Do you regret running a hotter cam, stroker, or headers?

[Sagaris]

Does anyone have any regrets about spending the time and money on mods such as a cam, stroker kit, or headers? I know how easy it would be for someone to be disappointed after spending $2000 + on a cam, stroker kit, header, etc. Only to lose low end power and not gain that much on the top end.

[M-technik-3]

Depends on what setup you are running, My car had more low end as I was running a Hartge header (long tube) to a cat free mid pipe. EU car so please don't say you should have a cat as it was a non cat car to start with.

Bigger cam in it was nice as well, I purchased the car that way so I will say I liked it. If you did a stroker kit and lost some omph then you have the wrong tune. Many have done 2.7i and above and made into the 190+ range.

Hartge/ACS and few other tuners did pretty much these setups and sold cars this way.

Is it that you just expected MORE or is it usable across a wider spectrum? I notice that when I do something to my car and if it's noticeable improvement that within a few months that seems to disappear I.E. I get used to the additional gains.

But by jumping in a slower car for a few days it comes right back.

[Sagaris]

I haven't done any of these things yet. I had done some of them on previous cars in high school on other cars when I didn't have the money or knowledge to do them properly and looking back, I would have been better off putting the money into different parts like suspension and tires.

I am quite satisfied with my car's performance at the moment and would hate to slide down the slippery slope of "well if I do a cam, it would be a waste to not rebuild the head and do port work , and if I do a stroker it would be a waste not to rebuild the engine, and while I am at it , I may as well get better pistons, and if I am doing headers, I may as well finish off the whole exhaust system, and now I need a tune to make the most of all the other money I have just spent" I am content with what I have right now, but dont want my curiosity to cause me to get that far into it just to find out that I was just as happy with the car before all the work.
I know that it comes down to personal preference and desire, but I can imagine there are those out there that wish they would have been satisfied with things before they got too deep into them and I want them to come forward and say "yeah it wasn't what I had hoped for" or " O__O DO IT" .


I know what you mean about getting used to your car. I have become numb to the sound of every intake I have put on every car I have owned.

[M-technik-3]

That being said Suspension and Brakes are normally the first things you should do besides safety items. Next I do wheels then comes engine mods.

Drive the car as is or pick up someone else's swapped or Modded car and use their loss to your gain. Yes it's fun to do the work some times but not always.

[jlevie]

+1 suspension and brakes first.

[NKRoberts]

He has done suspension and brakes already.

[Sagaris]

Yeah the last bits left on my list are rear chassis bracing as well as a brace between the control arms, adjustable sway bars, and rear subframe bushings. Beyond that, everything has been upgraded and replaced. I guess I would really need to take a drive in a heavily modded car to gauge whether it would be worthwhile.

[Brandon12V]

I am still on my first e30. I bought it back in 2008 and left the motor stock for 2 years while I learned to handle it in autoX. This year I added IE headers, 272 Cam, HD rockers, 19lb. injectors, clutch fan delete, a/c delete, and a MarkD chip along with other completmenting mods to my head rebuild. All the parts included to do the job on the head took about $1300 bucks. The power was not a dramatic increase, but my butt-dyno gains were exactly what I expected. With that said I am satisfied. Would I do it again? Yes, but I am fond of the m20. It's just cool and simple motor. Simply cool. :) If I wanted anything over 200whp, I would have started saving for an m50/2 turbo from the get-go. I will say after driving it for the past few months, a little more hp would probably let me be done with it period. I still have a stock b25 bottom end. Picked up a spare block to rebuild for that exact reason. My build specs for the new block should net me around 20-30whp after doing research on e30 tech. that will put me where I want to be(just under 200whp). I know more power could be had, but I find making a realistic goal and sticking with it keeps me within budget. Grains of salt, really, but I thought I'd give my individual experience.

[M-technik-3]

He has done suspension and brakes already.

Nobody said he did not do that They just agreed with my comment on Suspension and brakes first along with safety items.

