My 2¢ on the s54

[digger]

hard to compare apples to apples but S52 seems to make a bunch more midrange than s54 when boosted

[328ijunkie]

hard to compare apples to apples but S52 seems to make a bunch more midrange than s54 when boosted

Improper tuning

[Andrew325is]

When you compare it to previous generations I assume you mean the previous Euro S50s (S50b30 & S50b32)?

[digger]

I meant s52, to be fair the engine turns atleast an extra 1000rpm so torque wont come on as early.

[varg]

John can you weigh the S54 so there's a (complete) weight to compare with the available info vorshlag put out there for the M20 and M42? It's not that I have any interest in an S54 swap, but I am curious to see what the engine weighs and the resulting changes to an E30's weight distribution.

[ForcedFirebird]

Updated post #5

Tell me more about this b28 combo, you can PM me so I dont derail this thread

back on topic, what is your overall impression of the S54?

I notched the pistons to clear bob weights on one of our 2.8 builds. The s54 pistons have notches to clear with it's low rod/stroke ratio. (139mm/91mm = 1.527:1).

My Impression so far, it appears exactly the way it is: "let's stuff as much displacement as we can in this previously existing exterior shell".

When you compare it to previous generations I assume you mean the previous Euro S50s (S50b30 & S50b32)?

Never dug this deep into a Euro Spec engine.

I feel the m20 is like a first generation baby six, the 24v was a second generation, m/s54 is third. Parts from one generation don't necessarily bolt to others, yet they do inside a generation, with the overall design remaining very similar (internal measurements, parts etc).

John can you weigh the S54 so there's a (complete) weight to compare with the available info vorshlag put out there for the M20 and M42? It's not that I have any interest in an S54 swap, but I am curious to see what the engine weighs and the resulting changes to an E30's weight distribution.

Will see what I can do. Should be very similar to any iron 24v, though.

[ForcedFirebird]

Update to post #8

[Echo30V]

That’s great stuff. IMHO BMW hit its stride with the S54 sans the rod issues. If the crazy idea ever creeped into my beer bloated mind to do a swap, it would have to be the S54-NA Oof course. Keep the info coming Forced.

[wazzu70]

Is it possible to get a cutring gasket for the S54? Probably better sealing ability, especially with the low thickness between cylinders.

[diesekte]

Yeah maximum PSI has them

[dude8383]

Yeh, JE makes a cutring. I can get em too :)

[ForcedFirebird]

The tooling to o-ring the blocks is in house and already set up for baby sixes. At this point in the rebuild, it was a no-brainer. Copper wire extended .007" above deck, OEM steel head gasket, ARP studs should do the trick. Snoop around bimmerboost and there's a lot of discussion about cut rings and sealing issues for dailies (but then again, same with Cometic which I have had success using in combination of copper spray).

Speaking of studs, I was surprised it took BMW this long to go to 11mm head bolts.