decision time

[E30-323ti 66]

Reckless:

Go for the cheap stroker, 2.3l head on E28 525e bottom end.

Then find A nice sized turbo, say a toyota CT-26 from a MA-70 Supra, slap it on running 6psi with some bigger injectors and bob's your uncle!!!

I have a rebuilt 2.3l head if you are interested, comes with bottom end and 5spd attached!!

Drop me a PM if you want to hook up over easter.

[Gus 5]

2.8ltr it - or kiss your resale value good bye.  Up to you!  Especially if a factory M.  If you've got the bolt on fantastic, do what you like, but no one (in their right mind) is going to buy a "BMW" with a rotary, or with a bolt on turbo .....

2.8ltr it!

Juzzie - whats wrong with the bolt on turbo? Done right it will be reliable and give the power he wants. But true I wouldn't buy a turbo bimmer - unless it was one i'd done or something.

Nothing, if that is what you want. I'm just an accountant / lawyer who is a purist - so you can imagine my point of view. Now Reckless made the statement which was "sort of out of my fina[n]cial reach" and all I am trying to do is to play "devil's advocate" so that Reckless doesn't save $1k now to lose $3k in two years time when it is time to upgrade. You will only get to what you want (that pristine E30 M3 in the garage) if you don't lose on what you have.

I was once (i.e. when I was younger) of the mind that, yes I wanted to beat everybody at the lights (not easy in a 2002tii) and needed more power, MORE POWER! But, now (and yes, I'm happy to hold hands with everyone and sing kum bah yah) I realise the pleasure that you get out of the car you drive, the person in your passenger seat and the music you are listening to, irrespective of whether they guy in the $10k sardine can is at the next set of lights already. If that isn't the case, and beating the "Rice" at the lights is the key, then, given the "Rice bang for buck" you either need your own "Rice" or a late model BMW.

Additionally, the more power you have, and the willingness to use it, the costlier it becomes with tickets from the law. Believe me!

A lot of people on this forum must enjoy driving a BMW for the sake of driving it (i.e. all the 318 / 320 etc owners) and aren't looking at losing people at the lights.

Why do I enjoy my M3? Because I can do Blenheim to Christchurch in 3 hours? Because I can leave people at the lights? Because it is 1/500 Evo Is? Because it is 1/17k E30 M3s? Because it looks good? Because it has a kick-a$$ stereo? Because I've got nothing else to spend my money on? Because it was a good investment? All have an input, but mostly because I enjoy driving it how it is.

Enough? Whatever Reckless does to his car, he should enjoy it and not feel that he has wasted his money,

Andrew Posting here:

Fair enough, I enjoy driving my car more than anything - I don't race people at the lights. Unlike you - I don't really look at the car to listen to music or as an investment. For me its a toy - and toys that go faster are better. The car spends most of it time on twisties late at night. The 320 doesn't really cut in in terms of power - neither does the 325 or m3 really. So turbo it is.

edit: Why do you hate jappa cars so much and associate turbo with rice?

Edited April 7, 2004 by Gus

[Guest Speedye30]

Let do some word association: Turbo....Rice haha

Well list me ten late model non Japanese cars which are fast and have turbos...Cmon!

Now how many Japanese cars are there? Hell, just about every Japanese car has a factory turbo version...(maybe a slight exaggeration)

[Guest Andrew]

Let do some word association: Turbo....Rice haha

Well list me ten late model non Japanese cars which are fast and have turbos...Cmon!

Now how many Japanese cars are there? Hell, just about every Japanese car has a factory turbo version...(maybe a slight exaggeration)

So - just cause ALL those turbo jappa cars have more power than yours.. Your saying its rice?

Now - some quick and I mean as quick as those turbo jappa Euro cars those don't use a bit of forced air.. hmm.. let me think.. Wait.. 911.. turbo (yep).. Merc.. wait...they have superchargers.

In fact the fastest bmw and one of the faster cars i've been in .. wait.. it was a .. turbo BMW! (WITH JAPPA POWER!) and a supercharged merc!

[Guest Speedye30]

Yeah, well before the import racer scene came out and the fast and the furious, Japanese cars were known to some (very un-pc) as rice rockets. So there.

Rice before rice?

Got rice? hehe

Edited April 7, 2004 by Speedye30

[Juzzie Wuzzie 0]

Oh, we gotta love this thread!!! Why did I use the term "Rice"? Answer, because that is the lingo that seems to be used on this forum. My apologies. However, am I wrong in suggesting:

1. Japanese cars give the most bang for buck?

2. there isn't a normally aspirated Japanese car that I won't see in the rear view mirror?

Personally, I don't care if a care is faster than mine (many are) or is more expensive than mine (many more are). Additionally, I have nothing against Japanese turbos - I own one - an Isuzu Mu 2.8!

All I was getting (or attempting to) across was that your car should reflect your needs. On the basis that not everyone has a "Soprano roll" to spend on a car, those who want to go fast should buy Japanese (and in most, if not all, cases a turbo) car to get the greatest return for their money. Those who want the European prestige, which we know costs a little more, will, in most cases, need to sacrifice the bang. Sure, if I had the money. No, correction, if I chose to, I'd buy / lease the latest M3 or a Porsche 911 (or whatever they are badged now) so that I had the best of both worlds. But, I am more sensible with my money.

In summary, I don't care what YOU drive, just as long as YOU are happy driving what you have!

[Viking 0]

M50 in an E30. Definitely. With the right mods, you'll keep pace with an E46 M3.

