Ok mine isn't...yet. Anyone have pics to share of theirs? I had an E30 318is S50 in the past which was a hoot and then some.

I will probably get flamed for this but I think DASC is a waste as an M52 swap can be done for less and that engine has TONS of potential. Not to mention an S52 goes for ~3-4k these days and I think a lot of people can agree a BMW 6 cylinder is sweeter than our buzzy 4 bangers, which are still fun for what they are though.

If I have this car for a few more years I was thinking S52 with a sunbelt cam package and other goodies with a ~8k redline...basically you can get close to S54 power while still using the much cheaper US M3 engine. Or if I wanted to get crazy S52+Turbo!

I will probably get flamed for this but I think DASC is a waste as an M52 swap can be done for less and that engine has TONS of potential.You don't have the software issues with a DASC that you do with an OBD-II swap. Don't have to change out the exhaust either.

what is this sunbelt cam package you speak of with an 8grand redline?

I just read a kill story where an owner had a turbo 250'ed 318ti talk about a sleeper!

And with the sunbelts I think you would need to rebuild the engine, I mean I have seen the info about the package, but even with the kit revving that high on a stock motor seems risky.

I will probably get flamed for this but I think DASC is a waste as an M52 swap can be done for less and that engine has TONS of potential. Not to mention an S52 goes for ~3-4k these days and I think a lot of people can agree a BMW 6 cylinder is sweeter than our buzzy 4 bangers, which are still fun for what they are though.

I'll bite. If you think you can do an I6 swap for less than a DASC ($2850) I'd love to see you do it. It's fairly obvious that you don't understand what is all involved with the swap. You need to swap the tranny, diff, front suspension, front brakes, and axles too. Go to 318ti.com and do a search for swap. We've had the DASC vs. I6 swap several times and everytime the DASC will wins the $ vs. power argument.

I'll bite. If you think you can do an I6 swap for less than a DASC ($2850) I'd love to see you do it. It's fairly obvious that you don't understand what is all involved with the swap. You need to swap the tranny, diff, front suspension, front brakes, and axles too. Go to 318ti.com and do a search for swap. We've had the DASC vs. I6 swap several times and everytime the DASC will wins the $ vs. power argument.
I've already done an S50 swap in my past E30 318is like I said in my first post so yes I know what is involved in a swap minus dealing with EWS and a few other OBDII "goodies." You actually don't need to do the front suspension, front brakes or axles. I had previously thought DASC was $4.5k which seemed like a rip to have a nearly maxed out engine for that much $...if you want to make serious power the I6 or better obviously. There are a lot of debates over the internet that one side is very favored, however it doesn't mean it's necessarily better ;)

what is this sunbelt cam package you speak of with an 8grand redline?

http://www.bimmerworld.com/html/bimmerworldsunbelt-e36-m3-obdii-sport-cam-kit.htm

I've already done a swap in my past E30 318is. You actually don't need to do the front suspension, front brakes or axles. I had previously thought DASC was $4.5k which seemed like a rip to have a nearly maxed out engine for that much $...if you want to make serious power the I6 or better is necessary obviously.

If you're going to make "serious" power, you'll need the diff, axles and probably the M coupe subframe to put the power to the ground. You'll need the front suspension to carry the extra weight of the m5X or s5X motor. If you plan on stopping the car you'll need the larger m3 brakes.

Yes, the DASC maxes out the m42/m44, but unless you are going to drag race your car you don't NEED any more than 200-215 rwhp in a e36/5 chasis. The power to weight ratio is better or equivilant to that of an e36 m3.

Yea, def. the diff...however at least with E30's they used the same axles for 4/6 cylinders. I'm curious why you said M coupe subframe though, unless you meant the diff/axles/brakes from it all together? I've yet to hear of subframe tearing on relatively powerful TI's.

By front suspension what specific parts are you speaking of...spring/shock wise my car would be already fine :) If I drop A/C from an M44>S52 swap then I'm only gaining about ~20 lbs. more on the front end...granted a bit farther out. A good set of rotors/pads can handle that easily, granted M3 brakes would be nice also.

Personally I'm aiming for something around ~300-350hp region, I've had a stock S50 in my past 318is (about 100lbs. less than our TI's) and while it was fun, it wasn't crazy.

I'll bite... there are some pics of my Ti right here (http://180customs.net/v-web/gallery/Snuggz) (props to DustenT for hosting em'), but I warn you, they're from right after I finished the swap and alot has changed.... please ignore my racing sausages.

