Engine Swap - Opinions

[RobertK]

stroke the M20...

Too much $$ for too little HP.

[german g]

Too much $$ for too little HP.

???? cheaper than most swaps I can think off.....You can get good power from stroking...

Sounds like you need to own an Asain car, since you are suggesting only JDM swaps, what about SMB or other, why all asian..are you a .................................ricer??

[RobertK]

Far from it.. Just from labor/time/price comparison you would be better off either just turbo charging the M20 or swapping in an S50.

I think Jordan has the best example of a properly built and stroked M20 and right now he's maxed out at 192hp at the wheels and he's spent more time and money than most other people would probably be willing to in order to build a proper M20 stroker.

You have to admit.. when it comes to versatility and reliability the 2JZ beats the M50/M52, S50/52, and M20 hands down. With the right equipment you could easily tune / detune the 2JZ for AutoX or Straight line racing.

If I wanted to stay legit BMW parts only I would go with a built & turbo charged S52 or a stroked S38. The only problem with either of those build up/ swaps is that you could easily spend as much if not more completing those swaps as you could swapping in a 2JZ.

[HST]

Sounds like you need to own an Asain car, since you are suggesting only JDM swaps, what about SMB or other, why all asian..are you a .................................ricer??

There are really no other good, cost effective, choices out there, except a LS1, from any country. Altho i'm very open to suggestions for a different engine choice.

[RobertK]

LS1 E30 FTUW

B20 3 Rotor would be a fun engine.. but very expensive and you can throw reliability out the window.

[german g]

Far from it.. Just from labor/time/price comparison you would be better off either just turbo charging the M20 or swapping in an S50.

I think Jordan has the best example of a properly built and stroked M20 and right now he's maxed out at 192hp at the wheels and he's spent more time and money than most other people would probably be willing to in order to build a proper M20 stroker.

You have to admit.. when it comes to versatility and reliability the 2JZ beats the M50/M52, S50/52, and M20 hands down. With the right equipment you could easily tune / detune the 2JZ for AutoX or Straight line racing.

If I wanted to stay legit BMW parts only I would go with a built & turbo charged S52 or a stroked S38. The only problem with either of those build up/ swaps is that you could easily spend as much if not more completing those swaps as you could swapping in a 2JZ.

I just think that that the 2JZ swap would require alot of fabrication and $$. But , yea, they sound like GREAT motors.
I agree with everything except reliability, m20s are pretty bullittproof from what I've seen and just stroking one to 2.7 and boosting it wouldn't get you near 600hp, but would be a reletively inexpensive way for good fun power..

[RobertK]

I agree with everything except reliability, m20s are pretty bullittproof from what I've seen and just stroking one to 2.7 and boosting it wouldn't get you near 600hp, but would be a reletively inexpensive way for good fun power..

I admit that they are pretty bullet proof in stock form but even with upgraded internals you would hard up trying to maintain 600hp reliably.

The trick to the fabrication side of the 2JZ swap is either learn how to weld and fab yourself or make friend with someone who can. I plan on taking a class on welding soon and I know a few people who are capable of fabricating parts.

[german g]

I admit that they are pretty bullet proof in stock form but even with upgraded internals you would hard up trying to maintain 600hp reliably.

The trick to the fabrication side of the 2JZ swap is either learn how to weld and fab yourself or make friend with someone who can. I plan on taking a class on welding soon and I know a few people who are capable of fabricating parts.

I can weld a little and my friend is a good welder. I dont think the trouble would be knowing how to fabricate but doing it right without having to drop the engine every time an experimental mount breaks...thta would just be the beginning, i wouldn't wanna touch the tuning/ecu/wiring with a very long pole. But if it ends up not being a PITA then it sounds like a great swap (as long as it doesn't throw the wieght dist. off by much, since that IS one of the best parts of an E30)

[bmwmike]

M30 is the cheapest

LS1 ftw if you got the fab skills

[german g]

M30 is the cheapest

LS1 ftw if you got the fab skills

well, ive got the afm, now I just need the engine lol

What are M30s going for?

[RobertK]

You can get them fairly cheap if you know where to look.

I wonder what kind of power can you get out of a stroked / turbo'd M30.

Anyone?

[bmwaddict]

There are so many people who did the m30 e30 swap and it's proven a great swap. A few have also turbocharged it after like Jason (335ist) so I think its a great route to follow.

I bought an e34 535i m30 motor and an e28 5 speed 260/6 Getrag tranny for my swap into my 87 325is. I am rebuilding the m30 now and will install it, once I get it to run well NA, I will proceed to turbocharge it. I have turbocharged my m20 and it worked out well so really excited about doing the same for e30 m30.

I will document and share as much info as I can and will be taking pics and uploading them on my website. I will be using my m20 engine harness, m30 ECU with a turbo chip (I have the chip programmer and will be working with Mark D remotely) and a few other goodies.

Most guys have installed the e28 m30 into 88 and up e30'ies, I may be the first to have the newer m30 (e34) swapped into the older e30, 1987 325is.

I am also rebuilding the suspension/brakes from the ground up with all performance parts. The body is in really great shape, so I am starting out with a perfect platform.

Raphael.

[bmwmike]

I bought an entire 535i/5 speed parts car for $400. At this point theres two routes. Throw it in as is, get a cam, chip and some exhaust and you should already have plenty of power and torque for a little E30 (lets say 250 bhp). Even on car-part.com I see the engines and trannys for 600-700 bucks together, so its the cheapest. And the engine is strong.
Other route would be do what Im doing. Rebuild the engine and get the proper head gasket and head studs, for around $1000-1200. Put the engine in, then gather turbo parts. At this point it depends what parts you get, but you could probably gather everything if you know what your doing for $2000, and then get the car tuned for say another $1000. Or, get TCD's kit for $5000 and itll bolt right on. Either way you can look at 350-400 whp safely which will be ridiculous in an E30. I just think these are good routes because an M50/52 or S50/52 can cost a couple grand alone. And after you bolt them in you still only have 189 hp or 240 with the S motor, but its more spendy. Spend a couple grand and get some decent power though I suppose, but I still couldnt justify spending that money on that motor (I know other people do and it works great, just not me). If you know you'd stay n/a, id actually say the S50 would be the coolest thing to do.

[erik325i]

yeah. i lost track of that site too. was nice. had weights, power outputs, and cars they came from..

anyone ?


.

http://www.bimmerforums.com/engine_faq/

-Erik

[HST]

It there a stroker kit for the M30? A M30 Turbo could put up some sweet HP numbers.....