Seeking advice on s54 potential

As the title says, I'm looking for insight on the s54's potential being a fully built race motor to be somewhere near the range of 490 whp. And no, I want to stay away from forced induction. Not that I frown upon it or anything, but we're working on staying NA to remain in a certain race class. What we've have looked into thus far is sleeves, cams, and the csl airbox with alpha-n tune. Aside from that we were hoping some of you could shed some light on other components. Our cash flow in the past has been devoted to the chassis really, Bilstein PSS9s, TMS subframe reinforcement kit, sway bars, weight reduction within the car to include Kirk Roll Bar and sparco buckets, StopTech BBK, K&N Typhoon CAI, TMS power pulleys, and high-performance ignition coils. We're ready to order a pair of headers (not sure if for the sake of harmony with future components we should choose euro headers or SSv1) to hook up nicely to our SS connecting pipes.

Much to the dismay I'm sure with many of you, if we cannot achieve somewhere near 490 whp, we have considered as a last resort to motor swap the s54 with the s65 and go from there. Our end objective is to achieve near the power and performance of the e46 m3 GTR and as far as I know, the s65 although underpowered by comparison is an improvement of the p60b40.

490rwhp?! I doubt it. Maybe 490hp...

Honestly this forum is dominated by the non-M guys.

I'd try the bf.c track section, this forum's track section and M3forum.

This build hits a few of the same things you're looking into:
http://www.m3forum.net/m3forum/showthread.php?t=398790

I don't see why the S65 would be a "downer". it's lighter than the S54, and that weight would sit further back too. and it's maybe more reliable.

A 490whp S54 though.. yikes! How wide would the powerband on that be? 100rpm? :p

the S54 seems to be pretty de-tuned from the factory, I imagine that although the S65 is closer to the edge, it's still considerably de-tuned as well. With nearly a liter more displacement to start with, I imagine it would be considerably cheaper to get to ~500hp with a race setup.

I really like both engines, though. if I had a different car, I'd probably do the S65, but the S54 is my motor of choice..

call VAC motorsports, they can level set with you

I spoke with a few mechanics whose shops have their own track cars and the consensus seems to be that what I am trying to achieve is not possible. The highest gain I have heard of was roughly 390 whp, a 100 shy of the e46 M3 GTR.

As far as the s65, it's not a downer, by any means. I have consulted with my father to rethink what our budget on this car is set at, and we're leaning towards finding an e60 m5 v10 and swapping it with that. I've seen that done a few places, not just online, so we'll most likely go that route since WE would not be "pioneering" the idea.

what is your budget?

Well, it was 40k. Some mechanics suggested doubling that. In all honesty, I think I can keep it near 40 with selling my s54 motor and all related components.

very expensive to get more than 400whp on a s54.

Originally Posted by Steven747

very expensive to get more than 400whp on a s54.

Yeah, if I was going to run boost. We had looked into the HPF 2.5 simply for the rebuilt internals, but as I said before, all motor is the direction we want to stay. Without boost, >400rwhp is not possible on the s54.

Originally Posted by filimafiarep

Yeah, if I was going to run boost. We had looked into the HPF 2.5 simply for the rebuilt internals, but as I said before, all motor is the direction we want to stay. Without boost, >400rwhp is not possible on the s54.

if your truly serious about achieving your goals. basically your only option is to talk to vac motor sports. they can get you closer to your goals than any other company most likely and they are reputable.

no need to update post until youve talked to them.

interested in what they have to say

Thats too much to ask without. Boring, fuel injectors, methanol injection? Prob need aftermarket head and crank , race underdrive pulleys. I love my s54. Ide like to see that used rather than a v10. Check it out some more

Originally Posted by filimafiarep

Not that I frown upon it or anything, but we're working on staying NA to remain in a certain race class. Our cash flow in the past has been devoted to the chassis really, Bilstein PSS9s, TMS subframe reinforcement kit, sway bars, weight reduction within the car to include Kirk Roll Bar and sparco buckets, StopTech BBK, K&N Typhoon CAI, TMS power pulleys, and high-performance ignition coils.

What class are you trying to stay in with what organization? You can get 350-360whp(dynojet) out of an S54 relatively easily, much more than that and the motor needs to be opened up. Prepare to write a check for $10-25k at that point, but you still won't be near 490whp. You should be a looking at better dampers than PSS9's long before you're looking for a 'built' motor.