How to Stroke a M20

[Gotheschu 1]

After just buying Dudlee (E30 318i P/FL), it has Bilstiens in the front with King Springs, although it is a little stiff it is great fun in the corners with that lone. You can just throw it into a corner and it will just go there (more or less).

Just get something cheap, with a few suspension bits and I will guarantee it will be brillant fun.

Insurance is hard enough to get for an 18 year old with a 1.8L insured for $3,500 but for a 16 year old with a modified 10 grand car? No chance if you ask me, or it will be hugely expensive. On a side note get insurance put in your name too don't put it under your parents because you want to build up a reputation with insurance companies.

If your at the Anniversary Weekend meet, I will take you for a spin/you can take it for a drive. Although I orginally wanted a 325i, the extra insurance cost/extra petrol costs just made me realise that I didn't need it as an 18 year old Student.

You don't realise how expensive it is to run a car by yourself with no help from your parents (especially a BMW) until you actually daily one. I have only had mine for a week and theres a decent sized list that I want done to it to smarten it all up.

Sorry for ruining your thread but I can just see you buying a 2.8L/325i and realising that you can't afford to run it and then selling it 1 or 2 months later.

Hey Mate,

Yea, I know what you mean. I'm starting to think I might just invest another 1000 into the race car and get it road worthy. So much easier. Im losing round 2000 on it at the moment at its sale price so might keep it a little longer...

Would be awesome to come for a run in the famous dudlee =D

Ill definitely be at the anniversary meet so see you there.

[Forrest 35]

If your heart is set on it, do a search on here there are plenty of threads. After going for a ride in a M52 E30 that would be what I would do instead, or M54.

IMO if you want more grunt get a M20 2.5, 500 bucks will get you a reasonable one, have plenty of power to get into to trouble anyway.

[Greg111 13]

That would be the easiest option, just put a 2.5 in the race car, instant up grade.

[Jamez 2147483647]

Don't build a stroker just because you want to go faster, If you want to go faster you should stick with your current e30 and learn to drive as I reckon thats where the biggest and cheapest improvements could be found.

If you want to go open series why don't you just chuck a standard M20B25 in your current e30, put some race pads in, get some semi's, replace the shocks and I guarantee if your as fast as the car you should be doing 1:22's

So for about 3k you could take 14 seconds off your lap time (being your fastest time at HD still a 1:36) Its not that much when you consider your loosing 2K on your e30 if you sell it and you haven't even started your next project.

Having the power is one thing but I don't think you will have the budget to do all the other things that are necessary to make it of any use round a track if thats the end goal.

My 2c

Edited January 18, 2011 by Jamez

[DRTDVL 0]

Jack:I argee with James,

going fast on a race track is one thing - going fast on a proper road is another. I'd have a look at doing some bent sprints and hillclimbs, under powered cars that handle very well will very often beat higher horse powered cars.

have a look at going and doing this event at the end of feb:

and other such events - you car is more than acceptable for clubsport events. You don't just have to do the E30 series because you have an E30...

under powered car force you to learn how to enter and exit corner properly to carry corner speed, much in the same way how driving on gravel forces you to learn how to use the brakes and throttle properly.

[hybrid 1043]

I'll write this from another perspective.

I'll also try write this not directed at jack but a guide for people who are struggling with what they want from a car.

Building a car or modifying a car is never a cheap experience for those who aren't in the industry. The expenses can run out of control fairly easy. Or at east sneak up on you as all the big ticket stuff like engines / gear boxes etc etc is easy to work out, however what seems like small stuff can sometimes end up costing just as much, especially if your not blessed with fabrication skills. Paying someone 50-120per hour can run quite hot pretty quick.

With all that said, Really working out what you want from your car is easier than you think. Most people actually don’t want a race car, They want the fun of track days with their mates and the fun of being able to drive the car on the road when ever they want.

Setting up and maintaining a car, attending most race meets, paying for travel for your car, trailer hire, accommodation costs, paying for fuel of your car and the tow vehicle, paying for breakages and maybe panel work after a race meet gets pretty expensive and that thing you thought was fun to start with, actually starts to become a chore and impact your lifestyle outside of 'car time'.

Most people (and I too 5-6years ago was the same) forget about the end goal and get tied up in the romance of the build. This is why you see a lot of people selling their cars after they have finished it. They give it a bash and the realities of going for a full blown caged race car kick in.

Myself, I got caught up in earning fairly decent coin, starting something with the intention of spend some decent money on it. Resscession kicked in mid build, contracting market dried up, got a full time job instead and my budget suddenly went down a few more zeros. Also my band commitments at the time where insane. So I still wanted to 'do it right' so the only way I could do that was take my time.

