M50 track car needs more power.

[Slarty_Bartfast]

Evening all

After spending all weekend flying found (excuse the pun) RAF Marham on their 4 mile track. I am looking to get more power for my track car, and thinking best way would be to pop in another engine.

Which other engine could I fit with the least amount of hassle???

M3 3.0L would be nice…

Slarty

[jmc330i]

What engine is in there at the moment? 2.5 or 2.8?

[Slarty_Bartfast]

What engine is in there at the moment? 2.5 or 2.8?

2.5

[fuzzy]

i found that any engine can be fitted with no hassles. all i do is drop it of at the chosen 'specialist' tell them what i want then pick it up when complete.no problem the purists will tell you to stick with bmw which is probably the wisest thing to do but i prefer the unusual.depends how much your willing to spend?

[jmc330i]

Well power can be got from the 2.5, but you would be best aksing on the E36coupe forum for that I guess.

I was hoping you were going to say the 2.8 because that can be easily tuned for good power, but with a bit more work it can be tuned for decent power

M3 3.0 S50 shouldnt be too hard a jump as most of the work would of been done fitting the M50. In saying that, there isnt that much work to actually get either engine in.
You would need to sort the exhaust manifolds, possibly a new exhaust and a bit of wiring (depending on the differences between M50/S50). The inlet plenum would need modding, because if I remember rightly, your car has the Porker 944 brake servo???

Not sure what gearbox youve got (E34 5 series rings a bell), but it should bolt up to the S50, whether it could cope is another matter.

[Slarty_Bartfast]

Yes it's got the Porsche 944 booster and an E39 gearbox.

Currently running 185 bhp and about 150lbs torque (ish)

Had the speedometer on the stop at 150mph and 7500rpm on the mile straight, and it maxed out about ¾ of the way down!! A friend in an E46 M3 was pulling away at 160mph.

Not really fussed about increasing the top speed, just need to get her there a bit quicker.

[diamondblacke28]

the e36 m3 cam shafts go straight in the m50 motor.
result more power.

[DanThe]

the e36 m3 cam shafts go straight in the m50 motor.
result more power.

The US M3 cams.

Totally different engine to our M3.

[buster]

the e36 m3 cam shafts go straight in the m50 motor.
result more power.

The US M3 cams.

Totally different engine to our M3.

there were some of those on uk ebay the other week,in the uk !

[jmc330i]

the e36 m3 cam shafts go straight in the m50 motor.
result more power.

Only the US spec M3 cams - the Euro cams wont fit. The US spec M3 (S52B30) engine is basically an M52 engine.

EDIT - Too slow - 2 people replied before this damn laptop let me

[Slarty_Bartfast]

Would I need any mapping/engine management alterations to make the most of these, if I can find any??

Slarty

[buster]

Would I need any mapping/engine management alterations to make the most of these, if I can find any??

Slarty

Not sure mate,just seen some us spec cams on ebay about 2 weeks ago.

[maxfield]

I wouldn't go with an S50/S52 as it's a very heavy engine i believe iron block

[buster]

I wouldn't go with an S50/S52 as it's a very heavy engine i believe iron block

Why not ?
Ive got s50 power,same as a few others on here.Cant argue with 321bhp standard.Not a lot heavier than the m20 engine,about 40 kgs more.
Infact appart from the 2.8 alloy block engine all the m30,s50,m50 conversions are iron block.
Also he already has a m50 in there.

[maxfield]

I thought the M50 was aluminum block maybe rong tho. Just i always thought it was exceptionally heavy but 40lg aint that much. Go for it then plenty more power

[buster]

m52 is alloy block ,2.8ltr

[maxfield]

Ah was close enough then you learn something new everyday

[buster]

Ah was close enough then you learn something new everyday

No probs.
A lot of people think the s50 is an s52.But the s52 is the US m50 based engine with the said cams mentioned above in them.