M50 conversion cost?

[pineapplehat]

Hi guys, recently purchased a 316i with M20B25 engine swap in it, the engine needs bits of work doing to bring it up to a good running standard. I've been tossing around the idea of chucking the old engine and going straight for an M50 conversion, any advice on this about what kind of costs I'd be looking at in total and problems I may encounter?

Cheers!

[Speedtouch]

http://www.e30zone.net/e30zonewiki/inde ... Swap_-_M5x

[pineapplehat]

http://www.e30zone.net/e30zonewiki/inde ... Swap_-_M5x

Thanks mate, already had a good read through this, I was more wondering about budgets for DIY or having it done 'professionally'

[ross_jsy]

Go straight for an m52 unless you want to run boost in the future. More power, lighter, probably easier to source.

Budget £2k to do it properly. This can obviously go down or up depending on how "properly" you want it done.

Also check out the m5x section of the forum, loads of threads and loads of info. It's been done so many times with so many combinations of box/mounts etc etc you will find research saves posting another thread asking what you will need

[Falamon]

Pineapple, sorry to Hijack.

Ross- I'm thinking about M52, but ideally want to boost it in the future... I was initially thinking M25B28 single vanos but wondering about something possibly bigger that won't be too much alternating... you got any good links to threads? I don't want to start a new post as they've all been done before, but i've read lots of your posts and you got a good idea of what's best so wondered if you could advise? Thanks dude

[jimbom30cab]

Hey Fal, you can take my M52 for a test drive if you like, might help you make your mind up

Sorry for the off topic post

[Falamon]

Jimbob - No worries mate that would be awesome! B28?

You going to be at the Cranleigh show?

EDIT - yes you are, just check the thread, sweet, looking forward to it!

[pineapplehat]

Go straight for an m52 unless you want to run boost in the future. More power, lighter, probably easier to source.

Budget £2k to do it properly. This can obviously go down or up depending on how "properly" you want it done.

Also check out the m5x section of the forum, loads of threads and loads of info. It's been done so many times with so many combinations of box/mounts etc etc you will find research saves posting another thread asking what you will need

Cheers for the advice Ross, much appreciated! Been considering boosting in the future which is why I initially thought of the M50, is boosting an M52 much more difficult?

Also on an unrelated note, has anyone else been having issues with the search function? Whenever I try to navigate off the first page of results I'm greeted with 'No topics or posts met your search criteria'

[Grrrmachine]

The "No topics" issue kicks in if you take too long to move between pages. Basically, the search forgets what you've searched for, so don't spend all night reading through one page of results.

[ross_jsy]

Pineapple, sorry to Hijack.

Ross- I'm thinking about M52, but ideally want to boost it in the future... I was initially thinking M25B28 single vanos but wondering about something possibly bigger that won't be too much alternating... you got any good links to threads? I don't want to start a new post as they've all been done before, but i've read lots of your posts and you got a good idea of what's best so wondered if you could advise? Thanks dude

Your options are a bit limited really, but it's not hard to build an m50b28 using an m52 crank and m50 block, the bores are the same size. You could even use the m52 head giving you VANOS if you wanted. Bear in mind an m50 will be good for around 500hp with nothing more than a thick head gasket (.120" or .140", I did the compression ratio calculations for both a few days ago for a member of another forum if they are of any interest to you) and ARP's, see below for a link to a zoners build. Any power increase from the increase in capacity will be quite small, but you will benefit from faster spooling. It makes sense to go down that route purely for the fact it's a good idea to freshen up the engine anyway, so rebuilding with a different crank isn't too much extra work.

I was originally going down the thicker MLS head gasket route, but I found some damage to a piston when the head was off so have gone down a different route. If you are willing to spend the money you could consider what I'm going for: m54b30 crank, 135mm rods (I am going for forged, but m50nv items are meant to be the strongest factory items and will handle up to around 600hp) and forged low compression pistons. There are no pistons for this application (m54's have a 1mm higher deck height so can't use those for boost without a thick head gasket) but I managed to find something in the Wiseco catalogue which I have calculated will give an 8.7:1 cr with a stock thickness gasket. I'll be bolting the head on with ARP's and I'm currently torn between O-ringing the block or using a CES pyramid "cutter" gasket. If you need a hand, PM me, I have been planning and researching for 5 years now and finally started buying all the bits in.

Craig's m50 turbo build thread: http://www.e30zone.net/modules.php?name ... c&t=212285

Cheers for the advice Ross, much appreciated! Been considering boosting in the future which is why I initially thought of the M50, is boosting an M52 much more difficult?

Not more difficult, it's just they have aluminium blocks which can strip threads, especially if you had a bad detonation for example.

[Falamon]

5 Years! Wow. I've had the idea for 2 now, I think another year of research may be needed!

I'll definitely be PM'ing you mate. Money's an option (to a degree, I'll probably chuck up to 20k for the full job including a 4k ish respray, but then it'll be an ongoing project so I can add boost at a later date and then mod the turd accordingly as you mention above.

Your knowledge is vast mate, I'm impressed with the figures