Sounds like a plan to me. Of course, one of my other coworkers is wondering about a 5 series with a lexus v8. Hmm.... could be fun

[Dnz 0]

Im a purist.

I would never put another non bmw engine in it. Why?

Think of it like putting a new brain in your friend. Yeah, looks like your friendm but really it aint. And it never will be.

You dont just take the single most defining part of a car out, and put in something else expecting it to still be the same.

FI would be just ADDING to it. But replacing..nahh.

I wouldnt do it. I would keep it a BMW, and not a Lexus in a bmw body or whatever its going to be...

[Viking 0]

Everyones entitled to their own opinion. I'm sure he would use a BMW engine.... if it wasnt over twice the price of the lexus one......

[Guest Spargo]

The people you want to lookup Viking, are the Mchenries in the States. Pete (father) builds BMW race engines for a living, and the trickle down effect see's Alex's M3 with an S52 3.2L hybrid, putting 302hp at the wheels, and Stu with an S50 3.0L in his 318is, which is putting out close to 270rwhp. These engines use entirely bmw parts, and some smart thinking (blueprinting etc) but are just amazing.

I'm using a McHenry engine formula for my winter project. The problem is that the bits they use are so much more expensive here in the colonies compared to the US / Europe. Example: an S50B32 counterbalanced forged crank is AU$4.5K, but in Europe i could get an entire S50B32 with wiring loom for an E30 for 2.5K pounds

OT: You can get an E39 M5 V8 bottom end for AU$4K. Finding a head would be the difficult bit.

[Guest Spargo]

They are completely road based engines too. Sensible redlines, normal road car engine tolerances. They are definitely not race engines!

[Viking 0]

Thanks for the info, project gets delayed a little bit more however..... got rear ended on the way home tonight

Tho the other person got about 4 times more damage than I did, surpisingly strong that rear bumper

[Guest Andrew]

Oh, we gotta love this thread!!! Why did I use the term "Rice"? Answer, because that is the lingo that seems to be used on this forum. My apologies. However, am I wrong in suggesting:

1. Japanese cars give the most bang for buck?

2. there isn't a normally aspirated Japanese car that I won't see in the rear view mirror?

Personally, I don't care if a care is faster than mine (many are) or is more expensive than mine (many more are). Additionally, I have nothing against Japanese turbos - I own one - an Isuzu Mu 2.8!

All I was getting (or attempting to) across was that your car should reflect your needs. On the basis that not everyone has a "Soprano roll" to spend on a car, those who want to go fast should buy Japanese (and in most, if not all, cases a turbo) car to get the greatest return for their money. Those who want the European prestige, which we know costs a little more, will, in most cases, need to sacrifice the bang. Sure, if I had the money. No, correction, if I chose to, I'd buy / lease the latest M3 or a Porsche 911 (or whatever they are badged now) so that I had the best of both worlds. But, I am more sensible with my money.

In summary, I don't care what YOU drive, just as long as YOU are happy driving what you have!

fair enough -

Jap cars do give most bang for buck and use exellent engineering to do that. The term rice is just crap - rice is a honda civic with stupid wheels on and a wing and then they claim its modified. It probably wouldn't even have an asian owner.

But I accept your point of view (mine is the same here - i'm not sure what we are arguing about) - I just don't think a turbo m20 is wrong.

p.s (350Z might leave your car behind).

[*sic 1]

go the almighty Honda!!!

if anyone disagrees ill just edit there post

[Juzzie Wuzzie 0]

p.s (350Z might leave your car behind).

Evens to 100kmph, who knows from there?

[Guest reckless]

gus mate you hit the nail on the head i love my beamer and i probably never sell it. it is a toy, plain and simple i dont race around town with my hat back wards it does'nt apeal, im a track man and a purest a turbo bmw six screams hell yeah.

[Viking 0]

For some reason I'm trying to picture a turbo or supercharged M50 in a E30 shell......

Also, because I'm curious, I take it the SMG gearbox has the same mounting holes and stuff as the manual, so if you were putting in the S50B32 engine into an E30, you could also put in the SMG gearbox right?

Edited April 9, 2004 by Viking

[Guest Andrew]

For some reason I'm trying to picture a turbo or supercharged M50 in a E30 shell......

Also, because I'm curious, I take it the SMG gearbox has the same mounting holes and stuff as the manual, so if you were putting in the S50B32 engine into an E30, you could also put in the SMG gearbox right?

M50 (and variants) didn't get an SMG gearbox.

[Guest Speedye30]

How about this then:

[Viking 0]

mmmmmmmmmmmmm E30 goodness

I want it.

[Guest Spargo]

Yes, Ian Haynes' car is damn awesome.

You can do the Turbo S50 in E30 thing, 400wrhp from 6psi on stock internals. NICE NICE!

[Guest Andrew]

How about this then:

If you mean that has SMG - I'm don't know what your talking about? Thats a US Spec M3 motor with a supercharger (in a 325e) I believe. Its Randy Sparre's ex-car (stolen) and pretty well known.

[Guest reckless]

would i be able to put a 2.3i head on a 2.5i bottom end and would it give me lower compresson, this ones for all the mechanics out there.

[Guest Andrew]

would i be able to put a 2.3i head on a 2.5i bottom end and would it give me lower compresson, this ones for all the mechanics out there.

I don't think so. You'd need some low comp pistons.

[Guest Spargo]

No it wouldn't. You'd still have the same compression. The only difference is that the 323i combustion chamber shape promotes a cleaner burn = more complete combustion.

That is Randy Sparre's eta!

Edited April 11, 2004 by CiLK WuRM