To swap or to turbo?

[325ix]

Turbo m5x is always a nice option.

[Gordo0208]

I think buding the M20 NA is an awesome idea but, we have to be realistic about how expensive it is. To get CLOSE to what you want you would need the following and more stuff which I probably forgot.
s52 Crank
M52B28 rods (they're the lightest so you take loosen ponies by reducing rotating assembly weight)
Metric Mechanic 86mm pistons with a compression of @ minimum 11:1
885 Head ported and polished yada yada
Some really radical cam
HD Rockers & eccentrics
Dual valve springs and titanium retainers
i'm not sure of an extrude honed manifold is necessary but i don't see why it would hurt
Bigger TB
Bigger injectors
And of course the tuning!!! Metric Mechanic should be able to guide you in the right direction of this build if you give them a call. REALLY REALLY NICE AND KNOWLEDGEABLE folks.
To save money I would really recommend doing most of the work yourself. And expect a to spend $5k+
It'll definitely be unique tho.
Whatever way you decide to go I wish you the best of luck man

[ST1G]

S85 swap.

[JinormusJ]

I suck

Im sorry to hear that Abby

Keep your head up. Confidence will rebound eventually





;D

[rturbo 930]

For you, definitely S54. It's the only choice there that meets all the criteria.

[Dj Buttchug]

Ak & JinormusJ are in this thread...









































I have a weird boner

[whitebulat22]

Thanks again dudes, I'm gonna see what becomes available over time and if I see a bargain, I'll steal the M50 / M52 / M62 / S54 from whoever it is. I'm sure any BMW DOHC inline 6 or V8 will give me what I'm looking for and for now I'll just enjoy some 40 mpg while getting to know the handling. If fate demands I'll go

.

[blunttech]

Turbos suck

lol

[golde30]

Built m20 is waste of money, it's purely for nostalgia. Do a 24V swap, keep it stock and get it BARd. Then after you have the BAR sticker, do what you like, as long as it passes sniffer.

[JinormusJ]

To swap or to turbo?

Built m20 is waste of money, it's purely for nostalgia. Do a 24V swap, keep it stock and get it BARd. Then after you have the BAR sticker, do what you like, as long as it passes sniffer.

Not entirely true.

Built m20 means all the cool gadgets and features that came on the car (OBC and Check Panel) will run like clockwork after the build (minus bigger injectors, but there are ways around that)

A swap would require extra steps of a few of those features to function normally.


If those features mean something to you, then yes, keeping it OEM+ is worth it

[rturbo 930]

Not entirely true.

Built m20 means all the cool gadgets and features that came on the car (OBC and Check Panel) will run like clockwork after the build (minus bigger injectors, but there are ways around that)

A swap would require extra steps of a few of those features to function normally.

It would be much easier to do the mods to make those features work (if you even have an OBC to begin with) than to put in the extra effort and expense to build an M20 to 300whp. Seems like there's only a few people making that kind of power, and they all seem to be in Australia. As far as I know, most of them (both of them?) seem to go with an AMC head over the 885, so you'd have to track down one of those too. And that head needs to be reworked to flow enough to support that power, which means you need to send it off to someone who knows what to do.

Fact of the matter is, a 24v swap is a much better choice than an M20. You could argue that the M20 is better because it's lighter, but the weight could be offset by a CF hood and/or AC delete, or go with something with an aluminum block. Yeah, you can build an M20 to 300whp... but I personally know of only about 2 people who have done that. Both were race engines. An S54 will make the same power and still be streetable.

[TheTacoMan]

When it comes to N/a bmw Inline sixes Id personally choose a s54, however a turbo m20 is a great power platform provided you do your research and learn from others. It takes alot of work to a get a high h/p m20, that Id rather put to a 24v engine, but as far as turbos I like my 12v.

[golde30]

Not entirely true.

Built m20 means all the cool gadgets and features that came on the car (OBC and Check Panel) will run like clockwork after the build (minus bigger injectors, but there are ways around that)

A swap would require extra steps of a few of those features to function normally.


If those features mean something to you, then yes, keeping it OEM+ is worth it

My obc and check panel work fine. I didn't have to do anything extra. Only feature that will be off is range and mpg, which weren't very accurate to begin with.

[Kevinl]

I'd say no to the S54 $4-5000 for a engine that needs rod bearings and will need them changed again at M20 timing belt intervals

quote from this website http://www.langracing.com/finding-a-...aring-failure/

"Some might say that its best just to replace the S54 rod bearings as part of regular maintenance, perhaps every 50k miles or so. I think this is a good suggestion but it also carries an expense and is a bandaid on a permanent problem."

[nando]

You're exaggerating a bit with that statement.