A lot of people ask me when am I putting a cage in my e30? And I tell them, why would I do that? .. it would mean I cant drive my car up to Omaha for a drive with the missus, or couldn’t drive myself and some luggage somewhere, It would mean instead of carrying my slicks to the track days in the car I would need to hire a trailer and take our daily to the track for the day.

My point is, I can still have the fun at the track with my mates with out it impacting my life too much.

I think realistically this is what a lot of people want when they’re getting into it.

What Jamez says is true, get yourself a good platform to start from, spend some money on a second set of tires for the track, up rate your suspension and brakes, buy some safety gear (helmet, fire extinguisher, suit / boots / gloves) .. and go out and improve your times. Its a hell of a lot of fun and not too taxing on the wallet.

At the end of it all, if you still want to get into racing then you can ...

My goals at the start of building the car: Build a e30 s50b32 turbo with 600whp cos I liked the look of some of the stuff being done in overseas.

My goals at the end: A fast, reliable and legal car I can drive in the weekends on the road and with a quick 1 hour session to change over it to track spec for track day fun.

I’m so glad I ended up where I did with it.

I suppose I didn’t really go into the slightly modded road car that you drive around ... but after a while it gets boring and not practical (security / parking issues / harder to drive daily cos of rough roads etc)

[e30ftw 410]

Sell and buy my e30.. Looks, sounds, drives awesome and handles good on the track

[Palazzo 477]

Damn that Integra is fast, sh*t to a blanket anyone?

[Gotheschu 1]

I'll write this from another perspective.

I'll also try write this not directed at jack but a guide for people who are struggling with what they want from a car.

Building a car or modifying a car is never a cheap experience for those who aren't in the industry. The expenses can run out of control fairly easy. Or at east sneak up on you as all the big ticket stuff like engines / gear boxes etc etc is easy to work out, however what seems like small stuff can sometimes end up costing just as much, especially if your not blessed with fabrication skills. Paying someone 50-120per hour can run quite hot pretty quick.

With all that said, Really working out what you want from your car is easier than you think. Most people actually don’t want a race car, They want the fun of track days with their mates and the fun of being able to drive the car on the road when ever they want.

Setting up and maintaining a car, attending most race meets, paying for travel for your car, trailer hire, accommodation costs, paying for fuel of your car and the tow vehicle, paying for breakages and maybe panel work after a race meet gets pretty expensive and that thing you thought was fun to start with, actually starts to become a chore and impact your lifestyle outside of 'car time'.

Most people (and I too 5-6years ago was the same) forget about the end goal and get tied up in the romance of the build. This is why you see a lot of people selling their cars after they have finished it. They give it a bash and the realities of going for a full blown caged race car kick in.

A lot of people ask me when am I putting a cage in my e30? And I tell them, why would I do that? .. it would mean I cant drive my car up to Omaha for a drive with the missus, or couldn’t drive myself and some luggage somewhere, It would mean instead of carrying my slicks to the track days in the car I would need to hire a trailer and take our daily to the track for the day.

My point is, I can still have the fun at the track with my mates with out it impacting my life too much.

I think realistically this is what a lot of people want when they’re getting into it.

What Jamez says is true, get yourself a good platform to start from, spend some money on a second set of tires for the track, up rate your suspension and brakes, buy some safety gear (helmet, fire extinguisher, suit / boots / gloves) .. and go out and improve your times. Its a hell of a lot of fun and not too taxing on the wallet.

At the end of it all, if you still want to get into racing then you can ...

My goals at the start of building the car: Build a e30 s50b32 turbo with 600whp cos I liked the look of some of the stuff being done in overseas.

My goals at the end: A fast, reliable and legal car I can drive in the weekends on the road and with a quick 1 hour session to change over it to track spec for track day fun.

I’m so glad I ended up where I did with it.

I suppose I didn’t really go into the slightly modded road car that you drive around ... but after a while it gets boring and not practical (security / parking issues / harder to drive daily cos of rough roads etc)

Words of wisdom there. A Mod should sticky that or the whole thread. REALITY OF BUILDING A PERFORMANCE BMW if a e30 series car, can be put under that.

Um, you hit it on the head for me though Josh, because building the car was real hard for me and its not finished yet. But that track day cost me over 300$ excluding food etc and I missed out a couple of hours with my coolant problem. But even then I had used all my fuel up.

Thats why its really for sale because I know I won't be able to afford the running costs it'll have, and once its ready I can't really drive it on the road so 85% of my money is sitting in the garage for 80% of the time.

Thats why I wanted a M325i and wanted to play with the motor in that ( espically after I saw that race car video =) I know, I can build another car up much better than I did with the E30 because the E30 I had paid maybe 2-3000 of labour bills, that weren't needed. So if I got 7500 for my one, I think I could run a Road E30 fine. Even easier with a job.

