stroker kits

[Stoot]

Hi ive just been looking into stroker kits as an option but can only find one site that supplys them and its in the usa and bloody expensive. Does anyone know where to source them and are they really worth all that money?

Cheers

[jmc330i]

A 2.8 M20 is very doable over here and won't cost as much as those kits. I like the blurb of the 3.1 kit giving performance beyond an E36 M3... Maybe the US spec M3, but not a Euro M3.

Any particular reason you want to go that route?

[HairyScreech]

Depends what kind of strokes you want to do. A 2.8 can be done quite cheaply anything else gets more expensive.
What capacity are you looking for?

[Stoot]

cheers for the info.

Thers no particular reason i'm just going to be taking the m20b25 out of my project car while the shell is fixed up and sprayed and trying to find out the best route to go down for a bit of extra power. Seems like the main options are stroker kits or turbo kits as well as cam etc. want to do a bit of research and get a few opinions before spending all that cash! Also im assuming a custom ECU will be needed for big mods?

I thought if I was going to do the work might as well do the 3 or 3.1 but maybe a 2.8 makes quite a big difference?

[jmc330i]

What sort of extra power levels you looking for?

Tbh, I don't know how much of difference any of the stroker kits will make. I've seen a 2.8 M20 make not much bhp over standard, but quite a bit more torque, so I would think its more about torque than out right power. My thinking is the M20 is old tech and not particularly economical in standard form - stroke it to 2.8 or above and I can imagine it being even worse.
It won't be cheap to get 220+bhp from an M20 in N/A form once you cost up a cam, ecu remap etc, even a decent turbo set up will be £3k.

Unless you have a soft spot for the M20, I'd be spending the money on a 2.8 M52 conversion.

[Sanchez]

Little of topic but do you no Gibby?

He's in Orkney and has a M3 and 320is.

[Stoot]

Yeah that sounds like a good idea. engine swap is a route I havnt looked into yet but looks like it might be easier and cheaper than trying to tune up a m20! Im looking to keep the styling of the car quite standard but keen on getting the bhp up quite a lot as i currently run a 230bhp e46 and dont really want to go slower. I will start to look into engine swap options i think. cheers

[e30-EVN]

get a decent m52 in your e30 and you wont wanna go near your e46 mate.! my m52 eats 330ci's for breakfast..... and its an economical lump when treated nicely to which is supprising

[Stoot]

no i dont think I know gibby, is that both E30s your talking about Sanchez? Rarely see any in orkney! I just rescued mine out of a field! been off the road 10 years! currently offshore so havn't seen it in person yet but my mate picked it up and sent me some pics and it looks surprisingly clean!

That sounds great e30-dk! I will definitely look into doing that conversion!

[Stoot]

After reading up on engine conversions I think im going to go for the s50b32 as the conversion doesnt seem much harder than the m50?

[jmc330i]

Not much more difficult - fitting the engine is much the same, wiring much the same, 6spd box requires custom mount and front section of prop (you could always use the 5spd). But its much more expensive, engines aren't cheap and the exhaust manifolds are an expense (not worth bodging, you may as well fit an M52).
With the weight of the S50, a decent tuned M52 will be almost as quick, but the noise of the ITBs is worth it when the Vanos kicks in.

And the M-Power lumps do look good under the bonnet...

[Stoot]

Yeah the m52 does seem like the sensible option! i have noticed on ebay the m52's are much cheaper. But i never seem to manage to go for the sensible options! I'm willing to spend a lot on the car though as I intend to keep it when its done. I didnt know about the gearbox needing custom parts thanks for the info! I found a company called AGK that supply the conversion parts like wire loom adapter and mounts but nothing there for the gearbox mods. Do I have to do that myself or is there a company that supplies that too?

That engine looks great in there!! Is that your car?

[jmc330i]

Yes mate, great fun was had. Engine is no more though, sold to fund my house

If you use the E36 M3/328i 5spd box, you can use the E30 gearbox mount and E30 M3 prop. You only need the custom mount etc if you use the E36 M3 6spd box found on the 3.2ltr M3s.
Engine mounts are the E36 alloy arms with E28 M5 rubber mounts for road use or the AKG ones for track. Some people say the E28 ones aren't great, but I had no problems with fast road use.
You can get the wiring adaptor from a guy on here, although DIYing it isn't that hard - I did mine in a few hours with some new pins from BMW and a soldering iron.


You're looking at £6k for the S50 conversion and that's if you DIY it, it'll be more if you're paying someone to do it for you.

[HairyScreech]

As above, if a stroker kit seems expensive then an engine swap would be out as well, the hidden costs really add up with any engine conversion.
Even something like an m42 swap can end up costing 1k.

[Stoot]

I dont mind spending the 6k for the conversion. I plan to do it myself. the car only cost me £300. But thanks for the heads up. gonna cost me a bit to get the engine shipped all the way to Orkney haha!

I will just have to see what engines are available when I get home and get the M20 out then make a final decision on m52 or s50.

Do you think anyone will want the m20? dont suppose there is much demand for them?

[HairyScreech]

If its a b25 then stick it up on here. There is a fair demand for them still.

[reggid]

i can't see why you'd go to the trouble of an M52 swap when an S50 is not miles more work or $$$'s

[ross_jsy]

Because the real world performance isn't that different between the two and can you explain how £2k (to do an m52 properly) isn't that different from £6k? £4k is a lot of money to me...

[verde]

An e30 on orkney! dam your brave, I would have thought the life of an e30 there with the salt air would be between 7 and 8 minutes