Ahmedsinc

Same can also be done into an M50, but the drop in compression kinda makes it a bit counter-productive.

Hang on, weren't those on your E34 wagon last time I looked?? Nice job on the refurb!

Righto, moral of the story (If we're all in agreement, that is....??) M50 manifold is conclusively proven to liberate a few extra horses at the upper ranges of the powerband. Great for a track engine, possibly not so user friendly for a daily driven road car. M52 manifolds in conjunction with Vanos delivers a more linear torque and power curve, i.e M52B28, M54B30 et al. Which would lead one to wonder if it's possible to remove the ASC, EWS and drive by wire components of the MS43 DME, thus leaving a dual Vanos 3 litre engine suitable for transplant into a humble E36. One hypothesizes if an S50B30 DME would be the answer? If anyone with a greater understanding of ECUs could chime in I'd be eternally grateful. This option doesn't appear to have been explored a great deal overseas, or at least not in the Google searches I've undertaken thus far. And I'm waaaaaay to chicken to go messing around in GT1 / NCS expert with no real idea of what the hell I'm doing!

I hope so!

Lol, things a bit slow in the HB for certifiers these days then? Ahhh, now that's making more sense. Would open up quite a few more options for gearing too!

Is it just me or does $16k seem awfully cheap for an M5? Sure, there are probably lower km examples to be had, but since when did M cars become affordable??!! Tis a beauty, am jealous of it's new owner already

Ron, with your understanding of the M50 / M52 / M54 manifolds which would be the more likely to aid a flatter torque curve for a street driven engine? Obviously your view of the M50 unit on anything but an M50 is dim at best, but what I'm trying to figure out here is whether a more reliable, user friendly torque curve would be gained from the M52 or M54 unit. As Dave has pointed out, some of the advantages of the remapped ECU are removing EWS, ASC, drive by wire throttle etc, which from my perspective increases the appeal. Having said that, he has built his engines with a track car in mind, where I'll be lucky to see the track at all. I'm ashamed to say it, but my understanding of intake design is basically nil.

Hmm, all the documentation I read with regards to a manual conversion via the LVVTA site led me to believe that as long as all parts were OEM WITHOUT any modification then a cert was not required. Naturally if a custom driveshaft or modified xmember etc were necessary then certification would be needed. Plus I had a good long chat with my local WoF guy (who also builds some rather 'interesting' cars himself - 1UZFE into a WRX to name but one) and he confirmed the above as being true. That being said, I have not changed the engine from its factory equipped M50B25. Yet Yes, the gearbox does sit at the same position on the engine, but doesn't the M50 sit at a greater angle in the engine bay relative to the M40/20? Hence the need to bend the shifter linkage so the lever isn't on the pi**?

Just be aware that using a custom driveshaft will require hoops and certification, on top of the +/- $600 cost of having the shaft made by an engineer. As opposed to using unmodified OEM parts which do not require a cert. Chances are, if you can find someone with the gearbox crossmember you'll also find the right OEM driveshaft. M20 / 40 boxes will mate up to the M50 but the shifter linkages will need to be bent around a bit, otherwise your shifter will sit at an awkward angle. Plenty of info on Google listing the pros and cons of such a swap. Good luck!

Seconded. 300,000 km on any car leaves a maximum value of 5k, dropping rapidly if it's over 10 years old. I suspect the dealer gave around 3k as a trade, asking for almost 10 grand is just blatant gouging IMO!

Agreed. It's a shame Tardme won't allow links to other sites, an abridged version of the project thread on this car would be all the sales pitch anyone would need. Back in the market for an E46 by any chance?

Looking forward to (and copying) the results with great anticipation!

I wonder if the way you've phrased your sales pitch is potentially deterring buyers? To someone that understands the weaker points of the E46 M3 your ad is reassuring, but for someone that knows nothing about the car other than it's scary fast perhaps it's subliminally raising a red flag? 111,000 km on a 12 year old car is still only 9,000km p/a. Realistically speaking, the motor is only just run in. At 25k that would have to be the steal of the year

Probably not. Same style key as my 94 325, no transponder. Not 100% sure but I think the EWS cars were all equipped with remote central locking. The key I got with the car did have a dinky little LED torch (which never worked) but a quick lookup on webetk confirmed no pesky chips

Sure do, will head down to the shed tomorrow & dig it up for ya. Pretty sure there's a handwritten label on it indicating a test date, afaik it was working before the car was written off by its PO

Que? What ails the 528i?

Ahhh, that makes sense

Probably one of the most informative threads I've seen in ages. Unfortunately for me it scuttles my plan to use the 3.64 gearset in my E36. OP in the ohio thread discovered E39 pinion shafts are an inch shorter than E36 ones Gut instinct tells me it's not viable to mix and match pinions to crowns to create a different ratio. Boo!

Uhhmmmm..... is my arithmetic out of whack here or have you been fiddling with your odometer? 400,000km, now that's worth a photo update

Mmmm, might be tricky as I'm an the Auckland region. Any way of finding out if it's capable of supporting NZ zoning? Edit: P/N suggests 09/00-07/03. From what I've been told BMW only supplied World units from 09/01. Are there any labels indicating a build date on the chassis?

Remind me what the mileage was when you first got it?

Have an MID from a NZ new '02 530i. Is your 16:9 unit NZ frequency compatible? May consider a swap if so

My bad

Could you do the same for an E39? Jap import, IR remote