You really did hammer because that what I need a car thats good fun on the track and road but is road friendly and with a change of tires becomes a real good track car. And Reliable

Edited January 18, 2011 by Young Jack

[huff3r 347]

Words of wisdom there. A Mod should sticky that or the whole thread. REALITY OF BUILDING A PERFORMANCE BMW if a e30 series car, can be put under that.

Um, you hit it on the head for me though Josh, because building the car was real hard for me and its not finished yet. But that track day cost me over 300$ excluding food etc and I missed out a couple of hours with my coolant problem. But even then I had used all my fuel up.

Thats why its really for sale because I know I won't be able to afford the running costs it'll have, and once its ready I can't really drive it on the road so 85% of my money is sitting in the garage for 80% of the time.

Thats why I wanted a M325i and wanted to play with the motor in that ( espically after I saw that race car video =) I know, I can build another car up much better than I did with the E30 because the E30 I had paid maybe 2-3000 of labour bills, that weren't needed. So if I got 7500 for my one, I think I could run a Road E30 fine. Even easier with a job.

You really did hammer because that what I need a car thats good fun on the track and road but is road friendly and with a change of tires becomes a real good track car. And Reliable

Think again. Hate to break it to you, but even with the best part time job in the world running any car, let alone an E30 is a struggle.

Insurance will probably set you back a decent $800ish a year, tyres, services, petrol. These dont come cheap. Not to mention that if you have an opportunity to save for a future, id say do it, because i spent all my job money on cars and now i have student debts. Which will just keep building.

Ive since learned that keeping a $1200 320i running is the best bet for having a fun, reliable car, without spending too much, and being able to save up for a future, and pay off my debts.

Cars are EXPENSIVE! Cannot be over-stressed, and all cars are. If you buy a $7000 car it'll leave you with less money for that emergency problem when something goes bang (it will.) However cheaper cars let you have that little bit extra for a rainy day

[Greg111 13]

The thing that's been brought up a few times but proberly hasn't registered is insurance, it's gonna get more and more expensive for young people as time goes on due to more and more car accidents involving young people, I bought my M3 when i was 18, the premium was four figures and the excess was four figures, i know they are two different cars but any insurer will only see a young person in a BMW, so if you happen to mention a 2.8 BMW then expect the expense.

[98_s14 0]

Don't build a stroker just because you want to go faster, If you want to go faster you should stick with your current e30 and learn to drive as I reckon thats where the biggest and cheapest improvements could be found.

If you want to go open series why don't you just chuck a standard M20B25 in your current e30, put some race pads in, get some semi's, replace the shocks and I guarantee if your as fast as the car you should be doing 1:22's

So for about 3k you could take 14 seconds off your lap time (being your fastest time at HD still a 1:36) Its not that much when you consider your loosing 2K on your e30 if you sell it and you haven't even started your next project.

Having the power is one thing but I don't think you will have the budget to do all the other things that are necessary to make it of any use round a track if thats the end goal.

My 2c

I agree with this.

Even with your current engine and 11xrwhp you should be able to do something in the 1:25s or 1:26s.

[$toffz 0]

You guys are all wrong, way off.

The way i stroke my M20's is i stand on the drivers side with bonnet open. I then start with my left hand on the cam cover close to fire wall, i slowly slide my hand along the cover feeling the metal as i go along. Then i reach the three stripes and the BMW embossing where i slow down the stroke, getting in as much detail as possible then when i reach the end of the cam cover i start the whole process again with my right and hand starting at the front of the car stroking towards the fire wall.

I've stroked M20's for a few years now and this process works every time.

Go on, give your M20 a loving stroke

[Greg111 13]

Mechaphilia much! I bet you named it vanilla too huh?

[diablo23 1]

well said josh sumed it up quite nicely

[westy 614]

I'll write this from another perspective.

I'll also try write this not directed at jack but a guide for people who are struggling with what they want from a car.

Building a car or modifying a car is never a cheap experience for those who aren't in the industry. The expenses can run out of control fairly easy. Or at east sneak up on you as all the big ticket stuff like engines / gear boxes etc etc is easy to work out, however what seems like small stuff can sometimes end up costing just as much, especially if your not blessed with fabrication skills. Paying someone 50-120per hour can run quite hot pretty quick.

With all that said, Really working out what you want from your car is easier than you think. Most people actually don’t want a race car, They want the fun of track days with their mates and the fun of being able to drive the car on the road when ever they want.

