im looking to boost a motor in an E30 body

just wanted to konw how the M5 motor out of the E34 body is (v6 is beleive)

how do they stand up for boost and is it worth it

The e34 m5 motor is the s38 Inline 6 Great for boost If you can find one Which you probably cant so Go with an m30

The newb factor in this thread is hurting my face

The newb factor in this thread is hurting my face



Easy.....the newness will wear off soon..

Dude don't buy one of bmw's V6's. They are terrible motors. Why do you think you NEVER hear about them?

If you can find a BMW v6, buy it! I hear they sell well on ebay...

im sry bout the newbie factor guys. im just trying to figure out what im goin to do.

i appreciate any help that is given

so is this a good motor to go with.

not for an e30.

M30 isn't either.

That motor is pretty heavy for a e30...Go with a S50

im sry bout the newbie factor guys. im just trying to figure out what im goin to do.

i appreciate any help that is given

so is this a good motor to go with.

I'm not trying to put you down, but if you're new to this stuff, why are you even considering an engine swap?

Austin

That motor is pretty heavy for a e30...Go with a S50

S38 - 332lbs
S50 - 308lbs

E30 is a pretty damn light car.

Boosting the M20 thats in there is alot of fun and 350+whp is like falling off a log IMO...easy. M50's and all the variants of that motor, m30 or s38 are all great swaps, and will make more power than youll know what to do with in such a light car. If you really want to do an s38 you better have deep pockets.

IMO the best bang for the buck is an M52 swap with a 35R in an E30.

.......unless you wanted to do an LSx motor...thats a whole nother ball game :devillook

not for an e30.

M30 isn't either.

Why not? because you have an m50? which might be better depending on what your going to do to it.

Allan

You sound like you are pretty new to e30's maybe not to cars or turbocharging but Unless you have deep deep deep deep pockets you wont be building and boosting an s38

Boosting an s38 in an e30 chassis will result in an unstreetable car that you will spend a fortune on only to be able to trailer it to the dyno and back.

So if thats what you want go for it if not stay with the m20 I assume you have or do an m/s50/52 That is if the stock 168 hp isn't enough for anything you could want to do with the car.

Aj

Why not? because you have an m50? which might be better depending on what your going to do to it.

Allan

They are too heavy and too expensive.

M30s are all the same technology as the M20 just scaled up. Not worth swapping to.

S38s are too expensive for the power, and too heavy also.

After my experiences...I would go with an m52. You have a lot of standalones that know the crank trigger wheel/cam trigger wheel combo, you already get a forged crank plus 2.8 liters displacement, you get vanos, it has thick walls between cylinders and you can get them cheap! :buttrock:redspot:alright

If you get an S5X motor it will cost way more with nothing really special added except the fact you can now blow head gaskets more easily. :)

The only thing I can see the M52 having over the M50 motors is the .27 liters of displacement. The forged crank is trivial as no one on any of our forums has ever had crank walk or a broken crank. The shorter stroke of the M50 should yield higher RPM range. Ultimately it really depends on what you intend to do with the engine.

The only thing I can see the M52 having over the M50 motors is the .27 liters of displacement. The forged crank is trivial as no one on any of our forums has ever had crank walk or a broken crank. The shorter stroke of the M50 should yield higher RPM range. Ultimately it really depends on what you intend to do with the engine.

Not to mention everyone seems to be worried about weight... even though all bmw I6's of the past 20 years (sans the newer alloy/aluminum motors) have weighed between 300 and 340 lbs. 20-30 pounds difference can be made up elsewhere (like lighter wheels)

Only true difference is the length of the motor... as an S38's weight would sit slightly further towards the front of the car.

All of these motors seem to be good with FI, but I'm quite partial to the M50-based motors of all the FI BMW's I've been shotgun in.

The e34 m5 motor is the s38 Inline 6 Great for boost If you can find one Which you probably cant so Go with an m30

Where do i find a good head gasket for the S38 boosted??

