» Site Navigation | | » Recent Threads | | | | | | | 10-26-2010, 05:55 AM | #1 | Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Auburn, WA Posts: 1,814 | questions for the swap people so my friend, she just wreck her 96 328i with 140xxx miles and is pretty much all ****ed up on the back so i was thinking is it worth doing this swap at all? i mean for the money i would spend doing this swap i can finish my turbo build and have more power and lighter weight but i know that if i turbo the m52b28 engine then i can get way way more power but it means i have to do the swap first and then turbo so that would obviouly take more time and money to finish but i know down the road i can have more power with the 6 cylinders, so honestly what do u guys think would be better, finish my turbo m44 or do the m52 swap and roll with that stock for a while (~2 years), until i have the money to go turbo m52 m44 on my car ~ 140whp m44 turbo ~280whp m52 stock ~190whp m52 turbo ~350whp __________________ 5/96 318TI Sport BIG TURBO Last edited by Jean H.318TI; 10-26-2010 at 06:00 AM. | | | 10-26-2010, 06:10 AM | #2 | Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Fl Posts: 1,353 | Quote: Originally Posted by Jean H.318TI so my friend, she just wreck her 96 328i with 140xxx miles and is pretty much all ****ed up on the back so i was thinking is it worth doing this swap at all? i mean for the money i would spend doing this swap i can finish my turbo build and have more power and lighter weight but i know that if i turbo the m52b28 engine then i can get way way more power but it means i have to do the swap first and then turbo so that would obviouly take more time and money to finish but i know down the road i can have more power with the 6 cylinders, so honestly what do u guys think would be better, finish my turbo m44 or do the m52 swap and roll with that stock for a while (~2 years), until i have the money to go turbo m52 m44 on my car ~ 140whp m44 turbo ~280whp m52 stock ~190whp m52 turbo ~350whp | I would go with the M52, with some minor mods you will be over 230 hp... reliable hp. Not to mention the fact that you will have a whole doner car to complete the swap. What is the weight savings of an M44 with a turbo over an M52 without a turbo? The turbo, exhaust manifold, intercooler and piping are not exactly light. I think you might be off on your hp numbers... stock M52s do not put 190 to the wheels, and stock M44's don't do 140 to the wheels. A US spec E36 M3 will make around 200-205 hp to the wheels depending on the dyno. It looks like you are quoting flywheel hp numbers. __________________ SUPPORT 318ti.org! CLICK THE LINK ABOVE! Hosting a forum like this is not free. 318ti.org is one of the best BMW forums on the web because it is member supported, not vendor supported. The cost to become a Supporter is a nominal $10.00... A YEAR! DO IT! NOW! www.BimmerBum.com ALL NEW! 318ti Specific Parts For Sale www.facebook.com/BimmerBum BMWCCA #132203 95 318ti Club Sport 98 318ti Active S50 Swap | | | 10-26-2010, 06:25 AM | #3 | Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Auburn, WA Posts: 1,814 | true but still the turbo m44 would be lighter than the m52 engine but yeah i get ur point they r gonna be close enough and yeah ur right with the stock m52 whp numbers im wrong, but my m44 is pushing ~140whp, last dyno was 130whp and ive done some more mods so the hp diff between my m44 and the m52 wont be that much Quote: Originally Posted by BimmerBum I would go with the M52, with some minor mods you will be over 230 hp... reliable hp. Not to mention the fact that you will have a whole doner car to complete the swap. What is the weight savings of an M44 with a turbo over an M52 without a turbo? The turbo, exhaust manifold, intercooler and piping are not exactly light. I think you might be off on your hp numbers... stock M52s do not put 190 to the wheels, and stock M44's don't do 140 to the wheels. A US spec E36 M3 will make around 200-205 hp to the wheels depending on the dyno. It looks like you are quoting flywheel hp numbers. | __________________ 5/96 318TI Sport BIG TURBO | | | 10-26-2010, 06:51 AM | #4 | Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Fl Posts: 1,353 | Quote: Originally Posted by Jean H.318TI true but still the turbo m44 would be lighter than the m52 engine but yeah i get ur point they r gonna be close enough and yeah ur right with the stock m52 whp numbers im wrong, but my m44 is pushing ~140whp, last dyno was 130whp and ive done some more mods so the hp diff between my m44 and the m52 wont be that much | The difference will be huge... The 4 cyl just can't duplicate the torque and power of the 6. With a turbo an m44 might get there but even with a dasc the m44 gives up torque and hp to the stock m52. Depending on what you have to pay