Euro S50B30 engine swaps for TI

[Alex Lipowich]

Hello to all existing and future board/forum members,

I'd like to introduce myself. My name is Alex Lipowich. I've been an active member of the BMWCCA community for over 10 years now. I've had the pleasure of being a student, instructor and club racer with this community during this time, and plan on being here for a while.

This last season I had the misfortune of ventilating a Euro motor in my race car. My efforts at procuring a replacement quickly fell through due to cost and availablility. Since that time I bought the parts I needed on my own to rebuild a race motor and to defray the cost also brought in a euro 3.0 liter engine. I have several more on the way at this point as well.

Now many of you probably fall into the group that love and covet the TI just the way it came to our shores. Light, nimble, high rev engine that you can just beat on without getting in trouble.... no doubt a well driven TI can pick on a lot of other higher HP cars that don't handle as well, or aren't as well driven. I pounded on a 1.9 Z1 when they first showed up for 3 years, so I know the chassis well. Some might feel that messing with the formula is against your religion, or that you're ruining an icon by doing a swap. This post is not for you.

If you want to maintain the uniqueness of your cars... I would like to pitch transplanting a euro 3.0 into your TI. For those of you that have driven S14's or S38's or S54's you know there is nothing like the howl of separate throttle bodies at wide open throttle.... its hugely satisfying, and nothing pops the eyes when you open the hood like a euro motor does.... ya just don't see them every day. (whoops, I left out the S62 M5 motor. Its nice too)

There is no way to make a M50 head flow as reliably as an S50 or S52. The hydraulic lifters won't tolerate high rpm. As nice a package as the US E36 M3 was, the engine was still based on the 325 head....designed to safely bring you about 190 HP.

These S50B30 motors come with a gorgeous header with equal length runners...and the metal crackle finish to show it off. You can avoid the bearing issues of the S54 and the e-drive. By getting a euro 3.0, you don't have to mess with EWS. Its simple, it bolts in, and you'll have 286 HP in a stock package, right off the bat.

We have a pair of euro motor TI's both in white with roll bars running around in chicago, and they are just unholy fun. Anyone who's been to a Windy City DS event in the past few years has seen them....usually going by in a blur!

I know I'm biased. I know I'm opinionated, feel free to correct my grammar and my spelling and try to tell me I'm wrong about this or that... but basically, I'd like to open up the dialogue, eventually sell my motors (and other bits to make them work) to TI owners in the forum, and help them get their cars to be just a little bit more special.

I did my own euro transplant in my garage with the help and support of a local mechanic for the intellectual and electrical parts I couldn't solve on my own... but over the years I've acccumulated some knowledge and would be happy to discuss the ins and outs of these projects with anyone. I need to charge sales tax in Illinois, but will try and adjust prices accordingly. I'm not looking to gouge people, just operate in the black so I can keep the company running on paper at a small profit for tax reasons. At some point soon there will be more to offer at a web site along the lines of ABL Original Parts.com

Thank you for the bandwidth,

[96cali]

Welcome Alex. Personally I justify keeping mine mostly stock by looking at my bank accounts and heaving a heavy sigh. Would love to see some pics though and on my next trip through Chicago go for a ride in a euro spec ti! (Hint, hint...) Driving Chicago freeways is a blast at night- never a cop around unless something is on fire.

[JedzE36/5]

ahhhh i think a lot of us dream about the euro 3.0. thing that keeps me grounded is the thought that if i brake something, i would have to find replacement parts outside the US. anyhow though have a question about transplanting the motors. what all needs to be changed with the swap besides front suspension. can the stock tranny be used? do new motor mounts need to be placed? change the diff?

