On the M50 + S52 front, in my opinion I didn't mind the torque shift that much. It maybe felt like a 500rpm shift to me, so sometimes I'll shift to 3500 instead of 3000, I don't think that's a huge change in driveability and the benefit of how it pulls after 4k far outweighs the negative, and I personally think for an NA inline6 motor it fits what in my mind is the 'character' of what a stock M3 motor should behave like.
edit: I should add, my feedback above is after a TRM tune. I didn't push the car much when I only did the M50 swap and I noticed a very noticeable increase in low end torque after my TRM tune. I think it's necessary to do a re-tune from a reputable tuner not only for driveability but for safety of the motor in case there's a lean situation, I've read about some HG popping. Well worth the money.
Last edited by propcar; 01-18-2017 at 10:45 AM.
TRM Coilovers 670F/895R | BBS LM | Corsa RSC36
If I had extra torque from the start, I'd want it. I live in the 3-5k range most of the time. And frankly, after my stock diff went out I slapped a 3.23 in there and haven't looked back.
The greater point I was getting at previously is that if I was spending 4-5k on goodies for modified street S52, forking out for the Schrick to keep the mids seems like it's worth the cost.
Does that $6500 price include new rod bearings and vanos stuff for the S54? The issue I have with used motors is that they're, well, used. You have no idea if they're in good shape or not and its wise to address any maintenance issues before you stuff it in the bay...
'03 911 Turbo 6MT fun car
'18 Toyota Land Cruiser Daily driver/Ski Machine/Off Roader
'15 Cayenne Diesel Wife's DD
'17 KTM 690 "Adv" 2 wheeled Adventurer
I can't comment on the schrick manifolds/swaps, but I have a pretty good perspective on the s50 vs s52. From 2012 till 1/1/2014 I was DD'ing a 95. the only engine mods were a Conforti chip, which I gather gives you exactly +2.3864 hp and a 7000 or 7200rpm rev limiter, and a removed intake baffle which makes it sound cool. I recently acquired a 98 sedan, which I currently DD. The 98 is stock except a CAI. I'm planning on removing the ASC throttle body soon for the 3 hp +or- 5hp increase, but it’s still there for now.
Stockish vs. stockish, I prefer the power delivery of the 95. I never felt like it was lacking torque anywhere, and it kept pulling hard all the way into the rev limiter. I ran an autocross course that it was better to hit the rev limiter in second gear and ride it for a second instead of shifting up to third then immediately back to second, and it slammed you into the limiter.
I'm pretty much used to it now, but at first, I felt like there was something wrong with the 98 because of the sudden flattening of the power curve at 5000 rpm. Since the stock rev limit is so low, I have accidentally hit it a few times and the power drop off sort of blends you into it. While the 98 does feel slightly stronger in the mid-range, I, and this probably applies to most people, rarely use wot in that range during normal driving anyway. 3/4 throttle is plenty of torque for 99% of passing situations. It actually feels like the power is slightly better at not quite wot, which may be related to flow around the two butterfly valves since asc is still there. If I am actually driving fast, I end up staying in the 4000-6500rpm(eventually 7200) range anyway. So basically, I don’t expect to really notice the reduced torque unless I am intentionally trying to see it.
When I do it, I will probably just swap the manifolds and not get a tune for a while. Then, eventually upgrade injectors and get a tune at that point, mostly to split the timing of the cost.
Since I am an engineer at a metal fab shop, I am going to get some help from one of the welders to make a homemade track pipe and cat back for free probably in a month or so. Do you guys think that having the exhaust improvement combined with the manifold would be too much without an updated tune?
95 cosmoschwartz M3/2/5 : 2012-1/1/2014 (worn rtab's and bald rear tires in the rain)
98 cosmoschwartz M3/4/5 : 2016-3/10/2017 (understeering SUV)
99 Estoril M3/2/5: 6/16/2017-current
The tune does a big part in filling in the loss of low end torque from the manifold...
'03 911 Turbo 6MT fun car
'18 Toyota Land Cruiser Daily driver/Ski Machine/Off Roader
'15 Cayenne Diesel Wife's DD
'17 KTM 690 "Adv" 2 wheeled Adventurer
But with my longer 3.15 diff and lower 9.0:1 compression and that miserable M50 manifold, I am not making more low end torque than the other people posting. Sure, once the turbo is in boost, torque is great, but the turbo does not make boost at low rpm in the lower gears we all drive through every day. I often drive my car all over town and on the highway without ever going into boost and never feel like it is lacking in low end torque. The turbo is just for my amusement, when I want to make the effort to drive the car hard, and it does go pretty good when I do that.
Last edited by pbonsalb; 01-18-2017 at 03:50 PM.
This.
I wouldn't risk running M50 without a tune myself... The benefits to me are worth it. Better low end torque, better power, increased rev limiter, eliminate certain CEL errors (Deleted SAP or secondary 02 sensors), improved idle (can increase if you run a ltw flywheel, safer tune. Worth the money.
Also, injectors aren't really necessary stock S52 injectors are enough for an M50+tune, I'd rebuild them/clean them on your own. Really easy to replace the filters, o-rings, caps.
Last edited by propcar; 01-18-2017 at 04:27 PM.
TRM Coilovers 670F/895R | BBS LM | Corsa RSC36
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