What have you done on your E34 Today

[Kit 104]

1 hour ago, Bumbaclut said:

That Bike rack wont help the poor 520's speed. At least yours is Vanos, the non vanos ones are tragic 

Luckily mine’s a manual and runs well (touch wood) so I’m going to be kind and say it’s sufficient for what I need it for most of the time, if however it one day goes bang the very least I would get is a 525i lump put in. If only that box was ticked at the dealer in 1995 I’d arrive in Scotland next week a few minutes earlier.

[The Spooner 94]

7 hours ago, Bumbaclut said:

That Bike rack wont help the poor 520's speed. At least yours is Vanos, the non vanos ones are tragic 

They aren’t that bad haha - just got to wind them up a bit! 
 

there’s a YouTube video by a guy whose channel is basically based around vmaxing cars on the autobahn. He does a video of a 520i touring, and if nothing else (apart from a nice noise) it shows how short the gearing is on them... 

[RichardP 1,190]

Cleaned the front wheel arches, might get round to the rears tomorrow.

[RichardP 1,190]

Rear arches today.

 

[Kit 104]

On 15/09/2020 at 22:21, Bumbaclut said:

That Bike rack wont help the poor 520's speed. At least yours is Vanos, the non vanos ones are tragic 

Having fully serviced it and driven 660 miles to the highlands in comfort I know my B20tu unit is as good as I’ll get it, however as you all know it’s underpowered. I spotted a possible B25tu in a donor car but wonder if it will really make a big enough difference for all the hassle and expense. Would I be better off either doing nothing or going a bit more extravagant - bigger / newer engine - understand that creates more headaches but could be more of a transformation as far as power and the general driving feel goes.
 

Any thoughts from your own experiences would be welcome. 
 

Edited September 24, 2020 by Kit

[Blackman 150]

The difference between the 520i and 525i is only 40 bhp, so it won't be a night and day difference...Besides, a Touring is not something you thrash around, so even if you were to put a 2.5 engine in, it won't all of a sudden become a Caterham.

 

Not worth it at all, unless you have some sentimental value with the car, planning to keep it for next 20 years and you are absolutely in love with the M50B25TU engine. If you really wanted to do an engine conversion, then it would have to be something special from the "S" range of the engines (M3/M5)  to make it worthwhile, although with a lot of headache and modifications.

[Kit 104]

1 hour ago, Blackman said:

The difference between the 520i and 525i is only 40 bhp, so it won't be a night and day difference...Besides, a Touring is not something you thrash around, so even if you were to put a 2.5 engine in, it won't all of a sudden become a Caterham.

 

Not worth it at all, unless you have some sentimental value with the car, planning to keep it for next 20 years and you are absolutely in love with the M50B25TU engine. If you really wanted to do an engine conversion, then it would have to be something special from the "S" range of the engines (M3/M5)  to make it worthwhile, although with a lot of headache and modifications.

Yes. I think you are totally right. Was looking at S50’s but not worth the hassle and cost. Luckily I own a few other cars with a bit more get up and go like my late g50 3.2 911 coupe. But oddly the touring is the car I lavish most attention on, something about it is just right (apart from the power!).

Edited September 25, 2020 by Kit

[The Spooner 94]

Well apparently mine has just got through its MoT - I did the lower control arms at the weekend (and made the mistake of fully disconnecting the steering plate from the strut) as there was excessive play in a ball joint, but it failed on the uppers! Which to be honest I found rather amusing and was slightly annoyed at myself that I didn't get some in for when I did the lowers. 

[sharkfan 1,630]

20 hours ago, Kit said:

Having fully serviced it and driven 660 miles to the highlands in comfort I know my B20tu unit is as good as I’ll get it, however as you all know it’s underpowered. I spotted a possible B25tu in a donor car but wonder if it will really make a big enough difference for all the hassle and expense. Would I be better off either doing nothing or going a bit more extravagant - bigger / newer engine - understand that creates more headaches but could be more of a transformation as far as power and the general driving feel goes.
 

Any thoughts from your own experiences would be welcome. 
 

 

6 hours ago, Blackman said:

The difference between the 520i and 525i is only 40 bhp, so it won't be a night and day difference...Besides, a Touring is not something you thrash around, so even if you were to put a 2.5 engine in, it won't all of a sudden become a Caterham.

 

Not worth it at all, unless you have some sentimental value with the car, planning to keep it for next 20 years and you are absolutely in love with the M50B25TU engine. If you really wanted to do an engine conversion, then it would have to be something special from the "S" range of the engines (M3/M5)  to make it worthwhile, although with a lot of headache and modifications.

 

A few years ago there was a member on here who owned a 520i Touring that had been converted to an M30 engined 535i Touring - have you considered that?

[cableguy 1,260]

My e34 525i Wagon is sporting an s50b32. Should be back on the road next summer... 

 

If you can find a good donor then it's got to be a contender as m50 & s50 share same engine mounts which makes the conversion an easy start...

 

C.

[Kit 104]

26 minutes ago, cableguy said:

My e34 525i Wagon is sporting an s50b32. Should be back on the road next summer... 

 

If you can find a good donor then it's got to be a contender as m50 & s50 share same engine mounts which makes the conversion an easy start...

 

C.

I guess if a good donor pops it’s head up I’d think about it, how often do they pop up? The s50’s seem expensive to start with unless I’m looking in all the wrong places.

