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Yet another engine swap thread (no, not an m3 motor) need opinions

6K views 23 replies 10 participants last post by  Grande D 
#1 · (Edited)
Lately ive been redoing a lot of things on my car as ive decided to keep it (ive owned it outright since day 1 and no car payment is nice) . All thats left is the motor which leaves me with a bit of a problem. I cant make up my my mind on what i want to do.

I originally was going to do an s52 frankenmotor but put that idea aside due to potential reliability issues.

So what ive been considering is the following:

M52tuB28:

-M54b30 intake manifold
-M54b30 throttle body (if i can)
-port/polish head
-long tube headers
-custom catback/cutout
-dinan cf long tube intake
-cams (possible)

Or

M54b30:

-long tube headers
-custom catback/cutout
-dinan cf long tube intake
-port/polish head
-cams (possible)

Im also going with a 3.46 diff

Upside to the 2.8 is i can get one for half the price of the 3.0


Which would you go with?
 
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#3 ·
what engine and mods do you have now?
 
#9 · (Edited)
My current motor is am M52tuB25 with 184,450 miles. Lsd isnt a necessity. The porsche cayman has an open diff and does just fine.


I just want a quick revving, peaky, high compression motor that breathes and screams in upper rpms (yes i described the s54 but its not going to happen as im not spending 8k for a swap)

Problem with the s52 is reliability if i try to put dual vanos on it. And to have it done isnt cost effective. If i could put it in as is that would be great but idk how im going to handle the electronics. So too much of a headache.


Is it me or do the m52's rev a bit faster and sound a little meaner? Doesnt the 3.0 have lower compression than the 2.8?
 
#24 · (Edited)
The S52 is anything but a high revving screamer. I'd get an M54 and do the P&P and Shrick cams. Make sure you secure the OPN (ideally by getting an ATI damper).

Or an M52b28 and same deal. But if you're really working the motor- you'll eventually wish you had gone for the M54- because I believe it's peak numbers have the potential to be higher by just enough that it'd piss you off.

The M52s have proportionally more torque than the M54s IIRC, but the 330 is still stronger than the 328.

And the E36 M3 vs a 3.0 liter E46 is more or less a wash. E36s have even higher instances of OPN failure and the subframe itself can fail.
 
#10 ·
I don't know, my 318's had LSD and I think it was worth it's weight in gold, the car just feels much more capable with one, also more fun ;)

If you're set on a swap, I'd go M54B30, but I still say LSD and then maybe throw a supercharger or turbo into the equation and run that until your motor blows (which could be a long time later) then swap for the M54 and put your FI kit onto that.
 
#16 ·
what mods do you have now on your 323i ?
 
#21 · (Edited)
It's weird, I have the 2.5 with bolt ons and raced my friend from 3rd gear in his 330i with intake/full exhaust and we were dead even the entire time.

Is it me or do the m52 have more balls than the m54's because he should have walked me according to how fast everyone says the 330i is on this forum and make it seem the 323i can't get out of its own way. Both cars are 5 speed too :hmm:
 
#22 ·
maybe your friend doesn't know how to drive :shhh:
i also raced my friend in his 330i when i had the 2.5 and he was at 100 before i was at 80, i just raced him again after my motor swap and we were dead even but i pulled him from 100-120, maybe cuz my motor is 79k miles and his was 140k i dont know. I like my 3.0 alot better, before i couldn't spin the tires for nothing, now, i can sit there with the brakes on and spin the tires up and down the rpm range, in my 2.5, it simply wouldn't let me unless i screamed it to 7k rpms and dumped it and it still wouldnt keep the tires spinning. mines a 5 speed too. try driving your friends car and see if the outcome changes
 
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