Andrew's S54 Swap

[samiam3356]

So nice! Thanks for sharing. Figured this would pop up after seeing the photo in the other thread the other day.

[lolcantturn]

I'm sure there can be a header solution instead of fabbing a custom sway bar.

[nando]

A note about the headers: I used longer E92 335is stud bolts because the stock studs were too short to fit the nuts on properly. The newer stud bolts are nice because they have a torx end on them so you don't have to double nut.

A custom sway bar also had to be made because the stock E30 one is in the way.

which headers? ebay?

[M3 Ryan]

Glad to see another S54 on the road!

[Andrew325is]

A note about the headers: I used longer E92 335is stud bolts because the stock studs were too short to fit the nuts on properly. The newer stud bolts are nice because they have a torx end on them so you don't have to double nut.

A custom sway bar also had to be made because the stock E30 one is in the way.

[Andrew325is]

Awesome. Just awesome. My Euro S50 is looking old already.

So how complete is the wiring info and items related to the flashed DME from Tino?
May I ask what he charges for this?

The wiring info he gave me is pretty complete. The only difference is that the fuel pump relay (you make your own) connects to X60002 #11 on USA ECU's instead of X60004 #10 on Non-USA ECU's.

Also, the pin #’s for the gas pedal on the wiring instructions and also on the ETM (or WDS) do not match the pin #’s on the actual gas pedal connector. Obviously someone who reuses an old connecter can go by the wire colors, but I encountered this problem because I used a new connector with new pins.

As far as price, It's not cheap. I'm not going to quote prices because it's not my service. It would be awesome if someone stateside could figure it out and offer it at a more reasonable price. I'm sure someone eventually will.

[Andrew325is]

I like the garage although doesn't it get cold in the winter?

Haha yes. It's not that fun trying to solder when its 35 degrees and the tape won't stick. Good thing for heat-shrink. ;)

[Andrew325is]

Hi guys,
I've received a lot of questions via private messages. Since I think others may benefit from the information, I'll post my answers to some of them here.

1. Q: I've done the swap but my car is going into limp mode. Any help?
A. Mine was going into fail safe mode as well until I reset the electronic throttle adaptations in the ECU. You have to do that any time you replace the gas pedal or EDR. You can do that with MODIC/DIS. I found that you can also do it manually by turning the key to the on position for 10 seconds, off for 10 seconds, then start the car. You can't be off by a second or it won't reset.

2. This isn't actually a question but I'll comment: After everything is ready, I plan to drop it in the car and have it going in maybe a few days.
A: Unless you have a crew like they do on that make a dream home show where they build you a house in a few days, that is going to be very difficult. I was thinking this too when I first started planning the swap, but when it came time to do the actual swap I quickly realized that having it done in a weekend just was not possible. I thought I had everying ready to go but one little thing came up after another. You can be delayed by weeks if you find out you need some dumb little part that is only in stock in Germany. I spent about 3 months working on the car almost every day, but of course it was just me and my friend who helped me make brackets and weld and do other things I'm not the best at.

3. Q: Does the E46 M3 radiator drop in without any mods? What hoses did you use?
A: No it does not fit without modification to the E30. But it doesn't need much. We just cut out and bent the bottom rad brackets on the car and made our own brackets to hold the M3 rad. Length and width wise it fits very nicely. All the coolant hoses, except for the main hose to the expansion tank, are stock E46 M3. The top rad hose doesn't fit in its original configuration. I couldn't find another rubber hose to replace it with since the ends are a different diameter, so I rotated the hose 180 degrees and cut it to put an extension in.

4. Q: what brackets did you use to mount the late model expansion tank in the battery tray?
A: My friend helped me make a custom bracket for it.

5: Q: How are the brakes with the hydroboost? Part #'s?
A: The brakes feel pretty good. Not as firm as before, but they stop the car well. I wouldn't bother ordering the parts new because they are very expensive. (Although, you might want to buy a new bomb because it loses nitrogen over time. It enables you to have powered brakes after you've turned the ignition off.) Get all the parts from a wrecked car and replace the hoses (except for the high pressure hose. You'll probably have to have someone extend it and reuse the old fittings because no one has them). I used a E23 booster because it doesn't stick out as far as the E24/E28 booster. The booster from an E31 8-Series might be a good option too. I used the remote brake fluid reservoir from a V8 E34. It only has 2 ports so I used a separate reservoir for the clutch.

[MarkD]

you don't HAVE to delete EWS!!!!!!! :D

nice swap! :)

True you don't have to, but people who make track cars usually want that. So I mentioned I can do it, as I spent a lot of time with IDA Pro to figure out how to do it. I custom make each file so you can have whatever you like. And I know people are also wondering about price - I charge around $2100 for a file with all mods including EWS removal, and a bit less if you don't get the "full package". Then it can go as low as $1800

I believe these prices are very competitive.

To see the s54 swap into e36 that I worked on in 2005, have a look here:
http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum...=423895&page=5 (post 103)


Mark

[nando]

you don't HAVE to delete EWS!!!!!!! :D

nice swap! :)

[MarkD]

If anyone is requiring the programming for an S54 swap including:

- EWS delete
- performance tune
- any specific DIS code removal

I offer this service and you can send the ECU to me in Toronto if you live in Canada, or to a location in the USA if you are there. It will be cheaper and faster than sending to Germany. I already have a few s54 swapped cars running my s54 swap software, one is an e36 in Nashville. Another will soon be an E30 in Montreal, Canada and another e30 in Toronto will be done in a few months. (plus it's been in a z3 and e36 with s54 swaps since 2005)

MarkD

[durtyE30]

You make this seem really easy.

Why do S54's have to be so expensive?

[gobuffs]

Having done a Euro swap and an S54....the S54 is another order a magnitude in cost over any other swap if done right. The electronics that need to be addressed will cost at least $1500 and up.

I like the garage although doesn't it get cold in the winter?

[ACHTUNG]

Damn. I should have waited before doing my S52 swap last summer. Now I want to go S54...

[Bimmerman325i]

Link/info on ECU reprogramming?