Forced induction dilemma... 535i, 525i, or 528i?

[CharlesAFerg]

I'll be selling my M20 auto soon, and will eventually buy another car. I'd like to stick E34, because hard the driveability seems better compared to E39s, although that is also undecided.

Anyway, my choices are between an E34 535i manual, a 95 E34 525i manual, or a pre-facelift E39 528i.

I'm curious as to what you think would make the best forced induction platform for minimal technical know-how, a starter, if you will. Personally, I think a 535i manual M30 car would fit this well, but I have a 95 525i manual M50 car available as well.

I have a few questions, though..

Are there differences between the early and later M50 E34s, VANOS? Idk..

It seems difficult to find a decent E34 535i in manual... Are they rare?

I have been exploring thread after thread after thread, so I have been doing my research, but I still need more input.

[632 Regal]

I know absolutely nothing in regards to forced induction but my opinion (take it with a grain of salt) is that the 525 will accept it better. I'll use my minibike analogy. get a 3hp briggs and pop a 5hp carb on the thing, remove the governor and rev it till it blows, but the thing is it dont blow. A 3.5 or 4hp or 5hp all have more power out of the box but you rev the thing and you walk home carrying a bunch of parts. What did jon K put the turbo on? I do not recall, if he wasn't such an ass hat he wouldn't have been banned.

My unprofessional opinion would be to turbo the 525 manual, boost the **** outta it but make sure your fuel ratio is going to co operate, low fuel or a lean condition will burn the pistons on the first run. Heavy fuel will wash out the cylinders and waste the rings in a hurry.

Check what they say in the turbo section, unless that's all cocky gimme gimme attention BS.

[BMWDriver]

The M50 is extremely popular among BMW enthusiasts for such upgrades. There are plenty doing it, and that engine is also very much available in comparison to the 3,5L engine. You will find plenty of information on that. Many take an M50 and dump it in an e30, and many e34 owners have indeed added turbos, forced induction and what not. Some have even increased the bore to make it a 2.8L engine.

I remember Jon K changed the pistons with custom made ones, re-manufactured the block (I might be wrong, but I know that can be done), made a lot of custom parts for it. The whole engine got treated to some very nice hardware and with cosmetic enhancements, and included major cooling upgrades. His thread must still be around here with pics galore.

As far as upgrades go, it's sky's the limit (or your budget, really). He also programmed the engine... it's quite the sophisticated upgrade with electronics to support and manage the engine. He had even sacrificed some of the heating controls to fit in an LCD screen, hooked up a laptop to it... I'm sure lots of money went into this great project.

IIRC, the pre-vanos engine would be one of preference since it implies less mechanical parts and simplifies the project. The 3.5L engine is also a good candidate as it's also pre-vanos technology, again simplifying the project. Just not as common as the M50.

I wish you absolute pleasure in this endeavor. The e34 is a beautiful car that drives nicely, and looks great. Some e39s do look good too when tastefully done, but it's more difficult than the e34 I think. I find the e34 stock and basic looks better than the equivalent basic e39.