general satisfaction on s50 swaps...?

[etxxz]

^ you have to convert all s50 / m50's back to obd1. Hence why your 4k statement is flaud. If you want more info hit me up on aim or the phone.

thanks mang... but trust me i didn't spend all this money before first doing some extensive research

the only reason people *think* its a necesity to revert to OBDI is because of ews...frankly that's the only reason. but if you were to have simply the key ecu ews and the ring antena/ignition then there's no reason to sped another 1k on obdI stuff...and if you can even add the m50 manifold which is the only thing that actually makes a difference from the obdI swap...tuning, well that's another story but there are alternatives.

OR i might be in for a hell of a surprise we'll just have to see
...and for my own sakes i hope i can keep to my budget

[Farbin Kaiber]

thanks mang... but trust me i didn't spend all this money before first doing some extensive research

the only reason people *think* its a necesity to revert to OBDI is because of ews...frankly that's the only reason. but if you were to have simply the key ecu ews and the ring antena/ignition then there's no reason to sped another 1k on obdI stuff...and if you can even add the m50 manifold which is the only thing that actually makes a difference from the obdI swap...tuning, well that's another story but there are alternatives.

We also like the free gain in horsepower, out of the same thing, the ability to smog if in a emmissions testing state ( get away with a lil more too ), Less electronic things to go bad later.




Personally, I like how much cooler the intake manifold looks

[etxxz]

^^ its true on the electronics, but this is largely a debatable issue and probably deserves another thread, but you can very well add an m50 intake mani to an obdII s52 (see last comments of 24v swap thread)...and its something i intend to do sooner or later.

[Rev Engineer]

These numbers are sounding pretty high. I think I've got about 4.5-5k in mine. The engine, tans, and cat-mid section was $3k, but I've seen them go for less. I can't think of that many big ticket items beyond the motor and trans. I guess I got most of my misc components from the u-pull junkyard like the ix booster, 325e flywheel, e34 oil pan. Maybe I should add off this up, but I don't think I'm over 5k. If you go all-out, then it's easy to spend a lot of money - the m5 clutch setup can be 1k alone. But, I agree with the other poster that if you take your time, get many parts from a u-pull junk yard, and don't go over board with go-faster mods, then you can easily do the swap without braking the bank.

Off the top of my head, here's my swap list:

used parts: s50 motor/trans/cat (+ misc items that should come with the motor like alternator, ps pump, maf), 325e flywheel, e34 oil pan, ix booster, 325 coolant tank, s52 headers. ~3300 bucks

new parts: k&n cone filter, e36 radiator and hoses, 325i clutch, motor mounts. ~400 bucks

custom parts: exhaust from e36 headers back. ~300 bucks (I was able to reuse my after market e30 m3 muffler)

I'm guessing I'm missing about $500 of other misc parts which brings me up to $5k

[backtrail69]

I have around 4k into my stroker m20 + 3500 or so for a turbo setup... that is 7500 right there, but when my car is done I will be able to make 350 whp all day long on pump gas... Takes more engineering on my part but thats part of the adventure. S50s are making 240 at the CRANK... that just isn't enough for me. My tired boosted m20b25 made 240 whp @ 10 psi w/ 200k miles on a very conservative dyno.

If you want a very reliable engine that gets you from point A to B without any hassle and you don't want to go reinventing the wheel I would do a 24v anyday of the week. I want to do a 24v swap into my eta DD someday. I love the car it is just slow.

[vr4boy]

here' s my cost:
97 wrecked e36 m3 for $3k w/ 85k miles.
did the maintenance(clutch,belts,cooling,tensioners etc) for $600
sold my s14/tranny for $3800.
bought an e34 m50 engine complete for $350(used it for obd1 conversion and took the oil pan) sold the long block for $200.
parted out the e36m and made close to 2k in parts(and still have more).
boosters(porsche 944) and harness i made them myself.
so basically, i'm still ahead and already finished the s52 swap into my e30m3-fired her up last weekend.
cost for me as of now well,FREE:-)
i'm now down to the exhaust-installing the bb tri flo that came out of the e36m...

