most cost effective swap?

[VinniE30]

M20 2.7 turbo vs. M30 vs. M5x vs. M60 vs. LS1

Which setup do you think is the most cost effective way to go as far as the amount of power output and reliablity goes?

Or if you have a better one tell us.

Since you mentioned reliability I would rule out the turbo right away.

The M30 is cheap to buy, cheap to swap in, cheap to rebuild, and cheap and very easy to maintain, even moreso than an m20. In stock form you will have 208HP and around 220-230 with a good flowing exhaust and tune.

An M50 is simular to the m30 in costs except more expensive and complicated to rebuild. Around 190HP stock and 200-210 with good flowing exhaust and tune.
M52, S50, and S52 cost more to buy but give more power in stock and modified form, up to 240HP stock for an S52 and around 280 with basic modifications necessary for the swap anyway. But keep in mind, the S52 cost upfront at the very least twice the cost of a simular condition m30, m50, or m52.
I would say the reliability for all these is close to the same as the m30, very good. It depends more on what old wear items you replace on the engine than what kind of engine it is in this case.

Now the M60 and the LS1.
These are both in a completely different ballgame as far as costs go.

The M60 will get you to 300HP with good flowing exhaust which will need to be custom anyway. I know m60 engines themselves are relatively cheap, easily cheaper than an s52. But this swap is way more complicated, time consuming, and more costly overall than an M30 or M5X.

The LS1 gets you more power than the M60 but is just as involved to swap, if not more as the M60, and the engine itself is much more expensive, and the other swap related costs are just as much.

So there's the rundown.
If you want an actual answer to which one is the most cost effective you have to define that somehow. For example additional HP over stock (318 or 325?) or total end result HP (with or without mods and to what extent?) per dollar spend (for the engine itself or total cost of swap? and does this include a rebuilt because most of these engine are 10-20+ years old)..........
I would just do all the research you can on what's involved to swap these and weither you are prepared to do that and make the decision for yourself.

[e30construction]

i wanna m30 2 lol..what car does the 3.5 ltr m30 come in?

[chance]

M30 isn't that hard at all. Need custom mounts, custom exhaust, and a jumper harness if you don't have an m20 car.

Doesn't get much easier that that.

[F34R]

Maybe I heard wrong but I had heard that the m30 was definitely more difficult to fit than a 24v motor.

With proper engine mounts and moved back into the firewall it is like swapping a big m20.

I think the M30 is the best cheap power you can snag. Chain drive, 3.5ltr, and with the big out put drive shaft it is plug in and play.

The pinout for the c101 is also a snap, my 89 pinout needed no changes except for the oil level sensor and tach.

With mild boost I will be making more power than any engines listed above. I invested about 350.00 into the head gasket and reseal everything. That includes hoses and hardware, I am sure most on here will not buy that stuff.

I paid about 400.00 for the engine and transmission. I know I am missing a few things in the 350.00 of replaced stuff. So let's say 900.00 for engine and all new stuff to make it happy.

That is cheaper than an s50 any day of the week. Grated I did all labor and have the skills to make it happen. I will have a proper turbo setup for under 2k

So 3k with odds and ends and me doing all the welding. That is damn good, and cheaper than an s52 swap.

[N2MYE30]

Ive swapped my M20 that was working just fine for an M50. The process was straight forward and the gains were moderate. I could probably get a few ponies more but im done. The one vintage BMW engines that have impressed me have been boosted. If it were me and had time to mess with it, M20 turbo is what would be my choice. Although, a NA M20 with ITB would be my ideal engine...within reason.

[Bimmerguy91]

Maybe I heard wrong but I had heard that the m30 was definitely more difficult to fit than a 24v motor.

[issabmw]

Honeywell AGT1500.

[Kozworth]

I'd say the only cost effective swaps are the m30/m50 solely because you can break even or make money by getting the common cars these engines come in as donors for cheap.

I would not personally swap an m50 if I did not get it for free. For the work and little gains In hp I feel the engine isn't worth paying for. But I am m20 biased, I just like the drive and feel of the e30 with its designed counterpart.

[Chriskbmx]

yeah nothing hard about an m30 and now that f34r is making mounts everyone is good.

[LowR3V'in]

Hi Bimmergy91, it should be noted that the M30 swap is fairly EASY.

Everything is bolt on bmw. Even the m20 engine harness hooks up.
The power steering lines hook up. Is it fairly difficult to bolt in an m20
in a 318i? Maybe for some, but generally it is the easiest and cheapest
engine upgrade.
:hitler:

[Bimmerguy91]

m30 extremely reliable-not to much extra power over an m20
LS1 not as reliable as m20/m30-way more power and not very expensive, cheap upgrades
m5x reliable- not a whole lot of power in stock form
m60 pricey to build but reliable, good power and still a bmw engine (if that matters to you)


Honestly I would do an s50 swap. Theres lots of possibilities for performance and its very reliable, Plus I like staying straight 6 in e30s when it comes to swaps.

Depends on which M30. The big M30 makes alot more power than the M20. It should be noted that the M30 swap is fairly difficult. The LS1 also is extremely reliable I don't know where you're getting that information. My opinion is that a good swap for the money is an M50/52 or S50/52 because they are fairly inexpensive and with a few different factory bits from different models they are essentially a direct bolt in job. The easiest of all of the swaps mentioned.

[nando]

i live in cali so turbos a no go but i think a metric mechanic 3.8 liter would be fun 300 naturally aspirated horse power would be fun

Would also cost as much or more as an s54 and likely not pass emissions (if it really makes 300+ hp).

[chance]

^^^^^ Hell yes it would.

That would be raw awesome power.

[Herr Faust Schinken]

I deleted AC a while back. You have room for the compressor, but the condenser may or may not fit with a pusher fan on the front of the radiator.

I am planning on running power steering, but havent hooked it up yet.

for about the same cost, I would definitely do a turbo m30 over a s5x.

Now, if I could just get the money to turbo mine....

i live in cali so turbos a no go but i think a metric mechanic 3.8 liter would be fun 300 naturally aspirated horse power would be fun

[Chriskbmx]

i want a turbo m30 e28 so bad!!!