If you take an equal m30 and s38, both producing the same horsepower, the m30 is operating under much higher stress levels than the s38 is.
I'm sorry, but the motor you built for your car to begin with would not have lasted 300k miles, there's simply no way. I doubt it would've made it past 150-200k miles, quite honestly. Most Alpina and Hartge motors don't make it very much past 150k from what I know.
His original statement was:
He may very well be right. It's actually rather easy (though not inexpensive), to get an m88/s38 to 600hp with turbo. Doing so with an m30 is probably possible as well. Compare the two side by side now. The M motor is running moderate boost due to the inherent efficiency of the 4 valve engine. The m30 has been tweaked and poked and prodded pretty hard, many parts are running at the limit of their tolerance.I believe a correctly built M88/S38 engine will last longer per unit output of horsepower than an M30 engine.
I seriously doubt the m30 in this scenario would last as long as the s38 in this example.
Jeremy