Is the S50/S52 swap really worth it

[Wanganstyle]

hahah go chase patrick in the e30; if you can keep pace with his miata the car = fast. my getter @ b willow was about 4 seconds off his pace.

[animal]

Come follow me and Sschin through the twisties, bring whichever "fast" car you want. Haven't come accross any cars yet that can hang with our e30s.

Would love to - not looking forward to my chipped up windshield though lol.

But then you gotta come to Redwood Rd in the Oakland Hills - when i lived a few blocks away - use to destroy sti's/e46 m3's, all sort of setup cars daily in the ap1. gt3's wouldn't be lost in a few corners and could pull away in short straights but not by much. As we all know also its all about the driver, not so much the car.

e30 318is had great balance, now as someone said earlier - lots of things go into balancing out a swapped car, so don't expect to get it in there and be gravy..

[golde30]

The 2 318is I owned were the most fun and tossable in the mt, but were not the fastest. But it's definitely the driver that makes the most difference. I used to enjoy destroying Porsches driven by yuppies in the mt with my old 4dr 325i with tokiko/vogtland springs up on hwy9. They would be so angry it was hilarious.

[36brua]

that is being remedied already, my car no longer rubs after i took off the spacers, Spencer is going back down to 215/40/17 soft tires. i dont seem to remember any1 being behind me when i was doing 120 through the shasta mountains..

You sure your speedo is correctly calibrated ?:p
and that is where I got my first speeding ticket a long time ago

[dillon7]

I was dead set on a s50/52 swap but this thread is really making me rethink that. Kind of bumming me out.

[M-technik-3]

Enjoyed mine. Honestly for street use with 65 mph speed limits it's fine in my area.

[scbmw017]

To dillon7....Honestly, it sounds like if you don't skimp on the install you should have a pretty good car and it really depends on whether or not you want to keep your e30 for a while. If you can do those things then I think the s50/s52 swap is really worth it.

At first I was also turned off by wanting to do the swap but when you sift through all the responses it really depends on what you want out of the car and how much you want to spend.

[nando]

I was dead set on a s50/52 swap but this thread is really making me rethink that. Kind of bumming me out.

why? because some people are happy with 90bhp M10s? :p

[NickL]

I don't think the M20 even compares to an S52. My car is so much more fun to drive now, it feels like a completely different car. Go drive an E30 with an M20 and then get out and drive an S52 swapped car, I guarantee you'll decide on the spot. Im not knocking the M20 whatsoever because its a fantastic motor, but it doesn't compare to the S52 in an E30 chassis.

[jwiles]

Good thread, this def talks about the elephant in the room.

[matthugie]

In my opinion the torque and power delivery is much better than any engine originally offered in the e30, and that includes the S14. This isn't a slight to the S14, but the torque and broad power band of the S52 make it easy to drive, especially when not flogging it. I also think the additional power really brings the car alive.

[achtunge30]

The real question is...Is an S50/S52 swap with Cams worth it? ;)

[mulletman]

This thread is making me want an S50 even more. I don't need a ton more power, just a bit.


And a 6-speed.

[robgoesvroom]

Wait, so can we have some input from people running an S50/S52 on a track? Which is the better motor, S50 or S52? All this talk about S2Ks vs swapped E30s in straight lines is totally boring!

[robgoesvroom]

Wanganstyle, I'm down to head to the track with some other E30s! Post a thread in the California section or something.

Have you driven a swapped E30 at buttonwillow yet? How many seconds faster is it compared to an M20? One of the S52 E30 racecars here in socal is running sub 2's already!

Not worth bringing out the e30 to a public street; id have to wear a helmet to prevent getting a concussion. I'd also have to wear a HANS lol rofl

If you want to come try chasing it on track ill invite some r3v folks to the next shakedown open day befote thill sept.



Ours somehow magically can pass 2 wheels off track at Buttonwillow in the slalom or talledega on the outside. ....with outside tires on dirt.... managed to run a 2:15 in severe traffic on practice tires :)

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