'88 325is M30 street car-->S54 -->S50 -->M54 Enduro Race car

[TwoJ's]

Great thread and great work man. It obviously makes me want an s54 now that they are reasonable to buy and that some people have pioneered the swap. I have a couple of questions for you:

Earlier in the thread you said that it felt slower than your m30 on the street. I believe that was prior to you getting the issues with the engine sorted out... so do you still feel that way? If you were doing a swap in a street car, would you do the s54 or go with something that doesn't need to be revved up so much?

Also, at one point when you were having issues, you said you wished that you'd gone for an s52 and spent some money/time modifying it. If you were to start over again, would you still go the s54 route?

[nando]

I think a lot of that was just being frustrated with issues. It turned out to be swapped o2 sensor wiring causing adaptations to be way out of wack.

[Jb325is]

My m30 was definitely more fun to drive on the street, it made the same amount of torque much earlier, so it was actually usable. The s54, you really have to rev it to get into the power, so with the 3.23 I'm already breaking the law by the top of 2nd. Overall though, the s54 is much faster and much better all around. I also haven't tuned my s54 yet, so that will probably help immesnly.

I do not regret doing the swap, that was just frustration and me being emo. It's only going to get better from here.

I re-sprayed my turbine covers last night, test-fitted one this morning. I like it a lot better than the black. Looking for another set of M-systems if anyone has one

20141228_160416 by braswell.jonathan, on Flickr

[tinkerputzer]

For what you're planning to do with the car the s54 seems like a better match. The sounds it makes are intoxicating too.

Moving the merge back to the factory location will help a lot with the soft low end.

[kristov]

My m30 was definitely more fun to drive on the street, it made the same amount of torque much earlier, so it was actually usable. The s54, you really have to rev it to get into the power, so with the 3.23 I'm already breaking the law by the top of 2nd. Overall though, the s54 is much faster and much better all around. I also haven't tuned my s54 yet, so that will probably help immesnly.

I do not regret doing the swap, that was just frustration and me being emo. It's only going to get better from here.

I re-sprayed my turbine covers last night, test-fitted one this morning. I like it a lot better than the black. Looking for another set of M-systems if anyone has one

Do you have vanos active?

Sounds strange that the M30 should have more torque down low as the S54 has a very flat torque band.

[Jb325is]

Yeah I agree with the exhaust being a big part of the issue, I think the merge being too far up plus the fact that it's 3.5" really killed the low end. Should pull like hell up top when I get it tuned though!

My m30 was a 10.5:1 m90/m30 hybrid 3.6, so it actually made decent power down low, just ran out of steam up top. My s54 is currently the exact opposite

[our guile]

Just read through the whole thread. Incredible work man.

[ak-]

3.46lsd and don't cut the fenders! :puppy:

[Jb325is]

Yeah I keep going back and forth about it. The fenders are not super nice in person, but I'm not in love with the look on bolt ons and don't think I'm ready to cut the car up enough to do metal flares. I really wish I had an early model.

Right now I am going to buy some new tires for my M-systems so I can drive it on the street, it's killing my letting it just sit in the garage untouched

[WannaBe30]

I love the bolt on style fenders too but it's hard to decide when your car looks as nice as yours.


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[Jb325is]

Ran a test n tune autocross today here locally, here was our paddock:

e30testntune by braswell.jonathan, on Flickr

s50 4 door/e30 m3 5 lug
s52 4 door e36 m3 5 lug/ AST's (on trailer)
And my s54 coupe

Not pictured was my friends m20 stroker 4 door, we just installed spherical RTAB's on it the night before the autocross and I think its going to be pretty awesome, much better than poly I think. The toe was not set correctly so it was hard to judge today, but I'll def be looking into the sphericals soon

My car was terrible today, I was pretty upset with it. Somehow, my rack has started building pressure or something and I'm getting a TON of kickback in the steering and the feel was just terrible. I'm going to weigh my options but I think I'll be re-installing power steering on the car.

[Andy Mechnic]

Sorry its been a while since I read this thread but, did you block the rack ports at the rack? Instead of just blocking them, could you modify your bock off adapter, or make a hose to connect the ports together so the fluid is free to move around in the rack? That might eliminate any pressure buildup feeling

[Jb325is]

I have a circulation block, but either the holes aren't large enough to allow proper circualtion or they have become clogged over time (maybe both). I've decided to go with a e46 rack and will be re-installing power steering

[Andy Mechnic]

cool, how was the weather for your track day? It's still below zero in Omaha, I don't think our track opens for another month or two.

[acolella76]

Did you go with the M3 or ZHP rack? I love my ZHP, though I've heard the m3 rack is technically faster