S14 M3 Motors

[Driftit 1997]

Now I have only had a quick look today for one and came up with nothing.

How often do these motors show up? And what is their average worth?

I want to start building a E30 Road/Drift car early next year to replace my current 180SX which I am loosing interest in due to horrendus motor rebuild costs.

I want to go NA. Sick of Turbos. I want a responsive powerful BMW motor.

Maybe the S14 motor is too expensive. I dont know. But my only other option is to find a 2.5 or 2.7 motor.

[drifty325i 0]

Dont buy an s14 then lol. Awesome engines but not cheap,not alot of tq down low and very rare.

Get a bmw v8 imo,cheap,light,powerfull or if your a little bit more open minded get a lexus v8 like me

[togate 0]

good man dan! e30 touge bashers! i was too looking into s14 motors, ebay, forum whoring etc....nothing...i would also like to know there worth? love the sound of these motors, lexus v8s are a good option too, their quite cheap!, whats the average weight of a 1uzfe? i reckon it would be front heavy for drift duty

Edited October 19, 2007 by togate

[conrod 1]

A group A 2.3 will make around 300+ hp, and cost you at least $20K+. I have a Gp.A 2.3 short block I could sell you. But it is not the right engine for what you want to do. My 2.5 makes power from 7000-9000 rpm, and takes a lot of shifting and a very close ratio gearbox to keep in the powerband. I can get them easily enough, but they are not for the light of wallet!

[cainchapman 0]

Plus a complete rebuild every 40 hours running at those power figures Conrad.

[conrod 1]

more like 20 hours!

[Driftit 1997]

Hmmm well I guess thats out to of the equation then. Out of the E30 6's which would be the better to go for. Tourqe is required for what I want to do. But I feel the 8's would be a little to heavy up the front. Especially on some of our downhill runs.

[conrod 1]

E36 M3 3.2+6 speed.321hp out of the box, and can be "tweaked" to about 340 without pulling apart. About $10K for a full package,(engine box loom computer etc.) will rev to 8000, and last forever doing it. E30 six will cost you a lot more, you won't get to this level, and it won't last forever.BMW V8 not much heavier than the six.

Edited October 19, 2007 by conrod

[Gus 5]

interesting stuff here...conrad what is your opinion on the reliability of less tweaked S14's, say 220-250 hp ( lower end 2.3, higher 2.5) pretty good with that lowish (comparitively) output?

and for an e30 track car, would you go for the S50 over a M52 (assuming it was a M52 with 220-230hp)? ie does the extra power negate the alloy block?

[conrod 1]

interesting stuff here...conrad what is your opinion on the reliability of less tweaked S14's, say 220-250 hp ( lower end 2.3, higher 2.5) pretty good with that lowish (comparitively) output?

They are reliable if built properly, steel crank is standard, and the rest of it will cope easily.

and for an e30 track car, would you go for the S50 over a M52 (assuming it was a M52 with 220-230hp)? ie does the extra power negate the alloy block?

As you know I was originally building a track car with an S50. 321hp standard, for a weight increase of around 30kgs, you do the math! I still think it would be an excellent combination for open class.

There is an E30 being built with an S38B36 (very similar power and weight to S50) and another about to be built with an S50. Once sorted they will be very fast cars I am sure.

[BM WORLD 1270]

i have a good 4l v8 M60 engine for sale .

manual boxes on ebay.de

[Gus 5]

30kg?

that sounds a helluva lot more reasonable than what i thought...i thought it was around 60kg? unless thats the m30?

hmmm....my UK shopping list might change a little...much easier than trying to get more out of an M52.

Whose is the S38? interesting choice

Cheers

[Driftit 1997]

Cheers for all the advice. I would love to spend the money and pick up a S50 but to be honest they are far too pricey for what I want to do. I think I would be better off going to a M60 motor.

An M52 gen 1 is 170Kg's making 193bhp

M60B40 makes 286bhp. Does anybody know what they weigh? Ah found it. 203kg.

So between the two motors I would go for the obvious power to weight ratio option would be the M60B40.

I presume it would be easier to get more power from the M60 if needed too. Both would be as difficult as each other to fit.

So there is a few of these knocking around on Bimmersport?

Edited October 23, 2007 by driftit

[CamB 48]

I don't understand why the 180sx is so expensive to rebuild?? Why not just get a second hand engine?

[hybrid 1042]

30kg?

that sounds a helluva lot more reasonable than what i thought...i thought it was around 60kg? unless thats the m30?

hmmm....my UK shopping list might change a little...much easier than trying to get more out of an M52.

Whose is the S38? interesting choice

Cheers

wernt you preaching 4 cyliders in e30's only a month ago ?

[Driftit 1997]

I don't understand why the 180sx is so expensive to rebuild?? Why not just get a second hand engine?

Because I cant do a half ass rebuild. Piston melted destroying the block and put crap all through the head. Dont want to put a second hand motor in it. The base price for a S13 Black top motor is about $3000 anyway. My other problem is I help run nissansilvia.co.nz. And everyone on there knows what happen.

I will get back what I put in though. But I have really just had enough of them. I need something cheap to play with.

What made it expensive was me going overboard on the new parts. Replaced near everything. And upgraded most things.

[Gus 5]

i still am josh! its just getting a reasonably powered one without getting bum reamed...an M54 + box sold for £1.5k on ebay here the other day...its fairly tempting

[CamB 48]

I will get back what I put in though. But I have really just had enough of them. I need something cheap to play with.

Fair enough (the "had enough"). Just remember that 2nd hand bits and/or performance bits are generally harder to find and/or more expensive for BMWs than Nissans. There's no cheap coilovers or LSDs, and no turbo means no (nearly) free extra power. I'm not sure you can do a cheap, powerful E30 that handles well, unless you get some mean deals on stuff.

The S14 is definitely no-go - they're hard to find, very, very expensive, and if they need rebuilding at any stage they seem to be right up there for cost.... and chances are they'll have high km and need rebuilding at some stage. I looked into it for my 2002 (easy fit!), but the approx $8k I saw the last motor and gearbox sell for really put me off.