E30 Zone

Guys, I need some input from you all.

I'm at a cross roads with my IS and I seriously cannot decide what to do.

I'm happy with the cars appearance, although I'll be getting some of it painted soon and the wheels refurbished.

The suspension is basically finished bar some new antiroll bars.

But in one form or another it needs more power without sacrificing the IS's handling prowess.

I have been pondering about M50's and M52's but the extra weight may detract from the handling.

Any suggestions???

I did think about getting a late 316i/318i touring and fitting an M50/M52 but I really want to take the IS to another level. HELP!?!?!?!?!

Supercharger. Job done.

old_skool wrote:Supercharger. Job done.

Ah, I do like your thinking. I'll have a look into this, a bit afraid of getting involved with megasquirt though as I know nothing about it.

F/I is the way to go.

Or build a thumping N/A M42.

Rebuild the motor as a 2.1L?

Give ant a ring, chrisp's turbo 1.8 goes like stink, and leaves most 325s for dust

And do mine when you've finished yours ;)

hmm, pretty sure a six cylinder won't harm the handling that much. Not noticably anyway.
However a 'charger of some description would be f'in cool.

Drop an M3 engine in it

GrindCulture wrote:Rebuild the motor as a 2.1L?

is there a thread about this conversion?

There's probably one on here somewhere.

Changing the engine, the weight difference will have no noticeable impact on the handling, other than your turning in speed will be increased, increasing the possibility of crap cornering. The benefits of the 200ish BHP will far outweigh the telemetry changes only really noticeable on a computer.

The IS was launched as a rival to the hot hatches of its era, Golf Gti and 205 Gti. Both of which handed the IS its' ar5e on a plate. I wouldn't get too emotionally attached to the lump. It's never been than quick!

Rosc0PColtrane wrote:The IS was launched as a rival to the hot hatches of its era, Golf Gti and 205 Gti. Both of which handed the IS its' ar5e on a plate. I wouldn't get too emotionally attached to the lump. It's never been than quick!

I'd agree with that, I thought long and hard about what I could do to my car to make it faster, clinging hopelessly to the possibility that the M42 was some kinda wonder motor. Don't get me wrong, it's a good engine and a few people have got some very impressive figures from them, just depends on how committed you are to staying M42 powered but still going quickly, and how deep your pockets are.

tailoutcharlie wrote:Give ant a ring, chrisp's turbo 1.8 goes like stink, and leaves most 325s for dust

Spend £3000 on a 325 and see what happens !

Rosc0PColtrane wrote:Changing the engine, the weight difference will have no noticeable impact on the handling, other than your turning in speed will be increased, increasing the possibility of crap cornering. The benefits of the 200ish BHP will far outweigh the telemetry changes only really noticeable on a computer.

The IS was launched as a rival to the hot hatches of its era, Golf Gti and 205 Gti. Both of which handed the IS its' ar5e on a plate. I wouldn't get too emotionally attached to the lump. It's never been than quick!

Amen brother! Testify!


No really, you wont notice the difference with a a six pot in the bay, other than the fact you will be having far too much fun with the extra torque, power, and noise you get from a far superior lump! if your gonna do it do it properly i guess, go M52 not M20 if u have the time and money, much better results!

i dont really think that its worth spending serious cash on performance upgrades for any n/a engine unless your going all the way and going f/i. the bhp per £ return makes the initial heavy lump sum worth it in the long run with easy and cheap future upgrades and the only limits being how deep your pockets are. staying with n/a means big money for serious power and eventual realistic limits being reached that can be easily passed with a turbo.
turbo what you have if you know the engines releable.

Mr_Gerbic_iS wrote:hmm, pretty sure a six cylinder won't harm the handling that much. Not noticably anyway.
However a 'charger of some description would be f'in cool.

If I put a 24v 6 pot in mine, you'll have to 'charge yours. The best of both worlds!

Rosc0PColtrane wrote:Changing the engine, the weight difference will have no noticeable impact on the handling, other than your turning in speed will be increased, increasing the possibility of crap cornering. The benefits of the 200ish BHP will far outweigh the telemetry changes only really noticeable on a computer.

The IS was launched as a rival to the hot hatches of its era, Golf Gti and 205 Gti. Both of which handed the IS its' ar5e on a plate. I wouldn't get too emotionally attached to the lump. It's never been than quick!

I struggled to keep with a friends Mk2 Golf 16v, so I only know that to well. Dare I say it, I couldn't pull away from a Shitroen saxo vts on the A14 last week

The M42 weighs 100kg, seems light when compared to M20 - 117kg, M50 - 138kg, M52 - 118kg.

Just wondering if the M50's extra weight would make a difference? As the M52 is a more expensive and riskier option.

18kilos. seriously it won't make that much difference. If it does, take out the bonnet hinges and put some nasty pins in, and you'll be close. Then don't fill the washer fluid bottle If its an old M20 it will be emptying the coolant pretty quick as well! More weight saved.

People who NA tune an m42 are crazy. They are a nice car to run about in to the shops, not a performance car!

pacerpete wrote:

tailoutcharlie wrote:Give ant a ring, chrisp's turbo 1.8 goes like stink, and leaves most 325s for dust

Spend £3000 on a 325 and see what happens !

touche, mr pete, i'll add the word 'standard' into that sentence.

