m42 tuning options

[mikekean]

i want to replace the boat anchor in my 325 sport rally car with a 4 pot of some kind as the m20 is far to heavy. i was thinking of getting an m42 as there pretty cheap to buy and is an easy swap for the m20. but what tuning options do i have in the end with ITB's i want around 220-230bhp. i will be getting the obvious cams headwork ect. but does anyone know of any strokers kits or spesh parts to get me some HP. ITB's wont come untill mid next year but im looking for that same power if not more than my m20 without them.
any ideas guys?

[GrindCulture]

220bhp will be seriously hard work, damn near impossible N/A. Not even metrics mechanics M42 are over 210bhp. Turbo will have to be the way to go here I reckon. Turbo M42s seem like awesome bits of kit, but are by no means cheap...

[Aubs]

It would be alot easier and cheaper to fit an S14 than try to get that power out of an M42

[ShepsEvo3]

Get an S14 instead

[GrindCulture]

Or if you can find an S42 (I'll kill you and steal it)

[Ant]

or pop in an XE feck the purists !

M42= good but £££££ to tune for big HP
why not pop an alloy M52B28 in there ?? will make your target HP if you used an M50( modded) intake manifold

[mikekean]

ive allways wanted an s14, but there expensive to buy. and i dont know how i would fit the exhaust manifold round my z3 rack as they dont even fit with the normal one. and it would have to be a 2.0. i have thought alot about the M52B28 in the past few months and i was really set on having one, but it puts me in a class where i will be well out of my depth. where as the 2.0 class although ill still have a hard time atleast i wont have and escort cossie screaming up my ass. a 2.0 ford duratec is my dream conversion. and although i like getting my hands dirty i know i dont have the skills to do a perfect job of it. and if its not perfect ill just be pissed off every time i look under the bonnet. plus id be looking at a good 8k to do it when i dont want to spend more than 4-5k really at the most. which is why i though of the m42 but didnt realise they where that hard to get power out of.

[Ant]

unless you go FI , the S14 is gonna be the best option.

Stroked and overbored M42 @ 2.1 litres, big cams, high CR and TB's will eat more than the S14 would cost easily, and possibly not make as much power.

Duratech would be a nice swop, use the ford trans and a custom prop, no worries

TB's and S/Alone but of course

[mikekean]

yeah i reckon the duratec is going to be the new Cossie/XE, light as hell and 300bhp can be had for reasonable money. but im not after that much power 220 will do me. so webber alpha ITB's and a set of cams will acheive that. its just the hassle of putting it all in etc. m42/s14 just slots straight in then i only have to mess with the manifold. cheers for your help guys. guess i have alot of thinking to do.

[GrindCulture]

Good luck with deciding on a motor mate, keep us posted.

[ShakeyC]

For itbs and power level your aiming at lots of options, below a brief list of good engines and rwd transmissions that will go around 200-220bhp on pretty much standard internals bar cams and rod bolts which all widely available, most kit cars use these with either Jenvey itbs or bike itbs

Zetec 1.8 or 2.0, ST170 cheap to buy lots of spares and tuning bits easily available
Sigma 1.4, 1.6, 1.7 very light and revvy cheap to tune and very very economical to run
Duratec 1.8, 2.0, 2.3, (2.5, 2.7, 2.9 stroked) expensive to buy and tune but serious power gains to be had
Toyota 4age 1.6 - revvy bit heavier again lots of tuning bits available
XE - same as Zetec all round although transmission needs little more thought

[jaistanley]

How about a ford duratec 2.3 on itb's? Just throwing it out there...

[mikekean]

id love a 2.3 but it can be anymore than 2.1 because of the class i want to run in. the route im going to go down is a 2.0 duratec or a s14b20 later is alot easier and tbh works out roughly the same as a duratec money wise its just heavier than the duratec. but easier to fit hmmm decision decisions itb's is a must gotta love the noise. my brother has a 200bhp 2.0 zetec on ITB's and the noise just make me drool.

[ShakeyC]

Whats the series your wanting to race in be bit easier to knowing what rules and restrictions are in place.

[oldroydsr4]

S14 is imo the best option, loads of tuning parts, cheaper to buy and install than the durated and if you were ever to sell the car you would have no prob at all, with a duratec it may not be so easy.

On the above , i see no other real option.

[mikekean]

im not going to be racing in any series. im going to be competing in special stage rallies. so the classes are. upto 1300. 1300-1600, 1600-2000, unlimited, 4wd and F2. i want to run in 1600-2000 as i will get slaughtered in the unlimited class.

s14 is probably the best option for me. but i reckon for outright performance the duratec would be best. its just the availabilty of s14b20's isnt that great where as duratecs are ten a penny.

[e21Jason]

Hi

Sub 2.0l an s14 is the way to go for a bmw engine, Iam buildign up a 2.0l s14 at the moment it only took about 3 years to find the parts.

Other wise an s2000 is fast out of the box and there are a lot of cheap US parts or a duratec as it will become the new pinto

Jason