M3 engine into an E34?

[shrike071]

I can get my hands on a '98 M3 engine with Transmission, ECU, EWS, KEY & Ignition, Exterior Harness, Alternator, A/C Pump, Power Steering Pump and Starter. Can this be installed into an E34 without too much difficulty?

[winfred]

drop the engine in with your harness computer and accessorys, you could use your tranny too, theres a couple small differences like you need to drill and tap a 2nd coolant sensor hole in the head and if the timing cover doesn't have the crank sensor mount (they usually do) you need to swap the cover

[Denton]

Yeah, OBD-II needs to be converted to OBD-I.

There are quite a few OBD-I E36 guys who swapped in S52s.

[ericcamaro]

ive wanted to do this for a while, it only works this easy if you have a 525i m50 tu to start with, like I do. Doesnt the s52 rev to like 8k rpm?? our tach would be maxed. You dont even need to tap another coolant temp sensor either, there is a harness made that splits the signal from the one. Use the headers from your m50 or weld up the passages on the obd2 headers and get some 02 sensor plugs and youll be good to go. use your intake too, everything thats on your car now but the s52 longblock and the chip should do it.

[Rick L]

I have seen E34 with an M3 engine. I'm not sure if it was S50 or S52 (3.0 or 3.2)... My M3 has a S54 engine and revs pass 8k, I think 8300 r.p.m. It seemed to have a lot of torque for I6 engine. It's not a V8 but it sure do feel like it. :D

[winfred]

the e46 m3 engine is a completely different beast, it's a thinly disguised race motor where the us s50/52 are just poked and stroked m50s with hotter cams


I have seen E34 with an M3 engine. I'm not sure if it was S50 or S52 (3.0 or 3.2)... My M3 has a S54 engine and revs pass 8k, I think 8300 r.p.m. It seemed to have a lot of torque for I6 engine. It's not a V8 but it sure do feel like it. :D

[Jon K]

I hate the S54

[RobPatt]

assuming you have a slushie..... going from 190ish to 230-240ish...

[winfred]

should hang on depending on level of abuse


assuming you have a slushie..... going from 190ish to 230-240ish...

[brodee]

Supercharged s50 in Sheila's '93 525i

http://jimmyjoe.com/gallery/albums/082305/normal_PICT2485.JPG

http://jimmyjoe.com/gallery/albums/082305/normal_PICT2484.JPG

[rob101]

euro s50 would be nicer ;-)
http://m535t.com/bilde/E30/motor2small.jpg

[Jon K]

Screw NA motors.

/thread

[Rick L]

Why???


I hate the S54

[Jon K]

Why???

No torque

[Rick L]

Might not be that impressive on paper but still more than the 540i... Have you driven the E46 M3? Trust me, it's not a slouch... 0-60 in 4.8 seconds...! Anything off the line requires torque (torque makes movement/rotation possible and then the horse power take over).


No torque

[Jon K]

Of course I have driven E46 M3s. I am not calling them slow. But in the discussion of fitting a non-original engine in an E34, an S54 would be nothing more than an interesting project. They typically dyno 260 - 270 whp with torque pretty far behind it. Our cars don't need horsepower, they need torque. Very few of us are going to truck down a highway at 160mph, but a ton of us want to squat the rear end from 45 mph :)

[Rick L]

I guess there are better options than a M3 engine in E34. Maybe, a V8 with a supercharger... :D


Of course I have driven E46 M3s. I am not calling them slow. But in the discussion of fitting a non-original engine in an E34, an S54 would be nothing more than an interesting project. They typically dyno 260 - 270 whp with torque pretty far behind it. Our cars don't need horsepower, they need torque. Very few of us are going to truck down a highway at 160mph, but a ton of us want to squat the rear end from 45 mph :)

[beetos]

Of course I have driven E46 M3s. I am not calling them slow. But in the discussion of fitting a non-original engine in an E34, an S54 would be nothing more than an interesting project. They typically dyno 260 - 270 whp with torque pretty far behind it. Our cars don't need horsepower, they need torque. Very few of us are going to truck down a highway at 160mph, but a ton of us want to squat the rear end from 45 mph :)

Spot on bro. I had a E46 M3 and sold it primarily becuase I was stupid and bought the SMG . Great car but it never felt that quick to me, but then again I guess I am more a turbo shove in the back type of person. E34's need grunt.

[Rick L]

Sold your M3??? M3s are not the fastest car out there but their handling is second to none unless you go with a pure sports car like P-cars (Porsche)! Still the power is enough at 333 H.P. to keep a smile on my face. I have 6 speed manual but SMG is faster. I don't care how fast anyone can shift but it will never be as fast as SMG. One of my buddy has SMG and sometimes when it comes to driver's race, you could win or loose by not shifting fast enough or missing it... I purchased 6 speed manual because I enjoy the more sporty feel of shifting gears even though I would loose to a SMG equiped M3s.

By the way, my M3 is faster to 110 m.p.h. (or two car lengths to 1/4 mile) than this 928 S4 (photo - next to the M3) which puts out over 400 H.P. (many mods). Of course, after 110, it will pass me up with ease.

My Mase (heavily modded) puts out more torque than H.P. I think around 245 H.P. and 260 torque. Yeah, blast to drive since it is only 2380 lbs. :D


Spot on bro. I had a E46 M3 and sold it primarily becuase I was stupid and bought the SMG . Great car but it never felt that quick to me, but then again I guess I am more a turbo shove in the back type of person. E34's need grunt.

