TBMW E36 328i POWER RECIPE.

[mr E34 11]

Power Output is estimated at flywheel using dyno calculation...263bhp, very successful conversion work.

[Guest Simon*]

That's impressive

[martyyn 2]

Does anyone know what doing something like this would cost in NZ ?

The article is obviously from the UK and they mention its all bolt on parts etc, but it would be interesting to know if it could be done here and for how much.

[Mark 178]

The way our dollar is at the moment... things like the US Spec M3 cams etc would be bloody expensive to get hold of.

[Guest Spottswoode]

Damn, nearly 100hp/L without individual throttles is nothing to be sneezed at.

[hybrid 1039]

ITBs only give you minor increases in power at that literage. Some one has done it (s50 ITBs onto m5x) and it gave them a whole 3 horse power difference for a whole lot of hassle.

[westy 614]

Lotsa potential in that m50 manifold.

[bravo 34]

Haha, yes. There have been some rather strong comments to the contrary over the years by some members who claim to know it all. Seems as though the proof is in the pudding....

This thread is one example.

People are entitled to their opinions of course, and obviously the benefits are based on a certain desired outcome (higher hp at the expense of low end torque).

[westy 614]

If you read the article it states that the Schrick manifold was installed after the dyno runs and that the owner would not bother to install a Schrick menifold if he had to buy it at a new price.

[bravo 34]

I fail to see eye-to-eye my 3-pedalled friend. The article states at the end of page 1 and start of page 2 that 19hp was gained solely by changing the manifold and throttle body. Considering you can pick up these parts for a few measley dollars on trademe, and can fit them yourself, that's some bloody cheap horsepower! And very little side effects to detract you from doing so.

Sure the schrick is better, but I'd wager it would cost you 5 times as much to do for maybe twice the gain.

I've never entered these discussions before because I don't know diddly squat about the m50/2 motors when it comes to this level of technicality. I simmply wanted to point out, here is a guy who has done the fabled swap and has the dyno figures to prove it works.

BTW, I wasn't trying to point any fingers when I linked that thread - it was the first to come up whne I searched the topic knowing I'd read something before.

[BM WORLD 1264]

i run a e36 325i 5spd M50 . non vanos , it has enough torque as it is , and i am sure with the extra capacity of teh 328i engine , there should be enough there to satisfy .

i love the way the M50 325i revs out . quite rewarding to drive .

[Guest Spottswoode]

Haha, yes. There have been some rather strong comments to the contrary over the years by some members who claim to know it all. Seems as though the proof is in the pudding....

naer naer naer naer

[320guy 0]

There are some dynographs on another forum comparing the m50 manifold on the m52b28 engine. With just a straight swap there was quite a drop in low down torque, but with a re-mapped ECU almost all the torque was regained (was like 3ft-lb less or somthing)

[*Glenn* 854]

HP never equates to speed or acceleration.. Torque / power to weight ratio gives you acceleration. Driveability for a road vehicle is another equasion.

2,000hp in a 52 ton vehicle will never make a dragster even with huge torque figures

[CamB 48]

Based on a bit of research (hours, not minutes), it seems that the M50 manifold does exactly what's described - less power down lower and more up higher. I don't think I have ever seen one which compared dyno tuned before and after.

I disagree that BMW didn't get 4 cylinders in 1992. The S14 is a pretty awesome, if relatively highly strung, engine. The S38 is also good, and the S50 came out before the M52. For what its worth, my S50 has fairly average torque down low, but that doesn't make it bad. Its a trade off.

In any case, while I agree the M3 exhaust was a good mod for your car 3pedals, its essentially unobtainable here (you got lucky) and recommending it as a cheap/comparable alternative is disingenuous.

[bravo 34]

For the fairest comparision it should be an Optimally mapped M52 with an optimally (remapped) mapped M50 manifold on an M52 engine

It might be time to challenge the premise that the M50 is a good engine - it is really a DOG.

Fair comment on the former, but a tad harsh on the latter. I wouldn't ever go so far as to call the m50 a dog. It's a bloody good motor, doesn't mean there aren't better.

[westy 614]

More info on his site

[westy 614]

I've watched him build this car on e36coupe.com(now bmwowner.com) for some time so I'm quite familiar with it.