[Kit 104]

28 minutes ago, cableguy said:

My e34 525i Wagon is sporting an s50b32. Should be back on the road next summer... 

 

If you can find a good donor then it's got to be a contender as m50 & s50 share same engine mounts which makes the conversion an easy start...

 

C.

Only considered m50/s50 due to making it as easy possible! 

[cableguy 1,260]

A good s50 is a sought after motor hence the strong prices. Really depends how much you need another 100 or so horses and if you intend to keep/invest long-term.

 

C.

[Kit 104]

Today I drove the Applecross costal route and then the mountain pass back to our cottage in the Highlands. What. A. Drive.

 

 

 

Edited September 25, 2020 by Kit

[Flandy 108]

8 hours ago, Kit said:

Yes. I think you are totally right. Was looking at S50’s but not worth the hassle and cost. Luckily I own a few other cars with a bit more get up and go like my late g50 3.2 911 coupe. But oddly the touring is the car I lavish most attention on, something about it is just right (apart from the power!).

 

S50's are big money these days. You can build an M50b30 for very little. You need the crank, rods and pistons from an M54b30, it all bolts in, same bore as an M50b25 and M52b28 and everything. You already have the good intake, so bigger injectors,. My friend has one in his E36 with some Schrick cams and M3 exhaust manifolds making 260hp. It drives very nicely indeed!

Edited September 25, 2020 by Flandy

[Bumbaclut 694]

S50 doesn't have the grunt to pull a lardy e34 imo neither does the S54.  S38 is the kiddy for this job especially 3.8

 

I'd argue that actually fitting a M50B25 isn't that much work and it makes a big difference.   The M50 is probably the best toughest engine BMW have ever made, they're good on fuel. You can build a stroker 3.0 which will get the torque up which you'll like more in the real world than the 7k RPM limit an S50 offers.  M50's turbo well  

[Kit 104]

1 hour ago, Bumbaclut said:

S50 doesn't have the grunt to pull a lardy e34 imo neither does the S54.  S38 is the kiddy for this job especially 3.8

 

I'd argue that actually fitting a M50B25 isn't that much work and it makes a big difference.   The M50 is probably the best toughest engine BMW have ever made, they're good on fuel. You can build a stroker 3.0 which will get the torque up which you'll like more in the real world than the 7k RPM limit an S50 offers.  M50's turbo well  

If I can get the price dramatically down on the donor and find someone to swap the engines over (Phil at CPC?) I may be tempted just to do it. But for now I will just keep high in the rev range and enjoy the drive of my trusty b20tu.

[cableguy 1,260]

s50 will push an e34 Wagon along just fine. If you want a drag strip sleeper then go cubic inches or forced induction, however the reason for my motor transplant was to improve driveability, having a bit of grunt for easy overtaking etc. 

 

525i (m50b25tu) gives approx. 189 bhp @ 5900rpm / 184 lb ft @ 4200rpm

M3 (s50b32) gives approx. 316bhp @ 7400rpm / 258 lb ft @ 3250rpm

 

Given the above figures i'd reckon the s50 is a fair bit quicker and far more capable of keeping up with modern machinery than an m50 powered e34.

 

I'd be more than happy to compare my car when finished for comparison.

 

C.

 

[duncan-uk 2,916]

The S50 is a great motor. My e36 m3 evo saloon would chase Porsches and return mid/high 30s on a cruise. Great car and miss it. If only it came as a touring.


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[Sarnie 117]

If your considering the M50b25tu then you may as well go for the M52b28 as it's no more work ( maybe a couple of little things depending which car it came from).

Top end bhp is similar but there is a noticeable increase in midrange torque, did this to my 525iT 10 years ago and still making use of the extra torque, see my profile pic below from a couple of weeks ago.

[Kit 104]

One things for sure, I clearly have options! Is there a specialist either in the east midland or south east that knows what they are doing when it comes to swapping out engines in these old beemers? Last thing I need is a load of problems when my only issue right now is owning a sweetly running engine that lacks power!

Edited September 26, 2020 by Kit

[coupe king 21]

Another one of those very simple but very satisfying jobs done ☺️

Edited September 26, 2020 by coupe king

[Bumbaclut 694]

19 hours ago, duncan-uk said:

The S50 is a great motor. My e36 m3 evo saloon would chase Porsches and return mid/high 30s on a cruise. Great car and miss it. If only it came as a touring.


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 E34 is alot heavier and geared different to an E36

 

 

Theres no question if you want 300bhp an S38 or M60 offers better torques for the job, you will have to work an S50 harder but hey ho we make our choices 

[coupe king 21]

6 hours ago, Kit said:

One things for sure, I clearly have options! Is there a specialist either in the east midland or south east that knows what they are doing when it comes to swapping out engines in these old beemers? Last thing I need is a load of problems when my only issue right now is owning a sweetly running engine that lacks power!

 

Dynotorque are very well thought of, maybe worth a try. Or if you were willing to travel a wee bit https://www.angusbmw.co.uk/conversions/ 

[Kit 104]

1 hour ago, coupe king said:

 

Dynotorque are very well thought of, maybe worth a try. Or if you were willing to travel a wee bit https://www.angusbmw.co.uk/conversions/ 

Angus BMW are only an hour away. Will see what they have to say. Thanks to all that have responded to my question, lots to digest.
 

Hopefully the trusty b20tu will get me back down south from the highlands safely, 700 mile drive coming up on Monday!

Edited September 26, 2020 by Kit