I know we've all seen this , but what can i do to my m50..

[Brian e30]

Hello all ,

1989 bmw 325i , m50 swapped ,
getrag 260 tranny ,
sex.

non vanos i believe. (1991 bmw 525i)


I have a stock m50 goin into my e30 .. the swap is basically done I'm just waiting to give my mechanic this clutch and he will be finished ..

my question is , What MAIN , MAINN, MAINNNN things should I first do to this engine to start getting major performance .. i was going to go towards boosting it, but I'm about to start college for emt and paramedics (firefighter) and i need to save up for my own house , etc . I went from having a 320 hp neon srt4 to this .. so i need to have a fast car .. should i get headers and a chip first ? do head work ? go for full bolt ons ? (intake , exhaust , headers) thats obvious, but what main things should i first start doing .. I've done my research , so don't flame please . thanks

[Farbin Kaiber]

Is it VANOS, or Non?

[Brian e30]

non vanos i believe .. it was from a 1991 525i

[Farbin Kaiber]

Take a look at Janderson's thread, he did an amazing NV m50 swap. There is less bolt on ease with the NV's because they were a much shorter production run than the VANOS m50/s50 m52/s52. I'd look at the Castros Air Box, the eBay headers, 21.5# injectors.

[ill4noreason]

If your not going turbo its not gonna be anywhere as fast as that shitbox neon but it will still be way funner. chip bolt ons good tires...

[Brian e30]

^ of course not man but it will hold me off for a good little bit ..

@farbin kaiber thanks for that man i wasn't even thinking injectors ..

[bubbajan21]

I really don't think an NV M50 with bolt-ons is going to max out stock injectors.

[Brian e30]

bigger ones sure wouldn't hurt though

[ak-]

Add m3 cams to the list and get a proper tune.
I'd boost it if I were you though.

The characteristics and fun handling ability is what gets me fuzzy inside with these cars, not outward speed :D

[Farbin Kaiber]

^No VANOS cams in Non-VANOS engine IIRC.

[Fusion]

Opinions on Active Autowerke SC kit?
Anyone here done it to M50nv?

[Brian e30]

so once again guys .. what should i first start doing ? Lol i already mentioned i know what I'm doing here I'm no car noob , i just don't know which ones i should do first .. I'm looking toward the cost effective way

[M3TROY]

so once again guys .. what should i first start doing ? Lol i already mentioned i know what I'm doing here I'm no car noob , i just don't know which ones i should do first .. I'm looking toward the cost effective way

turbo, anything else is a waste of time from what your comming from.
M50/52 is barly any better than an M20 (and i own a M52 with headers intake chip ex ex ex) all that = still slow.

by the time you buy cams, intake chip ex ex ex you will still be slower than a stock S50 for about the same money.
my advice to you would be get an S50 or turbo the M52 but DONT waste any money moding the M52 expecting big power gains other than turboing it.
not trying to be harsh about it just the hard facts.
best of luck to you what ever way you go.

cheers

[TurboJake]

Off topic, but I'm confused.
Why do you NEED a fast car?

[Farbin Kaiber]

Duh, cuz he want's to drive Code 3 everywhere.