M42club.com - Home of the BMW E30/E36 318i/iS

DISCUSSION => Engine + Driveline => Topic started by: Marv17 on February 08, 2008, 10:28:09 AM

Title: Engine upgrades?
Post by: Marv17 on February 08, 2008, 10:28:09 AM

okay. so i know i dont have a M42, i have a M44. but i wanted to ask to who ever knows about engine mods if there are any upgrades i can do? i've seen one guy have a camshaft upgrade by Schrick.
im kinda new to BMW btw so im still learning all about modifications.
any help or advice, etc. would be helpful and welcomed. thanks.
-Marv

Title: Engine upgrades?
Post by: swiss318is on February 08, 2008, 01:24:05 PM

hey marv... welcome to the forum! search a bit in the forum theres plenty of informations. there are so many ways to upgrade your engine... puh..!!

Title: Engine upgrades?
Post by: hoevesruperd on February 08, 2008, 01:28:07 PM

there's a thread called budget engine build, check it out you will find good information.

for your engine there are quite a few modifications you can make but it all depends on the budget you have. you could build a metric mechanics for 7000$

so let us know what you're after and we might be able to help you.
by the way, take your time to really understand the engine before you buy anything expensive. you will find lots of information on the forum and feel free to ask any questions

also, there are plenty of mods that dont involved messing around with internals that would bring your car to life: sway bars, suspension, lighter flywheel, chip...

check this site http://www.metricmechanic.com/
and this one http://www.r3vlimited.com/Tech/318is.htm

Title: Engine upgrades?
Post by: swiss318is on February 08, 2008, 01:33:34 PM

or go to the s42 racing engine!! the dream of every m42 owner!! ;-)

Title: Engine upgrades?
Post by: sheepdog on February 08, 2008, 08:51:07 PM

Quote from: swiss318is;42486

or go to the s42 racing engine!! the dream of every m42 owner!! ;-)

That engine is not practical on the street.

Title: Engine upgrades?
Post by: e30 4cyl on February 08, 2008, 11:03:34 PM

Quote from: swiss318is;42486

or go to the s42 racing engine!! the dream of every m42 owner!! ;-)

Personally I would prefer a 2.5 L s14.  The dtm versions made about 375 hp at around 10,000 rpm, my favorite engine sound. :D  Street versions can produce around 250-280 reliable hp.  It is nice to dream! :cool:

My favorite engine sound (the m3s of course):   http://youtube.com/watch?v=ayENeC7rlPU

Title: Engine upgrades?
Post by: swiss318is on February 09, 2008, 05:12:11 AM

Quote from: sheepdog;42507

That engine is not practical on the street.

of course its not practical on the street!! :-)

Title: Engine upgrades?
Post by: Marv17 on February 10, 2008, 11:01:07 AM

okay. thanks guys. this is a start.
well... i was first thinking about headers, cams, pistons/rods.... but i dont know where to get this information to looks at specs and pricing.

Title: Engine upgrades?
Post by: sheepdog on February 10, 2008, 12:21:22 PM

Quote from: Marv17;42528

okay. thanks guys. this is a start.
well... i was first thinking about headers, cams, pistons/rods.... but i dont know where to get this information to looks at specs and pricing.

Headers will be useless. The factory one works well for anything short of forced induction.

Take a look at Metric Mechanics website, between that place and here you should get most of the answers you are looking for.

Title: Engine upgrades?
Post by: Marv17 on March 06, 2009, 09:45:27 PM

so to update on this thread... i ended up dropping in a S52 with a full manual swap.

Title: Engine upgrades?
Post by: 1991 E30 M42 on March 07, 2009, 01:28:01 AM

A waste of a perfectly balanced car

Title: M42 or S52?
Post by: Pierre on March 11, 2009, 11:55:17 PM

Quote from: 1991 E30 M42;67838

A waste of a perfectly balanced car

I will agree with you totally.
I have a 91 318is and an 89 325i and was debating as to which car to convert into an S52.  I decided to keep the 318is with the M42 and swap out the M20 in the 89.
The E30 M42 is perfectly balanced as you said.  While it does lack some torque, it screams to 7000 RPMs, is light on its feet and is very nimble on the twisties.  And it's good on gas.  I enjoy it far more than the M20 despite the power deficit.  Soon, choosing ofneof them will be far more difficult.  An E30 with an S52 is SWEEEEET!!!

Title: Engine upgrades?
Post by: xwill112x on March 12, 2009, 08:12:49 AM

im sorry, i can't complain with the performance of a s52, in ANY e30.

;)