BMW Engine Transplants

[TheStig44]

Right, I've got an E34 525 Sport which I absolutely love, bar just one thing...

It needs more power!

I havn't the money for an M5 and 540 manuals are rarer than rocking horse st. Also I dont think that the 530 V8 has a great enough power increase to satisfy my urge for more horses.

So the question is, is an engine transplant a reasonable option?

It would have to be a strait 6 configuration due to the steering set up, so I was thinking along the lines of an E36 M3 engine, or perhaps the engine from the M5.

Is this a realistic proposition or am would I be wasting my time and money??

[TheEnd]

An e34 M5 engine will cost a fortune, the M3 3.0 does too, but it must be possible.


Voila!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vT1YxCYuog

[phelix]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Anyone have suggestions on a source for said crank and pistons?

[TheStig44]

The engine is the M50B25TU lump (VANOS included).

It seems an engine swap isn't going to be very cost efficient when the only strait 6's worth having are very expensive (///M Style), plus the gearbox aswell. Was worth an ask though I guess.

A basic Stage 1 tune up might see 220ish BHP for a few hundred notes, or could hunt for a manual 540, but that might take until the end of time itself, or I could just sit it out and wait until I can afford a full on, in your face, M5.

Thanks for the advice though guys

Edited by TheStig44 on Saturday 9th January 19:57

[juliann]

TheEnd said:

An e34 M5 engine will cost a fortune, the M3 3.0 does too, but it must be possible.


Voila!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vT1YxCYuog

E34 3.6's aren't a fortune. I buy them for my race car - £800 to £1000 for a good one. Transplanting one in isn't much trouble - in fact, the two racing E34 M5's I know are both based on 525 / 530 donors rather than M5's as the std supension of 525 / 530's is easier to replace with race stuff than the M5. The current engine (£1,000) in my race M5 is a 100,000 miler that was re-shelled, dropped in, plugged into the DTA engine management and produces 340bhp. Probably far cheaper than messing with full strip downs and mix n' match parts.

[TheEnd]

Maybe it's a 3.8 version that i was looking at.

Certainly, it seems a M5 3.6 engine would be a bargain if you can get one for less than a grand.

[bigfatnick]

In the uk its very rare, but elsewhere in the world, loads of people turbo bmws and bmw are so well set up for it. The m50b25 will apparently take waaay over 450bhp reliably on standard internals, and the gearbox/diff/shafts are all well up to the job. Fabricating the parts wont be a problem, however, in the uk, finding someone to map it could be an issue.