E30 Zone

Last night in my 325i i was accelerating hard in third gear,and as soon as i hit around 5000rpm,the engine went bang,lost power and dumped the coolant out the exhaust!
today i took off the rocker cover and found two of the rockers had snaped off!
so i decided to dig deeper and take off the head,

check this out!







well as you can see its beyond repair and its time for a new lump!

i cant decide whether to stay with an m20 to keep it original,
or go for either m30 or m50 conversion,
i know whats involved for the m30 conversion (ie prop/radiator/engine mounts etc) but is there a thread for the m50 conversion,ie everything that is needed to complete,

which is the easiest conversion out of the two?

also off the mark which would be the quickest?

oooh, that looks messy

just waiting to be in the same situation as you, im going M50, it wont be long either.....lots of knocking at the moment.

now thats impressive, normally aspirated too

there is everything you need to know about fitting an m50 in the second sticky down in the engine swaps forum

That'll be alright mate, flush out the sump, drop in another piston and get a head from on of the chaps on here.

With that much damage I would imagine the bore is shagged as well.

Almost looks like the bottom of the valve snapped off then bounced around in the bore

just the right time for the m50 then!!!

MartC wrote:With that much damage I would imagine the bore is shagged as well.

Almost looks like the bottom of the valve snapped off then bounced around in the bore

Agreed apart from that there is no doubt whatsoever that the valve head snapped off and was pummled about at 5000 beats a minute.


M50/52 time for that car.

ive noticed you are all suggesting an m50 conversion
doesnt anyone rate m30s much anymore?

jaffro, your offer is very tempting,but your a bit of a distance from me

only managed to read half the sticky m50 conversion, its a bit of a long winded read!
is there a shorter version,ie parts needed off the doner car,other parts needed,can i use the m20 gearbox,anything needing relocating (battery is already in the boot)

thanks (in advance)

You can use the M20 gearbox although some favour the M42 (318 IS) gearbox, also the M20 flywheel is lighter than the M50 so you can use that as an upgrade along with your existing prop and diff.

Apart from that you need to fit a smaller brake servo (MK2 clio is good) to clear the inlet manifold.

All the other bits and bobs will be in that thread.... i keep meaning to read it but it's become a bit of a monster

well if your going to do it properly....

talk about mashed. If it was me in your shoes I would definetly consider the M50 conversion but only if your mechanically minded and happy to have the car off the road for a while as you do the work, etc.

im very mechanically minded but my only worry is im useless on electrics

Electrics are very simple (essentially just cut off one plug and attach a different one), and is well documented on here.
If you use a late engine (around post '95), you get the added complication of EWS, but this is still fairly simple, as long as you get all the matching bits.

it may sound stupid but whats the EWS?
also is there any weak points on the m50,ie head probs etc
i thought the m20 was bullitproof till monday night

M20 is a nice solid engine but they wont live forever.

i about a year ago the m30 was the conversion to do and loads of people did it (or are still doing it ) and now teh big thing is m50.

on paper the m30 is quicker and more powerful but the m50 is lighter and has 2 cams of goodness.

that m50 thread needs editing as it just gets lost in blab.


the only way to find out which is faster is to race........

if all goes well then me and e30beemerlad will be racing at the pod. if all goes well

2 tourers/tourings, one m50, one m30 to about teh same spec underneath, except his big ARB's and he will prop have stickier tyres.

conversion can take a long time....or they can take a weekend

oh and teh EWS is a immobiliser thingy which is normally located in teh bmw key.

jaffro opened his e30 and added the part from teh e36 key into it. then put the ring from the e36 ignition into the ignition barrel of his e30.

there is a bulk of wire under teh dash to be added but it seems pretty easy if you have all the bit and the know how.


why do i have such and issue typing THE?

Flozman wrote:That'll be alright mate, flush out the sump, drop in another piston and get a head from on of the chaps on here.

please please tell me that wasn't a serious comment?

M30's are very heavy and thirsty imo better engine to convert with out there for the same hassle

Whats the situation with insurance/dvla?
m50: do you just give new engine number to dvla because in reality its still a 2.5,and tell insurance nothing for same reason!

m30: im guessing you have to declare to both (or just dont crash)

M30 mate, may be heavier, but with the right diff and playing around, its easier to do and imo lots of them around for less money than the M50.More torque aswell.I'm having one done atm and can't wait to get it back.

Ouch!

I really don't know which engine i'd go for. What about a V12 just to make things difficult? hehe

I was considering m30 in the first place but all this m50 talk has got me thinking
m30 is more powerful (which is what i want) but there must be something in the m50 for loads of people to do the conversion,
besides weight i cant pin point why

economy??? (but no one buys an e30 to be economical do they

M30 is easier to do, but needs a few more mods than a M50 I think.

Go for the m50, easy to see 220 bhp, 35mpg, light, and looks damn good in the bay

must admit ive only sampled the m50 but if your car ends up anything like randomdaves monster you'll be a happy boy for a long long time

Whats m30 easily tuneable to?

300hp

easily tuned to 300bhp!

how?

Sorry...when I thought of M30, I thought of e28...so I naturally thought of m88/s38! 286hp...and then I rubbed one out...

To get a normal M30 to that level you would probably be looking at a turbo..

what is the m30 easily tuneable to?

what are they standard? they've gotta be pushing 210 ish eh?

on paper they are 211bhp standard

Alpina got theirs to around 260bhp in the B6 3.5, with cam and head, six branch, chip, etc.

If it's a fun second car then get an M30, cam and a chip/remap and you will be around 240-245bhp and still have plenty of torque.