E30 Zone

my m50 in my touring is getting a bit tired so its coming out over the winter but im undecided what will be going back in

m52 will knock spots off an m30 you'll want a b28 or b30 though

Its entirely up to you, but if you have an M50'd E30, then I would keep things simpler with an M52.

Money/time would be well spent on refurbing an M50/M52, as your not gonna get really any performance difference swapping to either engine, and even the M5x's are all getting old and tired now.

it's a no brainer mate, m52 every time!!!! you already have near enough everything to do a m52 swap and when you cook it you can build the remains into the m50 block

Note; Not that much difference performance wise, but the M52 will/can be quicker.

Bob was quick to say stroke it to a B28/B30 though. That'll give you a noticable increase!

m52b28 is the least you'll want to bother with. m50 inlet and your good for 200+ my 2.8 was rapid and would push the b30 I had along nicely!

M52 is going to be a better real world engine to live with, I mean fuel consumption etc.

The M30 has it's charms as a grunty workhorse.

Lads, this thread has the potential to get messy, so play nicely

24v all day every day ftw

M52 with the M50 325 inlet manifold can get you 220bhp or 235 with a remap after. you can buy modified inlet manifolds for £150 on ebay.

i just left a zoners house who has an m52 waaaiting to go in his nos prepared touring with an m50 intake and a very tidy looking 6 branch that he made,that blokes a nutta!

The M30 WAS a good conversion but now that M52's can be had for peanuts it's the only serious choice!

Dezzy wrote:The M30 IS a good conversion but now M52's can be had for peanuts , as you'll no doubt need 2 of those!

E30BeemerLad wrote:M52 is going to be a better real world engine to live with, I mean fuel consumption etc.

The M30 has it's charms as a grunty workhorse.

Lads, this thread has the potential to get messy, so play nicely

Stop kidding yourself Lee

I see the usual brigade is on again

my 2 pence...

M52 is nice and revvy/lively, better on fuel , much smoother, and obviously more advanced

M30 nice low down grunt, not as lively but still packs a decent punch,

depends completely on your driving style and what you use the car for ..the M30 has "soul" and will live forever if treated right, something I like in an old car

the M52 will shit it's ally block if neglected or overheated !

If you've got a M50 in there already, it makes sense to go M52.

If you use your touring for carting around loads of crap, a family, caravan, trailer then maybe it's worth the effort of changing everything over for a M30 just to get the balls out torque.

I still reckon cabs and tourings (fat arse E30's!) are best suited to M30's while lighter saloons respond better to less torque/more revs from a 24V donk.

Horses for courses really. You should try and bag a ride in one of each if you're in two minds, decide for yourself as there is definately two camps regarding M5x and M30 engines... the M5x camp being, err, camp (sorry, i had to have a pop at some point, i'd been too helpful there!)

Gareth tut tut.

I agree though it's a lifestyle choice

if you,ve already got the m50 in there why not just refresh it and slip a m54 crank in there to take it up too 3.0ltrs alone with some cams?

As I said, its down to preference.

If its a daily, an M30 will guzzle petrol (I really mean it, guzzle!). They are just like the M20B25 with more grunt. Its an engine that has character and suits E30s well. Also you can call your car a 335i :p

Either way, my alligence is still with the M20. Rebuilding one of these, a nice BTB manifold, lightened fly, etc, etc. Then the B25 is grunty, snappy and so much better than anything posted so far on this thread. Although it might not be as quick as a good M52 or as meaty as an M30. But .... the noise

I was very impressed by the way my M50'd touring yanked a loaded car trailer for hundreds of miles a few weeks back,returned about 23mpg as well.

Have noted since that there seems to be a bit of an oil stain above the exhaust exit though,so i guess that my 150k engine is getting toward the end of it's days as well.

I can see a lot of sense in following the Dezzy/Danthe route,M50 iron block with M52 oily bits,depends on how long you can have your car in bits as to just how viable this will be for the OP.
My thinking would be to buy a donor car just for the engine parts needed and the later ECU,then build the needed bits into the existing M50.

well my mind is now made up just bought an m52 just need someone to do the loom as its out of an auto and i as much taken out as i can

Im giving the m30 a vote on this one!

staley_turbo wrote:Im giving the m30 a vote on this one!

indeed if you have that one as in your signature

tommy22 wrote:well my mind is now made up just bought an m52 just need someone to do the loom as its out of an auto and i as much taken out as i can

Have you got all the ECU and EWS bits?

Contact DanThe about a loom for plug & play simplicity and no bodgery

Plug and play is the way

ive just got a ... 335i and its just as good on petrol as my 320i. before i got it i wanted to do an m50 swap because of fuel and the responsiveness. ive now 100% changed my mind! its nice and smooth round town but on the motorway it really flys! ive had a few fast cars ( e34 540i 6speed manual, e34 530i v8 manual, jag xjr 4.0 v8 supercharged, mk2 golf vr6, 328i sport, mk3 vr6 etc...) even though im only 24 and this still feels very fast. i still would like to try a m52 though lol