Little bit of advice from you turboed e30 owners.

[e30Villain]

I have owned my eta for a little over a year now. I invested most of my money on getting it on its feet and in working condition. The only aesthetics i have done are bumper conversions and i installed a rear apron. Now that she runs great, the money i am collecting can go for mods. I intend on doing suspension work first and maybe after I would like to perhaps turbo it. My question is do e30s lose reliability when they are turboed or is it better do just do an engine swap. Keep in mind i am a college sophomore on a pretty slim budget. Thanks in advance

[TurboJake]

Keep in mind i am a college sophomore on a pretty slim budget.

Might want to stick to N/A...

[andrewm]

Keep it NA. I've done turbo cars. If you've never done it before, don't do it in on a limited budget when it is your only car. But if you want a cheap turbo manifold let me know!

[TimKninja]

A swap would be cheaper and much more reliable. An m50 would be a good choice. Swap can be done for about $1500-2k.

[e30Villain]

Keep it NA. I've done turbo cars. If you've never done it before, don't do it in on a limited budget when it is your only car. But if you want a cheap turbo manifold let me know!

Thats true. I was hoping to collect and maybe take it a shop that is experienced with turbo charging e30s.

A swap would be cheaper and much more reliable. An m50 would be a good choice. Swap can be done for about $1500-2k.

is 2000 worth the hp gain from an m50 though or should i make my eta a 327i.

[reelizmpro]

I have a turbo car with 265rwhp that I hardly use. The power is nice but unless u NEED it...I would go with the factory reliability of an engine swap. I would doat a minimum m52 or s50

[Pl3wA]

yeah, and a swap will take a weekend. a turbo will take a long ass time depending on how prepared you are.

I've been trying to turbo my m50 for 6 months now LOL

[lolcantturn]

Turbo, Budget, and Reliability don't go in the same sentence as MANY learn the hard way. It's simply not feasible, no matter how many good deals you get.

[Wschnitz]

Supercharge m20. Better. A twin screw makes decent hp.

Or do a tuned m30, m52, s50, s52, s54 ( lol you wish).

Its really down to how much an e30 really needs (which it doesnt need alot. I see alot of high hp e30s fight for traction through the first three gears (mainly due to all hp no suspension/bad tires but lol.

And its down to your amount of cash and what time you have.

And what looks prettiest.

Imo, best looking swaps are m30, s38, and s54.

Or if your bonkers an lsX

You should have asked what the price difference is instead.

Price > importance then hp.

Don't go into debt like a moron for a ride that the state of California will take and crush in the crusher if you great caught with shiny turbo bits under hood...

Just do a swap if you can afford it bro.

[e30Villain]

I'm gona look into an m52 swap. I probably won't be doing it myself because I have no tools or a garage. If anyone in the la area knows a good place lmk.

[Balleristic31]

I'm gona look into an m52 swap. I probably won't be doing it myself because I have no tools or a garage. If anyone in the la area knows a good place lmk.

Castros Motorsports. Best swap shop around bar none. :up:

[e30Villain]

Castros Motorsports. Best swap shop around bar none. :up:

Thanks ill look em up. I really wish i had an engine crane and a garage so i could learn. I prefer a shop that would allow me to help them out as well.

[MR 325]

I've had both a S50 swapped E30 and a 2.7L M20 Turbo E30.

The turbo car is clearly more fun (and faster) but there's no question that doing a swap is going to be the more reliable choice. Not only that, it's not exactly worth it to turbo an Eta engine. You're talking about needing to swap to an 885 cylinder head, i wiring harness, Megasquirt, dyno tuning, etc etc. As other have said, turbo and budget rarely go hand in hand.

What part of CA are you in?

[blunttech]

As stated....A Turbo car should be your 2nd car

[Emre]

I still think an M20B25 is a great engine for an E30. I never saw the need to swap. With proper suspension set-up and a talented driver, you can keep up with much faster machinery. Save your money for HPDE.