Good mileage on a s50/s52

[Deah7]

Hey guys. Im looking for an s50/s52 to buy here in the next couple of months. I want to get the tranny and engine for around 3k all together. What do you think is a good amount of milage on the engine for that price. The reason I ask is I have found crazy good deals on engines with about 150k on them but I dont know if that will be more harm than good. Also the engines that have around 50k all seem to be crazy expensive so I was thinking right around 100k. Do you think that would be unwise?

[lifeiskaos]

you could have a 150k mile engine thats in better shape than a 50k mile engine... gets numbers. compression, leakdown, etc. it all depends on maintenance and how it was driven

[e30s52]

Get what ever has better comp numbers and for gas mileage mine I think has gone down somwhere in the 15's I think. I have 24lbs injectors and a Euro maf.

[1990m3]

i bought an s50 with tranny still attached, wiring harness, and ECU from the same car with 83k on it for $3000.

Compression was good on all cylinders. Deals are out there, call your local salvage yard, there should be deals in a big city like atlanta for you...

[flyboyx]

i purchased a complete wrecked 2000 mz3 with 46000 miles for quite less than you are looking to spend. deals are out there. just keep your eyes open. at any rate. as mentioned above, make sure to check the compression on any engine you are interested in or at least listen to it run. you could be ok with a 150k engine, but be sure to replace all the seals, main and rod bearings, and connecting rod bolts. if the motor needs anything more than this, do yourself a big favor. unless it is about free for the taking, walk away from it and find another one. depending on how much work you can do yourself, a full rebuild will cost you way more than your total budget. if the engine was taken care of, it should last many many miles. they don't call it german engineering for nothing. i suggest you try to buy a complete wrecked car if you have a place to store it and it won't get you killed by your wife. an added benifit to the complete vehicle, is that you can do the swap and keep the engine obd2. that could save you another 800-1500 dollars. do you have a friend that is a car dealer? if so, have him take you to an insurance salvage auction. you could find something there for dogshit cheap. m parts are worth a lot of money and you can recoupe most if not all of your cost by selling off the rest of the car. by the way, i am going to be selling my close ratio zf. if you are interested, pm me.

[Deah7]

I have to be honest. I love this place alot more than e30tech.com. You guys seem so much more willing to help. Thanks for all the help and I guess based on your advice I will go with a lowest milage engine possible as long as it has a good compression test. My preference is to get a late s52 full car but I dont know if that will be possible.

[lifeiskaos]

You guys seem so much more willing to help.

this is r3v dude... home of "do your own research or we'll rip you another asshole"

[etxxz]

this is r3v dude... home of "do your own research or we'll rip you another asshole"

naaaah this is a great community... but people can usually sense those that are just talking and those looking to get something done. if you sound like your know what you're talking about or searched or with good attitude people will help. there's no way icould have done my swap w/o r3v.

[clarkbmw325is]

Well, this just popped up on Craigslist ATL... might try giving the guy a call. I shot him an email requesting pics, but no response back yet. Good luck with the swap; the end result will have ya grinnin' everytime you open it up.

Who knows, this one could be a SCAM, but you never know...

http://atlanta.craigslist.org/pts/1011985576.html

[jahnaboi]

Get what ever has better comp numbers and for gas mileage mine I think has gone down somwhere in the 15's I think. I have 24lbs injectors and a Euro maf.

I get 24 mpg on my s52 with 24lbs/Euro Maf.

EDIT: That's with flooring/highway/city driving.

[e30s52]

/\ I dont think yours is that right. I do alot of city driving so that might be why.

[etxxz]

actually i get around 25-26mpg 50city/50hwy on a stock s52 obdii i/h/e. (my city is very suburban like), my obc reads like 36mpg but we all know its not right... and my AIT is not working so it could be better..

[e30s52]

Yeah my car is obd1 with 24lbs injectors, euro maf, and a chip from racers market. It seems to be alot worse then what my m20 was getting.

[jahnaboi]

Yeah my car is obd1 with 24lbs injectors, euro maf, and a chip from racers market. It seems to be alot worse then what my m20 was getting.

Was your chip burned based on a dyno a/f ratio print out? When I first drove my car with all the hiccups I was getting 21mpg. With all the vacuum leaks and what not properly together I'm getting 24mpg (spirited driving). I get about 292 to the tank for 12 gallons of 91 octane. Its pretty accurate. Pretty sure I could get over 300 if I don't smash on the gas peddle... but that's pretty hard not to do. =P

[matt]

Yeah my car is obd1 with 24lbs injectors, euro maf, and a chip from racers market. It seems to be alot worse then what my m20 was getting.

Do you have an O2 sensor connected?

Mileage can suck if you floor it all the time or do all city driving. I get ~20 in the city in my stock 328 with perfect AFRs.