Turbo M52B28 Aluminum block?

[blubav]

I thought I would put this question out there. Would it be worth it to turbo my single vanos M52B28 with an Aluminum block? Car is a 98 Zed, 105k on the clock.

[danomite]

...that would depend on your definition of "worth it".

There's no reason not to turbo the alloy block (contrary to the spread of rumors and old wives tails...see: gullible), so it's up to you to decide if you want a turbo car or not.

What's your budget, and how much powerz are you looking to make?

[MisterM52]

Yes it is, worth it, depending on how much you spend or invest in it, I myself have invested too much, but I also got my money back offering setups for other people.

I run a small positive displacement blower made by ogura and found in many toyotas, volvos and kawasaki ketskis and some speedboats, I have seen people with similar blowers and good tunes run 15PSI on these M52 and M54 blocks, all bone stock. I have played around with 20PSI Pulleys but I wouldn't risk it that much, keep in mind, psi would mean very little, depending on where its coming from and how much power you are trying to put through the motor..15PSi from a small sc blower maybe 10PSI from a fancy turbo.

[fmn716]

No issue boosting an alum block. Iron blocks are more forgiving to over heating and stronger for boost. You need to specify what type of number you have to be running


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[Gmfwd]

You will probably want to timesert the block and use ARP head studs to keep everything sealed. Other than that it should be as reliable as a iron block up to a certain point.

[autowa]

Why go through all that trouble and still have risk. Do it right from the start and find a m50/52 iron block

[someguy2800]

from what I've seen you could sell the aluminum motor and buy an iron m52 and make money.

[jakermac]

I will ship you an M52 iron block with all the required "fixings" in exchange for your aluminum block with the same aluminum block specific fixings and I'll cover that shipping too. There are some minor differences to the internals between the aluminum and the iron block, and I could sure use a spare aluminum back-up block.

[blubav]

...that would depend on your definition of "worth it".

There's no reason not to turbo the alloy block (contrary to the spread of rumors and old wives tails...see: gullible), so it's up to you to decide if you want a turbo car or not.

What's your budget, and how much powerz are you looking to make?

Gotcha well what mainly had me in doubt was stripping the block when the time comes to put arp's. Arp's with cutring hg and copper spacer is what I was going to go with. Goal is about 400whp on 93 with plans to eventually switch to e85. I was planning to reach out to either Ces or trm for one of stage 1 kits. (Gt30r vs Gt35r). I like the idea of having 50+ less lbs hanging over my front end just dunno if this block would hold up. Dano you actually inspired my wheel choice arc-8's in anthracite 9 front 10.5 rear. Car in question:

...that would depend on your definition of "worth it".

There's no reason not to turbo the alloy block (contrary to the spread of rumors and old wives tails...see: gullible), so it's up to you to decide if you want a turbo car or not.

What's your budget, and how much powerz are you looking to make?

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[wazzu70]

from what I've seen you could sell the aluminum motor and buy an iron m52 and make money.

This. Alloy blocks are in high demand so if you preferred an iron block it should not be hard to find someone willing to swap (aka Jakermac).

for that power goal though I would not hesitate to use an alloy block at all.

[danomite]

Gotcha well what mainly had me in doubt was stripping the block when the time comes to put arp's. Arp's with cutring hg and copper spacer is what I was going to go with. Goal is about 400whp on 93 with plans to eventually switch to e85. I was planning to reach out to either Ces or trm for one of stage 1 kits. (Gt30r vs Gt35r). I like the idea of having 50+ less lbs hanging over my front end just dunno if this block would hold up. Dano you actually inspired my wheel choice arc-8's in anthracite 9 front 10.5 rear. Car in question:



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Nice, glad to have been of service. Haha!

I wish people would stop perpetuating all of the "it won't hold" and "be sure to timesert it" nonsense about the Alu block. Our blocks will hold up to somewhere in the 700-800whp range before you even begin to run into block issues (boost creep and greed excepted ). I'm not super familiar with the rods and crank of the 2.8, but I don't think the crank is forged...rods should be.

Do not use ARP studs for the alloy blocks!!!

The ARP hardware that is used in the S52 is made specifically for the iron blocks. It doesn't take into account the differences in stretch with the alloy. You need to use the Raceware studs for alloy blocks. Cut-ring can be sourced through CES, and don't get the spacer...it's not necessary, especially if running e85.

400WHP on 93 will be no problem on the right set-up. If you're looking at the GT30 and GT35, you'll get there eezy-peezy! Make sure you have excellent tuning, and realize that the smaller turbo will be spoolier but run out of breath up top...especially if you're thinking about going e85 later on. With ethanol you can put in lots of timing to help a turbo spool faster...but honestly, the 35 is probably perfect for your motor either way.

[e30polak]

If you like the handling of the lighter motor up front, than switching to an iron block AND putting a turbo can be noticeable depending on the type of driving you do. This is coming from someone that's built and owned 2 swapped e30s, 1 being an s14 to s54 swap in an m3.

Therefore, if weight is an issue, your power goals are easily achievable with the aluminum block. The turbo set-up will add minimum of 40lbs over the nose of the car, so another 50 from the iron block will make matters worse.

If you plan to go e85 later, get either a GT35r or a precision 6266, as the gt30 will run out of breath on the corn.

[m5james]

Bumping an old thread in hopes that those who are in the know are still active and can give their 02.

GF had a 99 528iT, blew the headgasket so I swapped the whole powertrain at once after getting a used setup from a friend for $400. We ultimately sold the car when we found a screaming deal on an 86 325e w/ 235k that has a 87 325is w/ 160k engine swapped into. We bought it for $500 because the kid damaged the fender/hood and cracked oil pan, all of which he didn't have the skill level/tools to fix. $80 later I had an oil pan from a friend, $1000 later I bought an entire 90 parts car for it's fenders/hood, facelift bumpers, 3.76 LSD, dual exhaust and countless other bits to make our 86 perfect and just sold the shell this weekend.

Back to my original question though...I'd assumed the TU engine being aluminum was useless for boost so I've sold a couple parts off of it (oil filter housing, power steering pump) and was gonna scrap it...but now you guys have me thinking I should keep it for weight savings, boost it and throw it into the E30...not crazy power, but like 300 +/- in that tiny little thing would be awesome!! Getting the head machined would be fairly simple and expected, but getting the engine machined would be far more difficult seeing as i can't exactly carry it easily into a machine shop. Obviouly I'll check it for square, but should I assume the block needs maching as well? Should I follow the standard recipe of copper cutring HG & spacer on a low HP build or could/should I stick to factory HG? The hated question...can I swap the auto in as well? GF can't drive stick and while I'd rather she learns, it's her car and her choice...I'm just doing the work.

On a side note, I've already bought a basic turbo kit from Reilly Young that I had originally planned on throwing into my 328iC, but seeing that I might go through all this trouble with the GF's E30, I'm thinking I'll repurpose it to her E30.

P.S. - no, the last picture isn't our car...it's a goal :-) I did buy some DS1's this weekend, so minus paint, we're almost there :-)