[Karl]

Auto transmission is basically a GM 4L60E, which is adequate for a warmed up 350 inch motor, like 500 ft-lb torque.

[beetos]

Sold your M3??? M3s are not the fastest car out there but their handling is second to none unless you go with a pure sports car like P-cars (Porsche)! Still the power is enough at 333 H.P. to keep a smile on my face. I have 6 speed manual but SMG is faster. I don't care how fast anyone can shift but it will never be as fast as SMG. One of my buddy has SMG and sometimes when it comes to driver's race, you could win or loose by not shifting fast enough or missing it... I purchased 6 speed manual because I enjoy the more sporty feel of shifting gears even though I would loose to a SMG equiped M3s.

By the way, my M3 is faster to 110 m.p.h. (or two car lengths to 1/4 mile) than this 928 S4 (photo - next to the M3) which puts out over 400 H.P. (many mods). Of course, after 110, it will pass me up with ease.

My Mase (heavily modded) puts out more torque than H.P. I think around 245 H.P. and 260 torque. Yeah, blast to drive since it is only 2380 lbs. :D


Rick, Everything you say about the M3 is true, is an absolute gem of a car, but I started to hate the SMG after a few months, if I got the manual I might have been happier. I have always Porsches/BMWs and I would usually modify them. After a while, my idle hands were yearning for something to tinker with. I sold it and bought a mint 944 Turbo s which I modified with a lot of goodies (T04E turbo/standalone etc....350+hp). I guess the E46 M3 was too 'perfect' for me as truth be told, I'm a bit of a power junky come weekend tinkerer. I never got to exploit the brilliant chassis of the M3 to the fullest but there is no doubt is one of the best there is. I also had an E36 M3 before and I must say, I liked that car a lot.

[Rick L]

One of my friends used to have 1988 Porsche 944 Turbo S. Wow! That thing was a beast! I'm not sure the H.P. it puts out with several mods but it sure was fast. What's amazing is that it was 4 cyclinder and the power it puts out was endless. And of course, it was very light weight and handled great! :D


Rick, Everything you say about the M3 is true, is an absolute gem of a car, but I started to hate the SMG after a few months, if I got the manual I might have been happier. I have always Porsches/BMWs and I would usually modify them. After a while, my idle hands were yearning for something to tinker with. I sold it and bought a mint 944 Turbo s which I modified with a lot of goodies (T04E turbo/standalone etc....350+hp). I guess the E46 M3 was too 'perfect' for me as truth be told, I'm a bit of a power junky come weekend tinkerer. I never got to exploit the brilliant chassis of the M3 to the fullest but there is no doubt is one of the best there is. I also had an E36 M3 before and I must say, I liked that car a lot.

[Digita1 Ecstasy]

So....anyway.

Back on track here for a moment, imo its not really worth it. That being said im pretty lazy. I helped an aquaintence go OBD-1 on his 97' E36. Alot of small steps. I've forgotten at this point if your an M50 or M30 E34. Unless you can snatch the motor + accessories for an amazingly low price, don't do it.


I honestly don't have much complaints with the M30 except it has some pretty bad dead spots, very tall gear ratios also.

[kllimkl]

I have a S50 out of a euro e36m3 (3.2, 321 hp) which I am also thinking of putting into an e34 (s50, automatic transmission). The s50 originally was mated to a SMG but I dont have that.

Ultimately I want to convert it to manual trans, but for the time being, I want to put it in with the auto. I think it will mate up with the auto trans mechanically but I think the auto ECU needs to communicate with the engine ECU.

Has anyone done this, what needs to be done to the auto trans ECU for it to work with a manual ecu engine?

Thanks.

[gtopaul]

I have a S50 out of a euro e36m3 (3.2, 321 hp) which I am also thinking of putting into an e34 (s50, automatic transmission). The s50 originally was mated to a SMG but I dont have that.

Ultimately I want to convert it to manual trans, but for the time being, I want to put it in with the auto. I think it will mate up with the auto trans mechanically but I think the auto ECU needs to communicate with the engine ECU.

Has anyone done this, what needs to be done to the auto trans ECU for it to work with a manual ecu engine?

Thanks.I put a 96 S52 into my 92 E34 Touring last June. I used the stock GM automatic but a fresh one. You have to use the TCU that matches the transmission or it will have Trans Program Lights. The 96 engine came from a 50k mile manual trans car and I used a 95 M3 ECU also from a manual trans car. The ECU TCU communication was not an issue. Of course I had to convert the engine from OBDII to OBDI and have a special Turner EWS delete chip to make things work. No problems.

Paul

[kllimkl]

Hi gtopaul,

Thanks for your reply. Is your S52 the US M3 version or the Euro version (6 throttles)? If you have the US version I am not sure if the Euro would be the same. If you had the euro version I would be confident to go ahead and very interested to know how your touring goes with this engine in it, how much fuel it uses etc.

Thanks again.

kllimkl

[repenttokyo]

how much could one expect to pay for a euro s50?

[gtopaul]

Hi gtopaul,

Thanks for your reply. Is your S52 the US M3 version or the Euro version (6 throttles)? If you have the US version I am not sure if the Euro would be the same. If you had the euro version I would be confident to go ahead and very interested to know how your touring goes with this engine in it, how much fuel it uses etc.

Thanks again.

kllimkl

It's the US version but I don't think it would still be an issue since these automatics aren't vacuum driven but rpm driven. Mine gets 33mpg @ 80mph on cruise control and with the Touring 4:10 differential. With the euro S52 with over 300hp it would be even better although the automatic I used would be at it's torque and hp limits at 310hp.

Paul