The only thing I can see the M52 having over the M50 motors is the .27 liters of displacement. The forged crank is trivial as no one on any of our forums has ever had crank walk or a broken crank. The shorter stroke of the M50 should yield higher RPM range. Ultimately it really depends on what you intend to do with the engine.
True, the m50 non-vanos is great with a Megasquirt. Any other standalone will take a little more time unfortunate for me but soon they will have the right specs to tune it. So I was speaking on behalf that the m52 is easily tuned by Tec 3R, AEM, stock DME with AA tune already set, Megasquirt, etc. The m50 non-vanos really only has Megasquirt at the moment. How much is your Megasquirt PnP system again? :)

True, the m50 non-vanos is great with a Megasquirt. Any other standalone will take a little more time unfortunate for me but soon they will have the right specs to tune it. So I was speaking on behalf that the m52 is easily tuned by Tec 3R, AEM, stock DME with AA tune already set, Megasquirt, etc. The m50 non-vanos really only has Megasquirt at the moment. How much is your Megasquirt PnP system again? :)

You can check the MS site for pricing, I am not sure how much someone would charge for a PNP.

The non vanos really isn't a big deal with any standalone (why are we talking ECUs here?) you just need to know the sync angle and duration - nothing an o-scope can't show ya. M52 is a great engine no doubt, all of these generation engines are, but it'd be interesting to see how much higher an M50 (of either non vanos or vanos) can rev than an M52, being that the M52 has the longer stroke, and then it'd be interesting to see if that extra headroom that they rev to has anything to offer in terms of larger turbo vs the .27L displacement different. Interesting indeed - probably not something any of us will ever find out though.

Where do i find a good head gasket for the S38 boosted??

contact ppf andreas

You can check the MS site for pricing, I am not sure how much someone would charge for a PNP.

The non vanos really isn't a big deal with any standalone (why are we talking ECUs here?) you just need to know the sync angle and duration - nothing an o-scope can't show ya. M52 is a great engine no doubt, all of these generation engines are, but it'd be interesting to see how much higher an M50 (of either non vanos or vanos) can rev than an M52, being that the M52 has the longer stroke, and then it'd be interesting to see if that extra headroom that they rev to has anything to offer in terms of larger turbo vs the .27L displacement different. Interesting indeed - probably not something any of us will ever find out though.
Thanks for the info but we are talking ECUs now because it will have a big effect on how easy it is to get the car running depending on what motor is chosen. If I were wondering what engine to use and I asked for help, I'd want to know if there were easier turn-key PnP systems depending on the engine I chose so this subject has a lot of validity for discussion. Namely the fact that if I had an m52 in my car, then my car would have been running over 2 months ago. If I knew that it would have been easier to go with a different motor in the beginning, plug a standalone in and simply turn the key compared to the nightmare I have been through, then that information would have been golden.

Thanks for the info but we are talking ECUs now because it will have a big effect on how easy it is to get the car running depending on what motor is chosen. If I were wondering what engine to use and I asked for help, I'd want to know if there were easier turn-key PnP systems depending on the engine I chose so this subject has a lot of validity for discussion. Namely the fact that if I had an m52 in my car, then my car would have been running over 2 months ago. If I knew that it would have been easier to go with a different motor in the beginning, plug a standalone in and simply turn the key compared to the nightmare I have been through, then that information would have been golden.

Yeah but sometimes people want certain abilities or freedoms other than "PNP" when building stuff. Agreed most consumers will want a PNP, but then again most consumers who are doing a DIY build will not care about PNP. Realistically, if I were you I would be annoyed that my builder/tuner (and maybe you are annoyed) didn't know how or didn't foresee any issues. It's all about flexibility and it has been said over and over again that some of the PNP solutions lack it - I guess the situation present emphasizes that. Who knows. One of the reasons I chose the ECU platform I do is because there isn't an engine out there that it cannot run in the manner I require. Should there be an issue or short-coming, I send an e-mail or a PM and a week later new software is out that supports what we need. Great example is of the latest MS2 firmware which did not originally support crank trigger angles > 255 degrees, but M50TU/M52/S52 angles are 324 degrees on this particular setup and so now there is a fresh released firmware that offers that huge trigger angle. No repositioning the crank wheel or flip flopping the outputs.

Thanks for the info but we are talking ECUs now because it will have a big effect on how easy it is to get the car running depending on what motor is chosen. If I were wondering what engine to use and I asked for help, I'd want to know if there were easier turn-key PnP systems depending on the engine I chose so this subject has a lot of validity for discussion. Namely the fact that if I had an m52 in my car, then my car would have been running over 2 months ago. If I knew that it would have been easier to go with a different motor in the beginning, plug a standalone in and simply turn the key compared to the nightmare I have been through, then that information would have been golden.