Setting up and maintaining a car, attending most race meets, paying for travel for your car, trailer hire, accommodation costs, paying for fuel of your car and the tow vehicle, paying for breakages and maybe panel work after a race meet gets pretty expensive and that thing you thought was fun to start with, actually starts to become a chore and impact your lifestyle outside of 'car time'.

Most people (and I too 5-6years ago was the same) forget about the end goal and get tied up in the romance of the build. This is why you see a lot of people selling their cars after they have finished it. They give it a bash and the realities of going for a full blown caged race car kick in.

Myself, I got caught up in earning fairly decent coin, starting something with the intention of spend some decent money on it. Resscession kicked in mid build, contracting market dried up, got a full time job instead and my budget suddenly went down a few more zeros. Also my band commitments at the time where insane. So I still wanted to 'do it right' so the only way I could do that was take my time.

A lot of people ask me when am I putting a cage in my e30? And I tell them, why would I do that? .. it would mean I cant drive my car up to Omaha for a drive with the missus, or couldn’t drive myself and some luggage somewhere, It would mean instead of carrying my slicks to the track days in the car I would need to hire a trailer and take our daily to the track for the day.

My point is, I can still have the fun at the track with my mates with out it impacting my life too much.

I think realistically this is what a lot of people want when they’re getting into it.

What Jamez says is true, get yourself a good platform to start from, spend some money on a second set of tires for the track, up rate your suspension and brakes, buy some safety gear (helmet, fire extinguisher, suit / boots / gloves) .. and go out and improve your times. Its a hell of a lot of fun and not too taxing on the wallet.

At the end of it all, if you still want to get into racing then you can ...

My goals at the start of building the car: Build a e30 s50b32 turbo with 600whp cos I liked the look of some of the stuff being done in overseas.

My goals at the end: A fast, reliable and legal car I can drive in the weekends on the road and with a quick 1 hour session to change over it to track spec for track day fun.

I’m so glad I ended up where I did with it.

I suppose I didn’t really go into the slightly modded road car that you drive around ... but after a while it gets boring and not practical (security / parking issues / harder to drive daily cos of rough roads etc)

Dammit.

You might have just completely killed my inspiration.

[Silver Fox 43]

Dammit.

You might have just completely killed my inspiration.

I for one would hope nothing will kill your inspiration Tony, an example to all on what can be done, I have also tried to go away from what all others are doing, and intend to keep on doing that.

There is no greater inspiration than someone saying 'it can't be done', or,' that's not the way to do it', or, 'that won't work'.

ps, especially if you do most of it yourself.

Edited January 19, 2011 by Silver Fox

[westy 614]

Yeah, screw him, I gonna do it anyway ha.

I actually just meant the bit in the middle about building a race car.

Anyway, as you were.

[hybrid 1043]

Dammit.

You might have just completely killed my inspiration.

Nah, still keep up with it ... I would just build it as your hoon wagon that you can track day. Which I personally reckon is the best thing for your build situtation tony.

It's then an easy step to turn it into a race car after that.

[Grant 4]

Dammit.

You might have just completely killed my inspiration.

Tony, you of all people should know that you are an exception to the rule. Also, when Josh wrote that I think he figured, like the rest of us, that you couldn't read so it would not impact you.

Just keep going as you were, your madness is great.

Also, Josh - that was very well put. Great post.

Edited January 19, 2011 by Grant

[*Glenn* 854]

No offence intended Jack, however I don't think you have the skill level yet to do this.

Have a read of this :

http://www.msportster.co.uk/detail.asp?cat=22&offset=0

[westy 614]

Tony, you of all people should know that you are an exception to the rule. Also, when Josh wrote that I think he figured, like the rest of us, that you couldn't read so it would not impact you.

Just keep going as you were, your madness is great.

Also, Josh - that was very well put. Great post.

I saw that.

Admittedly I did skim through so you're closer to the truth than realized ha.

Also, I do know someone who put together a 3.1l M20.

Rumour has it, it cost upwards of 10k.

[*Glenn* 854]

I saw that.

Admittedly I did skim through so you're closer to the truth than realized ha.

Also, I do know someone who put together a 3.1l M20.

Rumour has it, it cost upwards of 10k.

It broke a crank too didn't it Tony ?

[antil33t 90]

Nobody has bought up the fact young people shouldn't be allowed to drive high powered vehicles?

[Gotheschu 1]

Nobody has bought up the fact young people shouldn't be allowed to drive high powered vehicles?

No no no no no no don't start this. Was just a simple question on how to stroke a m20. Doesn't need to fire up into another debate.

EDIT: Don't worry Glenn, I know I don't have the skill level to do it thats why I wanted to know the process so I could find out what I could do and what I would get help with.

Thanks for the link too. Going through it now =D Looks good

Edited January 19, 2011 by Young Jack