What type of engine would i need for my 325es 86'

[Blue Star 325es]

Ok I have an 86' 325es and I was wondering if i should get a new engine. O am pretty sure i would because the engine is very old and it has 190,000 miles on it. SO should I get a new engine and what kind? Something for every day use that I can do more stuff to.

[gnastydent]

woo woo kid you dont need a new engine i have the same car with 300,000 miles on it still running strong.

[kenika65]

This is what you need to do.

Your 86es has the 9.0:1 Compression 2.7 flat top piston M20 in it which is a torque monster, well with the correct fuel and air mixture!

Here is a picture of what you need to do, take everything e and old out of your engine compartment, like this.




And find an i parts car and put all the i parts on your 2.7.

Now you will have an eta with i acceleration and e torque with a 6300 rev limit and enough torque to out pull an i any day.

Your best build would be to find an 88 super eta shortblock and put all the i parts including the i head on then you would have a killer M20 using all stock parts. ha I love it.

[gnastydent]

yes but he would need new pistons for the e to i conversion but if you just want to replace the motor with the same motor its a m20b27 engine i would personally go with a s52 swap it cost alot but worth it

[kenika65]

Originally Posted by gnastydent

yes but he would need new pistons for the e to i conversion but if you just want to replace the motor with the same motor its a m20b27 engine i would personally go with a s52 swap it cost alot but worth it

I stated that he can keep the eta long block (head,bottomend) and put all i parts on it(intake w/fuel rail and injectors,tb,pulleys,duel exhaust,valve cover,timing cover,all 1.1/1.3Motronic sensors and harness with 173ecu)

and optional parts from an i car would be the i flywheel w/starter, transmission w/updated shifter, radiator w/different hose locations, larger single pump fuel tank w/fuel lines,

and optional performance upgrades would be i double valve springs with i cam( 3 oil holes will need to be drilled for use with the 7 bearing i cam), and a 4.10 out of an ix, a chip to take your eta 7000+++

and the when you find super eta pistons then you can use the i head.

If you use the i head on your flat top eta pistons your compression will be 8.4:1 and will cause a hard start and rough idle but is great for turbo setups.

[Indyz6t]

when you say a 88 super Eta. Is that a 325i ur speaking of? I ask because I'm very much interested in suggestion. Is 88 the the earlist I could go to?

[gnastydent]

it the 88 325 e it had domed pistons

[j.amrol]

The 323i head mates perfectly with the E's pistons, and has the same if not better performance and the 325i. It was a euro model but I saw an entire 323 engine for $600 today on ebay from Bavarian auto recycling. Personally I'd just swap your 2.7l crankshaft, pistons, and rods into the 323i, or swap everything from the 323. You would end up spending way more for just for the pistons on the 325i swap than you would for the entire 323i swap and you get slightly better performance.

[kenika65]

If I was you I would find an i parts car and swap parts first before you start tearing your engine apart.

but as for the 88 seta. it has domed pistons like i pistons. the eta pistons are flat. so if you are going to put an i head on your flat top pistons then the combustion chamber will not match which is why i am advising you to stay with your eta pistons and head. now if you want to use the i head do it, it is great even with the eta pistons but for best performance and eficiency use 88 seta pistons.

here is my 2.7i how to thread.

1.3 Motronic Up-Grade & 2.7i How To - R3VLimited Forums

[celsdogg]

actually, it doesnt work out very well. This article is from bmwe30.net (which i could no longer connect to, but used the wayback machine instead).

http://web.archive.org/web/200610052...129&Section=03

common myth: 'i' head on an 'e' block

[ Alex McHenry :: 15 Jan 2001 ] print this article email Alex McHenry


People always ask and talk about putting an 'i' cylinder head on an 'e' block to improve performance. You would think this makes sense because the 'i' and 'e' are both M20s and the parts are interchangeable. This would work out great if it wasn't for one thing; the 'i' and 'e' combustion chambers are completely different.

On the 'i' chamber (head) you have a large, high volume, dome design. This works well on an 'i' block because an 'i' has pop up pistons. When the raised dome piston reaches top dead center (TDC) it fills the dome chamber and results in a compression ratio around 8.8:1. Think of it as two puzzle pieces. The piston fits the shape of the chamber to make a match.

Then there's the 'e' head. The 'e' chamber is a flat chamber and the pistons are also flat (the 'i' design is superior) so when they are at TDC you get solid compression, and a ratio that is actually higher than an 'i' at around 9:1.

So here's the problem with swapping... The 'i' chamber needs a pop up piston in order for it to get the compression ratio it needs to make good power, and the 'e' pistons aren't of that design. When you put the 'i' head on top of a stock 'e' bottom end you are LOWERING the compression ratio, lowering equals bad, lowering equals less power. By doing this the ratio becomes LESS than the 'i' stock ratio of 8.8:1, I believe it's something like 8.4:1.

Now hopefully this clears that up.. if there are further questions email me. So what does yield more power? I'll be posting another article soon with different methods of building up M20s. 'e' and 'i'.


Alex McHenry

[kenika65]

Originally Posted by celsdogg

actually, it doesnt work out very well. This article is from bmwe30.net (which i could no longer connect to, but used the wayback machine instead).

http://web.archive.org/web/200610052...129&Section=03

You obiously didn't read my link or try to run an i head on a flat top pistons 2.7. which comes out to 8.4-8.5:1 compression ratio which is fine for NA but causes a hard start ( well not that hard just a couple more revolutions to build up compression) and a rough idle like you have a hot cam. but other the that the i head and 2.7 bottom end make excellent power here is dyno proof which is located in the link in my last post.

Alright guys, this is what a eta bottom end and i head gets you. - R3VLimited Forums (dyno proof)

IF YOU HAVE NOT DONE IT DON'T SAY IT DOESN'T WORK, PERIOD.

[CleanAzzE30z]

190K is nothing for these engines, but if you insist on getting something else, Id go with either a 2.7i conversion, or an M50 2.8L.


Mariano

[celsdogg]

Originally Posted by kenika65

You obiously didn't read my link or try to run an i head on a flat top pistons 2.7. which comes out to 8.4-8.5:1 compression ratio which is fine for NA but causes a hard start ( well not that hard just a couple more revolutions to build up compression) and a rough idle like you have a hot cam. but other the that the i head and 2.7 bottom end make excellent power here is dyno proof which is located in the link in my last post.

Alright guys, this is what a eta bottom end and i head gets you. - R3VLimited Forums (dyno proof)

IF YOU HAVE NOT DONE IT DON'T SAY IT DOESN'T WORK, PERIOD.

sorry hot stuff. just giving my input and cited my reasoning, but glad to hear it worked for you. . .

[celsdogg]

finally had some time to look at the link. those are some pretty impressive whp numbers. my fault.