[PУCCKAЯ_e30ka]

here' s my cost:
97 wrecked e36 m3 for $3k w/ 85k miles.
did the maintenance(clutch,belts,cooling,tensioners etc) for $600
sold my s14/tranny for $3800.
bought an e34 m50 engine complete for $350(used it for obd1 conversion and took the oil pan) sold the long block for $200.
parted out the e36m and made close to 2k in parts(and still have more).
boosters(porsche 944) and harness i made them myself.
so basically, i'm still ahead and already finished the s52 swap into my e30m3-fired her up last weekend.
cost for me as of now well,FREE:-)
i'm now down to the exhaust-installing the bb tri flo that came out of the e36m...

I would say that's the smartest way to do it.

[Van Westervelt]

You dont even want to see my list. :)

Mine ran about 10k. I was actually all set to do it at 5k without the exhaust. But I couldnt bring myself to do it half assed.

The week after I finished it and pulled on 2 e46 m3's, was all I needed to know, and now I am happy. I love getting in the thing after driving a stock m42 around all week. Its a beautiful thing.

[vr4boy]

I would say that's the smartest way to do it.

thanks, i did the same thing with my e30 m tech cabrio.
but,that got an m50 non vanos and was converted to a 5 speed.
night and day difference after installing the 24v then the 5 speed but,not as crazy as the s52 on the e30m.
it was a "buy and sell" way of a swap-way lighter on the pocket!
overall all: thumbs up for both swaps....
i never looked back:-)

also helps if you can find a local pick and pull yard in your area.
we're lucky to have one or a couple near me.
where can you find a low mileage porsche 944 brake booster for 8 bucks/tranny for $75/driveshaft for 15...it helps with the things a bit.

[blueapplesoda]

buy an m50 and turbo that....you'll be making plenty of power.

[Brew]

We also like the free gain in horsepower, out of the same thing, the ability to smog if in a emmissions testing state ( get away with a lil more too ), Less electronic things to go bad later.




Personally, I like how much cooler the intake manifold looks

This may have been true a few years ago, but with the tuning available for the OBD2 DME's now, they have much more power potential than OBD1. Also, many of the emissions functions of the DME (secondary air, for example) can simply be deleted from the code. Hell, there are 500+whp turbo E36s running on the OBD2 DME.

Another big plus is the self-diagnostics available on the OBD2 DME.

[matt]

This may have been true a few years ago, but with the tuning available for the OBD2 DME's now, they have much more power potential than OBD1. Also, many of the emissions functions of the DME (secondary air, for example) can simply be deleted from the code. Hell, there are 500+whp turbo E36s running on the OBD2 DME.

Another big plus is the self-diagnostics available on the OBD2 DME.

+1

No question about it, the Siemens OBDII box is much better than any of the Bosch DMEs BMW used.

[e30polak]

here' s my cost:
97 wrecked e36 m3 for $3k w/ 85k miles.
did the maintenance(clutch,belts,cooling,tensioners etc) for $600
sold my s14/tranny for $3800.
bought an e34 m50 engine complete for $350(used it for obd1 conversion and took the oil pan) sold the long block for $200.
parted out the e36m and made close to 2k in parts(and still have more).
boosters(porsche 944) and harness i made them myself.
so basically, i'm still ahead and already finished the s52 swap into my e30m3-fired her up last weekend.
cost for me as of now well,FREE:-)
i'm now down to the exhaust-installing the bb tri flo that came out of the e36m...

this was a great save for u, but for those of us that don't have s14s to part with it gets to be alot more money

[ed94r]

I thought this was a thread about Swap satisfaction.

I didn't realize it was a race to the bottom to see who could do it cheapest.

I am as happy as the guy who spent nothing on his swap. I spent 10K and counting.

Ed

[87-325ic]

well.. saturday we are picking up the motor.

and we have 5000 to work with.

we'll see how this goes. it shall be fun.

so, obd1 already, s52 head(if it helps anything) s52 headers included, with the UUC aluminum flywheel and clutch kit,going to keep that and the ZF and find either a 3.25 or 3.73 for the rear.
all i need to do is change the headgasket to run it N/a . should make the E30 donor 325es much quicker.

Lots of learning to come, im only on page 20 on the main dohc article..

stay tuned.

-ryan