Noob Need your advice plz

[Brinkley]

Hey all, well I joined the e30 world yesterday ( i also have an e46 328i ) with the purchase of an '85 318i :D It's pretty much bone stock----- and definitely not staying that way.
Couple of questions: I definitely want to get a fair amount of power..somewhere like 250 or so would probably be enough--should i just abandon the m10 and spend the money on an s50 or other powerplant?
And is it necessary to do a 5 lug conversion for bigger rims/brakes or is ok to stick with 4?
And the tranny-- will it bolt to the majority of e36 6cyls and if so, can it handle the power? (diff too)
For now though i need to chase down a minor overheating problem. :)
Any advice at all on what to do/not to do to make a fun well performing track worthy--but street driveable e30 is appreciated.
Also need the following stuff if you have anything let me know:
Rear disc brake conversion
Suspension-- springs / shocks
brake upgrade
Glad to be a part of the e30 world look forward to building an awesome bimmer.

[jex]

Well, the m10 is a freakin bulletproof motor! I had an 84 318i that I drove overheated A LOT!!! I never had any other problems out of it.

It should be a fun project. 250hp in that car would be sick!

[Bimmerboy91]

if you went with a "s" engine swap you'd have to swap out the whole drivetrain.

[Vedubin01]

hello,

Lets see if I can get this right. The best most reliable engine to reach that goal would be the S50/52 power plant. And best bang for the buck. You and use an E30 trans with a custom brace or go with the ZF trans. IF you go that route you would also need a M3 drive shaft. As for brake upgrade I would definitely up grade to disk and you do not have to upgrade to 5 lug. Massive brakes make a great brake upgrade for the 4 lug and is something that I am looking into at this moment. As for the diff, look for something in the 3.25 or 3.46 I think it is. Its the best gear ratio for the swap cars. Suspension, I would go with the ground control kit and replace all the bushings with the poly ones and with that your car would be sound and reliable!

PS post pics of the project!

[Brinkley]

thx guys. I definitely want the power delivery that an S would provide but i want to get an idea of cost and such before just going for it.

[asubimmer]

welcome, ohh and if you want I could send the springs home w/ craig (mr2) since he lives there. I think he is coming to boone when we move in at the end of the month and may be going back to a-town to work another week or something.

[Vedubin01]

To put a cost of what you are looking for and to have it done the right way with an S50/52 swap and the advice that I have listed is going to put you in the $8k to $10k mark. Can save some money if you do the work yourself.

thx guys. I definitely want the power delivery that an S would provide but i want to get an idea of cost and such before just going for it.

[asubimmer]

if you want to see my swap you can come up to boone anytime or maybe I'll go to one of the wnc meets sometime.

[erik325i]

To get up to the power you want, you would have to swap to an s50 or s52. There is an entire subforum dedicated to that motor swap, so start reading up.
I don't think you can use your 318 tranny with the swap, but many people have used the e30 325 Getrag tranny. You have to make a custom tranny brace.

-Erik

[Turf1600]

Turbo your m10. You can easily make 200hp without all the extra weight.

[mtechnik]

Welcome, tuned in to your future project

[Brinkley]

Decision made: Turbo. I have some buddies one likes to tig one works for a turbo company so I suppose with all the available hookups i have i should see what this m10 can push out. I was going to pull the thing and put it in the trash until I saw what people on this board are pushing out of the things!! besides ill need EMS for any other kind of powerplant I might get down the road anyways.
So for now it's add turbo, brake conversion and suspension -- already have bavarian auto sport springs lined up. Has anyone tried Koni inserts for shocks?

[StereoInstaller1]

moar bewst

[medik212]

I'm curious what you paid... I'm looking very seriously at one right now but the guy wants waaay too much for it (he's thinking 1300... i'm at more like 5-700). Miles? Condition? If you don't mind reading my post http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=91620 and chiming in I'd appreciate your opinion as I think we're headed down the same F.I. path. Thanks!