Stroking information?

[E30FL]

Hello members of R3V! I am a new owner of a 88' 325is. It currently has 185k miles on it and I am looking to start getting some more power. I have very little knowledge about how to do this except for the basic things people do such as turbo, swaps, and stroking. If you could give me some on information on what is the best way to go for the money and reliability I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks in advance!

[Ether-D]

I gather that the best for reliability and cost is the m50/52 route. Not a ton of extra power unless you beef em up, but plentiful, cheapish, and reliable.

[E30FL]

I gather that the best for reliability and cost is the m50/52 route. Not a ton of extra power unless you beef em up, but plentiful, cheapish, and reliable.

Thanks for getting back to me! I'll look into them now. Any specific pages I should check out?

[MR 325]

Thanks for getting back to me! I'll look into them now. Any specific pages I should check out?

This forum. The 24v swap sections are full of 10 years worth of swap info.

People always suggest the 24v as being more "worth it" but keep in mind you're swapping in an engine with 150k+ vs a stroker M20 that would be rebuilt with 0 miles. Two totally different ways of doing things. Ultimately it all depends on your budget and what YOU want from the car.

If you're ever interested in building a stroker M20 just drop me a line. 8)

[DesertBMW]

I gather that the best for reliability and cost is the m50/52 route. Not a ton of extra power unless you beef em up, but plentiful, cheapish, and reliable.

I also agree

[E30FL]

This forum. The 24v swap sections are full of 10 years worth of swap info.

People always suggest the 24v as being more "worth it" but keep in mind you're swapping in an engine with 150k+ vs a stroker M20 that would be rebuilt with 0 miles. Two totally different ways of doing things. Ultimately it all depends on your budget and what YOU want from the car.

If you're ever interested in building a stroker M20 just drop me a line. 8)

Well I definitely like the idea of having it rebuilt as 0 miles. Is it possible to stroke to a 3.0L and see decent performance gains? (sorry if these seem like ignorant questions, I'm fairly new to all of this)

[Dirty325ix]

Also think about your budget a m20 build can get a lot more expensive than a simple m50 swap

[E30FL]

Also think about your budget a m20 build can get a lot more expensive than a simple m50 swap

What would you say is an average cost for a stroked M20 and also the price for an M50 swap?

[Reichart12]

For the M20 stroker its hard to pick an average cost because of all the ways it can be done. What you start with and the final displacement will all influence costs. Ive been getting together a m20b25 stroked to 2.9l with custom pistons and head work and with a new flywheel and clutch my costs are looking to be 5-6k. Does all that need to be done for a stroker, no but if Im taking the time to do it I want it to be good. Bottomline any swap/stroker can be done for cheap or it can be done expensively. I guess that doesn't really help give you an average cost but just some more info for you.

[acolella76]

From what I've seen the price difference between a stroker and a swap isn't that vast. Since you won't be buying a new trans, driveshaft, harness, etc. you could spend that money on your rotating assembly and machine work.

Basically, you have a right way to do things and a wrong way to do things like Reichart12 said. Sure you can build an M20 for $500-1500 but it's not going to be a rocket. Just like you can swap an M52 in there for the same price, but you're going to have to cut corners and probably have an unreliable car. Honestly I wouldn't even bother with the M50 unless you're planning to boost it (even then the M52 is still better).

All of the little things add up like the clutch, flywheel, gaskets, etc., but those are all things you should be replacing anyway at some point. Like Matt said, you can have a questionable 24v motor or you can have a 0 mile (sorta) M20. It all just depends on what exactly you're looking for.

[digger]

depends what your goal is and how much of the work you can do yourself

[E30FL]

depends what your goal is and how much of the work you can do yourself

Thanks I'll keep that in mind

[E30FL]

From what I've seen the price difference between a stroker and a swap isn't that vast. Since you won't be buying a new trans, driveshaft, harness, etc. you could spend that money on your rotating assembly and machine work.

Basically, you have a right way to do things and a wrong way to do things like Reichart12 said. Sure you can build an M20 for $500-1500 but it's not going to be a rocket. Just like you can swap an M52 in there for the same price, but you're going to have to cut corners and probably have an unreliable car. Honestly I wouldn't even bother with the M50 unless you're planning to boost it (even then the M52 is still better).

All of the little things add up like the clutch, flywheel, gaskets, etc., but those are all things you should be replacing anyway at some point. Like Matt said, you can have a questionable 24v motor or you can have a 0 mile (sorta) M20. It all just depends on what exactly you're looking for.

Thank you I appreciate your insight on it. I am definitely one for high quality work and hate cutting corners so I'll make sure to do it right, what ever way I end up doing.

[E30FL]

For the M20 stroker its hard to pick an average cost because of all the ways it can be done. What you start with and the final displacement will all influence costs. Ive been getting together a m20b25 stroked to 2.9l with custom pistons and head work and with a new flywheel and clutch my costs are looking to be 5-6k. Does all that need to be done for a stroker, no but if Im taking the time to do it I want it to be good. Bottomline any swap/stroker can be done for cheap or it can be done expensively. I guess that doesn't really help give you an average cost but just some more info for you.

Thank you I appreciate all the info. Really starting to lean towards doing a proper stroker like you are doing. Is the kits from Ireland Engineering a good way to go? Or what would your recomend?

[digger]

crank and 24V rods can be had for cheap anywhere. all you need is good pistons and there are several reputable places