Speedhop-
Seeing you live in the same backwards-thinking state that I do, I would advise looking into the smog laws before you start delving into a serious project such as a motor swap and/or forced induction. Because of the tree hugger crowd here, we have limited choices as far as what kinds of engine mods we can do to the E30 and still be considered legal. I think this is something you shouldn't overlook because you don't have the space or means to uninstall all your mods, go get a smog test done, then reinstall said mods only to have to do it again two years down the road. Unless you really want to spend the time and effort to do this, weigh your final engine choice carefully.
With that said, for the twin cam six BMW engines, I don't know of any turbo kit out there that has a CARB exemption order number issued to it making it a legal mod. A lot of companies that develop the turbo & supercharged kits don't bother with getting CARB approval because it is simply too costly and time consuming. The only smog legal one I am aware of out there is Dinan's supercharging kits.....which command a premium over other kits out there but that's because Steve Dinan cleared all the legal hurdles for you so you can pass smog with his kit installed. Here are some of the choices I know you can do and pass the sniff test in this state.....
M50 (vanos or non-vanos) with a chip such as Conforti (all smog parts on)
S50 with a chip (all smog parts on)
M52 (OBD II motor converted to OBD I)
S52 (OBD II motor converted to OBD I)
M50 or S50 with CARB approved forced induction kits
A friend of mine is putting the finishing touches on a S52 swap into an '88 M3. Converting this motor from OBD II to OBD I helps unleash some of the restrictive equipment from the factory and its good for about 275-280hp that will pass smog in CA. Its not quite the 300hp threshold you have in mind, but close enough and you won't have to worry about the additional complexity of forced induction kits and the greenies at CARB give it two thumbs up.
Just some food for thought.
Jon
Seeing you live in the same backwards-thinking state that I do, I would advise looking into the smog laws before you start delving into a serious project such as a motor swap and/or forced induction. Because of the tree hugger crowd here, we have limited choices as far as what kinds of engine mods we can do to the E30 and still be considered legal. I think this is something you shouldn't overlook because you don't have the space or means to uninstall all your mods, go get a smog test done, then reinstall said mods only to have to do it again two years down the road. Unless you really want to spend the time and effort to do this, weigh your final engine choice carefully.
With that said, for the twin cam six BMW engines, I don't know of any turbo kit out there that has a CARB exemption order number issued to it making it a legal mod. A lot of companies that develop the turbo & supercharged kits don't bother with getting CARB approval because it is simply too costly and time consuming. The only smog legal one I am aware of out there is Dinan's supercharging kits.....which command a premium over other kits out there but that's because Steve Dinan cleared all the legal hurdles for you so you can pass smog with his kit installed. Here are some of the choices I know you can do and pass the sniff test in this state.....
M50 (vanos or non-vanos) with a chip such as Conforti (all smog parts on)
S50 with a chip (all smog parts on)
M52 (OBD II motor converted to OBD I)
S52 (OBD II motor converted to OBD I)
M50 or S50 with CARB approved forced induction kits
A friend of mine is putting the finishing touches on a S52 swap into an '88 M3. Converting this motor from OBD II to OBD I helps unleash some of the restrictive equipment from the factory and its good for about 275-280hp that will pass smog in CA. Its not quite the 300hp threshold you have in mind, but close enough and you won't have to worry about the additional complexity of forced induction kits and the greenies at CARB give it two thumbs up.
Just some food for thought.
Jon
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