[MR 325]

If you spent $2000 on a cam/stroker/headers like your original post mentions trust me you will not be disappointed. You will not lose low end power and you will gain top end power.

Or you can always do an S50.

[BergerNJ]

honestly spend the time on what kind of parts you would throw into the m20 or what you would be spending realistically for the stroker setup...record information that you find

THEN

go about what a s5x swap would run you + the equipment and extra set of hands that would be needed to make it easier(idk if you have the tools or time)...then gauge the cost/benefit ratio

my thought is if I want more power and I'm gonna be spending x amount of money for y amount of power then I may as well spend a bit more and rebuild a s5x motor and swap it over and call it a day for a very long time.

All too often I see people on r3v, e30tech, or bimmerforums with a built m20 going into a 24v swap eventually for more power...so why spend all that just to end up swapping? Another thing to consider is having the money to pay bills, drive another car and survive while spending this money...again you see guys finish a build only forced to sell it or stop because of financial issues


I wont be doing any swap work until I get a dd and I'm able to garage the vert, as well as get my hands on tools needed and more brain power to go with it....I have the friends who have done the 24v swaps but I want to be confident in what Im doing myself as well....time is everything.

[Sagaris]

I am still on my first e30. I bought it back in 2008 and left the motor stock for 2 years while I learned to handle it in autoX. This year I added IE headers, 272 Cam, HD rockers, 19lb. injectors, clutch fan delete, a/c delete, and a MarkD chip along with other completmenting mods to my head rebuild. All the parts included to do the job on the head took about $1300 bucks. The power was not a dramatic increase, but my butt-dyno gains were exactly what I expected. With that said I am satisfied. Would I do it again? Yes, but I am fond of the m20. It's just cool and simple motor. Simply cool. :) If I wanted anything over 200whp, I would have started saving for an m50/2 turbo from the get-go. I will say after driving it for the past few months, a little more hp would probably let me be done with it period. I still have a stock b25 bottom end. Picked up a spare block to rebuild for that exact reason. My build specs for the new block should net me around 20-30whp after doing research on e30 tech. that will put me where I want to be(just under 200whp). I know more power could be had, but I find making a realistic goal and sticking with it keeps me within budget. Grains of salt, really, but I thought I'd give my individual experience.

What are your plans for the bottom end as far as bore, stroke, and compression ratio? Did you get the IE shorty's? And what are you planning on for fueling?

I am also a fan of the M20, certainly not just a speed junkie looking to throw an exhaust snail or S50 swap at the car for the sake of just going fast. I love the sound, the smoothness, and the fact that it performs so well for an old tech. small displacement engine.

Thanks for the input!

If you spent $2000 on a cam/stroker/headers like your original post mentions trust me you will not be disappointed. You will not lose low end power and you will gain top end power.

Or you can always do an S50.

I appreciate the input as well

[Sagaris]

All too often I see people on r3v, e30tech, or bimmerforums with a built m20 going into a 24v swap eventually for more power...so why spend all that just to end up swapping?

I get scared when I see people with S5X swaps becoming bored and adding a turbo :crazy:

[M-technik-3]

It gets expensive. Any type of forced Induction adds up quickly. I went supercharger on mine.

[Brandon12V]

What are your plans for the bottom end as far as bore, stroke, and compression ratio? Did you get the IE shorty's? And what are you planning on for fueling?

I am also a fan of the M20, certainly not just a speed junkie looking to throw an exhaust snail or S50 swap at the car for the sake of just going fast. I love the sound, the smoothness, and the fact that it performs so well for an old tech. small displacement engine.

Thanks for the input!

I'll have to look up everything as I'm at work right now. Everything is written down at home. In a nutshell, it's along the same lines as a IE 3.0 Stroker Kit.

85mm pistons 9.75:1
stock rods
arp main & rod bolts

Im gonna stick with the 19lb injectors for now w/ miller WAR programming & AFPR

Plan to have the water jackets on the head welded as well when the short block is ready to go in.