E30 Zone

as above just wondering on all the wierd convertions people have done over the years ?

They have indeed search forum, then engine modifications, then the s50 sub group

there are a lot more e36 m3 engined cars, manily because you can buy a complete e36 m3 for £3k and make a chunk of it back selling the bits you dont need, the e46 m3 lump is quite a bit more expensive and doesnt give all that much more power.

3 that i know of in uk

so would you guys say it would be less hasstle and money to get an e36 m3 lump?

if so the 3.0l or the evo 3.2l with vanos problems which can cost 2k

The E46 M3 engine is massive job.

Vanos failure is over hyped on the S50's.

the engine swap be it E36 or E46 lump is largely the same as far as getting the engine to fit, it is the electronics with the S54 engine (E46) which are the pain due to the fly by wire throttle and loads of other bits you need to fit so the ECU isn't playing a load of tricks.

Be advised, even doing the E36 M3 swap will end up costing you the thick end of £5k by the time you are finished doing it DIY. Loads of people think it can be done cheap by buying an E36 M3 and flogging all the bits like interior, bodykit, wheels & suspension etc, but even making this money back will still have you spending £5K.

If you look in the engine swaps section there is plenty info on these swaps - engine code name for the E36 engine is S50 B30 for the 3ltr and S50 B32 for the Evo lump.

Im doing an s54 swap atm, and so is Ajay on here, I know of 1 more person in the process of doing one. Munich motors have x 2 which are epic! Glenn has made one and had it running on s50 management.

The s54 really isnt that much more complicated then the s50, It does cost a lot to have the ecu reflashed tho But after thats been done and the wiring diagrams are followed its not as impossible as people make em out to be.

Benifits of the s54 : U can rev to 8k+ Delete MAF and have alphaN for more power, people are scared of doing the swap so the engines can be had fairly cheaply and the mileage's tend to be a lot lower.

apart from that its a very similar swap!

Just my 2 cents worth

An S54 with a carbon airbox would be just the ultimate engine for an E30.