LS3 E36 Swap

[borodaylandon]

First I am going to open this up by introducing myself, My name is Landon I live in North Carolina. I own a 1997 328is and i was wondering if i could get any information from you guys about doing a LS3 swap on my E36. I have a relative idea on what I might need but it would be awesome if I could get some references and/or links to anything. It would be a huge help.

[SyCK]

You’ll likely have better luck gathering info in the engine conversions section. There’s a lot of LS swap threads in there.

[borodaylandon]

alright, thank you

[zohaibrose]

chevy motors into bmws is just stupid to me. why even own a bmw then?

[nnamssorxela]

Because Chevy motors are cheaper and more reliable for the same power output...but in my biased opinion; most Chevys do not handle as well as BMWs.

[RandomHero27]

chevy motors into bmws is just stupid to me. why even own a bmw then?

i bet you would be severely annoyed to find out that i dont use BMW blue coolant, but instead i use prestone green stuff.

[spyderg0d]

I don't find Chevy engines more reliable in the least. Haha. Vortec engines are the MOST unreliable engines ever. From a salvage standpiont, after 180k miles, any Chevy engine is most likely junk that's petrol. The MOST salvaged engine ever is ls based. However I do agree they are the CHEAPEST engine you can find. I think it comes down to in america, many more people are comfortable and or experienced with Chevy engines. The ole hillbilly threshold I call it. Overestimating formed rocks into cars and the mechanics about it.

[ChuckDizzle]

I don't find Chevy engines more reliable in the least. Haha. Vortec engines are the MOST unreliable engines ever. From a salvage standpiont, after 180k miles, any Chevy engine is most likely junk that's petrol. The MOST salvaged engine ever is ls based. However I do agree they are the CHEAPEST engine you can find. I think it comes down to in america, many more people are comfortable and or experienced with Chevy engines. The ole hillbilly threshold I call it. Overestimating formed rocks into cars and the mechanics about it.

Parts availability is a big advantage of the LS. Like you mentioned, its the most salvaged motor out there and you can pretty much build one at your local NAPA store since everything is off the shelf.

[nnamssorxela]

I guess I was generalizing too much. A stock 430hp LS3 is typically going to be a lot more reliable than any m50 or m52 making 430hp.

[zohaibrose]

i bet you would be severely annoyed to find out that i dont use BMW blue coolant, but instead i use prestone green stuff.

Oh idc about coolant heck even I use that green stuff but if I'm driving a bmw I want a bmw engine in. It would be ok for a v8 swap from one of bmws motors but not any American shit that defeats the purpose of owning one

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I guess I was generalizing too much. A stock 430hp LS3 is typically going to be a lot more reliable than any m50 or m52 making 430hp.

Inline six from BMW are far bulletproof from general motors engines.

[CblockM3]

Oh idc about coolant heck even I use that green stuff but if I'm driving a bmw I want a bmw engine in. It would be ok for a v8 swap from one of bmws motors but not any American shit that defeats the purpose of owning one

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Inline six from BMW are far bulletproof from general motors engines.

He is saying that the mods you have to do to a M50/M52 to get up to 430HP are extreme and, obviously, more complex and stressful to the components, making it less reliable than an otherwise stock M50/M52, also less reliable than a stock LS engine. There are some incredible builds on this site with LS engine swaps with an incredible amount of fabrication and detail, very far from "hillbilly" as Spydergod suggests.

[zohaibrose]

He is saying that the mods you have to do to a M50/M52 to get up to 430HP are extreme and, obviously, more complex and stressful to the components, making it less reliable than an otherwise stock M50/M52, also less reliable than a stock LS engine. There are some incredible builds on this site with LS engine swaps with an incredible amount of fabrication and detail, very far from "hillbilly" as Spydergod suggests.

ah ok just for hp i guess

[bimerok]

This thread is halarious!

So much misinformation, uneducated opinions, and just having less than zero clue on the subject before making the reply. Not even the ability to keep it relevant to the things mentioned in the OP's question.

To the OP, as you might have already found with the help of the first reply, we have an engine conversion section on this forum with tons of great info and detailed threads. There is a sticky at the top of that forum which will introduce you to LS swap and lots of links to relevant info and builds. Here is the link if you haven't found it yet.
https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/s...ng-Start-Here!

Also, you can find links to three of my swaps in my signature below.

Just a quick word of advice, when on the conversion forum, people tend to respond more when you have already done your research and have some specific questions, not a general one that was already covered and is easy to search for.

Good luck with the swap. When done, you will regret that you didn't do it sooner