325i upgrade options

[Jetl3on]

Hallo,
I have been pondering engine upgrades for some time and cant decide which route to travel. My objectives are reliability for every day usage, fuel economy for long distance drives and midrange torque, it is an E30 1989 M20 325i standard engine and have been considering the following:

E46 3.0 M3 280BHP engine swap
Birds 2.7ltr 220BHP big bore upgrade
Birds 3.0ltr 220BHP big bore upgrade
Mosselman Turbo 246BHP instant
Supercharger

Has anyone any experience in these matters who can recommend the best most cost effective way forward?

Perhaps there is another more economical route as each of the above is a £5K minimum expense? Maybe a chip remap, K&N filter etc.....

Regards

JLM

[pgilc1]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Plus you'd be buying a car 'worth' £7K. You will get very little of the expense (and unpaid labour) of any conversion back come resale time.

[Jetl3on]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Yes indeed, E36 sorry. I want to retain the originality so I think I will discount the M3 engine, perhaps the birds upgrade is the way to go, buying an M3 is not an option to be honest. I had this idea that being such a common configuration the M20 engine has a few options to choose from other than Birds.

regards

Jet