M50 or Turbo M42?

[asubimmer]

Well I can't make up my mind on which I should do. The turbo setup would be cheap cause I can do all the work and fabing parts. I would get a used turbo and stuff to cut costs. I know the m50 is a popular swap but w/ gas prices rising and premium gas even more I don't know what route to take. I auto-x my car and a turbo wouldn't put me in as crazy of a class as a m50 would.

[Addissimo]

m50-

with a turbo m42- your max power will be around the base power of the m50. If you want to boost the m50 later, its easy, and will give you shit-tons of power.

-Addis

[redcarbon]

addissimo is right, but I want to see a turbo m42. I want to do that some time down the line. and it will preserve the nice balance of the 318is. I never want to add that much weight so far forward.

[erik325i]

I vote s50.
'cus why go through all of the work to swap in a m50, when you can swap in an s50 just as easily. just my $0.02

[asubimmer]

addissimo is right, but I want to see a turbo m42. I want to do that some time down the line. and it will preserve the nice balance of the 318is. I never want to add that much weight so far forward.

thats another reason i might do the turbo M42. also it would be different, tons of people do the x50 swap.

m50-

with a turbo m42- your max power will be around the base power of the m50. If you want to boost the m50 later, its easy, and will give you shit-tons of power.

-Addis

I don't need tons of power, at the last auto-x i held 1st before lunch and was beating a new wrx that has awd and 90+hp on me. I just need a little more power to hit the straights and i do love the sound of a turbo.


On different note though, my engine has 220,000miles on it so i don't know how well it would handle boost.

[Jarvis]

I vote turbo M42 because everyone always talks about it but no one ever goes through with it. I would personally never do it, but I'd like to see someone else pull it off.

[Hick]

I vote turbo M42 because everyone always talks about it but no one ever goes through with it. I would personally never do it, but I'd like to see someone else pull it off.

agreed

and m/s50s are so common that they dont strike anyone as unique

[Stu]

I vote s50.
'cus why go through all of the work to swap in a m50, when you can swap in an s50 just as easily. just my $0.02

Because you do need to understand that an S50 is a 250hp motor, in a 2600 pound car, and not everybody wants something that fucking fast! Try to push your E30 w/3.0 around a racetrack, there is such a thing as too much power.
If I could do it over again, it would have been a smaller discplacement motor.

[325Projectz]

Nonsence :finger:

Actually, I wouldn't know :(

About gas prices, my m50 did waaayyy better on gas then the m20. Not sure about the m42, but with a turbo...

[asubimmer]

I think i'm leaning to the turbo m42. Does anyone think thats a bad idea w/ a engine w/ 220,000 miles on the clock? I know i can't run high boost untill i rebuild but how long do you think it would last?

[asubimmer]

How about lightweight flywheels? I know you can get aluminum ones but they are over $500. You can use the stock 325 one but you have to moddify it. Anyone know what other options there are for a m42 flywheel?

For those who don't know the stock 318is flywheel is close to 30lbs!!

I might try to fit the sequential turbos off a toyota supra on my m42 (the ones from a mk4). I found some really cheap.

[Ziggens96]

How about lightweight flywheels? I know you can get aluminum ones but they are over $500. You can use the stock 325 one but you have to moddify it. Anyone know what other options there are for a m42 flywheel?

those are really the only options, unless you want to try grinding down your stock one or something.

there's a reason you don't see turbo M42s...it would require a LOT of work. Korman at least used to sell kits for later M42s and M44s, but the E30 M42 has no knock sensors, and they all have high compression ratios. If you want to go for it though, go for it, it would be interesting.

[Streetspec_iS]

shit me sideways. if i hear one more person say that lack of knock sensors is the reason behind not boosting an m42 i will cry. and high comp isnt that big of a deal, so long as you keep the boost sensible.

the other flywheel option is the m40 fly. however, you need to use the smaller clutch with it ... im not sure this would be the optimum setup in a turbo application. try and lose some weight off the oem fly.

there are two things i see as vital in regards to turboing the m42 1) keeping boost to a safe level, and 2) running some nice management.

[ehlpitel]

I dont think you can shave down the m42 dualmass flywheel, you need to either get a lightweight one from some tuner or install a m20 one...maybe you can even lighten the m20 flywheel.

[clutterbucker]

toss an E36 low mileage M42 in that bitch and slap a DASC on. Now that would be crazy. Basically S50 power...