I will give my $.02 on the M42, as I had one and cracked the head. It is a really fun motor and at the end of the day they can be had and replaced easily. Really the only mods worth doing from a price standpoint are a lite flywheel (~13lbs), chip, and an exhaust that doesn't sound like shit (I was lucky enough to have a Dinan cat back).
The design on the motor sucks. The head and timing case alignment with the coolant jacket is horrible, corrodes if coolant intervals aren't kept, and the timing components cost more than I care to replace ever again. Yeah, gas mileage is good but honestly I wouldn't do another M42. The amount of money spent on one would get ridiculous if you are trying to get power out of it, and really doesn't matter in the end which motor you have when you are talking itbs and tunes, the cost is there either way (for the most part).
And let's be honest, most of us don't drive the E30's to try to hypermile. Let's just leave that with the Prius owners, mmmmmmkay.
The design on the motor sucks. The head and timing case alignment with the coolant jacket is horrible, corrodes if coolant intervals aren't kept, and the timing components cost more than I care to replace ever again. Yeah, gas mileage is good but honestly I wouldn't do another M42. The amount of money spent on one would get ridiculous if you are trying to get power out of it, and really doesn't matter in the end which motor you have when you are talking itbs and tunes, the cost is there either way (for the most part).
And let's be honest, most of us don't drive the E30's to try to hypermile. Let's just leave that with the Prius owners, mmmmmmkay.
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