Dan325iSport wrote:

Rosc0PColtrane wrote:Changing the engine, the weight difference will have no noticeable impact on the handling, other than your turning in speed will be increased, increasing the possibility of crap cornering. The benefits of the 200ish BHP will far outweigh the telemetry changes only really noticeable on a computer.

The IS was launched as a rival to the hot hatches of its era, Golf Gti and 205 Gti. Both of which handed the IS its' ar5e on a plate. I wouldn't get too emotionally attached to the lump. It's never been than quick!

I struggled to keep with a friends Mk2 Golf 16v, so I only know that to well. Dare I say it, I couldn't pull away from a Shitroen saxo vts on the A14 last week

The M42 weighs 100kg, seems light when compared to M20 - 117kg, M50 - 138kg, M52 - 118kg.

Just wondering if the M50's extra weight would make a difference? As the M52 is a more expensive and riskier option.

18 Kilos is the difference between a bird and a bloke driving. Nothing to worry about.

M50's extra power will more than make up for any difference in weight.

I generally confuse the m50 and m52 so cannot recollect many m52 conversions having been done. Though one in a touring made Performance BMW last month IIRC.

Manifolds are the biggest ball ache. Though a few have been done now so there's a clear path to follow.

Buying an m50 in situ may allow you to recover a lot of the costs incurred, by fragging the 5 series.

18 kgs is nearly a bag of cement and thats all hanging over the front axle line. Not good. You will notice it but only homo's worry about it.

Rosc0PColtrane wrote: Manifolds are the biggest ball ache. Though a few have been done now so there's a clear path to follow.

If you're going to all the trouble of a custom manifold... add a turbo and MS for instant win!

get yourself an alloy block m52 i believe. nice and light and will give you a nice dose of power

Dan325iSport wrote: Dare I say it, I couldn't pull away from a Shitroen saxo vts on the A14 last week

I should hope not, the VTS is modern, small, and has a better bhp/ton ratio. Whats scary is the VTR is less powerful, and will still probs beat you

thread hijack, whats the kerb weight of a 4 door 318i?

papercutout wrote:

Dan325iSport wrote: Dare I say it, I couldn't pull away from a Shitroen saxo vts on the A14 last week

I should hope not, the VTS is modern, small, and has a better bhp/ton ratio. Whats scary is the VTR is less powerful, and will still probs beat you

thread hijack, whats the kerb weight of a 4 door 318i?

i doubt it,

i have a mate with a vtr and my iS leaves it.

If you are worried about the extra weight over the front axle then add a carbon bonnet. The weight you will be removing will be higher up than the engine so will help lower the centre of gravity!

Simon13 wrote:18 kgs is nearly a bag of cement and thats all hanging over the front axle line. Not good. You will notice it but only homo's worry about it.

Thats what I was going to say and a lot of that weight is a long way forward. Just look at where a 4 pot sits and then look at a 6 pot.

M52... lighter built up than an m20

another great debate!

4 pots are easier to work on too....

i only have my car because someone else paid for the power (it cost $$$$) so it's not really a fair comparison, but I like c.300hp at the fly =D

4pot v 6pot handling is v noticable, even on the street...if you want power its much more sensible to get a 6 - they arent that bad =D

20 kilos is feck all. It is not heavy. It would be quite easy to strip that weight out of the rest of the car, as many people do, yet I hear no comments about how the cornering and balance has been affected by ripping the interior out.


I'd be interested to hear what the combined weight of components were for the turbo converison on your IS. Your getting some awesome power there. I'd bet it pushes the weight much closer to a 6 pot. Would you say the conversion has adversely affected the handling of your car?

TBH I take all comments regarding the differences in handling with a pinch of salt. On a day to day basis on the street, it will have feck all difference. For example, you would not change how you approach a roundabout. Perhaps at the limit on a track, it would feel different but not to the point where the car is shit at cornering or as bad as some people on here would have you believe.

when you strip an E30 saloon all the gains are over the rear axle, making them more twitchy. It's very hard to get the weight down on the front end regardless of which engine is fitted. As whats there from the factory is needed.

You can lift the front of a stripped E30 shell on your own. The rear of an E30 is heavy to help with the weight distribution when the car is together.

Corner weighting is the solve reserve of racing cars and extreme homo's with track slags

Rosco go outside and stick a bag of cement on the bonnet at the front and then say that. I agree with there being no problem with 6 pots and handling as my 325i touring and old sport have proved to me round the ring on numerous trips

not sure about the weight of components - possibly???

however with the I6 the weight is much further forward - more upsetting than having it in an I4 config

I am not saying 6pots handle rubbish - they can handle great, esp if you work around the extra front weight.

by "feel" you can feel the lack of weight in the front and it feels lighter. on the limit handle I personally find much easier to control, its much more throwable and easier to bring back into line

losing weight from the back doesnt make a noticable difference really (apart from being noisier =D) as its not in a sensitive area like over the front axle

its an opinion thing, and all e30s are great!