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Thread: Anyone ever Port and Polish the s52 head?

  1. #1
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    Anyone ever Port and Polish the s52 head?

    Just wondering if anyone has ported and polished the s52 head. And did you notice a difference even if it was a small one.

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    Some have done it. Vac motorsports will do it for you for around $1-2k. Not much difference NA. I believe people have reported 50-75 whp gain on a turbo setup

    Sent from my VS987 using Tapatalk

  3. #3
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    I have a +1mm valve, extreme ported, stiffer valve spring, Schrick cam head on my turbo S52. Not cheap — I have over $4k in it. It’s not a bad flowing head in stock form. Consider just adding cams. Or turbo the motor and double the power.
    Last edited by pbonsalb; 05-13-2018 at 07:14 AM.

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    I've thought about it, but only if I ever have to have my head off for any reason. I have no desire to do it proactively on my NA car.
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  5. #5
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    Anyone ever Port and Polish the s52 head?

    Quote Originally Posted by XnWarden View Post
    Some have done it. Vac motorsports will do it for you for around $1-2k. Not much difference NA.

    Sent from my VS987 using Tapatalk
    From phone view, VAC does not seem to be offering that service for the S52 “400” casting head any longer.
    They used to have three stages of CNC porting.


    Metric Mechanic appears to be offering their “Rally” Head.



    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

    Edit - Viewd from a desk top computer, VAC does have offer three modification stages -
    Stage 1 unshrouds the valves.
    Stage 2 same as one with more attention to refinishing the valves/springs.
    Stage 3 designed for maximum peak horse power with port-n-polish work.


    BMW CNC Head Porting *Updated*
    VAC has been offering BMW port and polish cylinder head services for decades now.
    In June of 2013, we added a Centroid A560 Block and Head CNC Machine to our arsenal of CNC equipment. Now most of our cylinder heads are CNC ported to perfection. The list of BMW CNC heads we offer is broad and consists of applications for:

    * M20 cylinder heads (E30 325i)
    * S14 cylinder heads (E30 M3)
    * M50 (E36 325i)
    * M52 (E36 325i)
    * S50 and S52 US cylinder heads (E36 M3)
    * M54 cylinder heads (E46 325i / 328i / 330i)
    * S54 cylinder heads (E46 M3)
    * N54 and N55 cylinder heads (E8x 135i and E9x 335i)
    We will continue to add to the BMW CNC cylinder head offerings with time. Our BMW CNC cylinder heads offer different ports for varying applications such as normally aspirated (NA) and forced induction (FI), street ports or full race ports, etc. Between the precise Centroid A560, the Mastercam CAD/CAM software, and hours of training and practice, we are confident that our BMW CNC heads are unmatched by the competition.
    Last edited by bluptgm3; 05-14-2018 at 08:19 PM.

  6. #6
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    You could try contacting bimmerheads.

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    Lots of money for a very incremental gain. Better off spending your money elsewhere
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  9. #9
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    MauiM3Mania is offline Observer/Master Skeptic Moderator
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    Quote Originally Posted by RickyN F355 View Post
    Is that supposed to be a S52 w/mild cams, an airbox and exhaust? 310 whp? LOL

    OP, put the money towards a S54 swap. The S52 head was designed for a engine that was rated at 190 crank hp. It is the weak link in the S52 and biggest difference between the S52 and S50B32 (321bhp).

    Sure, you can hot rod the heck out of a S52 but it's going to be no fun to drive in traffic whereas a S54 can be docile as your mother's Toyota. With some torque.
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  10. #10
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    Very suspect results. Seriously, that's SO much more power than any other built S52 has ever put out...
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    That's because IMG is the best!

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    Quote Originally Posted by DocWyte View Post
    Very suspect results. Seriously, that's SO much more power than any other built S52 has ever put out...
    It says high compression pistons, so it's probably running racing fuel or an octane booster and 100+ octane. 100whp/L is within the realm of possibility for race prepped S52 engines.
    Also notice the torque curve, doesn't drop off at all, and no VANOS notch, so it's running some crazy cams.

    It says "izzy" in the file name, pretty sure that's a shop which makes cages for track cars.

  13. #13
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    Since the ports are good, you'll only gain if you have an already built engine. If you have enough cam to rev pasylt 8k then you might want to look into porting and what not. If not don't even worry about it.

  14. #14
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    Anyone ever Port and Polish the s52 head?

    This looks interesting -
    https://thexvid.com/video/Nb3Snl_MTU...ttler-p69.html


    …too bad they are in Portugal.

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    Last edited by bluptgm3; 05-19-2018 at 02:36 PM.

  15. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by bluptgm3 View Post
    I wonder if there's as much science put into this porting as what BMW put into the head design. It looks like there are dimples in the ports like you'd see on a golf ball. A golf ball with no dimples wouldn't travel nearly as far because of the added drag. I wouldn't assume the ports are better just because they are bigger. Of course, a before and after dyno test would put that concern to rest.

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