[Alex Lipowich]

Well, there are things you MUST do, and things you should do. Without a doubt, the factory TI sway bar will not work, but the stock M3 one will clear the Euro motor, and is perfect to use. These are lying around all over the place as they are often taken off M3's in an attempt to make them handle better. I would upgrade to the slightly thicker radiator. These radiators can be found on S54 Mcoupes or Z3's I'm pretty sure as a US part number to simplify things. I would also buy TMS's weld on reinforcing kit for the front subframe on ANY E36 car that runs a 6 cylinder engine....especially a transplant that uses the TI subframe which has extra perforations to accomodate the same engine mount, twisted a different way. You must use this kit or something similar.

One of the TI's running around out here has kept the original Transmission, despite what you'd think, it has not blown up. Advantage: light, its there, save money. I'd change the oil of course as a preventative measure more often. Changing the diff is always up to you as a performance mod. The responsible thing to do is to upgrade the front brakes, and there are a variety of ways to do this. Easiest I think would be junkyard front struts and spindles from an M3 with the brakes on it...... For serious track use, it is not unreasonable to get BBK of some kind. I don't have specific spring recomendations, but plenty of you guys have BTDT and could probably chime in on the rates needed for an inline 6. The S50B30 has an iron block like the US M3 3.2 had, and should be close enough weight to make it a wash.

Those are my first thoughts.

[bmw///m3///]

What other models/years manual trans will bolt right up to a 318ti if you do s50 motor swap?

It may be a option in a little bit when I get sick of 4 cyl. I would probably want to replace the trans and diff (and other parts??) to stronger ones since Id be pushing twice the power. Im trying see all the parts I need for the complete swap so I can start looking for good deals on the parts.

[Alex Lipowich]

You could basically use any transmission that came on an E36 car. This would include the 5 speeds that came on M3's, 325s or 318's. In addition, the euro 6 speed from E36 is an option. Zionsville offers a kit to use the E46 six speeds that are now available as well.

I would re-iterate that while I don't RECOMMEND keeping the TI's manual, I do know for sure that it works, and that it won't blow up right away since one of the local ones has run it for several years. "Your mileage may vary etc etc etc". It offers interesting gearing for sure, and also the advantage of low cost, and low weight compared to other options.

Estimating arrival of these motors in 5 weeks, one of them is a rare Group N engine with blueprinted cams, special head gasket, special ecu etc.

[racepad]

Originally Posted by JedzE36/5

ahhhh i think a lot of us dream about the euro 3.0. thing that keeps me grounded is the thought that if i brake something, i would have to find replacement parts outside the US. anyhow though have a question about transplanting the motors. what all needs to be changed with the swap besides front suspension. can the stock tranny be used? do new motor mounts need to be placed? change the diff?

I wanted to respond to the parts availability question. When I transplanted a euro 3.0l into my trace car I had little trouble finding parts. Most of the better/larger dealers can order these parts for you. Are they more expensive? That is hard to say because what are you comparing them to. The water pump on a euro motor is more expensive than a US 6 cylinder one but then again it is a very different design (it is much sturdier and of much better quality). If you are a BMW CCA member you often can get a discount on the parts if you are installing them yourself. I have had my 3.0 euro motor for a few years and pushed it hard and I have yet to perform any engine part replacements since I put it in the car. These motors are very sturdy. For street and even track driving it should need little more than regular oil changes.

[Etienne]

I've been playing around with the idea of a transplant for a while, and though it will be quite some time before that dream becomes a reality I am trying to read up and do some homework.

A couple of questions re: the Euro 3.0.

I'm all about a good time, but my ti is still my daily driver. How much does this mod affect the actual "ride" of the car... i.e. noise,ride,handling, etc. I realize that a lot depends on what other parts are changed out (gear box, diff etc), but in general, is the car still comfortable and enjoyable to drive through traffic?

Cost. What sorts of estimates do you all have about net cost? Again, I realize this is profoundly affected by what mods are made in addition to the bare neccessities, and how much of it you can do yourself, but just some ball park figures...? Also, how much more would you say the car costs to run? I've heard some people say it "isn't expensive" and other say, its "very expensive," but those terms are of course quite relative.

Long term issues. Assuming the job is done well and meticulously, what sorts of "quirks" are common when making this transition that I could expect to live with for the following year(s)

thanks.

