Which would you choose for a swap? M52 or S52?

[RCV7]

O.K. I recently purchased a '96 Ti active in excellent condition. I'd like to get into autoX and track it besides being a dd. I also bought a '96 328is coupe in excellent condition with low miles. Should I hold out for an S52 engine and tranny or just use my donor car I already have. I bought the 328is very cheap just to pull the entire drive train and various other needed parts but it's in such great shape, I'm now thinking about selling it to upgrade. I'm guessing the OBD ll 3.2 S52 will be a noticeable upgrade from the OBD ll 2.8 M52? I'm also guessing an OBD l S50 is out of the question? Your opinion is much appreciated.

[1996 328ti]

Really depends.
If you are going to track the car there are times I wished I had a S52, but the M52 holds its own very nicely in the turns.

I don't see where gutting a perfectly working car makes any sense.
If you are going to do a conversion, find a wrecked car.

[KSKarl]

ditto

[Marv17]

i would leave the 328 alone if its a nice working car. no point in gutting a useful car like that. might as well wait for another M52 or S52 motor to come up ...

[RCV7]

Well, I guess I'll be selling the 328is. Thanks for you input.

[familytruckster]

There has been a wrecked 96 328 on CL for awhile in York, PA. Great donor candidate.

Now, if you bought a LS motor to swap into the coupe...That would be worthwhile to just do the M52 swap into the ti.