I have a 93 325IS and the engine ran hot and stopped. A local guy was supposed to be a BMW tech and I fell for it. I bought a head from a 95 328 and the gaskets etc. After a week of redoing everything several times, bottom line is the car wont run at all, and the timing is off I think. Kid couldn't get it timed properly. ANYHOW, I have a guy with an engine from a 328 he is willing to swap it out for me for around $1000.00 including the engine. My question is, should I do this? would this engine have any extra power, or is this a tough install ? I am new to BMW's so I have to rely on other people till I learn the beast.

I have 3 e36s. A black 98 M3, a green 93 325is that is bone stock, and a maroon 93 325is that has the engine swap you are considering. I ran some comparisons between the cars using my G-tech accelerometer. I will give you the printouts of the horsepower curves in comparison. The numbers represent what G-tech says is the actual horsepower output at my altitude (5000 ft), The numbers seem low, but bear in mind that the numbers usually associated with a car are corrected for sea level altitude, and "standard" temperature and barometric pressure. Also, published numbers are also horsepower at the crankshaft. These numbers are not only reduced because they represent power at the rear wheels, they are also reduced by the fact that they are measured with the car in motion, therefore wind drag reduces the apparent horsepower output. Furthermore, the numbers are computed from an acceleration run, so the power lost to overcoming the rotational inertia of the moving parts of the car is also not measured.

Nevertheless, the comparisons between the cars are valid because the cars were measured at the same point in time (almost) and the same stretch of highway.

Here is how the maroon car with the 2.8 liter engine compared to the stock green car:

http://forums.utahscca.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=408&d=1195346758

here is how the maroon car compared to the black M3:

http://forums.utahscca.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=404&d=1194591685

Unfortunately, the RPM calibration was slightly off for the maroon run in this last comparison. The run shows the car rev limiting at 6200 instead of 6500 which was it's actual redline. The red plot needs to be stretched over to 6500 to be accurate. It won't make a big change in the curve.

You can see from these comparisons that the power of the maroon car is quite comparable to the power of the M3.

I own both a 95 525iT with the 2.5 M50 engine and a 97 328iC with the 2.8 M52 engine. The 2.8 has a lot more useable torque and HP than the older 2.5 engine. I think it is a great swap but there is a potential problem. The cars built before 1996 have OBD 1 engine computers that are not calibrated for the 2.8 engine. Dungbeetle, what software are you running in the 93 325iS with the 2.8 engine? I am thinking about doing the same thing with my 525iT but don't know where to find a DME chip for the OBD 1 computer that will run the 2.8 engine.

Thanks,
Mark

Cant you convert these to OBD1? I know with Hondas you can and I thought I read somehwere where a guy did it to his 325is->328

I own both a 95 525iT with the 2.5 M50 engine and a 97 328iC with the 2.8 M52 engine. The 2.8 has a lot more useable torque and HP than the older 2.5 engine. I think it is a great swap but there is a potential problem. The cars built before 1996 have OBD 1 engine computers that are not calibrated for the 2.8 engine. Dungbeetle, what software are you running in the 93 325iS with the 2.8 engine? I am thinking about doing the same thing with my 525iT but don't know where to find a DME chip for the OBD 1 computer that will run the 2.8 engine.

Thanks,
Mark

I'm running the injectors from the 2.5 liter engine with the 2.8 liter block. I'm also running the mass air flow sensor from the 2.5 liter engine. Together, the computer, the mass air flow sensor and the injectors are a matched set. For any given air measurement, throttle position, and various other factors, the computer will deliver the right amount of gas through the injectors. The computer doesn't care whether it is a 2.5 or 2.8 liter engine that is pulling that much air. The only problem is that the 2.8 liter engine could pull approximately 10 per cent more air than the 2.5 liter engine could under maximum power. I have no way to know whether the computer is calibrated to read that much air with the mass air flow sensor from the 2.5 liter engine. I suppose it could be leaning out at top end because more air comes in than mass air flow sensor can measure. For me this is not a problem because I live at 5000 feet and the engine is already pulling in about 20 per cent less air than it would if I lived a sea level.