2.7 or 3.5

[oze30]

I have a 2.7 bottom end, bare except rods/pistons from the eta, water pump (Which im going to replace, pulley/tensioner & crank. 6 branch as well.. and possibly a bbtb.

My choice is.. scrap the 2.7 idea and go 3.5.. or e36 2.5.

What do you think I should do?

[dazleeds]

id stick with the 2.7 unless you wanna spend every spare penny on juice

[Dan318-is]

Colin has to be m50 mate it makes so much more sense than those relics you are considering!

[oze30]

what is the M50 from?

[dazleeds]

e34/e36 as far as i know

[Theo]

E34/E36 2.5 24v lump, but ignore this, build a good 2.7 M20 - job done.

[Simon13]

i've driven an M50 2.5 and it's not better really than a good 2.5 M20 on the road.

2.7 mate proper ones deliver good performance and economy to shame the other options. M30 will be 15-20mpg thirsty old lumps

[Dan318-is]

if it HAS top be between those two, i agree with 2.7. 220 bhp from a 3.5? im not so sure

[Gouki]

go for the 2.7, M50 power wise is roughly the same so gain will be minimal. 3.5, is good, but its heavier and as pointed out, is a heavy alcoholic for petrol!

[--alpina--]

yeah 2.7 best way, if you have a block from a 1981-1986 you get a 11:1 ratio, after that the block produces 10:1, the pistons are domed on pre 1986, after tha its slightly concaved..


but either way u will see big difference, and also the insurance aint gonna know anything anyway cos it all looks the same.

Oh, use E36 325/323 injectors so the petrol dont lean out at top speeds, cos the 325 injectors are calulated for 2.5 up to 180 BHP the E36 injectors are catered to take 228 BHP which in the future u decide to mod something else the injectors are adequate enough to cover the fueling.



Regards


Jimi

[bottlecapE30]

go with the 2.7 i have one and had a m30. the 2.7 is lighter then both and makes the car feel more nimble

[ste]

Oh, use E36 325/323 injectors so the petrol dont lean out at top speeds, cos the 325 injectors are calulated for 2.5 up to 180 BHP the E36 injectors are catered to take 228 BHP which in the future u decide to mod something else the injectors are adequate enough to cover the fueling.

Nonsense.

[M5pilot]

Oh, use E36 325/323 injectors so the petrol dont lean out at top speeds, cos the 325 injectors are calulated for 2.5 up to 180 BHP the E36 injectors are catered to take 228 BHP which in the future u decide to mod something else the injectors are adequate enough to cover the fueling.

Nonsense.

Where do these rumours come from? An Alpina 2.7 uses standard injectors as does a Hartge H27 and they both produce well over 200bhp. I've seen numerous 2.7's with lots of power using standard injectors.

[M5pilot]

2.7 - make sure you build it is so that it is going to give atleast 210bhp. You will be very upset if it produces 180bhp.
A 2.7 with 210+ brake is a weapon, alot of the torque is available through the rev range and it makes for a very quick machine.

M52 2.8 - no harder than fitting an M50 2.5 - will be very quick and even quicker once some small mods are done. Cheap engines!

The 24v engines sound georgous and return some really good fuel economy, you get a MAF conversion for free. The hard part is the manifold.

Sal

[Andyboy]

When you boys have stopped pissing about with food mixer engines.........

6.4 litres, 345 bhp. Accept no substitute.

[Karan]

id do a 3.5 cos its cheaper and bigger,,, been in both and a 3.5 feels quicker

[Templ8e30]

When you boys have stopped pissing about with food mixer engines.........

6.4 litres, 345 bhp. Accept no substitute.

6.4 litres, 345 bhp approx 2 tonnes of ill handling soggy suspension and economy in single mpg figures. Nice












Not !.

I've gone the 2.7 route and have no regrets

Cheers,

Iain T

[320Touring]

When you boys have stopped pissing about with food mixer engines.........
6.4 litres, 345 bhp. Accept no substitute.

that works out at 53.9hp/litre.....

an m30 (3.5 220bhp) gives..62.85hp/litre

and a decent 2.7 (as sal says 210bhp+) gives..77.78hp/litre

so whats the food mixer engine?

moreover, there are better yank engines out there, 427 hemi's, 440ci dodge lumps etc. not to mention the crate motors, like the 572 chevy lunp (http://www.crateenginedepot.com/ZZ572-C ... P16C2.aspx)

[Andyboy]

6.4 litres, 345 bhp approx 2 tonnes of ill handling soggy suspension and economy in single mpg figures. Nice

Hmmm, an anonymous, tail happy selection of cheap plastics powered by an old SOHC boat anchor that a TDCi Mondeo could probably stay with. Nice.

It's called humour mate - maybe you should try it? As it stands, that 1959 Coupe DeVille will be in someone's collection when your sweet little BMW is dropped nose first into a foundry.

And 320 Touring - I expected as much from you as well. When a 1989 320i Touring is worth Ԛ£40'000 I'll take your comments on board!

[320Touring]

And 320 Touring - I expected as much from you as well. When a 1989 320i Touring is worth Ԛ£40'000 I'll take your comments on board!