[CamB 48]

Decent headers are very expensive... that's my point.

With a few mods it was doing 145 kW ( thats about the same as my 328 was stock) still producing great torque at 4,900RPM and would beat the sh*t out of any BMW of the day up to 2.5 litres pulling an impressive 220kmh.

The M3's S14, while ridiculously expensive, is superior, and it was the first production 4 valve BMW 4 cylinder. They did a pretty good job of it - it easily formed the base for an impressive race engine.

The M42 is a bit crap though - I understand it has a number of weak points.

Edited February 27, 2009 by CamB

[pjay 8]

Can improve any engine with a tubo

[edhardley 0]

Can improve any engine with a tubo

Can blow them up to

[Apex 693]

Meh, Westys M50 manifolded car goes like f**k, much harder than other 2.8 beamers I have owned/driven. It simply walked away from another 328i at a recent track day. I have no doubt at all the M50 works well.

Would love to see a drag race.

[hybrid 1039]

Meh, Westys M50 manifolded car goes like f**k, much harder than other 2.8 beamers I have owned/driven. It simply walked away from another 328i at a recent track day. I have no doubt at all the M50 works well.

Would love to see a drag race.

Put it this way, his the only car that keeps up / matches with me on runs. We actually had a drag race from stand still and he beat me off the line and for the first 100 meters. for a 328 e36 its one seriously quick car. I have done the same thing with standard e36 3.0 M3s and are pretty much matched with them. Just goes to prove that torque is everything Peak horse power figures dont really mean too much.

Another thing on westys side is the lack of weight his car has as it has not auto gearbox anymore

me e46 330i = 231bhp ( a bit more up top with my exhaust)

e36 m3 3.0 = 282bhp

After driving a 3.0 m3 and the straight afterwards jumping into my 330 the big thing I noticed the m3 was issing was any real balls down low. So all of its power was 4000 up and its real power was at 6000.

[edhardley 0]

Meh, Westys M50 manifolded car goes like f**k, much harder than other 2.8 beamers I have owned/driven. It simply walked away from another 328i at a recent track day. I have no doubt at all the M50 works well.

Would love to see a drag race.

+1, +1, +1, finally. Yes I've done the swop and I believe it's worth it (yea may be slightly biased) but seriously. Alot of people do a quick google search and see 'low end torque lost' then quickly come onto other forums and spread their wealth of knowlege. You have to have done it, or been in a car that has had the mod before you comment... (you do loose minimal low end torque, but the gain up high is way beyond what you loose, and with a remap most people gain any loss in torque, and upper end even goes more crazy). It pulls alot harder past 3500 revs, almost like the effect of a turbo (not quite but just that late pull). Only good for a manual tho, complete waste of time for an auto, the standard manifold would be better in an auto. Also on the cams note, if your going to do cams, you might aswell drop your tools and go buy an m3, cos without some major strengthening, new springs and a few other bits and pieces while you've got it apart your engine isn't going to last long.

The best mod list (least money, biggest gains both power and handling, without killing your engine) = m50 manifold (+boared TB and T/C delete), CIA (I mean COLD AIR not metal piped pod filter in the middle of the engine), remap, 3.23 or 3.46 LSD if you got it in you.

Now if you know a few people/ can do some things yourself, your looking at just over 2k, your also looking at taking on those 3L m3's (It's a risky call, but take out those subs, your spare tyre, and some heavy sound deadining material in the boot, and no doubt it'll be close). If you also did do the m3 cams properly and had it remaped completely then you could join the guys that have done it elsewhere, think theres a few on bimmerforums and are beating m3's.

m3 exhaust= waste of time... 328i exhaust is almost the same performance wise, very non restrictive, all your going to get from and m3 exhaust is slightly larger diametre pipes giving a very slight deeper sound. Along with the mods above because of increased airflow you may gain a couple of hp with one.

Anyway thats just my views, this topic always comes up, as there is alot of performance to be gained with the 328 e36/ m52/b28 engine. The above is prety much my mods list, Not quite finished but when I am I'll have some dynos to show for it.

[ant 0]

Lots of americans whinge about this and I agree - the thing with british tuners is they show you the estimate flywheel figure which can often be hyperinflated and inaccurate.