m30 experts please

[mikebloco]

I hate autos. I'll probably just end up buying a late 80"s e28 and just using that as my daily and then do crazy things to the e30. Save the m30 build for the car it came in. not sure about the e30 yet. Either built m20 or 1j. I'm waiting for my car to let me know

[totheredline]

Or you could just use a ford c6 automatic like rapidspool

[totheredline]

I got a 265/6 from an early build 1985 535i. It has the detachable bellhousing and the strongest internals. The early e28 260s are garbage. Stay away from them. Later e28s have a much better 260 still not as strong as the 265/6 tho

[Bearmw]

There are various m20 260's which are different from the m30 e28 260/5 and 260/6 (86 on) and e34 260/6. The m20 260 has a different bolt pattern than the m30 block.

[mikebloco]

Didn't some e30's come with g260? Maybe I'm thinking of the 5 speed 240

[george graves]

Frank's write ups are amazing - worth every cent.

[TimeMachinE30]

Well thats a buzzkill

Getrag260 is one that will work.

If you are considering an M30 swap, buy the swap guide from Frank. Good reading.

[mikebloco]

Well thats a buzzkill

[TimeMachinE30]

The m30 is the goal but i'm at a crossroads with what motor to swap in. Build a 2.8 and turbo it, m30, or 1j. The m30 has the best displacement but the vvti 1j makes peak 280 lb lb ft of tq at 2,400-2,500 rpms. Plus theres all the benefits of buying a motor that was designed for boost and comes with a turbo. Then theres the benefit of the m30 and that it bolts in with all factory parts. I've heard people say that the m30 won't work with stock e30 trans. Is this true?

It is very true.

[mikebloco]

The m30 is the goal but i'm at a crossroads with what motor to swap in. Build a 2.8 and turbo it, m30, or 1j. The m30 has the best displacement but the vvti 1j makes peak 280 lb lb ft of tq at 2,400-2,500 rpms. Plus theres all the benefits of buying a motor that was designed for boost and comes with a turbo. Then theres the benefit of the m30 and that it bolts in with all factory parts. I've heard people say that the m30 won't work with stock e30 trans. Is this true?

[lukeADE335i]

If you're going to add boost, then I guess mileage is an issue, but the M30 is extremely durable, so on a well maintained one it's not that big a concern.

Mine had done 300,000km when I put it in my car and it has served as a daily for 3.5 years now, so is up around 350,000km. Doesn't use any oil & on the dyno still made basically the same power as new.

[mikebloco]

Yeah I want the m30 even if its the b34. I've done a lot of research and have found that on a stock b34 on average makes 11 hp and 12 lb ft of torque per lb of boost. So 13 lbs would make (an this is an estimate) 327hp and 366 lb ft. This would get me close to my goal of 300whp and have even more tq.
Aaaaannnnnd 13 lbs is nothing on a quality turbo and it would probably out live the motor

[Bearmw]

A 2.5 or 2.8 turbo sounds nice if done right. An m30T= beast mode.

[mikebloco]

3 months ago I replaced the LCA's and loli pops but just stock OEM ones. So next is RTAB's, ST sway bars and rear poly mounts from IE. Some guy literally 5 minutes ago offered to sell me a b25 block with 100k on it for $100........Now I'm tempted to get it and build a 2.8L.......dammit. Whatever motor ends up in my car is going to be turbo'd but the m30 is just a better platform and starting point. I'm torn guys

[wannaBMthree]

Made and adult decision and instead of buying that motor I bought suspension parts. No sense in putting more power in a car that can't fully handle it. My shocks and struts were toast so I ordered billy sports all around and H&R race springs. Once thats on I'll figure out what camber plates to get. Thinking about the IE street and track ones. My top hats are fine but I don't feel like wearing out my tires even faster.

Good call, another thing I'd recommend are m3 offset CAB's. And RTAB's if in the cards.