What motor do I have? 1988 325

[irishluder]

Hey guys,

Newb to the BMW world, not new to car tuning.

I bought a 2 dr alpine white 325 coupe... the stickers in the engine bay have info for 2.7l engine....but the head has a 2.5 stamped on it. I ran the vin and it says that my car came with a 2.5.

I thought that 325, which was the base option, came with the 2.7?

I got excited that I had the better 2.5 motor, but when I pulled the spark plugs they were Bosch WR9LS... which show to be 2.7l plugs.

I'm all confused... heres some photos:

[89 e30]

Maybe its s stroker??

[ButtJuice]

Whoops. Posted before reading everything.

[Zacm829]

Looks like M20B25 to me...

[paperplane94]

Somebody put an M20B25 head onto an M20B27 block. THen they kept the M20B27 intake mani for some reason.

[irishluder]

I think I figured out its a Super ETA motor, which is a 2.7 bottom end with a 2.5 head...this is per wikipedia:

"In cars produced from September 1987, the eta engine got a substantial refresh from the factory. This included the more recent Bosch Motronic version 1.1/1.3 with adaptive idle control and revised circuitry, the "885" head casting with the larger valves, ports and revised combustion chambers; new pistons to fit the 2.7 L stroke with the 2.5 L head; a special one year only intake manifold with even narrower runners that opened up at the flanges to match the larger ports of the new head; a dual exhaust system; a special eta-tuned 7-bearing cam; and a 5300 rpm rev limit. A new 6000 rpm tachometer was also used."

Soooo... if I wanted I guess I could swap a M20B25 that much easier since I have the Motronic already?

[paperplane94]

Oh:

http://www.e30tech.com/forum/archive/index.php/t-89997.html

[reelizmpro]

It's a super ETA engine. 2.7 liter, motronic 1.1 with 127HP. Should have gotten the 325i.

[Vince30]

Congrats, you got a super eta, nothing wrong with that.

Question: What do superetas redline at? If its 7k get an i intake manifold, if its 5k get an i intake manifold and an i ecm for i stroker.

[reelizmpro]

5300 Max.

The cam should be the first thing to go. I would probably just grab a rebuilt I head complete and slap it on with intake, throttle and injectors. Essentially the entire top end, intake boot and AFM. Then at 8.5:1 run a low boost turbo setup. =]

[Teaguer]

So many noobs ITT.

[CptnVortex]

You have a Super ETA, like me. I did the "i" head swap. A world of difference in performance. What you need :

Either another complete "i" head, or :
"i" Camshaft + "i" Double Valve springs. Those are the only parts different in the Super ETA head and the "i" head.

Also you will want a "173" ECU, which will raise your redline to 7k RPM.
For better air delivery, you will want the Intake Manifold, Throttle Body, and Airflow Meter also from the "i", and the Fuel Pressure Regulator and Injectors.

I got lucky and found someone with an "i" car who needed a hand parting it out, so I took everything I needed off it and did the swap myself. It was not too difficult, just time consuming, took me about 24-30 hours of working in the cold. I also did the timing belt, water pump, and installed a new oil pan too which ate into the working time.

Keep your eye out for those parts above and get your hands dirty!

[paperplane94]

So many noobs ITT.

Yes I think we could all use a lesson on M20's.

Anybody up for it?

[acolella76]

There should be a turbo under there somewhere, look harder

[irishluder]

Lol, I'll keep looking for the turbo...thanks for the upgrade options guys