M30 swap & Handling? Need advise plz

[KrautnotRice]

I realized I mistakenly assumed we were talking about an E30. My advice is ask your same question on mye28.

Nah, mye28 be hatin' on the m20. Everybody there has an m30. 'Sides, I doubt many E28 owners are into handling as much as I am, and for cruising of course the m30 is better.
Having said that, most E28s are quite a bit heavier than mine. For example, '85 and up us spec 535i / 535is (represents the majority of E28 enthusiasts on mye28 ) weigh in around 3275 lbs without any stereo / added weight accessories. Automatic adds another 44 lbs.

Mine was weighed at 2953 lbs. (80 lbs more than a '89 325is w/sunroof)
Only weight reduction done at that time was aftermarket manifold back exhaust. But I got more up my sleeve ... :)

Thank you everybody for chiming in.

[Bearmw]

Not everyone hates on the m20 E28 but I hear you. Gutting a car to improve handling isn't rocket science but if you can live with it being not too comfortable as in maybe much more NVH have at it. E28's are heavy pigs and are good at what they were designed for...generally eating up a lot of miles in relative comfort but with a sporting feel. You can certainly reinvent the wheel by making an E28 into a handling beast (at the expense of daily driving comfort) or you can make it into a point and shoot missile with a Lsx motor swap or a turbo M30 or whatever. It all comes down to personal taste, your budget, and your willingness to experiment to dial in the best combo FOR YOU. My idea of a good handling E28 might be different than yours or someone else's. If you are serious about E28 handling you might want to consider Moosehead UCA bushings as part of the package. A lot comes down to your budget and expectations.

[Bimmer_man]

I just wanted to say something really quick. If your going to get the m30b35 block that's lighter have it inspected for cracking from the coolant jackets to the stud holes. That block is VARY prone to cracking there and can cause issues down the line. The older blocks are less prone to cracking and imo are just a safer bet.

[totheredline]

I ended up going with the earlier, heavier B34 block for my build. Im not running PS, AC, ABS or efi so the front end should still be pretty light.

[FubarE28]

M20B27 to M30b34 doesn't affect handling at all, or it didn't with my swap anyways.