Author Topic: M42 Power & Performance upgrades (Read 8361 times)

no1_jazz · « **on:** April 29, 2008, 01:57:53 PM »

Hi guys,

I was wondering if anyone of you lot could give my friend and I some help and advice for this project of mine.

I have a 1990 BMW E30 31.8IS of course lol totally standard. Rite before the big changes such as super chargers and turbo�s I would like to achieve the maximum power and performance I possibly can out of the IS M42 engine.

What can I do to gain these additional powers to the engine without supercharging it and without installing a turbo init?

All help will be much appreciated many thanks
Jazz/ Mike:o

hesgone2fast · « **Reply #1 on:** April 29, 2008, 02:56:31 PM »

Dude, do a little research around...
But with no more details on how much money you can spend,what use this engine will have what resources you have, and what market you want to look at, we can speak about a looooot of things.
So if you can go "open wallet" get a M47 crank, bore the block to 86,4mm so you can use M3 pistons for high compression, port your cylinder head, get a good exhaust system, good spark plug wires (Magnecor works perfect), get a good chip, and bigger cams like schrick,Metric M. or some other.
I hope this helps.

kowalski · « **Reply #2 on:** April 29, 2008, 02:57:11 PM »

search is your friend. there is many threads about this.

in short though:

stroke it, m44 crank, or m47 crank
get some oversized pistons

lots of head work, new cams or regrings, oversized valves, light weight valve train, etc...

individual throttle bodies.

edit: damn you for posting before me!

hesgone2fast · « **Reply #3 on:** April 29, 2008, 02:59:05 PM »

kowalski looks like we know this engine, huh?
JAJAJAJA!!!

no1_jazz · « **Reply #4 on:** April 29, 2008, 03:16:32 PM »

Cheers guys for the quick responce so if i do go donw the route of getting

a M47 crank, bore the block to 86,4mm so i can use M3 pistons for high compression

how much would that set me back with parts and labour?

also i have done some research on getting a 32.5I Alliy Clutch and Flywheel..... is this going to make a big diffrence in pwoer and persormance?

i have read up on Jim Conforti Super chips does anyone knwo if these are any good?

Many Thanks

Jazz

no1_jazz · « **Reply #5 on:** April 30, 2008, 10:55:52 AM »

anyone?

r0ckrat · « **Reply #6 on:** May 01, 2008, 03:00:24 PM »

Quote from: no1_jazz;48186

also i have done some research on getting a 32.5I Alliy Clutch and Flywheel..... is this going to make a big diffrence in pwoer and persormance?

i have read up on Jim Conforti Super chips does anyone knwo if these are any good?

Chip is good, made a noticeable difference in general behavior, but forces you to run high-octane at the pump.

Lightweight flywheel does two things:
1) Makes it a requirement to know how to control the throttle and clutch together.
2) Improves acceleration once the engine "ramps up"

The reason for number 1: there's a lot of energy in a heavy flywheel, which makes up for the low torque of the motor when starting from a stop. Once this mass is reduced, it's easier to stall, but the engine can spin up faster (and slow down faster), so overall performance is increased. No gain in actual HP numbers, just increased performance from weight reduction. May cause the tranny input shaft to "chatter" when sitting in neutral. No harm, just noise due to harmonics.

no1_jazz · « **Reply #7 on:** May 01, 2008, 04:27:50 PM »

Thanks alot for the help guys, but one more thing is it possiable to gain such powers on the IS with a turbo and supercharger in comparrasion to the ford escort COZWORTH engine it is also a 16v 4cly ?

as you guys can see i have compatition?

no1_jazz · « **Reply #8 on:** May 02, 2008, 01:49:00 PM »

Anyone Please?

?

no1_jazz · « **Reply #9 on:** May 03, 2008, 01:14:43 PM »

e30 4cyl · « **Reply #10 on:** May 03, 2008, 01:35:59 PM »

With enough time, money, and boost, you could definately achieve more power than the ford engine-not familiar with that engine, but it can't be too crazy stock. It all depends how far you are willing to go.

hesgone2fast · « **Reply #11 on:** May 05, 2008, 05:39:59 AM »

Hi there again!
Ok the combo M47/M3 pistons put me back around 600� which today is about $900
With this and a few more parts, you will end up with around 170 rwhp, and looots of torque.
With a DASC (supercharger) and stock engine, you would get around 200 rwhp.
And the combo that I�m looking at is the 2.1L stroker, and DASC, should give me no less than 230rwhp.
Cheers!

nuvolarossa · « **Reply #12 on:** May 05, 2008, 07:06:32 AM »

dasc isn't in production anymore because the 3rd gen of eaton supercharger stopped production.

hesgone2fast · « **Reply #13 on:** May 05, 2008, 09:05:22 AM »

that doesn�t mean you can�t get a dasc anymore...
Just buy from them the whole kit except for the supercharger. I�m sure there are lots of eatons up on ebay...

nuvolarossa · « **Reply #14 on:** May 05, 2008, 09:09:03 AM »

sure that's plenty on ebay, but you need to find the correct one that line up with that manifold..

otherwise just buy a used kit... there is one for sale now...