m20 performance

[briand]

Ok I have a 88 528e (I know this is e30 thread but you guys know way more about the m20) and I'm sure one of the piston rings is bad. I'm planning on rebuilding the engine myself and I was wondering about how I should try to get high performance out of this engine. I am in the process of trying to find all the parts (mainily the head components) to convert the e to i. Now the question is, should I go out and try to buy all new performance valves, springs, retainers, etc. and put them in my heads casting (88 528e has same head as 325i with shitty valve setup), or should I try to find a complete head from ebay or somewhere? Second, do I need different pistons or should I do a stroker rebuild with 524td crank? Third, what should I do about the intake, I was thinking of putting corvette fuel injectors and porting the intake manifold and putting a m30 afm on (I'd do this with a turbo setup in mind for the future) Or In my opinion this is much cooler, try to find a triple weber carb setup and strap those babies on? No matter what I do I'm planning on putting a lower ratio LSD on and upgrading the suspension and brakes. Now before you start yelling at me about this project being a waste of money because I should just get the bigger m30 engine to work with take this into mind, I live in Hawaii so shipping anything here is way to expensive, this is my first BMW and car so I'd rather leave the engine thats in there and rig it up, besides I never see upgraded 528e and Ive seen so many sic e30's burning out insane and drifting so why not try it with a different body style thats not to much more weight. I'm not to experienced with BMWs or the m20 engine so I really started this post to get opinions from people with upgraded m20s and to see what it will cost to rebuild my engine.
Thanks

[C3 Motorsport]

If you're planning to rebuild the entire engine, especially with a turbo in mind, it would be a good idea to look at a 524td crank. Granted, for a stroker by itself, it can be considered overkill as you won't be revving higher than 7K anyway. If you are going to use this engine with a turbo, I would go the extra mile and get the 524td crank. This is simple because a forged crank is a little lighter and is much stronger than the stock cast eta crank. The turbo will be adding a lot of additional stress to the internals of your engine, so using the good parts up front will save you a lot of money in the long run.

Also, look into some custom JE pistons, rods and rings. Forged pistons will help you sustain higher RPMs and will last much longer because of their strength. It would also be a good idea to get some pistons the have reliefs cut/forged into them so that if your timing belt breaks, your pistons won't slam into your valves and require you to buy a new engine. The m20 is an 'interferance' motor which means that if not timed properly, the valves can and will contact the pistons. If you get the correct pistons, you can make your m20 motor a 'non-intereferance' motor that makes the prospect of a broken timing belt no big deal at all. Simply realign the crankshaft and cam gears, install a new belt/tensioner and you're done.

Decide on whether or not you will be using a turbo when choosing a cam. Turbos operate better with minimal to no overlap in the valve train. There are also a wide variety of cams and regrinds available for the m20. A good source for these would be Ireland Engineering or Turner Motorsport.

Also, it's almost universally decided that m20 intake suck. Converting to a MAF (Split Second has universal kits available www.splitsec.com) is a perfect upgrade by allowing the engine to breath much better. After installing a few of these kits myself and speaking with some of the guys there, some people have gained as high as 20 flywheel HP and one WICKED sounding intake. Expensive, but well worth the price IMHO. Also comes with either a manually on-the-fly adjustable Air/Fuel Calibrator, or a computer (laptop) programmable piggy back unit.

There are lots of things you can do to an m20, but these are some of the easiest ways to see good gains using quality parts and without getting into a crazy level of machinst work.

[briand]

FINALLY!!! A good respose. You have no idea how many fourms I went through and got absolute crap. This is everything I wanted to hear. I was considering geting the bottem end setup you are suggesting but I wanted to see what someone who knows about a setup like this can do. My main concern is what price range am I going to be looking at here? I'm hoping to spend a little over a thousand to rebuild my engine with performance m20 and 325i parts with a lower raito rear end with lsd. I'm not expecting a turbo setup for this price but its sounding like it will be more.

[briand]

Whats a good site to get BMW m20 pistons and valvetrain parts?

[uberpanzer]

Pistons: Top End Performance (www.racetep.com)

Valvetrain: They have stuff as well, but there might be better places.

If you are serious about the stroker, check out www.strictlyeta.net as well. AWESOME info from Fred Kim on there.

[Fozz325ise]

I thought the 528 was a M30 lump?

or do you mean 525e? which had the 2.7eta lump?

I had a e28 528i a few years back, was a M30 lump.

Good luck with the upgrades, sounds a good plan to me

[hammerfang]

very interesting

[slysss60]

hey can some one here help, i have a m20 2.0l 12v motor and what to stroke it c3 motorsport has some good stuff but if i put the 524td crank in the m20 block can i use the m20 rods and pistons or the 524td rods and the m20 pistons
also if i put the 524 crank in the m20 block will the cam timing be the same
any help would be a grate help
Simon