2002 m10 vs 318i m10

[Rockwool2117]

I misunderstood. Pardon my vernacular.
A m10b20 uses domed head? I'm assuming the the the e21 and e12 heads are different.
Is investing in custom parts really worth the effort

[petrolhead]

I misunderstood. Pardon my vernacular.
A m10b20 uses domed head? I'm assuming the the the e21 and e12 heads are different.

There are many different 2 liter M10s, (none of which were called M10B20 btw). Every one has combustion chamber in the head if that is what you meant by domed head. To get reasonable compression ratio you'll need domed pistons, right shape for the head in question. Check Mahle piston catalogue, it'll clear things up. Flat top pistons work with any head but they give ~8:1 compression on a 2 litre.

Is investing in custom parts really worth the effort

Last time I checked, set of complete OEM pistons were 980€/set, and custom set was less. I ended up with 89,96mm new Tii pistons (10:1 CR with the right head without shaving the head or block), found them in Ebay.

[thebutterson]

2002faq has all the info you'll need to build whatever m10. Here's some links

http://www.bmw2002faq.com/component/option,com_forum/Itemid,50/page,viewtopic/t,313512/

http://www.bmw2002faq.com/component/option,com_forum/Itemid,0/page,viewtopic/t,308495/view,next/sid,dc815ef91fb10161b45e361e26b7b0f9/

http://www.bmw2002faq.com/content/view/46/32/

As far as custom pistons, I've heard that ireland engineerng can make pistons to fit the 1.8i head and 2.0 crank. A post I read somewhere said they have all the pistons cast with extra material, and then machine the tops as necessary for the head. This leads me to believe you can just buy the pistons at the same price as the 2002 pistons, which is $460. This could be BS though.

If you already have the whole 2002 engine and just wanna do a rebuild, you don't have to swap heads just to use fuel injection.

[Rockwool2117]

2002faq has all the info you'll need to build whatever m10. Here's some links

http://www.bmw2002faq.com/component/option,com_forum/Itemid,50/page,viewtopic/t,313512/

http://www.bmw2002faq.com/component/option,com_forum/Itemid,0/page,viewtopic/t,308495/view,next/sid,dc815ef91fb10161b45e361e26b7b0f9/

http://www.bmw2002faq.com/content/view/46/32/

As far as custom pistons, I've heard that ireland engineerng can make pistons to fit the 1.8i head and 2.0 crank. A post I read somewhere said they have all the pistons cast with extra material, and then machine the tops as necessary for the head. This leads me to believe you can just buy the pistons at the same price as the 2002 pistons, which is $460. This could be BS though.

If you already have the whole 2002 engine and just wanna do a rebuild, you don't have to swap heads just to use fuel injection.

wow thats a hell ofa lot of free info. Thanks man!!!

ps LOL b20 o man LOL

[phreshkid]

There are more differences between the engines as well. I believe that the 2.0l m10 came with dual timing chains where the 1.8l m10 came with a single timing chain. I was speaking to Skifree (Andrew from Ireland Engineering) and he told me that when IE builds up a 2.0l m10, they typically convert to a single chain system as it is plenty strong and less rotational mass than the dual chain setup. Someone, please correct me if I am wrong.

[visionaut]

...when IE builds up a 2.0l m10, they typically convert to a single chain system as it is plenty strong and less rotational mass than the dual chain setup...

This.Is.True.

[downforce22]

I found an article to document the swap, it is possible with e21 and e30 bits! 2002FAQ saves the day again!

http://www.bmw2002faq.com/content/view/16/32/

Now thats the easiest way to turbo an 02!

[Smelser]

Cracked a 84 1.8 block. Lost water, and ran two laps on a 3/8 oval, gauges were normal but when I came in, it took over an hour to take water, it just kept boiling right out of the rad. cracked by number one cyl to the headbolt closest to exhaust between cyl 1&2

[packratbimmer]

+1 ... 318i M10 blocks were prone to cracks along the head bolts (and probably other areas). Back in the day I broke down three or four engines before I found a crack free block to rebuild. The center bottom head bolt bore would have a crack across it. Maybe from forcing bolts in without cleaning out the bores??? I never had the issue with my 2002/320i 2.0L cars.


Oh, and yes - I concur that L-Jet was difficult enough 20 years ago when it was relatively new. It works fine on stock engines, but can be a bear to tune and is just getting OLD! It just does not adapt. If you end up using it, hunt down vacuum leaks as they will haunt you!!!