All I can say is that if I'd spent as much as you have and still didn't have the results in my driveway heads would be rolling.

After my experiences...I would go with an m52. You have a lot of standalones that know the crank trigger wheel/cam trigger wheel combo, you already get a forged crank plus 2.8 liters displacement, you get vanos, it has thick walls between cylinders and you can get them cheap!

If you get an S5X motor it will cost way more with nothing really special added except the fact you can now blow head gaskets more easily. :)
I disagree Cameron. It's a no brainer to go with an S52 on a green fields project (for a US owner).

These engines are already small enough without giving away 400cc off the bat. You need those precious cubes to spool a turbo. The head gasket issue is way overblown in a ground up engine build situation. Low compression pistons will give you a better solution than a spacer gasket.

Where do i find a good head gasket for the S38 boosted??
You use the OEM head gasket and drop low compression pistons into the S38.

P.S. Wallabies!

P.S. Wallabies!


Marsupials FTW? :dunno

The head gasket issue is way overblown in a ground up engine build situation. Low compression pistons will give you a better solution than a spacer gasket.

You can't get away from the 86.4 - 87mm bore though. Very thin walls between cylinders for an engine to be subjected to elevated pressure.

Yeah but sometimes people want certain abilities or freedoms other than "PNP" when building stuff. Agreed most consumers will want a PNP, but then again most consumers who are doing a DIY build will not care about PNP. Realistically, if I were you I would be annoyed that my builder/tuner (and maybe you are annoyed) didn't know how or didn't foresee any issues. It's all about flexibility and it has been said over and over again that some of the PNP solutions lack it - I guess the situation present emphasizes that. Who knows. One of the reasons I chose the ECU platform I do is because there isn't an engine out there that it cannot run in the manner I require. Should there be an issue or short-coming, I send an e-mail or a PM and a week later new software is out that supports what we need. Great example is of the latest MS2 firmware which did not originally support crank trigger angles > 255 degrees, but M50TU/M52/S52 angles are 324 degrees on this particular setup and so now there is a fresh released firmware that offers that huge trigger angle. No repositioning the crank wheel or flip flopping the outputs.
Well said and yes, I am so annoyed I couldn't even begin to describe it.
All I can say is that if I'd spent as much as you have and still didn't have the results in my driveway heads would be rolling.
I have them rolling as much as I can, but there is only so much you can do (yelling, etc.). The problem is if I went a different direction, then you play the finger-pointing game. If something goes wrong, one guy will say it's the other guy's fault and vice versa. So I have to stick it out. :(

I have them rolling as much as I can, but there is only so much you can do (yelling, etc.). The problem is if I went a different direction, then you play the finger-pointing game. If something goes wrong, one guy will say it's the other guy's fault and vice versa. So I have to stick it out. :(

Thats the beauty/beast of having stuff built. While the nice thing is you can yell at people, it's obvious that people who DIY have no one to yell at and there have been many nights when things don't make sense or something should work but doesn't and I find myself staying up til all hours of the night punching myself trying to figure things out.

Marsupials FTW? :dunno
http://www.rugbyheaven.smh.com.au/news/match-reports/wallabies-win-for-star-duo/2007/07/07/1183351525708.html

:redspot

ok here is the thing i have the option of buying an e30 with an s38motor already in it. and the price is pretty good as well. and i want to take advantage of the light body. so thats why i was considering that motor. is it worth it to go with that or to just buy an E36 M3 and boost that.

ok here is the thing i have the option of buying an e30 with an s38motor already in it. and the price is pretty good as well. and i want to take advantage of the light body. so thats why i was considering that motor. is it worth it to go with that or to just buy an E36 M3 and boost that.
Depends on how much extra you have to spend. That motor is very expensive to build for boost but it would be the baddest thing you could do for the e30.

If you decide not to buy the e30 w/s38 let me know. :devillook

Depends on how much extra you have to spend. That motor is very expensive to build for boost but it would be the baddest thing you could do for the e30.

If you decide not to buy the e30 w/s38 let me know. :devillook


well its sort of alreayd built its making bout 320whp N/A
so it might be half way there

well its sort of alreayd built its making bout 320whp N/A
so it might be half way there
What is the CR? It sounds like it is built for NA...not BT(Big Turbo). :)

to be honest with you man im not too sure on that id have to call the guy up and find that out. but you most likely correct