Results 1 to 2 of 2

Thread: E36M3 engine varieties: US S52, Euro S50B30 & S50B32

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Nov 2004
    Location
    Arlington Heights, IL
    Posts
    2,211
    My Cars
    Z1, M3 LTW, 228

    E36M3 engine varieties: US S52, Euro S50B30 & S50B32

    I would encourage people to PM me with comments, corrections, additions or if they prefer, reply, and I'll edit this first page to update and correct information. Consider this V1 of the most frequently asked question in this forum.... time to sticky it.

    US M3 engines (240 hp)

    Conrod bearing size 45mm
    Two setting Vanos. (nl or advance, not variable)
    Headers of suboptimal design
    Hydraulic self adjusting valves
    WP is of questionable quality
    No oil cooler provision (First M engine to lack this)
    Single TB. (May favor torque, but certainly not HP)

    S50B30 (286 hp)

    Max HP 286 at 5900 rpm
    Max Torque 235 at 3600 rpm
    Redline 7200 rpm
    Conrod bearings are 50mm
    Forged Rods
    Intake vanos is continuously variable (30 deg?) each direction
    Headers are equal length, preserve torque (no O2 bungs)
    Bucket/Shim set up for valves, needs interval maintenance
    Excellent wp and thermostat set up
    Oil filter manifold provides thermostat and oil cooler
    Insulating ceramic spacers between header and cylinderhead
    Motronic dme and separate vanos controller, both “chippable”
    6 TB set up
    Late versions include EWS II
    Catalytic had O2 bungs pre-cat only.

    S50B32 (321 hp)

    Max HP 321 at 7400 rpm
    Max Torque 236 at 3600 rpm
    Redline 7600 rpm
    Conrod bearings are 49mm
    Sintered rods after 10.96 (I think)
    Intake and Exhaust cams continuously variable
    Headers improve slightly on 3.0 weight and thickness, include O2 bungs
    Dual pickup oil pan
    Compression bump from 3.0 version
    Ceramic spacers no longer included
    Siemens DME flash only, Vanos controller incorporated into main DME
    MZ3/Coupe versions may have EWS III

    Credit Jmitro for suggesting hp/tq/redline
    Looking for reliable reference on engine weights. (no reliable spec from factory exist I believe)
    Last edited by M3 Euro LTW; 05-06-2010 at 06:51 PM.
    Alex Lipowich
    xyobgyn on AOL

    Trying to make the world a better place with 5 extra throttle bodies at a time.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    May 2006
    Location
    The Netherlands
    Posts
    16,710
    My Cars
    DE-spec E36 328i/M3 cab
    Quite some wrong info listed.

    The insulating ceramic spacers were not between head and header, but head and ITB's.

    Peak torque on the S50B32 is 259 ft/lbs (350nm) @ 3250rpm with 251 available between 2600-6200rpm

    Peak HP for the S50B30 is @ 7000rpm

    Here's more, including weight. This is from BMW documentation.

    Weight 224KG (S50B30 236KG)
    Max engine speed 7600rpm (S50B30 7280rpm)
    Valve diameter,I/E (mm) 35/30.5 (S50B30 34 / 30.5)
    Compression ratio 11.3:1 (S50B30 10.8:1)
    Stroke mm 91 (S50B30 85.8 )
    Bore mm 86.4 (S50B30 86.0)
    Displacement 3201cc (S50B30 2990)
    The torsional vibration damper has been revised to match higher engine speeds
    1998 BMW M3 3.2 Cabrio • Alpinweiί III on Schwarz • German spec • 1 of 12
    SMG • SRA • PDC • AUC • OBC • GSM • HK • UURS • IHKA • FGR • MFL

    IG:
    https://www.instagram.com/iflok/



Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •