m50 questions

[dazleeds]

i have an l reg 325i e36
what i want to know is how do i know whether it has vanos etc

also what options are there for increasing torque and bhp cheaply on an m50 engine?

cheers

Daz

[dazleeds]

cmon wheres all the m50 boys

maybe your all out playing in the rain

ps how much would it cost to swap this into an e30??
i have a full donor car to scavenge from

[DanThe]

Vanos engines have the 'lump' on the inlet side of the cam cover at the front, yours probably is a vanos being an L reg.

Mine did a dyno run of 215 hp with basic mods, no cats, chip, lighter m20 flywheel, M30 airbox

[dazleeds]

Dan

what sort of mods have you done??

what did it cost to do the transplant in parts etc

i have a full donor car so only need to know about bits i cant use from the e36

oh and what torque figures did you get?

cheers
Daz

[beardymat]

if you have the full car daz then youre not short of much

e28 535/m5 rubber engine mounts
exhaust manifold (can be made up of bits if e36 has tubular manifold)
mk 2 golf servo
leccy fan

thats about it really, might be a few bits ive forgot but youre about there. get it done, multivalve`s sound great

[dazleeds]

hmm food for thought matt

now bout the moddability of the m50

[DanThe]

You will also need a sump and pickup pipe from an E34 along with the dipstick and tube.
I rate the E36 loom better than the E34 due to the longer ECU branch which means it will go inside the car without any extensions needing to be made.
A pair of tubular manifolds (which I have a spare set of )
A taller diff if you frequent the motorway often.
I had an E30 prop shortened and balanced for £55 which is the ideal way to go IMO

With what you already have your probably looking at about £200 to get it drivable

Heres my dyno thread - http://www.e30zone.net/modules.php?name ... t=m50+dyno

[dazleeds]

can i use my tech 1 gbox/diff and prop??

would ms get an m50 flying?? will it work?

[DanThe]

Yeah, just bend the selector shaft a bit and modify the mount

[dazleeds]

£200 and driveable

Dammmmmm thats pennys

are m50s worth cammin up??
how do i turn it ino an animal??

[beardymat]

you can use e30 box etc but it will sit on the piss due to the lean of the engine.only real downside is the gearstick will be over one way and might catch on the centre console.

forgot about the sump n pickup, doh!!

[DanThe]

how do i turn it ino an animal??

Follow my lead mate

[beardymat]

dont you have the m52 dan? same tuning principles i guess but a better starting block nontheless.

keep getting torn between m52 and s50, the lightweight block kinda makes sense but 300 horsies just brings out my dark side

still its always good to be able to turn corners.

[DanThe]

M50 non vanos in the car at the mo.
Ive got a shed full of bits im turning into another non vanos engine but with a 2.8 crank and some Schrick cams amongst other novelties

[shane325i]

And guess where the current non vanos engine is going to live when he finishes building the new one

[dazleeds]

Bump

more more more info please people

[ed325i]

I dont know if you can view this >> http://forum.bmw5.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t ... highlight=

[oguz327]

What happend to the 2.7 m20 then Daz?

[dazleeds]

What happend to the 2.7 m20 then Daz?

no work fella

so as this is available i think i,ll probably use the m50 for now

then either build the 2.7 later or upgrade to a larger 24v

[StuBeeDoo]

can i use my tech 1 gbox/diff and prop??

would ms get an m50 flying?? will it work?

IIRC, Andyboy said the M50 will fit directly on an M40 gearbox.

[JohnnyRob]

Get a big bore throttle body on the M50 - this is a favoured mod over at e36coupe.com

I've not fitted the BBTB on my 325 M50 engined e36 coupe, but have added a chip and Hamann rear box. The standard manifold is pretty good. She goes well.

A decent shielded induction kit, try the Gruppe M as I don't think the DaveF kit will work in the e30 engine bay (it's bespoke to the e36/e46) is also worth while and both these kits sound very good

[DanThe]

For the amount of money a BBTB costs you could probably fit a bigger throttle body altogether

[JohnnyRob]

The BBTB is well proven - I'm not sure what part you could fit in lieu of this but would be interested in any ideas.

