Why people go with Non-BMW Engine swaps?

[bimmer_E30]

What's so cool about that? isn't the fun part about a BMW is it's Engine and charecter? an E30 or a BMW with a non Bmw engine, has no charecter or whatsoever.

i think it's pretty lame...i see tons of people going with no BMW swaps, and spending tons of money just to make there bmw "Reliable", we all know that BMW+Reliable doesn't mix.

Discuss:p

[Simon S]

i dunno - one of those LS_ motors wit' the V8 chebby growl and [!] torque would make for some good times..

[Thehemiman]

Some people who do it might not be bmw enthusiasts and are simply looking for a hella fast car. You can put in an american v8 that has lots of aftermarket support, is cheaper than german, and can make more hp per $$. Some people like it but it's not my thing.

Speaking of swaps...when is someone with $$ gonna take a wrecked e92 m3 and swap all that good stuff into an e30? It needs to be done.

[nando]

yay more retarded posts from bimmer_e30

my car is as reliable as any honda or toyota..

[RickSloan]

its like owning only an e32 and no e30 and hanging out in an e30 forum all day...

some people are just funny

[kronus]

Because it's a cheap, old car and keeping everything BMW serves no purpose when there are better engines with more capability for less money and with far greater availability?

Seriously, I love my e30, however I do not put it on a pedestal of holiness, because that makes little practical sense.

[87e30]

yay more retarded posts from bimmer_e30

my car is as reliable as any honda or toyota..

Eh. Because you put the work in to make it that way.

The beautiful about the old honda's and toyota's are you can just ignore the maintenance shit and they keep going. At least that's how mine was. Very different from the e30.

[Pinepig]

They have no skills.

[RickSloan]

my e30 when it had an eta and my e12 that i currently daily, i ignore and maintain very poorly, the e30 had maybe 2 quarts of oil when i pulled the eta and both are and were great, super reliable and never let me down.

so this realiablility talk is some BS

[E30Nova]

Why does it matter? An engine is an engine. BMW's are supposed to be made for driving, any engine will be able to manage. If it's cheaper to put in a non-BMW motor than to mod an M20 or M42, why not do it?

So if you needed a new heart to be "reliable", would you do it? Or would you just keep yours since anyone else's heart isn't OEM to you?

Matt

[nando]

Eh. Because you put the work in to make it that way.

The beautiful about the old honda's and toyota's are you can just ignore the maintenance shit and they keep going. At least that's how mine was. Very different from the e30.

you mean how I change the oil and put gas in it?

the only things I've had to work on in ages were entirely related to tracking - brake pads, fluid, and a couple wheel bolts that sheared off from getting too hot, etc. So I have to adjust the valves once a year, big deal?

[87e30]

you mean how I change the oil and put gas in it?

the only things I've had to work on in ages were entirely related to tracking - brake pads, fluid, and a couple wheel bolts that sheared off from getting too hot, etc. So I have to adjust the valves once a year, big deal?

Fair enough. Mine is just older and was in rough shape when I got it. Now that I sorted a few things it hasn't given me any problems. :)


But yes, oil changes are optional on old honda's. haha.

e30 does seem to be very reliable. And in issues it might have are not related to the engine. So swap for reliability is stupid.

[nando]

the thing I notice about older BMWs in *general* is if you do the basic maintenance, they rarely have catastrophic failures. Sure, sometimes things break - but you can almost always limp home somehow. It's not like the transmissions suddenly fail (almost every american car has this problem), or the engines throw rods, or the complete electrical system melts down.

maybe your window switched stopped working, so you pop the one out of the passenger side of the console, roll your window back up and when you have time, swap in the extra switch you found at the junkyard. But you still made it home fine. ;)

[balooshinakus]

What's so cool about that? isn't the fun part about a BMW is it's Engine and charecter? an E30 or a BMW with a non Bmw engine, has no charecter or whatsoever.

i think it's pretty lame...i see tons of people going with no BMW swaps, and spending tons of money just to make there bmw "Reliable", we all know that BMW+Reliable doesn't mix.

Discuss:p

Maybe because BMW engines are not only expensive but don't putout nearly the power that American v8s do for the money they cost. If I had the skills to pull of an LS1 swap then there is no way in hell I would waste my time with an s50 swap, for just a bit more money you could have a much much much more capable motor that ways maybe 50lbs more and is more modifiable.

It's a 20 year old car, get over it. Shit, I'd put an LS engine into just about any BMW, because while BMW makes engines that are technically advanced, they aren't generally all that powerful (stfu, I know some of them are). LS engines make power the old fashion and cheap way, displacement.

This isn't a Ferrari we are talking about.. Jeez down here in the Bellevue area all I see are BMW's/Audi/Merc's, theres not very much special about them to me, I think they are nice cool cars but I don't put them on some pedestal.

[Beach Bum]

The only reason I ever got into BMW's was because of my love of their I6 motors. The pinnacle of my motor swap pyramid is an NA S54 making enough power to keep the rear end loose in third gear. I just love the sound and character of the I6's.