Just got a 98 318ti... looking for ideas on motor swaps?

[98318tibmw]

Hey guys,

Just bought a 98 318ti with 162,330 miles on it and im looking to do a motor swap plus just looking for ideas of what to do to it proformance wise anyway... any ideas please fill free to let me know? this is going to be my new project car

[tiFreak]

Barrie at Midnight tuning has a good performance flash for the 318, it's on sale until the end of this month, you'll have to ship him your ECU though so you'll have a a week or two of downtime.
http://www.318ti.org/forum/showthread.php?t=31924

an intake and exhaust are really just noise-makers, nothing wrong with putting them on but don't expect any noticeable HP gain, an engine swap is the easiest way to get power

the ti is more of a cornering car than a drag car anyway so I'd start upgrading the suspension, a set of H&R springs and Bilstein sport shocks will really make a difference over the tired stock suspension, I'd be willing to bet that one or both of your rear springs are broken anyway unless they were replaced already

[slow_ti]

S52 Swap is they way to go

[98318tibmw]

Thanks tifreak! yeah that sounds like a good way to start. what do you think about exhaust?

[NiteOp]

after-cat kits are expensive way to select the kind of noise u want. If u build one with a pipe bigger than 2.5"( more like 2.25") you'll probably wonder where all your low end went. BUT i want to get rid of the stock resonator the diameter is around ~1.1111111" at the rear subframe. there was a autox ST car with a magnaflow cat & a flowmaster that sounded good at 50'.

[tiFreak]

I've got a Strömung exhaust on my ti, I think it adds a great sound to the car without being overly obnoxious around town, they're $500 from Understeer.com so if you can afford it that's what I'd recommend. if not a lot of people have put Magnaflow mufflers on their cars which also sound pretty nice without breaking the bank, make sure you get the ones with the fiberglass packing in them though, or it will drone really badly on the interstate

[98318tibmw]

thankks guysm for the help! i will hopefully be putiing pics up soon.

[jca]

I would suggest an S52 3.0 liter engine over the S52 3.2 M engine. You only lose fifteen horsepower (225 versus 240) and get in return lower maintainence and parts costs and greater endurance. My opinion, anyway.

[tiFreak]

a 3.0L would be an S50, those are only OBDI, it's illegal to swap them into an OBDII chassis

[Bluebimma]

Not to mention, the hp output is the same as well, the difference is in torque.
There are many swaps available out there, just depends on your budget and what you want to accomplish.

If you want the best weight to power to handling, you can keep the 4 cyl and boost it or grab an M52b28 aluminum. Youll be around the same 190ish output with a lower weight ratio, if using an m52 without a/c setup. The turbo system will add some weight, but can be evened out with the removal of the battery from the engine bay. A supercharger will lose a few pounds from the front of the car.

Moving the battery to the rear will help tip that 49/51 more towards the 50/50 but you need cornerweighting scales to accomplish for sure.

The exhaust system is VERY heavy and can be lightened while increasing performance. You can move up to a 2-2.25" header back setup with bullet style spun catalytic, one resonator, and a single lightweight muffler, which should net about 30-40lbs removed from the car as well as providing a "noise maker" for what others are telling you. You can flash the DME and debaffle the intake for more hp on the stock.
Next is the 2.8L M52b28, iron block. Drop that in, turn the exhaust into a single 2.5" all the way back, keep or remove the a/c, move the battery, upgrade to 6cylinder front suspension and your choice on the rear, 6 cyl radiator or 4 with electric fan, have the dme flashed for EWS removal and a performance oriented tune.

Next, the 2.5L M52b25, iron block, same as above, 300cc less, about 25 or so less horses but perform the same mods and youll be back up there.

S52b32 is the largest inline iron block six in the family, before boring or stroking. You can perform the same mods to this but your baseline is 240hp. All hp/tq values are flywheel, not RWHP.

Next is to cross breed, which is more or less money but can be illegal, OBD standards or strict regulations on swaps in your state. GM makes a lot of different V8s that are newer than your chassis and can be swapped in, retaining their original equipment as well as BMWs. You can choose aluminum blocks which are very close and sometimes lighter than the I6 swap from a bmw but can cost as much as an S52 conversion not to mention, time consuming and much higher learning curve. You can go cheap with an iron block, which is 60lbs more, but you still make a lot of power no to mention they respond to mods MUCH better than bmws. The standard 5.3L v8 comes standard at 295/330 and with a simple ls1 intake, cold air intake, long tube headers, and a cam swap, youre well into the 425-450 range, proven all day long. The smallest v8 is the 2.8, largest i think is ~7L<---not cheap.



blah blah blah blah blah i like kittens blag blah

[98318tibmw]

damn guys thanks! wasent expecting this much input! this info deff helps me man. i have to get my beater fixed first so i can park the 318ti adn start working on it. hopefully by spring ill have a motor for it. what do yall think about suspension? i was think h&r and bilstien. but is there anything else alittle cheaper but just as good?