Which engine would you choose for a swap?

[Motheye99]

Why is this a question

I paid 250$ for a junkyard m54. So that's 50-100x's less than a s14. The E34 oil pan is going to cost me as much :(. I have a m42 and spent a year reading on what it would take to make 200hp and it costs tons, and weighs marginally less than a M54.

[nrubenstein]

S14 if cost no object.
M4x stroker for budget handling.
M54 for daily driver grunt - no other engine on this list will happily cruise on the highway with tall gearing and an overdrive.

[MrBurgundy]

M54, hands down.

TORQUEEEEEE BRO

[e30austin]

If the S14 was a B25 variant, the choice would be simple.

M54.

[Andrew325is]

If you were going to swap an engine into an E30 which would you choose? Would your decision be different if cost was not a factor? Which would make you smile the most behind the wheel? For any of these choices you can leave it stock, build it up for max NA power, or turbo/supercharge it. If you don't want to swap then select the one you're going to keep.

1, 24V (M50, S54, N52, etc)

2. M42/M44

3. S14 (any variant)

4. M10

5. M20

6. Big Six (M30, S38, M88, etc)

7. V8 (M60, S62, S65, etc)

8. Diesel (M21, M51, M57, etc)

9. Non-BMW engine (Chevy, Honda, etc)