BMRBOI 8 Report post Posted October 25, 2006 hey guys wondering if its worth doing this change? my m50 1992 325i engine has done the head gasket sadly, but i was wondering if i replaced it with a 1994 325i vanos engine i might be able to get my hands on. what kind of work is needed to do this? mine is also manual do the engines mount the same on the box? ill also have to change the loom and ecu right? also will it be worth this work or should i just do the head again on my car and carry on. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
red e30 0 Report post Posted October 30, 2006 Yes the Vanos head will be a better performer as it does not have to make as many compromises as the non-Vanos one. That said it may not yield much more power and the effort of getting a new ecu wired up may mean that it is more cost efficient to keep the old head and give it a port and polish or get a low restriction exhaust system. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TronSpec 0 Report post Posted October 30, 2006 Yes the Vanos head will be a better performer as it does not have to make as many compromises as the non-Vanos one. What do you mean by compromises??? I've read that the non-vanos is a much stronger unit over the vanos Basically there are a few key points. Non-vanos can be bored to 86mm Vanos only to 85mm. Non-vanos come with hotter cams. And dual valve springs. Vanos have mild sh*t, but valve timing with vanos. Vanos units can fail Vanos can put in M3 Cams + chip for great upgrade Hope that helps Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kerrynzl 3 Report post Posted October 31, 2006 What do you mean by compromises??? I've read that the non-vanos is a much stronger unit over the vanos Non-vanos come with hotter cams. And dual valve springs. Vanos have mild sh*t, but valve timing with vanos. The Basic Port volume of both heads is the same. the Vanos has narrower valve stems [so they'll flow more air thru-out the full range of lift,especially just off the seat] the Vanos has Conical valve springs [less seat pressure when closed,higher pressure when open] the biggest internal friction in an engine is the valve springs/cam followers the Vanos can use less cam duration [for higher cylinder pressures at low RPM] then advances for high RPM the Vanos has a higher compression ratio dont always look at stronger as being better, sometimes things are over engineered. when you modify an engine,then you mix'n'match the best parts Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BMRBOI 8 Report post Posted November 1, 2006 ok so is it a good trade off? or rather stick with the non vanos? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
