Engine Swap? How difficult?

[TheBestCow]

Hey guys... I'm kinda interested in getting an E30 318 or 325 and swapping in an E30 M3 Engine into her... how difficult/costly would this be? Is it possible to transform a 318/325 into an M3? I'm assuming I would need springs/shocks/sways to help make it more "motorsport"...

Good idea or no? Let me know!

[BimmerFanatic]

hmmm... why not just go for a e30 ///M3? I have actually never seen it done, ive seen e36 //M3 engines in e30 bodies. As with any engine swap its not easy. Maybe someone else could be more helpful.

[Bry]

I don't think swapping an E30 M3 motor into an E30 would be the greatest of upgrades. The S-14 is a very low torque motor, and only gets power from the upper rpm's (4k-7k). The transplant would yield a car that is wimpy and isn't very fast. What most people end up doing is swapping to a M50 or S50. The swap to the M50 makes an E30 very smooth, and it makes the car have lots of grunt and power.

The S-14 it self would be pretty costly. They range from 4k to 6k usually, I have seen some rebuilt 2.5L motors or Sport Evo motors selling for 10k. If you did the motor, you would need to do the trans, and the differential, so there would be a ton of stuff to swap out, which would be M3 specific. It would end up costing a whole lot more than it would be worth. To convert an E30 to a M3 is laborous. Most things can be changed out, but I've heard that the C pillars are hard things to do (as they are different). It would be cool to make it an E30 M3, but for the price, it wouldn't be worth it.

I would suggest buying a regular E30, dropping a M50 or even S50 motor into it, and you would instantly have a very very fast car. It would be a lot cheaper than a S-14, since parts would be more prevalent and cheaper.

Whatever you decide to do, happy driving! :)

[bamzilla]

yo kevin good to see you showing some e30 love :buttrock Id go with the e30 with the M50 conversion which is something Im gonna do...possibly...well later at least. Either way its better than Ye ol 318.
Good luck man
Drew

[Stockman]

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[SC87325is]

ss328, what are the weight differences between the M10, m20, and m50/s50? (also aluminum/iron block?). Would you have this info handy?

One of the problems with going from a 318 to a more powerful engine is the sudden increase of front end weight. One thing to look into might be a downing supercharger, as you would get a fifty percent increase in power at the expense of fifty pounds up front, some money, and some reliability. Verse a lot more wieght up front and some money for a M50, or not much wieght up front but alot of money for the s14.
If you do change engines, make sure you get the right springs for the different weight.

[Stockman]

I have no clue.. I just copied and pasted from that website

[Bry]

Originally posted by SC87325is
ss328, what are the weight differences between the M10, m20, and m50/s50? (also aluminum/iron block?). Would you have this info handy?

One of the problems with going from a 318 to a more powerful engine is the sudden increase of front end weight. One thing to look into might be a downing supercharger, as you would get a fifty percent increase in power at the expense of fifty pounds up front, some money, and some reliability. Verse a lot more wieght up front and some money for a M50, or not much wieght up front but alot of money for the s14.
If you do change engines, make sure you get the right springs for the different weight.

I think the difference between the S-14 and the M50 is somewhere in the range of 50-70 lbs. This is off of the top of my head, so I don't know if it is correct. You can easily lose this weight by dropping a few things, such as the a/c. Some people do carbon fibre hoods, which yields quite a bit of weight saved. The problem with carbon fibre is that in collisions it is not very safe.

Imagine a M50 with a supercharger. That would pump tons of power. I have a video of this type of car, and it is pretty amazing

[SDbboy]

Put an S54 in your e30. That will leave you with anything but a wimpy feeling.

ha ha

Brian

[SC87325is]

I was wanting to do a swap with the new 4.5 engine....(Into my old six)
Or maybe the six liter twelve.

But I was wondering about how the balance would be upset in a 325is. Doesn't look like it would.
BTW, my aircon is already out, and it helps the push immensely!

[Shockwave]

Originally posted by SC87325is
I was wanting to do a swap with the new 4.5 engine....(Into my old six)
Or maybe the six liter twelve.

But I was wondering about how the balance would be upset in a 325is. Doesn't look like it would.
BTW, my aircon is already out, and it helps the push immensely!

How hard was the aircon removal? How much weight did that take out of your car?

You say it was a noticeable difference in performance? When the aircon belt is taken off, does it upset the balance of the crank? Did you need a new drivebelt if the former was the case?

Any help is much appreciated. :cool:

[SC87325is]

There is one tough thing, the gas from the Fuel pressure regulator goes to the coolant lines to get cooled. You can remove this and route it directly to the metal return line on the driver's side of the firewall, but due to positioning, and neccesary tightness of the fitting, it is a PITA! You can also remove the two gas routing lines around the firewall if your car has this "feature".
Removal is easy, if you choose do do it the right way and take out the radiator. I chose not to (Because of the large number of pets running around the apartment complex and how coolant can KILL animals) which made it a bit tougher.
Starting from the firewall, I removed the connectors for both hoses removed the dryer, and disconnected the hoses to the pump. I removed the pump, then removed the fan/condensor from up front. Getting to the fan is not easy, and in order to remove the fan and condesnro without removing the radiator, I had to bend some of the tabs on the fan. I also had to unmount the radiator to get some more clearance when removing the fan and condensor, along with the front grill pieces.
Good question on the balance of the crank, but I would expect not. the force on the crank might seem high, but it is at a low torque point. Plus they sold these cars without airconditioning, and I am sure they didn't put a belt there just for positioning.
Weight, as quoted by alex mcHenry was 38.5 pounds for everythhing, and that seems about right.
Noticeable performance gain? At mid-ohio, I did not have as much trouble with the car pushing as I had had at CMP. But, CMP is a course where cars push, whereas I have no previous experience at Mid-Ohio. I woun't be back to CMP until the fall.
I had cut the belt to the airconditioning last time I changed belts. and never replaced it, so little difference in net power was noticed. (There may be 1 HP drag with the air not running, but I doubt it.) Overall, I would say a slight gain in cornering ability, but not much.
If your air works, or it may have a simple fix, save it. Mine had over 1000 dollars thrown at it by my parents a few years ago, and never worked after that. (always get a good mechanic!)

Go Canes!