M50 3.0L Stroker

[Wh33lhop]

for what its worth.. my m50b28 11:1 put down 225whp/199wtq on a dynojet

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Cams? Tune? Other mods?

[emmanuel.dlc]

yes,

s50 cams
21# pinks
fleabay ss reps with 2.5" single exhaust
miller war
everything is new on the engine (rings, bearings, fresh hone, etc..)


here is the sheet:

[RobertK]

Seen good things from Miller WAR chips.. but I don't trust Dynojet results unless its been routinely calibrated. They tend to spit out over optimistic results otherwise. Mustang dynos tend to give real world street performance results. Seen results from the same car be completely different Dynojet vs. Mustang.

[matthugie]

How was you're friends m50 tuned and was it nv?

I don't think it was nv, and I'm not sure about the tune. He bought my stock tune from me just to get it running, but he had plans to get a TRM or similar. Not sure if he ever did though.

Wonder what he screwed up. Assuming similar CR and the same cams and springs the motors should be near identical. Did he tune it?

I've also heard of fully built S52s making the same power as junkyard motors with sunbelts. Sometimes it really is a crap shoot.

Something may have been off, I know he tried to build it himself but didn't do well and had a shop finish it up. It was a reputable shop and builder, but you never know.

[Eljosh]

Thanks for all the suggestions, I like cars with a large amount of torque. I was thinking of doing an m30 build, then thought about this, and how a more modern engine might be better. But still saving and doing research.

[Bimmerman325i]

S52 all the way.

My S50 with all the NA boltons (no cams) puts down what an S52 does with stock exhaust, a conforti intake, and a meh tune will do, while giving up 10ftlbs everywhere.

S52 S52 S52 S52 don't waste your time otherwise.

That said, looking at data trace from Laguna Seca, roughly equivalent lap times, it's VERY obvious that stock exhaust S50 (only had intake and tune, dynoed at 215whp) pulls way harder than stock M54 does. Significantly. Putting cams on the M54 won't make up enough of the difference unless you go crazy with Sunbelts or something. I totally believe RobertK. This isn't dyno bullshitting, this is actual measured accelerations.

Go S54 or S52, budget depending.

[Wh33lhop]

That said, looking at data trace from Laguna Seca, roughly equivalent lap times, it's VERY obvious that stock exhaust S50 (only had intake and tune, dynoed at 215whp) pulls way harder than stock M54 does. Significantly. Putting cams on the M54 won't make up enough of the difference unless you go crazy with Sunbelts or something. I totally believe RobertK. This isn't dyno bullshitting, this is actual measured accelerations.

Not quite fair comparing a 3300lb e46 to a 2900lb e36 there :p but I would agree that the s5x is a better track motor over an m54. M54 is a great dd motor, is more advanced and does happen to be lighter, but that doesn't make it pull harder.

[Bimmerman325i]

Not quite fair comparing a 3300lb e46 to a 2900lb e36 there :p but I would agree that the s5x is a better track motor over an m54. M54 is a great dd motor, is more advanced and does happen to be lighter, but that doesn't make it pull harder.

3025lb in that config, but yea. There was a weight discrepancy. Yours does have more low end torque in its favor, much better DD motor. S50 is pretty wimpy below 3k. Rocketship above 5 though, in comparison.

Both got smoked by 3300lb E46 M3 though.

[Wh33lhop]

Both got smoked by 3300lb E46 M3 though.

Heh, not in laptime. ;)

[RobertK]

Not quite fair comparing a 3300lb e46 to a 2900lb e36 there :p but I would agree that the s5x is a better track motor over an m54. M54 is a great dd motor, is more advanced and does happen to be lighter, but that doesn't make it pull harder.

In defense of the M54, its very restricted from the factory. I mean eBay headers give it a 20hp+ boost because of the cats being integrated into the crappy exhaust manifolds. Its also a S50 is 10.5:1 CR vs M54B30 10.2:1 (Really closer to 10:1).

The S50 will always rev faster too because its square but that doesn't mean the M54 cannot be built to compete. The DISA and dual vanos setup does make for a much nicer torque curve on the M54 when daily driving.. it just runs out of steam ~ 6400RPM