M50/S50 manifold swap question

[m3f_iNcUbUs_21]

thanks... i thought long and hard about doing the m50 conversion but i love the mid range torque too much. torque + nyc traffic = fun.

I guess that's why you do the M50 manifold and cams/software/injectors at the same time.



I too love the torquiness of the S52 motor and won't be doing the manifold swap until I have the money for the cam kit as well.

[m3f_DOUGYKIM]

well not to burst ur bubble incubus21, but cams don't restore any loss in low-mid range torque. software does in a miniscule way. if you like your low-end grunt, m50/cams are both not mods you should consider. all those things point to high-end power, at the cost of low-end torque.

[m3f_iNcUbUs_21]

Ahh...I thought the cams/software made up for the torque loss. That's what I gathered from this article:



http://www.europeancarweb.com/tech/0...d_cam_kit_s52/

[m3f_DOUGYKIM]

i see where the confusion is....



with cam-kit you will regain max. torque at a higher RPM, but the truth of the matter is, your seat-of-the pants thrust from like 2,000-4,000 rpm won't be like the stock s52. I drove a stock '99 and '97 cam-ed out E36 posting 250 rwhp back-to-back. the stock definately had more low-end, around the town torque. the cams are for screaming through your gears.



that article that you provided states similar results:



"Sure, there is a loss of a handful of horses from 2600 to 4200 rpm, but from 5850 rpm to redline EHP's OBD-II cam kit with a cat-back exhaust had peak power gains ranging from 25-49 horsepower over its proven stage-one intake system, with a peak gain of 49.4 hp at 7000 rpm. Now that is a serious power gain!"



"During street cruising there's a slight loss in low-end torque but not enough to really complain about."



It just gets kinda expensive to do it "right" in my opinion. If i were to do it...i'd go with a 3.46 or 3.73 diff, but to deal w/ the higher reving on freeway driving, i'd want to get 6 spd tranny. All of a sudden it turns into several grand.

[m3f_Zlatko]

I guess that's why you do the M50 manifold and cams/software/injectors at the same time.



I too love the torquiness of the S52 motor and won't be doing the manifold swap until I have the money for the cam kit as well.

Buddy, cams will only worsen the midrange loss, if anything, they'll take away any low end the car has too.

[m3f_iNcUbUs_21]

Buddy, cams will only worsen the midrange loss, if anything, they'll take away any low end the car has too.

Yeah...that's what we're talking about now.



Man after a 3.46 and a 6 speed, a twin screw SC looks like an oil change in comparison. Pretty much bolt on performance with instant torque.

[m3f_Purple99M3]

as V3 posted, thats exactly how it feels.. but when u hit the high end, its another animal.. me and ICE had a run one time on the highway.. he was on the stock mani and me on the M50.. we started about the same, then mine started to run off.. its a great feeling up top.. just need a new chip to utilize a few hundred more RPMs.. and the gasmileage did go up.. not significant but i do hit 29.8+ from time to time on long road trips..

[m3f_(V)3]

It just gets kinda expensive to do it "right" in my opinion. If i were to do it...i'd go with a 3.46 or 3.73 diff, but to deal w/ the higher reving on freeway driving, i'd want to get 6 spd tranny. All of a sudden it turns into several grand.

+1

[m3f_Shawn K]

Hi Guys,


I was wondering if any body has the steps for the Swap or has a link that I can follow to find out to make a swap. I am about to buy an Intake and the guy says that I can take everything I need off of the car and he says he will give it to me for 50 dollars, but I think I can get it lower. I want to do the swap on a 98 BMW M3.


Thanks Shawn