thinking of putting S54 in my cab advice please?

[BMW_E30vert]

my m20 lost compression and aint starting anymore(this is the second engine gone in 2months) im thinking of doing a s54 swap i have the engine sitting in a mates garage from an m3 he scrapped im getting the engine really cheap just wondering how much this sort of convertion costs, minus the engine cost? and is it really worth doing to a cabby would the chassis be able to handle the power? i just want a brief intro to what i might be getting myself into.
the engine comes with everything minus gearbox.

[turk]

to start off u have to either go standalone management + custom loom whoch are capable of running the vanos properly. OR having the original reflashed.
U will still have to do a lot of custom electrical work to get the fooker working.
5bar + fuel pump. Uprated brakes, suspension.Custom exhaust manifolds, custom oil cooler and pipes. M50 baffle plate (is a must if you dont want this one to blow up too) from vac $200 plus import tax and postage. Then u have the 8000 mile service incriments to consider with expensive oil and parts. poly bushes and mount all round. custom prop, a gearbox that can handle the power. a tall ratio diff so u dont do 15mpg combined
and a whooollleee lot more If you are going to the expense of putting one of these in then u must make sure the car will handle it.
I personally think a cab would struggle to put down the power.

[Dave_M3]

I don't think the extra cost of an S54 in a cab would be worth it as at best it still wouldn't let you get the full potential from an S50 relative to a tin-top.

What you want for a cab is a nice torquey brute of an engine and one that'll sound lovely with the roof down.

I fitted an M52b28 to one with a friend over the summer and even though I didn't think it was the right choice at first especially as it was a tec 1 sport, once I drove it it just felt perfect as the light engine didn't promote any more chassic flex etc and 200/230bhp would be perfect in my opinion for a cab. The owner was thinking of supercharging it but has decided it is fine the way it is after driving it for abit.

Strong M52, Sport or 318iS gearbox and a 3.64 diff is the way to go me thinks

[emdog16]

It would be cool just to do it but it would cost you a TON of money and it would be a TON of work. The s54 ecu is making something like 25million decisions per second as it is covered in sensors of all shapes and sizes. It's been done before, I think somewhere in the ballpark of like 6K (not including motor)

[Dave_M3]

Two of the posters in this thread are currently doing an S54 swap. It doesn't cost 6K excluding the engine though!
Well unless you rebuild the rest of the car too but thing is you kinda have to with 340-400bhp

[emdog16]

Sorry... Canadian prices an s54 in Canada generally goes for like 5000 dollars with a tranny, then if you run Standalone you're looking at like 2K then all the rest of the nickel and dime crap its getting up there man.

AND THENNNNNNN.... Build up the rest of the car!

[turk]

I reckon excluding the ecu costs and engine cost, its very similar to the S50 cost wise, but better

[emdog16]

s50 is wayyyy easyer though, wiring an s54 is a logistical nightmare! I plan to do it one day

[turk]

Its not that bad I promise. Worth it in the end

[Dave_M3]

Haha, my engine, box, loom and ecu were at the healthy side of 1500 euro

[emdog16]

thats a solid price!