Learn me: s50/s52 swap

Lets say I want to swap an BMW S50 or S52 + 5sp into a rwd 80s Japanese car.

Any quirks to swapping these engines?

Lets say i want to add a 57mm borg warner turbo to the mix. Anything I should know about throwing some boost at these engines?

I messed up and saw a video of a s52 with itb's.

I am full of bad ideas. Help.

Well, they are long and tall so... space can be an issue but they are easy as anything else if you get the harness and ECU to go with it.

What Japanese cars There might be equivalent engines that might be a better match or has been done.

Like RB25/26 has been swapped into everything and so has 1&2JZ. Something like that might make you go from speculative and improbable to potential and done.

Also RB26 sounds amazing and has ITBs + turbo already.

RB's and JZ motors are cool and I know a lot about them. But, I just want to know about the s50/52

I put a m50 in a first gen rx7 for the 2008 challenge. Fit like a glove... Main problem I had is the bmw ecu looks for a speed signal from the dif which the rx7 didn't have obviously. What were you wanting to swap it into?

Flatty Starion. What did you do about the speed signal?

In reply to yupididit:

You buy a chip or flash that removes the need for it.

All it does is set a dynamic rev limit for 1st and 2nd gear based on calculating what gear you are in from road speed and rpm. If you don't have the signal you get a rev limit of 6250 regardless.

Great thanks

Despite people hating on the S50/S52 because they are "watered down US engines", they are a riot. The HP numbers are deceiving, they feel much more powerful than people lead you on to believe. Upgrade the injectors and the intake/MAF/M50 manifold and you can put down ~260hp for not too much. . Euro into Japanese would be cool, there are just too many guys swapping 302s and LS1s in around here.

I have recently completed a S52 swap in my E30. I got lucky and bought a full swap from a local E30 parts car. The trickiest part of the swap was the wiring but there are a lot of useful diagrams on the internet. If the stock S50/S52 oil pan dosent fit in your car the oil pan, oil pump, and dipstick can be used from a M50 powered E34.

Here is the build thread on my swap: http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=334953

Desmond wrote: Despite people hating on the S50/S52 because they are "watered down US engines", they are a riot. The HP numbers are deceiving, they feel much more powerful than people lead you on to believe. Upgrade the injectors and the intake/MAF/M50 manifold and you can put down ~260hp for not too much. . Euro into Japanese would be cool, there are just too many guys swapping 302s and LS1s in around here.

More like 230-235, 260whp out of an S52 takes cams.

Mine with Turner headers, tune, 3.5 maf, M50 did 234whp and that seems to be the norm.

z31maniac wrote:

Desmond wrote: Despite people hating on the S50/S52 because they are "watered down US engines", they are a riot. The HP numbers are deceiving, they feel much more powerful than people lead you on to believe. Upgrade the injectors and the intake/MAF/M50 manifold and you can put down ~260hp for not too much. . Euro into Japanese would be cool, there are just too many guys swapping 302s and LS1s in around here.

More like 230-235, 260whp out of an S52 takes cams. Mine with Turner headers, tune, 3.5 maf, M50 did 234whp and that seems to be the norm.

+1, although mine with the same (except ebay headers and no 3.5 MAF) did 247rwhp and that was considered "woah".

In reply to D_Eclipse9916:

The internet is full of stories like 275 but they are all lies I got about the same as you sans cams with headers, 3.5MAF, OBDI intake, fresh spec'd injectors and a custom tune for 93 pump gas.

THe HP number/reliability curve seems to settle at the 250 mark anyway. The torque the straight six makes is why they seem faster than the numbers - it's pretty flat from 3200 to 7200.

230-250 is about the right range for bolt-ons on the 3.2L. 250-260 with cams and maybe a little head work.

Boring it 2x over, VAC pistons and sunbelts gets you into the 270s.

Crank work, head work, bumping compression, race gas and wild tunes can get you 290-310 at great expense but unless you need a 50hr motor to win your class - that is when you choose a different mill or think puffer of some sort if you are the sort of person who likes that sort of thing.

In reply to Desmond:

Yeah its getting pretty old.

Jack Heideman wrote: I have recently completed a S52 swap in my E30. I got lucky and bought a full swap from a local E30 parts car. The trickiest part of the swap was the wiring but there are a lot of useful diagrams on the internet. If the stock S50/S52 oil pan dosent fit in your car the oil pan, oil pump, and dipstick can be used from a M50 powered E34. Here is the build thread on my swap: http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=334953

Thanks, I'll definitely read your thread. I'm currently looking for an entire swap or wrecked car.

I thought the engines shipped rated at 240 crank. I would not be surprised if you could free up 10 or so extra ponies with the M50 manifold and reverting the S52 to OBD1. Seems completely plausible to me.

EDIT: Ah you were talking whp. I was talking bhp.

Desmond wrote: I thought the engines shipped rated at 240 crank. I would not be surprised if you could free up 10 or so extra ponies with the M50 manifold and reverting the S52 to OBD1. Seems completely plausible to me. EDIT: Ah you were talking whp. I was talking bhp.

The power is in the Manifold, not going OBD-I.

The E30 guys were going OBD-I before there were good options to flash away the EWS stuff.

Desmond wrote: I thought the engines shipped rated at 240 crank. I would not be surprised if you could free up 10 or so extra ponies with the M50 manifold and reverting the S52 to OBD1. Seems completely plausible to me. EDIT: Ah you were talking whp. I was talking bhp.

Yeah, WHP.

The obdI manifold will cost you bottom end torque but breathes better at the very top end - so it's a bogus upgrade unless you are building a race car. For racing - it's good for 15hp at a narrow range from 6500 to 7200.

^Maybe it was the tune? I found mine didn't really lose anything down low with manifold + tune, but picked up everything above about 5800-5900.

Yeah I think with a tune and a proper exhaust bottom end torque loss would be negligible. Besides, I kind of like NA engines tuned to make max power at higher rpms.

EDIT: BTW, there is a guy selling S52 with 5 speed, 80k miles on everything, good compression and VANOS recently serviced. $1700!! I might just bite and buy it as backup parts for my current M3!

Desmond wrote: EDIT: BTW, there is a guy selling S52 with 5 speed, 80k miles on everything, good compression and VANOS recently serviced. $1700!! I might just bite and buy it as backup parts for my current M3!

damn that is cheap . . .

Is there a particular year that is desirable over another?

Tempted: http://inlandempire.craigslist.org/cto/4711294124.html could be worth keeping drivetrain and parting out the rest.

Yeah, if he has pics of the wreck, ask for them. Could be a great deal. You would pay $2,000 for just an engine with that kind of mileage.