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M52 or S52 in an E30


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M52 or S52  

9 members have voted

  1. 1. Which engine would be better for my E30?



Question

I have always been a fan of the M52 as a 24v swap option because prices on S52 are on crack IMO but the extra displacement means more fast.

Either engine would be going in an E30 (my E30)

It will not be boosted.
It will have the basic bolt-ons (S52 cams on the M52, headers, tune, intake manifold etc.)

From what I see, the M52 usually make 215-225whp on a dynojet  and the S52 make 230-240whp with more low end torque.

One line of thought is that M52 blocks are abundant and cheap if another one needs to be sourced. They are also found in automatic verts that don't get pegged off the limiter regularly and may possibly have less wear for their given mileage (this is only theory).

On the other hand, you gotta take what you can get for power with an NA engine and the extra torque of the S52 would make a big difference when you are in the wrong gear.

I also live in the real world where money is a thing and the $1200 or more I save by doing an M52 could be spent on a rebuilt head, rebuilt vanos, and lots of other refresh items.

BUT, should I ever sell my car (I KNOW, I KNOW, I KNOW) everyone has a boner for an S52 car and will pay $55,000 for one all day  (+/- $45,000)

Is the M52 considerably better bang for the buck, or will I be filled with regret for not holding out on an extra 0.4L of displacement?

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I was honestly expecting more M52 votes. Extremely valid point about doing it right ONCE, which actually goes both ways. I could do an M52 swap right by refreshing everything and be able to get it together and driving this summer. To do the same for an S52 I may have to save my pennies and shoot for completion next year.

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13 minutes ago, Snap said:

I was honestly expecting more M52 votes. Extremely valid point about doing it right ONCE, which actually goes both ways. I could do an M52 swap right by refreshing everything and be able to get it together and driving this summer. To do the same for an S52 I may have to save my pennies and shoot for completion next year.

buy the motor, stuff it in, than worry about fixing stuff/refreshing later. the point is to drive these cars, right? or am i doing it wrong?

you won't have done any extra work this way. youll just have the pull the motor one time in the future for your refresh.

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Stroke m52 to 3.0 with the m54 rotating assembly. That way you can refresh the m52 with new bearings and gaskets and still be cheaper than s52.

It just happened that i have m52 i that don't need[emoji39]

Or m50nv stroked to 3.0 with m54 bits and run crazy cam and itbs. Oh i just realized that i have n50nv too that i might get rid off [emoji848][emoji6]

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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It is convenient that the heads are no different between m5x and s5x.  So by swapping cams you have the full thing rather than still being limited by smaller ports or other differences.

Just an FYI early (OBD1) heads have different cam trays and lifters that don't fit the late cams that have the extra balancing material between the lobes.  The profiles are the same between OBD1 and OBD2 but the OBD2 cams are thicker.  Just a heads up, it looks like you aren't considering an M50 anyway but just in case.

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Yep, M52 or bust. They are newer than an M50, more powerful than an M50, and basically the same price. $1000 for 40 whp is easy to deal with when you are already doing an OBD1 build and have to buy the tune and manifold anyways.

The Supersprint replica headers I bought were $87 shipped, new. Tune was $200, manifold was $75, cams were $400

Just need to pick up the M52 now

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It's a 2 person job to remove/install them.  One to hold the cam with a wrench so it doesn't turn and another to tighten the cap where the pressure is.  Then you can put all of the other caps on before releasing it from turning, assuming you don't have the fancy cam tool.  I have done it with no special tools one time and would try it again but be careful.  Or maybe I am way more careful than I need to be.

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Oh jeez, there are more tools required ?!?🤦🏻‍♂️




Doing some reading

http://www.pelicanparts.com/BMW/techarticles/E36-Camshaft-Removal/E36-camshaft-removal.htm

And now I understand your 2-person method. Thanks for mentioning that. Now I am trying to understand how the procedure described in the pelican article would even work with the head installed since they are moving the cams in a different position than TDC... (reading continues)
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I almost bought a set of s52 cams for $150...guess I should have done it. 



While reading up on proper removal/instal l I see a guy over on R3V that broke one and ended up getting a single intake cam for $350 as it was the best deal they could find.

[emoji1304]
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Just don't have the bottom end at TDC and you can spin the cams all you want. There is only a small window where they would collide. You don't need tools for any of it. Just a straightedge to set the cams square with each other, easy peasy. When it's time to do it's can walk you through it.

Sent from my 831C using Tapatalk

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