Everything Dusten has said about the swap is dead on; it gets expensive fast. In fact, just the other night we were chatting about the abundance of half-assed, "shadetree" swapped Ti's for sale these days and how it's giving those who've done it right a bad name. The biggest expenses come from all the little stuff, just like has been pointed out... the stock Ti brakes are cheese (pre 98' don't even get vented front rotors... ick) and will not cut it, plain and simple. Depending on what you're running for suspension, your front end may not be too sloppy, but I have no idea where you get that 20 lb figure from... remember, you're dropping 4cyls of aluminum for 6cyls of cast iron, and that's a good 120lb+ gain, regardless of A/C delete (My A/C is deleted as well, for that exact reason). The 4cyl diff is simply not going to stand up to the power, but that doesn't really matter because you want an LSD anyway...

What Dusten is saying about the M Coupe/Roadster rear end stuff is that it's of the same e30ish design, and improves the suspension geometry while beefing _everything_ up, and allows you to run M brakes in the rear. Definitely recommended if you wanna break 250whp (FI anyone?) and on my to-do list.

I've probably got about $10k into the swap at this point, but that's including bringing the rest of the car up to the standard of it's new motor and not cutting corners or skimping... everything that should be done to any other e36 needs to be done as well. I've got about $2k of work left to do before I consider it "complete". It can be done for less, but like I said, if you cut corners you're gonna regret it.

In retrospect though, the best place to save is the motor... a normal M50/52 is MUCH less expensive than their S50/52 M counterparts, with just as much aftermarket and potential. I've seen 2.8s that dyno higher than my 3.2 with basic mods and software... If I were to start over, I'd probably choose the M52TU Aluminum block motor out of the 2.8 Z3.

A 6cy swap vs DASC is not really an argument so much as a question... what kinda driving do you wanna do? Are you gonna want/need that low end torque? How much potential do you want?

An S52 weighs about 85-90lbs. more than an M44...all the a/c stuff is ~60lbs. So stock brakes can easily handle another 30 lbs. though I would still upgrade to M3. Also I thought the trailing arm itself was the same geometry for the Mcoupe and TI but with different bushings to create a bit better camber.

An S52 weighs about 85-90lbs. more than an M44...all the a/c stuff is ~60lbs. So stock brakes can easily handle another 30 lbs. though I would still upgrade to M3. Also I thought the trailing arm itself was the same geometry for the Mcoupe and TI but with different bushings to create a bit better camber.

I haven't had the chance to compare the Z3/MC/MR stuff to the Ti's but everything has a different part number... J!m on the ti.org forums once had a thread with the stuff side by side, but I can't seem to find it. It's certainly not a common swap but it is a functional one...

Edit: According to this thread (http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=189454&referrerid=&highlight=s52+weight+engine), the exact difference is 114.4 lbs, NOT including alternators, starters, and exhaust manifolds. this is just for the engine; the ZF tranny is beefier than the Getrag, although this doesn't really matter as much given it's position in the car...

If you're going to make "serious" power, you'll need the diff, axles and probably the M coupe subframe to put the power to the ground. You'll need the front suspension to carry the extra weight of the m5X or s5X motor. If you plan on stopping the car you'll need the larger m3 brakes.

Yes, the DASC maxes out the m42/m44, but unless you are going to drag race your car you don't NEED any more than 200-215 rwhp in a e36/5 chasis. The power to weight ratio is better or equivilant to that of an e36 m3.

E36 M3 power is not enough. :)

i agree that the swap has broke the bank, but for anyone going to do a swap you have to go into it knowing that you will be forking out a lot of cash (not all at one time mind you). anyways, if you are going to go aftermarket on all facets of your car anyways then the expense is not at all that bad. i knew i was going to swap the car out when i bought it so i bought 6 cylinder components from the get go. price was about the same for buying Ti specific parts so if you look at it that way then you arent really spending anymore money.

i think the most annoying part of the swap was having to source E36 parts for the front and MCoupe parts for the rear. hell i just bought H&R race springs for an M3 and for a 318ti. i wasnt too worried about it though since i am selling the front 318ti springs and rear M3 springs to a guy with a M44 coupe.

I'll bite... there are some pics of my Ti right here (http://180customs.net/v-web/gallery/Snuggz) (props to DustenT for hosting em'), but I warn you, they're from right after I finished the swap and alot has changed.... please ignore my racing sausages.

Everything Dusten has said about the swap is dead on; it gets expensive fast. In fact, just the other night we were chatting about the abundance of half-assed, "shadetree" swapped Ti's for sale these days and how it's giving those who've done it right a bad name. The biggest expenses come from all the little stuff, just like has been pointed out... the stock Ti brakes are cheese (pre 98' don't even get vented front rotors... ick) and will not cut it, plain and simple. Depending on what you're running for suspension, your front end may not be too sloppy, but I have no idea where you get that 20 lb figure from... remember, you're dropping 4cyls of aluminum for 6cyls of cast iron, and that's a good 120lb+ gain, regardless of A/C delete (My A/C is deleted as well, for that exact reason). The 4cyl diff is simply not going to stand up to the power, but that doesn't really matter because you want an LSD anyway...

