MyE28.com

this has come up as my m30 is coming to the end of its life span.
( thousands of miles of total disregard for detonation & blow by )

i'd be hard pressed at getting another m30 being that there limitations are about 5500 rpm.
not to mention that the word SOHC is usually associated with tercels and stanzas.

which would be a better choice for a replacement?
hi torque SOHC m30?
hi revving , DOHC m50 ( or at that s52 )?

How about a Chevy create motor?

If you go for the new LS7 engine you won't have to worry about most (no all) of what's behind you...

I hear TCD is building a kit for the install...

Whenever I do engine assembly a piece of clay in the piston and trotate the engine (with an old head gasket installed) will give me a good idea of the valve to piston clearance before its too late.

The good think about small block chevy engines is that if they blow up (rarely do) you can have them out of the car, apart and on the bench so fast the bare block will still be warm - ask me how I know -:)

Well, M50s are gettin to be pretty cheap these days (except that there's such demand from the e30 crowd) and they will make big numbers with less weight. It's easy to get over 300whp at like 6-8lbs. Sounds like a no brainer if you can handle the electronics and whatnot.

LS7 would be the icing on the cake....
however i've the end result of the drivers side in the engine bay, not pretty.
not to mention i'm not to crazy about the muscle car sound. wouldn't trade the inline-6-under-boost sound for v8.

i was just thinking that would flow more than a m30.
s38 would be ideal , but being soo difficult and expensive to source, is why i was leaning more towards m50/s52. I dont think the swap would be a difficult mission. Looks like its just remove and replace.
I think with megasquirt (thicker head gasket) and 15 psi would be a real screamer.

papajetta wrote: I think with megasquirt (thicker head gasket) and 15 psi would be a real screamer.

I concur.

papajetta wrote:LS7 would be the icing on the cake....
however i've the end result of the drivers side in the engine bay, not pretty.
not to mention i'm not to crazy about the muscle car sound. wouldn't trade the inline-6-under-boost sound for v8.

i was just thinking that would flow more than a m30.
s38 would be ideal , but being soo difficult and expensive to source, is why i was leaning more towards m50/s52. I dont think the swap would be a difficult mission. Looks like its just remove and replace.
I think with megasquirt (thicker head gasket) and 15 psi would be a real screamer.

Im not a big fan of non-BMW iron in a BMW, but each to his own.

If you do go M50/52, the install will be more complex than you may think. The 413 ECU is highly complicated by 059 standards and is OBD-1. You will need all the smog equipment that came on a ///M3 to go with it also. To be quite honest I don't know all thats involved there, but it's not impossible. This would depend on your area's smog laws now and in the next couple of years as many more states are adopting the more stringent CA model.

That leads into the choice also if to go OBD-1 or OBD-2? Most at the BF.C like the OBD-1 better as its more tuner freindly. If your going aftermarket, then thats not an issue.

Also, will the M50/52 bolt up to the E28 tranny?. Fabing mounts will be interesting. Although I guess it's no harder than the american iron swap.

RussC

it'll be going inside of an e34,
and as far as obd2..... megasquirt will have to handle that....
just not sure how to implement vanos control.

Doh, E34

Vanos and MS, don't know!

RussC

since it will be under boost i would set the vanos in one place for high rpm. not sure which option would be better.

even with vanoes, the bone stock (except for headgasket) m52 has been proven to over 30 psi boost and 635 rwhp. you can't go wrong with a m52 but my heart is still with the m30 just because i have been using it for so long and it is such a workhorse of a motor.

Chevy + BMW = One way ticket to BMW hell for you and your car.

EuroShark wrote:Chevy + BMW = One way ticket to BMW hell for you and your car.

Perhaps, but a very fast ticket none the less...

Dropping an aluminum 427" 500 hp small block in an E28? I think that's a wonderful idea.

wait for the new z4 m roadster engine to come out. It's direct port twin turbo inline-6. Turn up the boost and away you go. I bet youd be the first to put it into something other than an original car.

jimbixjr wrote:wait for the new z4 m roadster engine to come out. It's direct port twin turbo inline-6. Turn up the boost and away you go. I bet youd be the first to put it into something other than an original car.

No, it's an S54. The bi-turbo motor is coming in the 335i, and will make less power in stock form than the S54. Once the E90 M3 sporting a ~400 hp V8 comes out, you can bet BMW will take the chains off the turbo and bump it up to 330-345 hp. And S54s have already been put in other cars. The cost is significantly higher than an M50/S50, and boosting would mean backing off from the 8k rpm redline. That motor is so stressed in stock form that force-feeding it would not be healthy without a reduction in compression and max speed.

-tammer

My bad. I musta been thinking about a different car. But it is still a cool engine.

jimbixjr wrote:My bad. I musta been thinking about a different car. But it is still a cool engine.

I agree, both the S54 and the new bi-turbo are sweet. And I think the bi-turbo will be a tuner's dream motor. 400 hp at the crank can't be far away; I doubt they're coming from the factory even close to their operational limits.

-tammer

Tammer in Philly wrote:

jimbixjr wrote:My bad. I musta been thinking about a different car. But it is still a cool engine.

I agree, both the S54 and the new bi-turbo are sweet. And I think the bi-turbo will be a tuner's dream motor. 400 hp at the crank can't be far away; I doubt they're coming from the factory even close to their operational limits.

-tammer

Right, thats the beauty of a factory turbo system, just like any of the other cars, like 1.8/2.0turbo, Supra, RX7, DSMs etc.

RussC