M50 stroker or M20 stroker

[BMW B3 2.5]

So i was thinking about building an M50 stroker but one of my friends is telling me that i can get around 220 HP from my M20 that is in my car now so can any one tell me what setup of the two is better and which one would cost less ?

M20 setup:
M20B27 eta block with eta crank
282 ro camshaft
a custom chip with a 7000 rpm redline
a ported and polished head
headers bigger injectors and modified MFA
EDITED: M20B25 pistons and if i go with this build may get a 524Td crankshaft ( forged )


M50 setup :
M50B25 NV
M54B30 crankshaft, pistons ,with new bearings and piston rings
Regrind standard camshafts to 254°/244°
headers and a remap suitable for this engine


can anyone please tell me what are the HP numbers on each of those setups and the cost of each one and which one is better on an E30 ?

[Kevinl]

Neither get a S50b30 and call it a day

[BMW B3 2.5]

i don't want an S5X engine they are expensive to maintain and services thats why for the M50 setup i will go with the non-vanos M50 because it is more simple

[5Toes]

24 valves all day, way better motor I think

Another good build is
m50 block
m52b28 crank
m50 non-VANOS rods
m50tu vanos pistons
m50 head (vanos or not)

[BMW B3 2.5]

5Toes thats a nice build but i would like to go 3.0L with an M50 but thanks

[325ix]

The US s50 is not an a real S engine.

[einhander]

The US s50 is not an a real S engine.

This.

Just get one and you will have your 3L M50.

[MT325is]

Another good build is
m50 block
m52b28 crank
m50 non-VANOS rods
m50tu vanos pistons
m50 head (vanos or not)

What are the numbers for something like this??

[z31maniac]

i don't want an S5X engine they are expensive to maintain and services thats why for the M50 setup i will go with the non-vanos M50 because it is more simple

Huh? It's not an S54.

An S52 is no more maintenance intensive than an M50 or M52 and less maintenance than an M20 since you don't have to have regular valve adjustments and timing belt replacements.

Personally, for old school cool. I'd want an M20 stroker with ITB's.

[Herr Faust Schinken]

M30 done

[evandael]

rated in order of coolness..

m30, m20 stroker (not 2.7i, but rather based on a s52 crank), s52/50.

it doesn't make any sense to stroke an m50 unless you have the engines laying around already.

[Ryann]

I've got a 24v stroker build in the works. TU block bored to 86mm, stock refurb'd TU head, m52 crank (84mm stroke) using 140mm TU rods and custom pistons. Shooting for 200/200, thinking it will be very dependent on the tune.

Something to consider aside from the obvious m20 maintenance downsides is the m50's superior fuel efficiency.

On the other hand the m20 sounds better and isn't shrouded in plastic.

[E30 Wagen]

M50 stroker is what I would do.

[FredK]

It's possible the original poster does not live in the US, in which case the US S50 would not be nearly as available.

You will clearly have the most power with the M50 stroker engine, and it will be quite a bit more expensive than building a 2.7L M20.

Depending on the price of tuning, it may make sense to build an M50TU 3.2L stroker (M54 3.0L crank, 86.5mm pistons, 135mm rods). That way you can buy an off-the-shelf tune for around $250 and it will already be 95% optimized.

[Wh33lhop]

Frankly there is no reason to go for an NV motor over a Vanos motor. There are no performance benefits.