[Alex Lipowich]

Second container hits Chicago this week or next. Its in Montreal. I will have full pricing available once I check on condition, appearance, and have the final bill for the transport of these 5 motors.

Have 5 and 6 speeds coming as well.

This is the second shipment, and if anyone is looking, please email me at xyobgyn@aol.com to look into buying a euro motor.

Alex Lipowich

[Alex Lipowich]

I can not claim to have made a lot of progress on the TI project, but its still creeping forward.

On the flip side, I have put together a nice website, it is located afterall at ABLoriginalparts.com

Feel free to browse, and ask questions.

Alex Lipowich

[Alex Lipowich]

Not sure if my last post made it.

I do now have a more advanced website for everyone to look at.

It is afterall located at: ABLoriginalparts.com

Feel free to write to me via the site with questions.

Alex Lipowich

[AlaskaBlue]

What all is necessary to do the swap. I mean you can't just bolt that motor up and drive can you? How would the CPU work out, fuel injection, and all the little things. If this is a reasonably priced option I am very interested! Would you do the swap or is this a do-it-yourself deal?

[Alex Lipowich]

This is a very, very hard question to answer for any given individual, and I'm NOT trying to dodge the question by saying that.

The S50B30 engines that I am bringing in, or have brought in were made to fit into E36 engine compartments, and to plug into the electrical harness that you already have with minimal fuss.

I can not promise that every little item is included to make this work, so, if I were to sell someone an engine, a lot depends on the persons inventiveness, need to keep AC running, ability and skills, and the urge to make it look factory, or to just make sure it is safe and sturdy. There are many CD roms out there with euro parts lists to get every single bracket just so, they can all be welded on to clone a factory look.

Left had vs Right hand drive makes less difference than you might think. Either harness can be made to work with a little effort. The ECU and vanos controller that come with the engine I'd sell fit into the stock location as the US model, and the harness plugs right in. If you buy a later S50B32 with EWS issues, you'd better have an EWS car, or its more of a headache to say the least. If the engine was RHD, then you do need to acccount for slightly different plumbing for the heater, but its not expensive or hard. All parts including a reservoir if you want the factory look, the pipes and hoses, the radiator, the long radiator to reservoir overflow/breather tube, oil cooler & pipes if not present and such are easily sourced from a local dealer.

The engine comes with its own ecu, so electrically, its set to go, you just pull the old motor and its harness, and put this one in. I include a euro cluster so that you get the proper M cluster with red indicators and the oil temperature guage instead of the silly mpg indicator. It too plugs right in to the factory plugs... you may have to run one extra wire to the cluster to get the oil temp working, but its NOT difficult given a Bentley manual....especially since the Bentley manual does cover the Canadian M3's wire diagrams to some extent IIRC.

You'd need an engine hoist of course, and as commented on before it would be the right time to re-enforce the subframe with the TMS kit.

[anotherdgorman]

Alex-

I'm looking at a 1998 and was planning on supercharging it but the Euro 3.0 definitely is more appealing. How much $ do you want for one? Would you be able to procure one of the speed transmissions too?

[Alex Lipowich]

I am hoping to sell these between 5 and 6K each. Additional parts will be available for performance or for personal choice. For example, I will be bringing in a couple extra 3.2 oilpans with the dual pickup system. These can not be used for transplants into E30 cars, but they would be fine on TI cars. Also, for people who need to pass emissions, I will have a limited number of catalytic converts that bolt right up to the euro headers. Stock mufflers will be available also, but they don't bolt on and work without modification on the TI... they would be fine on coupe or sedan E36. Completeness of package will also help determine cost as well as the mileage. I should have a cluster for each motor but in some cases it will not be from the actual car that the engine came from...... as I've had to source some from other places. Some of the cost has not been established as I only have one 3.0 in my possession that has cleared customs. The rest are on the way.... ETA about 30 days plus customs/duty.

Alex Lipowich