S5X e30 or turbo m20

[azael325i]

Same here, never have they said anything about pop the hood.

[reelizmpro]

Been pulled over plenty of times but never been asked to pop my hood. Don't drive like a douche and they won't have a reason to. Also helps if your car is discreet. Technically, lots of mods are illegal its just a matter of the cops enforcing it. Turbo bmws aren't exactly common street racers.

[craiggroves91]

I've been pulled over a few times (for tint, tail lights, etc) and never once have they asked anything about the car. I've got 2 gauges in my center AC vents and a roll bar too.

Same here, never have they said anything about pop the hood.

Been pulled over plenty of times but never been asked to pop my hood. Don't drive like a douche and they won't have a reason to. Also helps if your car is discreet. Technically, lots of mods are illegal its just a matter of the cops enforcing it. Turbo bmws aren't exactly common street racers.

Cops in San Jose are quite douchey.

[Farbin Kaiber]

Hood popping is much more common in the Honda crowd.

[Dozyproductions]

m62

[reelizmpro]

I would say this...even though a turbo m20 will make more power initially, you can modify your NA S52 to make similar power later on as well and have the benefit of newer technology, more reliable power and many bolt on upgrades. You would have a well behaved car with a more usable powerband running on stock BMW stuff. The turbo M20 on MS or similar will need to be tuned and setup properly. It's a bit more touchy when it comes to cold starts, plug fouling, etc. It's not a closed loop system like the factory engine management is. In addition, you can never officially smog a turbo car. It will fail the visual unless the tech ignores it and the lack of check engine light. You are more likely to get away with an engine swap since you're using factory BMW wiring/DME.

[Wanganstyle]

Oh and you can't BAR a S54 swap. ;)

Why not just swap in the 2.8 and run it NA for now? Do the boost later.

I can BAR a S54 swap. Why are you unable to?

S54 is not that expensive, you just have to have a budget to handle one.

Are you afraid of the S54??? have you ever done a s54 swap?

You won't be able to use Victor Reinz gaskets sets or mc master car hardware or other common cheap bits on an S54...

Nor will you be able to promote mystery porting done for "improvements". Are against it for personal gain reasons?

S54 is full factory brilliance; A full OEM CNC head - change the grinch attitude to promote innovation and ADVANCEMENT.



Do you know what it feels like to wind out to 8400 RPM? Pretty DAMM good. Ducati style rocker arm bucket less valvetrain is stock for S54; feels wild and sounds exotic.

This equation is pretty fair: money is the same.

S54 full swap (10k) => a fresh built OEM M20(3.5K)+new USA turbo kit (5k) and tuning (1.5k)

S54 swap will be advantageous in flexibility and running costs compared to a turbo mill. Turbocharger = an extra engine to support and pay for.

S54 i think is out of the question.
What does a s54 cost these days?

Buying another e36 m3 has been a consideration too! I miss mine :(


Thanks for your opinion :)

e36M for track rat purposes come up really often in the bay area; so easy to buy and gut for the weekend!

Make up weight with a sawzall like would never think of doing to a nice e30. Much quicker and you don't feel bad if it gets beat up on track :)

a lot of nicer garaged e36m's are also dropping in price.

S54 expense is under 10k all said and done - I'd guesstimate about 6-7k (installed running) on the low end with stock DME and airbox/exhaust setup and DIY install/diy wiring integration of OEM MSS54 DME. Aftermarket options can easily run 3-4k for s54 install parts. 5-6k if you are running a standalone DME; tuning is often forgotten.

Cops in San Jose are quite douchey.

Agreed. I did get by with S54 alpha N+catless 60mm twin pipes e36M3 in cupertino for an entire summer of madness in saratoga; local PD saw the car with hood popped parked more than a few times and did not even glance or care to look. S54 properly installed looks FACTORY; is factory. No CHP or local PD is trained in identifying bmw plastics.

[MR 325]

I can BAR a S54 swap. Why are you unable to?

S54 is not that expensive, you just have to have a budget to handle one.

Are you afraid of the S54??? have you ever done a s54 swap?

You won't be able to use Victor Reinz gaskets sets or mc master car hardware or other common cheap bits on an S54...

Nor will you be able to promote mystery porting done for "improvements". Are against it for personal gain reasons?

S54 is full factory brilliance; A full OEM CNC head - change the grinch attitude to promote innovation and ADVANCEMENT.



Do you know what it feels like to wind out to 8400 RPM? Pretty DAMM good. Ducati style rocker arm bucket less valvetrain is stock for S54; feels wild and sounds exotic.

This equation is pretty fair: money is the same.

S54 full swap (10k) => a fresh built OEM M20(3.5K)+new USA turbo kit (5k) and tuning (1.5k)

S54 swap will be advantageous in flexibility and running costs compared to a turbo mill. Turbocharger = an extra engine to support and pay for.

Douchebag much?

Sure you can BAR a S54 swap but the average R3V'r can not. It's a lot different than BARing a M/S50 that's for sure.

Am I somehow not a knowledgeable person because I've never bolted a S54 in to an E30? It's no more difficult to drop in than the other 24v engines and I find that to be fairly easy. I realize the S54 is getting cheaper by the day but I would hardly call it a "cheap" swap. It's going to cost 8k to do it right and that's with no labor costs. Whoever is giving you the figures for your M20 build is a little off.

Bashing the parts I sell and the people I represent just shows your own ignorance. Nobody is forcing you to like the work I/we do or the parts we sell but to talk shit with no first hand experience is just silly. We're clearly doing something right, we've sold 25ish M20 cylinder heads and have yet to run out of work. I'm allowed to like the M20, period.

[MR 325]

PS: Didn't your S54 blow up?

[Wh33lhop]

Bashing the parts I sell and the people I represent just shows your own ignorance. Nobody is forcing you to like the work I/we do or the parts we sell but to talk shit with no first hand experience is just silly.

And this is exactly how you gracefully handle baseless accusations. :up:

[JinormusJ]

[VinniE30]

s54 is the only 24V swap worth the time/money/effort. s52 and garbage s50 are just pedestrian engines; might as well just keep the M20 stock engine in there for the difference. M52 and s50 and S52 are all the same thing; my butt dyno dosnt care about increments of 10-30 hp. Give me an 340 Horsepower or more and I will be interested. Drive a corvette/M5/STi or Evolution once in your life and its over; 240hp is not enough; I'd honestly like about 500hp.

[JA1991]

I say turbo because that's what i plan on doing.

[greanthumb]

Wow^ lol.

[greanthumb]

Just spun a bearing on the m42. Interesting thread.