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Thread: E30 to Get a Light V8?

  1. #1
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    E30 to Get a Light V8?

    Hi folks,

    Getting fed up with finding a lightweight car that's fun to drive. Too many airbags, crumplezones, etc. I guess making them all heavy.

    I miss the old '80s E30s I had years ago, and they're so cheap, that I'm interested in finding one and possibly dropping $20k into a nice motor conversion. (Not doing the work myself.)

    I checked the "Start here" thread and scrolled through all the pages here, but didn't see much about modern V8s in old E30s. Most e30 threads were about other 535 or whatever BMW motors.

    I'm curious about lighter, modern engines like the Coyote V8, or fairly modern Chevy, or other ideas?

    Mainly wondering about almost keeping the same front end weight, but gaining power of course.

    Or maybe that chassis should only take a certain amount of extra power, and shouldn't go for the current common V8 power or 400hp/tq?

    Past- '86 GTI (crashed), '84 325es, '86 325es, 88 M3, '90 535 stick... then nothing really since then. Need a fun car again! (Mazda 3 with suspension work was pretty damn good, but just not as fun as a RWD car.)

  2. #2
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    LS swaps are all over the place, start there.

    Coyotes are really wide, would be difficult to fit.

    You have to reinforce so much in an E30 for big power.



    If you're trying to find a lightweight car that's fun to drive perhaps do what I did, look at the ND2 Miata. I love mine. Not the fastest car in the world, but always fun.
    Last edited by AdamBath; 09-02-2021 at 11:20 AM.

  3. #3
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    With that kind of budget you can afford a fresh crate LS and a proper swap kit

    I'd go E36 personally - that chassis is better able to hold that sort of power. E30 will be very tailhappy. Both would be very fun though

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  4. #4
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    For $20k I'd K-swap an E30. K24 block, K20 head frankenstein, many people have built off-the-shelf-components 300whp engines and they're light. You get all the vehicle dynamics of a lighter car, a much better gearbox (later ZF manuals >>> Tremec or Aisin), easy cooling, and nearly the power:weight of a basic LS E30.

    Yes, the sound is nothing spectacular, that's just about the only con.

  5. #5
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    Hello everyone,

    Thank you all, for your comments. I guess I'll surf around some more. 300 hp/300 tq would be plenty! Something about trading a 6 for a 4 feels very wrong, so just couldn't do that K swap! Might be logical, but I'm just too juvenile to go from a torquey 6 to a peaky 4. You couldn't even give me a Honda S2000... don't want a weak-torque, peaky motor. Okay, figuratively saying you couldn't give me one, not Literally. :-)

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by Wheelspeed View Post
    Something about trading a 6 for a 4 feels very wrong, so just couldn't do that K swap! Might be logical, but I'm just too juvenile to go from a torquey 6 to a peaky 4. You couldn't even give me a Honda S2000... don't want a weak-torque, peaky motor. Okay, figuratively saying you couldn't give me one, not Literally. :-)
    I don't know what you're imagining, but a bolt-on K24 makes as much torque through the rev range as a 2.8L M52. It just also happens to rev to 8k and make the horsepower of an LS1.
    Last edited by circuit.heart; 09-08-2021 at 05:28 PM.

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by Wheelspeed
    Hello everyone,

    Thank you all, for your comments. I guess I'll surf around some more. 300 hp/300 tq would be plenty! Something about trading a 6 for a 4 feels very wrong, so just couldn't do that K swap! Might be logical, but I'm just too juvenile to go from a torquey 6 to a peaky 4. You couldn't even give me a Honda S2000... don't want a weak-torque, peaky motor. Okay, figuratively saying you couldn't give me one, not Literally. :-)
    Have you looked into S54 swaps at all? There are some parts of that swap that will get a bit pricey - but an S54 + swap kit is probably going to cost less than any V8 swapped in there and the S54 swap is very well documented with aftermarket support

    S54 makes 330hp/370n-m... and it's a lot more fun than those numbers would suggest, trust me

    I've also noticed S54 E30 swaps seem to garner a LOT more respect (and resale value) than V8 swaps...

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