m50 ~ s50

[yberther]

I'm looking to do a larger summer project for my car and have decided that the m50 would be good.

I'm wondering other than the lifters, individual throttle bodies, cam and head are there other big differences between the e36 m3's s50 and the m50??
would it be better just to swap in a s50, if I can find one?

still reading and educating myself before making any decisions so any help would be nice...

[FredK]

Well, the US M3 has either an S50US or S52US. Neither engine has individual throttle bodies. They are bored and stroked versions of the M50/52, with slightly hotter cams. The power jump is reasonably large between the 2.5L M50 and the 3.0L S50.

The valvetrain is slightly different in that the S5xUS engines have conical valve springs for reduced mass.

Do not be convinced by people who say that the M50 with S50US cams (a popular upgrade) has nearly the same power as an S50US. It may have similar peak figures, but throughout the ENTIRE powerband it is lacking area under the curve in comparison. Still, nearly 200 whp with software and cams on a hotted up M50 is still fairly serious, and is pretty much out of the territory of any hotted up NA M20.

[E30SPDFRK]

Wrong section, btw.

[FredK]

haha, I didn't even notice that this was posted in the M30 section!