for the wreck this may be a good opportunity to start your turbo build with a better baseline. __________________ SUPPORT 318ti.org! CLICK THE LINK ABOVE! Hosting a forum like this is not free. 318ti.org is one of the best BMW forums on the web because it is member supported, not vendor supported. The cost to become a Supporter is a nominal $10.00... A YEAR! DO IT! NOW! www.BimmerBum.com ALL NEW! 318ti Specific Parts For Sale www.facebook.com/BimmerBum BMWCCA #132203 95 318ti Club Sport 98 318ti Active S50 Swap | | | 10-26-2010, 06:54 AM | #5 | Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Auburn, WA Posts: 1,814 | true that thanks for ur opinion, whats a reasonable price for a wreck 328 Quote: Originally Posted by BimmerBum The difference will be huge... The 4 cyl just can't duplicate the torque and power of the 6. With a turbo an m44 might get there but even with a dasc the m44 gives up torque and hp to the stock m52. Depending on what you have to pay for the wreck this may be a good opportunity to start your turbo build with a better baseline. | __________________ 5/96 318TI Sport BIG TURBO | | | 10-26-2010, 06:55 AM | #6 | Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Gulfport, Florida Posts: 3,208 | Jean please let me live through your life. Do the swap please, please, pelase... You will be so happy and not only will you have a very fast car with the swap if and when you turbo that car you will have my ultimate dream car. Also M52 turbo = 350hp. Ok I think that will be very conservative. Most likely 400+ or maybe even more Dude you have the oppertunity to make your car the untimate driving machine and if I were you I would pass this up. With the M52 it will haul balls and make you happy for enough time so you can build up enough money for that turbo, then when you install that turbo you will have something that few people have I say you can not pass this up man. Just my opinion but damn don't let it slip away or you will be thinking about it for the rest of your life. You will never be happy with the M44 turbo when you had the chance for the M52 turbo. John Smith | | | 10-26-2010, 06:58 AM | #7 | Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Auburn, WA Posts: 1,814 | okay thanks john ill try to buy this car if the price is right Quote: Originally Posted by xxxJohnBoyxxx Jean please let me live through your life. Do the swap please, please, pelase... You will be so happy and not only will you have a very fast car with the swap if and when you turbo that car you will have my ultimate dream car. Also M52 turbo = 350hp. Ok I think that will be very conservative. Most likely 400+ or maybe even more Dude you have the oppertunity to make your car the untimate driving machine and if I were you I would pass this up. With the M52 it will haul balls and make you happy for enough time so you can build up enough money for that turbo, then when you install that turbo you will have something that few people have I say you can not pass this up man. Just my opinion but damn don't let it slip away or you will be thinking about it for the rest of your life. You will never be happy with the M44 turbo when you had the chance for the M52 turbo. John Smith | __________________ 5/96 318TI Sport BIG TURBO | | | 10-26-2010, 08:45 AM | #8 | Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Gilbert Posts: 621 | check out bf.c boost section.. m5x motors do amazing things with BEWST!!!!!!!!!!!!! the smarter, yet less currency efficient choice would have to be the m54 lol __________________ *IF ITS FAST AND CHEAP, ITS NOT RELIABLE* *IF ITS CHEAP AND RELIABLE, ITS NOT FAST* *IF ITS FAST AND RELIABLE, ITS NOT CHEAP* | | | 10-26-2010, 11:37 AM | #9 | NOBODY F's with the Jesus Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Ventura California Posts: 7,824 | Hey Jean, BimmerBum hit the nail on the head in his first post. Reliable HP. Looks like that car took a good hit from behind. Check and MAKE SURE that the exhaust didn't get pushed forward and damage the cats or the exhaust manifolds @ the block. The car is definitely a total loss, she'll never get that thing back on the road. That being said, offer her a grand for it. Otherwise if her insurance is going to write it off and cut her a check, ask her to buy it back from the insurance company and sell it to you. They'll probably take $750-1000 for it. | | | 10-26-2010, 04:34 PM | #10 | Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Merritt Island, FL Posts: 351 | My $0.02 for turbo versus N/A engines: The turbo will be a cool project, a lot to learn and do. Tuning it will be a lengthy venture if you do it yourself (not recommended). You can pay to have someone else do it which will defiantly save you a lot of time and will keep you from trashing the new turbo motor, but it is going to cost you. You