SoCal General Chat

[MR 325]

Matt needs it. Whether or not he wants to buy it is another story.

Sorry Matt, it breaks my heart every time I see your car's dash.

LOL. If I buy a dash I am buying NEW. Why spend $200 on one that could crack the next day when I can buy new for a little under $600. :)

I likes my new exaust :)
Nothing to wild

Score. :D

[IronmanE30]

LOL. If I buy a dash I am buying NEW. Why spend $200 on one that could crack the next day when I can buy new for a little under $600. :):D

:up:

Good Morning Guys,

TGIF!!!!

Cheers,

Jim

[MR 325]

TGIF Jim. How are you liking the 540 so far?

[IronmanE30]

I like it. Horsepower and handling make it a fun ride. Now I know why you guys go turbo and S5$'s. I am now thinking about going S5$ in the Mtech after talking to Dave about his swap and the problems I have had with getting the M20 to smog. What are your thoughts about S5$ compared to stroker M20. Cost vs Performance.

Cheers,

Jim

[MR 325]

I like it. Horsepower and handling make it a fun ride. Now I know why you guys go turbo and S5$'s. I am now thinking about going S5$ in the Mtech after talking to Dave about his swap and the problems I have had with getting the M20 to smog. What are your thoughts about S5$ compared to stroker M20. Cost vs Performance.

Cheers,

Jim

It all depends on what you like. If you go the S50/S52 route you can buy a good running used engine, freshen it up, and throw it in. No more sewing machine noises, plenty or power, plenty of reliability, and still decent MPG. If you go the M20 stroker route there are of course 20 different ways to skin that cat. Anything from a 2.7L to a 3.1/3.2L. All of which you'd have to build (rebuild) to accomplish your goal which in turn can take a toll on the wallet. To get comparable power to a 24v engine you'd need something in the 3.0+ range with the M20.

[IronmanE30]

Thanks, So as far as cost goes is it about the same? I assume that a turbo M20 is more than the S5$.

[QUKBMER]

Good morning jim :D

[MR 325]

I'd bet parts costs overall is about the same between a 3.1L M20 and a S50/S52 swap.

If you do the M20 you'll need to have the block bored out and all of that. You'll be running custom pistons. If it were me I'd be running full ARP hardware in there. And of course you'll need a Myster-e Performance head on it! ;) You'll also want a plug and play Megasquirt on there and then some professional dyno tuning.

Check this one out:

https://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=265471

[Deathtoll]

Hey why not just get an S5$ and turbo that?

One nice thing about the S52 at least in my car is that the power band is simply everywhere... no need to rev it up to get decent power out of it. Infact, most of the time you don't even need to downshift to pass on the freeway.

I would say I probably get about 20mpg overall and that's mostly sidestreets. I'm running 3.23 gears so it revs a little high on the freeway.

Ironman, If you ever want to try one out and you are in the Long Beach area let me know and you can take it around the block. Mckman17 and few others have driven my car as well and were pleased.

[semaj4712]

If you have the means and knowledge to do it, stroke the m20, just my 2 cents

[MR 325]

If you have the means and knowledge to do it, stroke the m20, just my 2 cents

Well Jim DOES know a guy who does machine work AND cylinder heads. ;)

[IronmanE30]

Good Morning Terry, I spoke with Raul yesterday and I will pick up you part on Saturday. I look forward to seeing you buddy.

Thanks for your input Matt!

Brian is paying off the M5 so I want to finish off the Mtech with that money. It's about time after so many years on the build. Not sure which route I will take. Seeing that I have not built a M20 yet or done the S5$ swap they both sound like fun learning projects. I just need to figure out which is the best bang for the buck.

Thanks Art, I will take you up on your offer the next time i am up in your neck of the woods.

I insured the 540 yesterday and the guy on the telephone started laughing. I asked him what was up and he said you have quite a collection. I guess that having 9 cars insured demonstrates my addiction to my car hobby. ;)

Cheers,

Jim

[IronmanE30]

Well Jim DOES know a guy who does machine work AND cylinder heads. ;)

True that and Shant would be the only person I would use.

[MR 325]

LOL that's funny Jim! My insurance lady thinks I'm nuts too. Every time I call she says "another BMW right?"

Shant and I might be down your way next weekend to drop off a head for Raul and another for Neil.

[IronmanE30]

LOL that's funny Jim! My insurance lady thinks I'm nuts too. Every time I call she says "another BMW right?"

Shant and I might be down your way next weekend to drop off a head for Raul and another for Neil.

Too funny, Brian is going to LA this weekend so we will be around next weekend. Maybe we can get together to talk about the cars. I can go to Raul's or you all can come by the shop if you want to get your car up on the rack. Keep in touch.

Cheers,

Jim