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Thread: S52 into 328i and California

  1. #1
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    S52 into 328i and California

    Not sure if this has been asked before but...

    My 97 328i is in need of a new engine and I was thinking about a s52 and was wondering if I use all the M3 stuff ECU,Wire harness, Exhaust Ect. Will it pass California Emissions? I don't want to have to go through the whole BAR situation.

  2. #2
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    Unless you’re using every single piece of electronics and emissions equipment, good luck with that. And it can’t be from a year that’s earlier than your car. Model generation means nothing.

  3. #3
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    I doubt CARB would notice since the motors look the same from the outside. The M3 was smog legal. Just tune to M3 specs.

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    I just wonder if the plug in can tell a difference of the engines or the emission numbers are higher for the 3.2 than the 2.8?

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    Of course it can tell a difference. The VIN is coded onto every ECU/PCM/DME whatever acronym there exists - that’s the whole point. pbosalb doesn’t know the first thing about any of this.

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    I am certainly not a CARB expert. But does the 328i DME know the difference between a 2.8L and a 3.2L? Does the plug in monitor readiness check know the difference between a 2.8L and a 3.2L? Does the plug in monitor test know the difference between the original emissions legal 2.8L flash tune and a 3.2L flash tune? Does a 3.2L flash tune into a 2.8L DME change the VIN code?

    From what I understand, the answer to those questions is no. What I don’t know is whether the CARB sniffer test will show that that a 3.2L with a 3.2L emissions legal tune won’t pass because the 2.8L factory emissions are different enough.

    In the worst case, the OP could do a referee swap by retaining all factory emissions of an S52 of the same or a newer vintage.

    Looking forward to Liquidity’s detailed response.

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by Liquidity View Post
    Of course it can tell a difference. The VIN is coded onto every ECU/PCM/DME whatever acronym there exists - that’s the whole point. pbosalb doesn’t know the first thing about any of this.
    Yes I know stuff is coded but anyone could have had a bad ECU and had to use another or got another engine etc. yes pbosalb that's a good point for the emissions test I wonder if the m52 ecu would work? Just trying to figure out if this is easy or a big pita, Kinda would like to hear from someone that's done it.

  8. #8
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    Not legal, but I'd bet that you could swap it, say nothing at smog time, update the DME VIN to match, and pass.

    The legal route would be going to the ref and probably easy as long as you keep SAP, cats, evap, etc and the donor motor is same year or newer than chassis. I have quite a bit of ref experience after successfully going through it with my S54-swapped E36 M3.

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    Quote Originally Posted by gpeterson View Post
    Not legal, but I'd bet that you could swap it, say nothing at smog time, update the DME VIN to match, and pass.

    The legal route would be going to the ref and probably easy as long as you keep SAP, cats, evap, etc and the donor motor is same year or newer than chassis. I have quite a bit of ref experience after successfully going through it with my S54-swapped E36 M3.
    S54 was my first choice but cost and the extra work making it legal I'm not sure its worth it.

    How do you go about updating the DME VIN to match?

  10. #10
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    Why do you need to change the vin in the ECU? Why not flash the M52 ECU with an S52 tune? Another question would be which is cheaper — buying an S52 ECU and changing the vin and aligning EWS or flashing the M52 ECU?

  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by pbonsalb View Post
    Why do you need to change the vin in the ECU? Why not flash the M52 ECU with an S52 tune? Another question would be which is cheaper — buying an S52 ECU and changing the vin and aligning EWS or flashing the M52 ECU?
    That would be an option as well. I documented how a few years back - https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/s...-2-with-WinKFP. It requires WinKFP which could also be used to update the VIN of a S52 DME.
    S54 swap DME flashing - $100
    S54 swap CAN interface board (for proper A/C & check engine light) - $275
    e36 SAP sim/secondary air pump simulator:
    $75 - standard or $170 - plug & play
    e36 post-cat O2 sims: $115 shipped, plug & play

  12. #12
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    Can most independent BMW shops do this kind of DME work?

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by dirtdiggler View Post
    Can most independent BMW shops do this kind of DME work?
    Probably not, unless they are into engine swaps. You could do it yourself with a bit of learning + kkl cable, 20 pin adapter, and INPA installation. If you don't want to deal with that please PM me and we can work something out.

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