m20 vs. s52

[Madhatter]

M30 + copious amount of boost.

Its like the strength of an M10 block but with a couple extra cylinders :D

[JGood]

e30s are old fast sports cars

rofl

[dj2xrated]

LS1!! + ford side skirts and a vtech sticker... or swap for m50-s52 + turbo

[Curtis325is]

To do an M50 or S52 properly you need to replace the diff, driveshaft, tranny, exhaust, cooling system, a bunch of wiring, brake booster, tach and maybe speedo. You should do the brakes to keep up with the extra power. You will probably want to rebuilt the motor and replace the clutch/flywheel. Most people leave out the air conditioning. You'll need an electric fan. Paying someone else to do it right costs close to $25,000, I've seen the receipts. Doing it yourself saves about $10-15 grand. And then you will want to start modding it. You will basically have an e30 shell with every other part replaced.

With the M20 you can reuse everything and the only work you are doing is on the motor. If you add a turbo kit you have to start changing the fuel system and computer, but it is still easier in my opinion and way cheaper then an engine swap.

Of course the resale value on an engine swap car is higher, and the car will probably be more reliable with a more modern engine.

[SpecM]

To do an M50 or S52 properly you need to replace the diff, driveshaft, tranny, exhaust, cooling system, a bunch of wiring, brake booster, tach and maybe speedo. You should do the brakes to keep up with the extra power. You will probably want to rebuilt the motor and replace the clutch/flywheel. Most people leave out the air conditioning. You'll need an electric fan. Paying someone else to do it right costs close to $25,000, I've seen the receipts. Doing it yourself saves about $10-15 grand. And then you will want to start modding it. You will basically have an e30 shell with every other part replaced.

With the M20 you can reuse everything and the only work you are doing is on the motor. If you add a turbo kit you have to start changing the fuel system and computer, but it is still easier in my opinion and way cheaper then an engine swap.

Of course the resale value on an engine swap car is higher, and the car will probably be more reliable with a more modern engine.

-Umm no

[Farbin Kaiber]

To do an M50 or S52 properly you need to replace the diff, driveshaft, tranny, exhaust, cooling system, a bunch of wiring, brake booster, tach and maybe speedo. You should do the brakes to keep up with the extra power. You will probably want to rebuilt the motor and replace the clutch/flywheel. Most people leave out the air conditioning. You'll need an electric fan. Paying someone else to do it right costs close to $25,000, I've seen the receipts. Doing it yourself saves about $10-15 grand. And then you will want to start modding it. You will basically have an e30 shell with every other part replaced.

With the M20 you can reuse everything and the only work you are doing is on the motor. If you add a turbo kit you have to start changing the fuel system and computer, but it is still easier in my opinion and way cheaper then an engine swap.

Of course the resale value on an engine swap car is higher, and the car will probably be more reliable with a more modern engine.

Special Award Winner. 06/25/08

[lennon]

15 grand to swap in an m50 or s52 and do the work yourself? ha i dont think so. i havent seen anyone swap an s52 personally, but ive seen and participated in a few m50 and other swaps that came no where near that price. probably not even close to 5 grand. im sure an s52 would be more costly but come on

[Curtis325is]

Here is an incomplete parts list that BMW332i used to make his car...although most people will omit a lot of this it goes to show how fast a project can grow. And the estimated hours for all this is 103 hours - which could easily cost over $10,000 just in labour. He posted receipts once, and the project was well over $20k...granted he didn't cut any corners and bought new parts where he could.

[akorcovelos]

Though that may be the "right" way to do it, it can be done for far less. With that said, I am now almost 5k into building my M20 stroker, and I still haven't gotten to the turbo setup yet, so yeah either option will be expensive if done right.

[elguapo84]

For an s52 swap: budget about 5k for the engine/parts (granted not all brand new parts), and then add in your turbo parts and the labor to put it all together.

[hugh jass]

Here is an incomplete parts list that BMW332i used to make his car...although most people will omit a lot of this it goes to show how fast a project can grow. And the estimated hours for all this is 103 hours - which could easily cost over $10,000 just in labour. He posted receipts once, and the project was well over $20k...granted he didn't cut any corners and bought new parts where he could.

dude Trevor had Turner do his swap and spared no expense. no one has spent more than he did on a twincam swap. his is not a realistic example. you can do a complete s52 swap for well under 10 grand if you do the work yourself.

[amonster]

I did the S50 swap this last year. I now smile from ear to ear every time I stab the gas. The only mistake I made was opening up the donor engine. My thoughts were since it is out...... This became a money dumping project. These engines are just so good as is, unless your donor engine has a ton of miles in it, just drop it in and have some fun! Now I am on to the 5-lug conversion. So far complete information has been much harder to come by. I am new to this forum, and hopefully things will clear up soon.

[SpecM]

To do an M50 or S52 properly you need to replace the diff, driveshaft, tranny, exhaust, cooling system, a bunch of wiring, brake booster, tach and maybe speedo. You should do the brakes to keep up with the extra power. You will probably want to rebuilt the motor and replace the clutch/flywheel.

-Umm you can re-use e30 tranny, d-shaft, and diff. Cooling system is almost the same. Tach and speedo? C'mon...
-Brakes are very compitent on an e30. Motor rebuild is expensive and not needed. But yeah you should replace the clutch haha...

[golde30]

my s50 swap came out a lil over $10K. i had the s50 rebuilt though, and replaced every lil part i could find.

[makaveli2k]

yeah thats what i think i am going to do. i love the sound of m20 engines idk why people like quiet cars. unless your talking about like a luxury cars then thats a different story. e30s are old fast sports cars there so post to be noisy

... Try again.

M50 Non Vanos takes very well too boost. if you're looking for a 24 valve motor with great potential without the cost of an Sxx Motor. that should be your number one choice.