (in either a G260 or ZF320) and it'd likely run pretty nicely.

another possibility is finding a used Dinan CARB-legal supercharger kit, an M50 vanos head, wiring harness, and DME w/ the Dinan chip, and swapping it all on your M50NV. that would pass BAR, and you wouldn't have to go through the tedium of finding and retrofitting all the OBD2 components. it would also be fairly unique.

or just boost it, rego it in a non-emissions county, and don't get caught by the cops. one thing i wanted to mention, is that you may want to find a later 413 red-label DME. it is farrrrr more tuner-friendly than the DME that comes with the NV motor. you can still run your NV motor with it (i asked this very thing a while ago, in this thread: http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=240790) but it will open up a world of tuning options if you go turbo.

The M20 has a rod knock and I got the M50 NV for free. Therefore I'm using the M50 for the swap