I dont recall the question being what is a 320i touring worth?

anyways, just proving that your "accept no substitute" car isnt quite the hugely powerful monster you appear to make it out to be...

[Ant]

Given that you already have the parts required to build the 2.7 stroker mill, why even consider the other options ?

As already stated, build it hot from the outset and dont look back or better still, build it low CR and stick a Turbo on it

M50 is a generation ahead in design, but its heavier and by the time you've specced the diff to get decent gearing, the costs can soar, the 2.7 option is the only one to offer you a rebuilt engine, the rest are as good as the seller claims them to be............

[Simon13]

6.4, 3 on the tree and alot of torque. Looks exceptionally cool to me!

[Andyboy]

And 320 Touring - I expected as much from you as well. When a 1989 320i Touring is worth Ԛ£40'000 I'll take your comments on board!

I dont recall the question being what is a 320i touring worth?

anyways, just proving that your "accept no substitute" car isnt quite the hugely powerful monster you appear to make it out to be...

Do you know what irony is perchance?

[320Touring]

And 320 Touring - I expected as much from you as well. When a 1989 320i Touring is worth Ԛ£40'000 I'll take your comments on board!

I dont recall the question being what is a 320i touring worth?

anyways, just proving that your "accept no substitute" car isnt quite the hugely powerful monster you appear to make it out to be...

Do you know what irony is perchance?

do you know what calling a bluff is?

liking the attitude- another pacerpete in the making methinks

[Andyboy]

6.4, 3 on the tree and alot of torque. Looks exceptionally cool to me!

AT LAST! An E30 nut who appreciates something other than an E30! I bet Ant secretly harbours a desire for 19ft of Yankee muscle. Me? I absolutely love it. Corners? Who cares!

As Pacerpete said, E30's will probably end up as fridges and Cadillac repair panels!

[Andyboy]

Still - it's no good because it doesn't do 38 mpg! The reference to a 1959 Cadillac was meant as humour - sadly there are some here who cannot accept it as such and choose to make an issue out of it.

How uttery sad for you both.

[Ziggy]

liking the attitude- another pacerpete in the making methinks

Love it!

[Andyboy]

Which fifties/sixties America chariot for you Mr Zig? I can see you in a 63 split window 'Vette.

[--alpina--]

Hi dudes, yeah these injectors, ive done this (changing to E36 325 injectors) and it works well, you do notice the difference big time speciall in the midrange, try for yourself, i bought the injectos for like Ԛ£30 including the rail and i saw it come of the manifold of the engine, took me what 30 mins to put on and took it for a drive on the M25 and felt better and responsive, if you got a 2.7 engine then it would be beneficial,alpina used the standard 325 injectors and they make there cars fast and good, but also they wanna sell them, if the MPG is poor nobody wants a car that will do 10m to the gallen as an example.., but hey try it cheap injectors and works, no point arguing if you think it was no good then mention it...


You can only try!!!! (suck it and see style)


Jimi

[SPADGE]

Colin
I told you my oppinion last time you were round here!
I don't know where people are getting silly low fuel consumption figures from for the M30 as i ran a 535i sport auto for 2 years and it rarely returned much less than 25mpg That was an auto and the car weighed a lot more than an e30!
Regardless if you want the power then there is always going to be a trade-off somewhere along the lines.
Doing an M30 will cost you much less than going the 2.7 route as long as you source the donor car cheaply as i did

[Andyboy]

Indeed - there's a red 535i Sport in a breakers yard in Bloxham (Banbury) with a 3.5 and manual boix waiting to be plucked out. When you can buy a running 535i manual with a decent engine and box for Ԛ£350, spending loads on a 2.7 doesn't make a lot of sense really.

[--alpina--]

Hey spadge,putting anM30 engine into an E30 wouldnt u need to uprate the brakes to stop to car as the engine being a large 6 pot would be heavier??



james

[SPADGE]

Hey spadge,putting anM30 engine into an E30 wouldnt u need to uprate the brakes to stop to car as the engine being a large 6 pot would be heavier??



james

The M30 engine weighs about 50kg more than a 325 lump so if the brakes work fine with a passenger or two in the car then they should be fine with the added 50kg
I will uprate them anyway at some point but am in no hurry.

[pacerpete]

I don't believe in wasting my precious time or money so i done the right thing, i went and bought a 261 bhp M30 with an Alpina B6 3.5 attached to it for Ԛ£1500, the digital gauge cluster is a sight to behold at dusk !

Andyboy you hero, it don't get much better than a '59 coupe de ville ,back in '59 weren't BMW still figuring out where to put the 4th wheel !

[SPADGE]

Indeed - there's a red 535i Sport in a breakers yard in Bloxham (Banbury) with a 3.5 and manual boix waiting to be plucked out. When you can buy a running 535i manual with a decent engine and box for Ԛ£350, spending loads on a 2.7 doesn't make a lot of sense really.

I paid Ԛ£250 for my e34 and it was still mot'd and taxed Drove it home form Acton and it didn't miss a beat The geezer i bought it from had owned it for 15 years and it had never missed a service.