Does a 1990 525 have the same motor as an e36 325i? Or does it have the older motor? I see a good deal on a 90 but am wondering if I should not buy this year?

It should be a sohc m20 engine. Like the earlier e30 3 series.

It's got about 20 less hp and tq than the M50. You might want to wait until you find a nice M50 car (91 and up).

Yeah dude, cheack the month. If its after th July then its the M50 but if before then its the M20 and not soo good on power. I have the M20 and its alright but i want a M50 since it can have alot more mods than the M20 and it will be worht it.

M20 = SLOW. Get the M50 at a minimum. M30 would be pretty sweet, as they are rare in the 5-speed configuration, despite that they are older and technologically inferior.

frost- "M50 since it can have alot more mods than the M20 and it will be worht it." U should do some reasearch into the M20 engine. I see more fixed up E30's than M50 E36's.

M50 = not much more powerful at all.
I had both - if your looking at either one, hopefully your not worrying about power at all.

frost- "M50 since it can have alot more mods than the M20 and it will be worht it." U should do some reasearch into the M20 engine. I see more fixed up E30's than M50 E36's.
Well i talked to a tech and he sayd its not worth moding a M20 witch is kind of true, since you wont get much power out of it with all the money your going to throw in it. Ive heard that the M50 is a good swap from the M20 too.

if ur going N/A then I agree the M20 is not worth modding. But I dont agree about swapping it out for M50. That money u just spent could of went towards the
M20 engine.So if u dont think u can get power outta the M20 then your not gonna get power outta the M50 either. Really if ur gonna swap should go with a S50 or M30 etc. Basically I'm trying to say unless ur going with a good swap..stick with what you got

Get the M20 its a great car

turbo M50 FTW.

honestly, if you are looking at 17 year old Bimmers, I will assume that you DO NOT have the cash for a swap.

With that said, the m20 is slow off the line/in town. on the highway, its a good performer.

The m50 is faster and more advanced, yes that is true. But if you cannot find a well maintained example, you'd be better off getting the m20.

It'll be a good dependable car if its been look after.

The M50 is a quicker more modern, easier to tune car BUT there's a whole lot out there for the m20 now.

It seems pretty common for the e30 m20 to use a modified s50 bottom end taking the car to 3.0 litres, I saw a dyno on an e30 forum last week from one of these putting 212rwhp down. Since then he put ITB's on so it'll be a fair bit now.

If I had the choice a newer m50 car would be it but the m20 is still a good car, its just not that quick.

Plus m20 weighs a bit less, especially if you don't get the extras like electric seats, aircon, OBC :shifty etc.

If your planning on modding the M20 then go turbo, ive heard some TDC turbos putting down 300hp. To me i just think its a waste of money, just watch out for that timming belt on the M20, its a good car and all but not so good on power.

Wait and get a M50 and put a chip on it. Thats the next thing on my performance list.

I have the M20 with about 240k on the clock and still running strong. Not overly powerful but I'm not looking to race it. It is a little sluggish in the city but over 3 grand on the tach in 3rd will knock your head back. I'm happy with mine but it's also my 1st bimmer.