[DanThe]

Im not saying it wont make a difference, but its only 1 or 2mm larger diameter than standard, I believe better gains can be had from a bit of butchery with a throttle body say 10mm bigger for a similar cost if not cheaper.

But it also depends on your ability to bodge I suppose

[JohnnyRob]

Indeed. I'm not sure that successfully sculpting a throttle body is the easiest of jobs - I know I couldn't!

[Andyboy]

Daz - I have an E34 M50 sump and oil pick up - £25.

The gearbox to use is the E30 318i M40 box. As long as it's in good condition you won't break it. A mate of mine ran a 200+ bhp 2.8 in a Compact with the standard 316i E36 box and that gave no trouble at all. It bolts to the back of the M50 and it's at the right angle. Best of all, M40 E30 boxes (the E36 unit is no good) are next to free.
The ultimate box is the 1991 H 520i/525i E34 box but they are mega rare. They only made them for a short while before switching to the E36 box. It's an overdrive Getrag 260, same basic garbox as rthe E30 325i but with the bellhousing bolts at the right angle. I've sold these for £200 as they are so rare.

[dazleeds]

nice 1 andy

is the sport box a big problem to use then ??
seems a shame to not use it as i have it

also is the tech1 lsd ok for the m50??

could ya not use an 318i bellhousing on a 325 box?? i have sport and non sport 325 boxes

any onfo u have would be a great help fella as i know you know plent on this lol

may well have the sump/pickup fella

[Andyboy]

The E36 box is no good because 5th gear is a direct drive 1:1 like 4 th gear on an E30 box. You'd be driving everywhere in 4th gear and first wouldn't be much use. So you would need a 3.25 M3 diff to make it work, £Â£Ã‚£Ã‚£Ã‚£Ã‚£Ã‚£Ã‚£Ã‚£.
You can't swap bellhousings on the 240 or 260 boxes sadly. An M40 316i/318i box is the cheapest way of doing it, it bolts on with an M20 flywheel and I'm sure you can use the 318i prop as well. A mate of mine in Worksop has a nice low mileage box and prop.
What colour is the 325i E36 btw?? I might need some odds and sods.

[dazleeds]

The E36 box is no good because 5th gear is a direct drive 1:1 like 4 th gear on an E30 box. You'd be driving everywhere in 4th gear and first wouldn't be much use. So you would need a 3.25 M3 diff to make it work, £Â£Ã‚£Ã‚£Ã‚£Ã‚£Ã‚£Ã‚£Ã‚£.
You can't swap bellhousings on the 240 or 260 boxes sadly. An M40 316i/318i box is the cheapest way of doing it, it bolts on with an M20 flywheel and I'm sure you can use the 318i prop as well. A mate of mine in Worksop has a nice low mileage box and prop.
What colour is the 325i E36 btw?? I might need some odds and sods.

granit silver

[Andyboy]

Post up a pic - if there's anything I need I'll holler and you can drop it down when (if) you come for the sump!

[dazleeds]

bump

anymore info pls

gotta decide whether to buy the car or sell it on asap

anyone have a definative list of what ill need to get this all working properly in a hurry

cheers

[march109]

Been reading through these threads myself as I'm thinking M50,

I'm no expert (yet) but think your best off with:

M50 engine (duh!)
M40 318i gearbox and prop
M20 Flywheel
E34 M50 Sump and oil pick up
E28 535/m5 rubber engine mounts
exhaust manifold (can be made up of bits if e36 has tubular manifold)
mk 2 golf servo also heard MK1 Gti but harder to find
leccy fan
and the E36 loom is preferred over the E34 due to length ECU can be housed near stock location.

-taller diff optional

(I've reference andyboy, DanThe and beardymat here to make one difinitive list)

[dazleeds]

cheers march

does anyone know if theres anything missing from this list???

also anyone fancy sorting the manifold out for me if i bring/send it etc as i can weld at all

1 last q whats a 102k m50 engine worth???

[maxfield]

Daz 2.7s going to be easier mate just my opinion tho

[dazleeds]

Daz 2.7s going to be easier mate just my opinion tho

from what i have read so far max

the 2.7 deffo isnt easier mate
and the costs involved to do it properly are certainly a hell of a lot more than just dropping the m50 in

would love to do the the 2.7 but just dnt have the spare cash at the moment