What Dusten is saying about the M Coupe/Roadster rear end stuff is that it's of the same e30ish design, and improves the suspension geometry while beefing _everything_ up, and allows you to run M brakes in the rear. Definitely recommended if you wanna break 250whp (FI anyone?) and on my to-do list.

I've probably got about $10k into the swap at this point, but that's including bringing the rest of the car up to the standard of it's new motor and not cutting corners or skimping... everything that should be done to any other e36 needs to be done as well. I've got about $2k of work left to do before I consider it "complete". It can be done for less, but like I said, if you cut corners you're gonna regret it.

In retrospect though, the best place to save is the motor... a normal M50/52 is MUCH less expensive than their S50/52 M counterparts, with just as much aftermarket and potential. I've seen 2.8s that dyno higher than my 3.2 with basic mods and software... If I were to start over, I'd probably choose the M52TU Aluminum block motor out of the 2.8 Z3.

A 6cy swap vs DASC is not really an argument so much as a question... what kinda driving do you wanna do? Are you gonna want/need that low end torque? How much potential do you want?

nicely said bud.

mine is not swaped yet ... altho i am keeping it m44... i like the 4cyl i think i separates us from most of the pack .. and the fack that our car has no ass ... lol .. but i am building my motor from the groud up and turboing it ... its going to be a fun project .. lol

I swapped my car for just about $2200. Bought a wrecked M3 for $3200, took everythink I needed out, and sold everything else. It evened out to $2200. Keep in mind, all work was done by myself.

I swapped my car for just about $2200. Bought a wrecked M3 for $3200, took everythink I needed out, and sold everything else. It evened out to $2200. Keep in mind, all work was done by myself.
That's very good for even doing it by yourself! Now where are the pics??

sup snuggz! i see you're all over this sub-section too.. haha. snuggz is right. except the lsd part, lsd is NECESSARY and its the best mod you can do to a car. EVER. makes your suspension feel better and depending on the ratio, will make things feel a whole lot tighter as far as acceleration/ and or top speed whatever you want. and as far as the subframe issue, that shit isn't really an issue. i work at Treehouse Racing freakin home of the e30 conversion and according to John (we had a talk about it), its pretty much overexaggerated. Takes a lot to tear that bushing. The s52 in Snuggz car came out of my car and Im running an m52 now. In comparison, the s52 is obviously quicker but not by much. Snuggz has a better clutch in his car than mine but they pull similiar. With software (not even with cams really) and good free flowing exhaust and intake, it runs the nuts off m3's. I pull on my friends s50 m3 coupe just about everytime.

www.azevedomotorsports.com (http://www.azevedomotorsports.com/) go here then go to showroom the link will say jay's ti euro conversion thats where it has an I6 swap

www.azevedomotorsports.com (http://www.azevedomotorsports.com/) go here then go to showroom the link will say jay's ti euro conversion thats where it has an I6 swap
This is what I like to see. However the wheels on that thing are rather ugly, I wonder how he got it to pass smog?

This is what I like to see...I6 swap>4 banger S/C so much!

This will be so much more meaningful when you actually DO a swap in your car. Have you driven both a SC'd and swap 318ti?

Thanks for dropping your non-solicited opinion on every thread. :rolleyes

This will be so much more meaningful when you actually DO a swap in your car. Have you driven both a SC'd and swap 318ti?

Thanks for dropping your non-solicited opinion on every thread. :rolleyes
This was my thread to start with :) I wanted to see examples of people's swaps. No I have yet to drive a SC'd 318ti but I've driven many engine swap'd E30's (and owned one) which is pretty similar for that side of the fence. See, for the future I want to make 300+ hp and the M44 just won't cut it. I understand the easiness of slapping on the S/C and having a good daily driver however. Plus I like seeing people's time and effort put into swaps and the routes they go to make everything work properly.

This was my thread to start with :) I wanted to see examples of people's swaps. No I have yet to drive a SC'd 318ti but I've driven many engine swap'd E30's (and owned one) which is pretty similar for that side of the fence. See, for the future I want to make 300+ hp and the M44 just won't cut it. I understand the easiness of slapping on the S/C and having a good daily driver however. Plus I like seeing people's time and effort put into swaps and the routes they go to make everything work properly.

preech brother preeccchhh

supercharged bmws are strong as fuck but they sound like shit at idle. unless you do a 10 THOUSAND dollar kit it wont be done right anyways.

what 2.8s, are the ODB II guys doing? I know Steve's got the alloy block IIRC, is everyone else going with the Z3 engines or the 328s?