things to watch out for with m30

[booostit]

im thinking about just doing a m50nv swap and just collecting parts for a turbo build before i put the motor in. still have time to think and weigh everything out

[StereoInstaller1]

If you consider fun as the barometer, M30 is way more fun than a 24V car for half (or less) the moo-lah

[browntown]

go find the m30 swap section and read for hours. then read the m/s5x swaps and read for hours. Each has their benefits, which have been debated here for a long time. Big expenses for 24v are the motor/booster/wiring harness. Big expenses for the m30 are the mount arms, and driveshaft. Electrical on m30 is made much easier if your car already has motronic 1.1 or 1.3, you can use your m20 wiring harness. The engine is almost identical in the way it works.

It really comes down to what's available to you, and your comfort level with different procedures. I personally have no interest in doing the wiring for a s50. I'd just buy the treehouse adapter and be done with it, but that'll take more money.

Read the subforums till your eyes bleed, look at your budget and skill levels, and determine what you want from your car. It is a very personal choice. All of the above can be fast.

[george graves]

^yep - the only thing that browntown did mention, and most people don't really bother to put into words, is that a m/s50 is a totally different feeling motor.

The m/s50 feels more like a top - or electric motor. It's smooth - and I don't say this as an insult, but it's much more like a honda motor as far a feel (to me anyways)

Where as the m30 is a bit more ruff around the edges - it's lumpy sometimes - it'll vibrate the hell out of your foot when the gas petal is pegged and you are at 6000 rpm's. It's feels like a 90's BMW motor.

As an old school gear head that love the smell of gas - the m30 is where it's at. That's why we all go crazy for them. They fit the car. They just feel right.

Now, if you want to make you e30 more modern, then a m/s50 might suit you better. But it's kinda boring IMHO. Not the same feel.

HTH.

[booostit]

go find the m30 swap section and read for hours. then read the m/s5x swaps and read for hours. Each has their benefits, which have been debated here for a long time. Big expenses for 24v are the motor/booster/wiring harness. Big expenses for the m30 are the mount arms, and driveshaft. Electrical on m30 is made much easier if your car already has motronic 1.1 or 1.3, you can use your m20 wiring harness. The engine is almost identical in the way it works.

It really comes down to what's available to you, and your comfort level with different procedures. I personally have no interest in doing the wiring for a s50. I'd just buy the treehouse adapter and be done with it, but that'll take more money.

Read the subforums till your eyes bleed, look at your budget and skill levels, and determine what you want from your car. It is a very personal choice. All of the above can be fast.

trust me one of my eyes are bleeding reading this literally. ( dont really remember saint patties day too well...) ive been on r3v reading all of it. but from what it seems like it doesnt look like the wiring on the s/m5x swaps is really that hard.. or it just might be everything running together from reading all day but the other option i was considering was a ls1 swap which i am sure is alot worse..?

[booostit]

^yep - the only thing that browntown did mention, and most people don't really bother to put into words, is that a m/s50 is a totally different feeling motor.

The m/s50 feels more like a top - or electric motor. It's smooth - and I don't say this as an insult, but it's much more like a honda motor as far a feel (to me anyways)

Where as the m30 is a bit more ruff around the edges - it's lumpy sometimes - it'll vibrate the hell out of your foot when the gas petal is pegged and you are at 6000 rpm's. It's feels like a 90's BMW motor.

As an old school gear head that love the smell of gas - the m30 is where it's at. That's why we all go crazy for them. They fit the car. They just feel right.

Now, if you want to make you e30 more modern, then a m/s50 might suit you better. But it's kinda boring IMHO. Not the same feel.

HTH.

my friend has a 91 525i m50nv that i have driven and i know exactly what you are talking about with the smoothness it shifts like butter compared to my m20. like as if it was a modern motor. i might be sounding stupid right now sorry if i am

[StereoInstaller1]

If you consider fun as the barometer

^yep - the only thing that browntown did mention, and most people don't really bother to put into words, is that a m/s50 is a totally different feeling motor.

The m/s50 feels more like a top - or electric motor. It's smooth - and I don't say this as an insult, but it's much more like a honda motor as far a feel (to me anyways)

Where as the m30 is a bit more ruff around the edges - it's lumpy sometimes - it'll vibrate the hell out of your foot when the gas petal is pegged and you are at 6000 rpm's. It's feels like a 90's BMW motor.

As an old school gear head that love the smell of gas - the m30 is where it's at. That's why we all go crazy for them. They fit the car. They just feel right.

Now, if you want to make you e30 more modern, then a m/s50 might suit you better. But it's kinda boring IMHO. Not the same feel.

HTH.

I only know of one guy who has had both in the same car, that would be Seth. He said the M30 is way more "fun", which is that torquey, rumbly, grumpy beast of a motor that cannot seem to see open road ahead of it without rushing to redline.

Yeah, plenty of other motors are "fast", but that isn't what I am talking about here. These motors are rough, angry bastards. They feel like they are gonna rip free of their cages and fly off into the sunset shrieking at seven thousand revolutions per minute, with you hanging on to the gearshift for dear life, grinning from ear to ear.

[Jean]

I love the sound of B35 revving to 6-7k, it makes such angry sounds hehehe

[booostit]

I've been really thinking about it and I think I am gonna go m30 but for the fact that the motor is so cheap I have more money to work with so I'm gonna either buy a soda blaster and restore the entire cr or just turbo it. How satisfying is a cammed m30? Do peolpe stroke them at all?

[browntown]

source a b35 first. Start rebuilding it and freshening it up. A chip does a lot, but if you got the coin turbo from tcd and get it done. Spend 10 bucks up front and buy franks writeup, then decide your budget. If you have 5k kicking around, go ahead and turbo it. If you work paycheck to paycheck like most of us, buy the motor, freshen it up and decide what you're willing to spend.

[booostit]

I'll probably wind up doing it slow but want to have it on the street by september for h2o. Can anybody recomend a good website for m30 parts?

[browntown]

Any bmw factory parts, email steve@blunttech.com

Otherwise, if you can't mix and match the right length driveshaft, go to http://www.driveshafts.com/ for portland driveline service

As for the mounts, there are a couple guys here on the board that will build them for you to the tune of about $300. Otherwise tino in deutschland is your other option. Look at http://www.e30.de/335i/00.htm

[E30SPDFRK]

trust me one of my eyes are bleeding reading this literally. ( dont really remember saint patties day too well...) ive been on r3v reading all of it. but from what it seems like it doesnt look like the wiring on the s/m5x swaps is really that hard.. or it just might be everything running together from reading all day but the other option i was considering was a ls1 swap which i am sure is alot worse..?

If you think wiring a 24v is easy, then what is to complain about with m30 wiring? The are exactly the same thing if you start with a 25 pin m30 harness. The advantage the m30 has though is you can get a 20 pin harness and plug it directly in, no modifications necessary.

Transmissions are simple to find, on some the factory selector rods will fit right in. M20 transmission supports fit perfect too, so you don't need to have one modified.

No brake booster modifications are necessary.

Some Driveshafts fit right in, same as 24v swaps.


Performance-wise, an m30 and an m50 are pretty much the same swap. I've driven and done some pulls with both and they are pretty much dead even. In feel they are very different, but in reality they aren't.

[booostit]

Can somebody recomend a good website for m30 internals? Besides oem

[Adrian_Visser]

My e28.com is going to be a better source of information than r3v for m30 stuff afaik.