to vanos or not to vanos

[mck]

Ok I have 2 engines I am currently considering for a 24v swap. Both out of a 525, One is out of a 92 model(with 200,000km on the engine) the other is out of a 94 model(not sure how many km's). I belive the 92(chassis number is WBAHD62080BJ45098) is non vanos and the 94 is vanos. I want to turbo which ever one I get, but ive been told that the non vanos engines are more reliable for performance applications and they have better top end power. But on the other hand people say that the vanos engines are the best.
I have till friday to decide on one of these, any advice would be great.

[matt]

Vanos is only better if you want your car to be faster.

[smonkbmw]

I want to turbo which ever one I get

why? have you ever drove/rode in a swap car? they are fast on their own. i say go with the vanos motor. learn how to drive it and respect its power first. then when that gets old go find a set of s50 cams or shricks.

[DCColegrove]

VANOS is a good thing.

...If it wasn't BMW wouldn't have bothered.

[mck]

why? have you ever drove/rode in a swap car? they are fast on their own. i say go with the vanos motor. learn how to drive it and respect its power first. then when that gets old go find a set of s50 cams or shricks.

Yeah I drove a e30 M50 with a turbo on it. It was real nice to drive, thats why I want to do the same, or similar setup. I was going to do the s50 swap but can't find a s50 here in Oz.

Respect is when you can't get traction in 2nd and 3rd:D.

[btec116]

Vanos is only better if you want your car to be faster.

:up:


Hey mck, where are you in OZ? Anywhere near Melbourne?

S-motors can be found here, but for a premium most of us can't afford... Although if you're thinking of hairdryers, maybe you should consider it. Nothing matches an N/A S-motor on song! And we should consider ourselved priviledged to get the real (erm, "Euro") S's, not those soft re-badged M-motors...

Ooops, did I say that out aloud?

[mck]

:up:


Hey mck, where are you in OZ? Anywhere near Melbourne?

S-motors can be found here, but for a premium most of us can't afford... Although if you're thinking of hairdryers, maybe you should consider it. Nothing matches an N/A S-motor on song! And we should consider ourselved priviledged to get the real (erm, "Euro") S's, not those soft re-badged M-motors...

Ooops, did I say that out aloud?

Hey Im with ya on that. Ive also been told that the 'S' motors are expensive to fix if something goes wrong. I just want a shit load of power in the beemer, and I want it from a BMW engine not other shit people put in them(eg, sr20, etc, etc). And because ive seen good results with a turbo, thats the line I think is most cost affective. I have found S50's but nothing under $10,000. Plus I would need someone to wire it up and fit it, If i would be spending that much I would shit myself putting it in just in case I stuffed it.
I live in Canberra

[Drew325is]

My suggestion would be to go the VANOS motor, get the swap done and working N/A...then once you've got the bugs ironed out consider the turbo. Depending on price, I'd also suggest an E34 front cut...but keep in mind that the engines from the E34s have a shorter wiring harness because the ECU was in the engine bay. A friend's E34-sourced M50 conversion ended up with the ECU in the E30 engine bay in a box to protect it from heat and water.

Try sourcing your engine from a Jap importer...or just make sure you shop around. I've seen E34 front cuts going for less then $2k up here in Brisbane. Some wreckers will also ship interstate.

As awesome as a euro s50 would be, it'll require a lot of cash spent straight up to do it properly (unless you're fortunate enough that money's not a problem)...at least with starting N/A M50tu you can slowly build up and develop the car (i.e. suspension, brakes etc to suit).

Oh...and just one more thing to consider...how about an M52 turbo as the long term goal? The 2.3L M52s seem to be reasonably priced, and are much lighter than the M50...with less weight and a puffer I'm sure you'd quickly make up for the loss of 200cc...but then I guess there's the OBD2 issues (though that's a solvable problem).

What ever you decide, good luck with the project!

[mck]

Hey, thanks for the advice.
I have found many M50/52's around, but they have lots of km's the best one I found was from a 92 with 200,00km out of a E34. Do you(or anyone else)think this is a problem? Is high milage a problem?

[Drew325is]

Hey, thanks for the advice.
I have found many M50/52's around, but they have lots of km's the best one I found was from a 92 with 200,00km out of a E34. Do you(or anyone else)think this is a problem? Is high milage a problem?

I'm guessing those engines are all from locally delivered cars originally? You should be able to get something with at least half the ks on it from Japan. That said, high mileage + good service history should be okay. I'd be a bit concerned buying something with high ks, but no history. Driveable E34s are getting pretty damn cheap...that could be worth looking into...you might getting better history from a private sale on a whole car, than something from a wrecker. Could also check out the engine properly (compression test etc).

[napabavarian]

Vanos is only better if you want your car to be faster.

It's old, but the best I could find in my search, I looked at 92 vs 93 rated fuel economy and wondered if Vanos helps your fuel economy too.

[SamE30e]

I went non vanos, but I plan on going S/C next summer. Vanos if you want to keep it N/A

[AL GReeNeRy]

turbo m50/2 setups tend to leave the wallet a bit fatter in comparison to the s swaps. vanos is good if you are keeping it n/a and more or less stock. if you intend on going full race or highly modifying your motor, then vanos will set you back even further financially. with wild cams and head work done, you gotta spend on either disabling or strengthing your vanos system with something like dr vanos. since you plan on going turbo, i say just do a fully refreshed NV m50 first then slap your turbo on. your swap will be really simple, almost as if you were swapping in a stock e30 motor of any sort.

and $10k for an m motor is RIDICULOUS!! that had better be the euro spec motor, but even then that is still insane. my friend out here in San Francisco, CA USA is selling his cammed euro s50b32 for a little less than $7k. im sure shipping wouldnt be $3k..

[AL GReeNeRy]

why? have you ever drove/rode in a swap car? they are fast on their own. i say go with the vanos motor. learn how to drive it and respect its power first. then when that gets old go find a set of s50 cams or shricks.

m50/m52 swaps are fun to drive, yes; but even with a s cams they are only marginally more fun. but they are no where near as fun as s series swaps. actually, m50 swapped e30s actually feel like they shouldve came with one of those motors stock from the factory.. theyre fast but you make it seem like hes trying to drop a blown 454 into a miata...

[hoveringuy]

I play with my VANOS on an almost daily basis. I can dial it in or out at will. I can say that it makes a huge difference on the bottom end and I wouldn't go without it.