will probably want to invest in a rebuild of that motor and install some lower CR pistons at a minimum. Also, most turbo set-up's that I've seen require more than one round of tuning because after the first tune you realize all of the things that weren't quite perfect initially that need to be fixed. We all know the gains are huge but ask yourself if you have the time and budget for a project like that. The turbo car will be something that you are constantly tweaking and improving. If your car is a daily driver a turbo set up may not be your best choice. The N/A stock engine route is far less of a challenge, less expensive, takes less time to complete and makes a good daily driver since the BMW reliability can be preserved. It has been done so many times that it is just about plug-and-play, but defiantly (IMO) makes for a great car when you are done. Seriously, after a 6 cyl swap with an LSD installed the car is like a completely different car that is a blast to drive. There is minimal fab work required which will save you a huge amount of time too. I'm not partial either way and I'm always blown away with the ingenuity involved with a turbo installation and they are all different form each other. But it really comes down to what you can afford in terms of time and money. __________________ Alpine Weiß 1995 318ti M50tu mostly stock, chip'd 413, AFE Intake. e36 M3 front brakes, e30 M3 rear calipers. e28 3.25 LSD + e30 axles. Custom stainless Magnaflow 2 in 1 out muffler. R.I.P schwartz 1990 325is Last edited by chrisbec; 10-26-2010 at 04:36 PM. Reason: tpyo | | | 10-27-2010, 05:10 AM | #11 | Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Auburn, WA Posts: 1,814 | yeah i will try and get the whole car but still i dont have all that money but ill try somehow __________________ 5/96 318TI Sport BIG TURBO | | | 10-27-2010, 10:10 AM | #12 | Moderator Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Maryland Posts: 3,220 | Jean, I say you turbo the M44 and be the first contemporary turbo 318ti active member | | | 10-29-2010, 01:56 AM | #13 | Senior Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: 43609 Posts: 3,425 | I vote m52 bud. I gurantee that your turbo setup is just as heavy, if not heavier than the m52 swap. Ive weighed all my cars, before and after and its always been just a 40lb change over stock. Remove the a/c setup from the car, youre back at m44 weight. From baseline, my auto/m44 weighed more than my 5/m50 setup. __________________ 1995 Hellrot Clubsport 318ti -Gone 1996 Schwartz II Sport 357ti - 5.7L V8 LS1/6 1997 Moregrun Metallic 318ti - Gone 1998 Schwartz II sport 318ti - M50TUB25/5 | | | 10-29-2010, 02:06 AM | #14 | Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Fl Posts: 1,353 | Quote: Originally Posted by Bluebimma I vote m52 bud. I gurantee that your turbo setup is just as heavy, if not heavier than the m52 swap. Ive weighed all my cars, before and after and its always been just a 40lb change over stock. Remove the a/c setup from the car, youre back at m44 weight. From baseline, my auto/m44 weighed more than my 5/m50 setup. | I'm sold... I've always felt the 'M4X is lighter' arguement was hype. I have never heard a 6 cyl swapped member say... 'man I wish I kept that light M4x!' __________________ SUPPORT 318ti.org! CLICK THE LINK ABOVE! Hosting a forum like this is not free. 318ti.org is one of the best BMW forums on the web because it is member supported, not vendor supported. The cost to become a Supporter is a nominal $10.00... A YEAR! DO IT! NOW! www.BimmerBum.com ALL NEW! 318ti Specific Parts For Sale www.facebook.com/BimmerBum BMWCCA #132203 95 318ti Club Sport 98 318ti Active S50 Swap | | | 10-29-2010, 02:18 AM | #15 | Senior Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: 43609 Posts: 3,425 | It is all hype and i used to be on that train as well. Once i did my first, second, third, etc. swap, i had them weighed when i did significant weight modifications and have always come back to stock weight with a 6 cylinder. If you dont want to remove the a/c, there are plently of other ways to lighten the front back up. Battery is most definitely a place of weight. So far, ive removed the p/s, a/c, 4 cyl radiator setup, fan delete+kit, 24r battery exhange (honda size) and relocated to rear and ended up MUCH less than m44 stock weight. Gained some back with the m3 brake kit, xbrace, strut bar, and wheel setup. __________________ 1995 Hellrot Clubsport 318ti -Gone 1996 Schwartz II Sport 357ti - 5.7L V8 LS1/6 1997 Moregrun Metallic 318ti - Gone 1998 Schwartz II sport 318ti - M50TUB25/5 | | | | | Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests) | | Posting Rules | You may not post new threads You may not post replies You may not post attachments You may not edit your posts HTML code is Off | | | |