Guys with M50 Swap, how do they drive?

[asianbond]

I'm looking to do a M50 swap with my stock e30 getrag 260 5 speed gearbox. Would be interesting to know how it drives compare to stock 325i.

I like the M50 for it's smoothness and great torque, especially in e34.

I don't like the M20 cause it feel and sounds a bit more coarse and does not have the smooth off the line torquey pull.

Like to hear from guys who has done this swap, is it worth it and how fast is it?

[325Projectz]

Do it!

[blunttech]

save your dough and do an s50/s52. if youre going thru the motion you may as well make it worthwhile. if moneys tight an m50/m52 is a nice platform to build on later. but a stock m50 is kind of uninspiring for the work that goes into it. but they drive nice with little or no penalties that i can feel. maybe a better driver could pick up on the weight difference but it feels well balanced and "normal" to me. mine is stripped of anything not essential

[Brew]

Drives very nicely. I've put about 15k miles on my car since the swap. The motor is a lot smoother and even my chipped non-vanos has better low-end than the m20 motors. My car is decently quick, close to a e46 330i 6MT.

That said, I agree with what Blunt said. In my case, my M20 blew so I needed a replacement and didn't have the cash for a S50. I got used to the power after a few months, so I'm building a stroked M50 that should be good for at least 220whp. Should keep me satisfied for another few months. :roll:

[asianbond]

I'm in Hong Kong so the S50 engine are very rare and pricey if you can find one.

Definitely using a M50 since used completely running 94 525i go for real cheap here. I already bought the donor car.

heard you can put a M3 cam into the m50 vanos engine for some decent power upgrade.

[oh2fly]

Yes, you can put the M3 cams (takes 2) in the m50. You need new software, though. We dynoed ours without the proper chip and it was very lean below 5500. Bimmerworld sells the right chip with used M3 cams.