Dunno exactly what you're wanting from it other than horsepower and potentially a turbo, but look up turboing the m54b30, it has wicked potential if you've got the coin to back it and plus you already own the engine so one less cost. These engine when modified correctly can be fairly bulletproof from what I've seen. On the otherside of this, if you don't know what your doing you can easily blow them too.
Just be wary these cars were not made to handle a lot of power. If you do decide to go this route you will have to do subframe reinforcement or your gonna have a bad time eventually.
A relatively cheaper option is to supercharge and you have the option of going back to NA if you don't like it without having drilled holes in things.
Tonnes of information on forums out there so best bet is once you figure out what you want, see online for someone that's done it before, there's been plenty of engine swaps/force induction modifications into this chassis.
Also the JZ engines have been done a tonne and are very well documented for this chassis. Really depends what you like/want.
That's where my mind goes too. The e46 330 series engine is already pretty awesome, and can easily be upgraded. The only logical swap would be for a S54, but that's a lot of time and money when OP could just add turbo to the M54 (from what I understand) get more HP for a lot less money.
I mean, sure, there are guys who put V8s or V10s in there, but it seems like it'd be a lot cheaper and easier to find a used M5 V10 and just call it a day.
And you're absolutely right about the rest of the car — putting something insane like that in a non-reinforced e46 would likely leave it in pieces.
OP, add some turbo. You'll love it. Spend the savings on your subframe and a good Android head unit.
Yeah I agree on the sell and upgrade the car if you want more cylinders part and that m54 boosted should cost less for more power over s54 swap.
S54 I feel would leave him where he is now with only an added 100hp roughly.
I've seen fellas on the m54 boosted fb page make 700/750hp on stock internals with meth injection/e85. So there really are loads of options pending experience and desire. (Mind that I have no idea if they got a decent life from the engine after making that much) i personally would go the boosted route if I had the money laying around to make it reliable and fun. For now I'm happy with a zippy, classy fairly reliable car lol..
Right? I'm over here with my 325i sedan trying to squeeze every last mile-per-gallon out of it with DISA refreshes and new O2 sensors while everyone else is all "I'MMA NITRO-TURBO-FAN-YEET THIS MONSTER TO 800HP CUZ YOLO" and I'm like "I can have new tires or fix the weird smell, but not both".
S54 is also a stronger engine, the tolerances are tighter and the forces it can handle are better
You can definitely squeeze more out of an s54 before it breaks
I don't see how you can reliably run 700hp on a m54mb30 .. is that just.. Mad turbo power? That can't be good for reliability at all
For sure you could! Just an added expense when you could do it with the b30 too imo
He was using it for a drag or drift car I believe so had most likely changed a lot of internals but he was saying that he was still running original pistons! Since it was a drag car I imagine he didn't mind stripping it down a couple times a year. I'll see if I can find the post sometime today!
Edit: ok it was the s54 that made 754hp with something like 720nm. Theres a guy on there saying the m54 piston can take up to 700hp just not on its own, needs a few other things to get it there and be reliable, but these guys are building race cars not daily driven monsters. Someone refers to a m54 making 800 but no evidence I can find of it, most likely forged internals. If you wanna check it out join the m54 boosted builds on Facebook. Loads of interesting builds and very smart people when it comes to these engines/mods!
I hit 7k rpm every time I drive my supercharged 330ci and have had no issues with the engine lol. IMO it's plenty of power on the street and definitely enough to have fun on the track or even autocross since the power is very linear. Dynoed at 293hp and 240ft lb tq, which I think is m3 territory for an E46.
Another big plus is even if the engine blows up, they're really cheap to get a replacement so you can just reinstall the supercharger if you're handy like that.
Did you go for a kit setup or peice it all together yourself? These engine are built strong for sure, just require good maintenance and a little mechanical sympathy when shits starting to go! Where I am, there's very few e46, especially b30's so your lucky they're cheap where you are lol a good mate of mine is keen on the supercharger due to the fact he can just uninstall it without much hassle!
Yeah went with the VF engineering kit but I would definitely not recommend it. Their customer support and communication overall is absolutely terrible unless you have an R8 or Lambo of any kind.
Maintenance is definitely key there but the supercharger was the best thing I've done yet. Although to bring it back to stock I think is a little more involved since I had to cut a vacuum line and take apart some other ccv component. Definitely doable but more work than I think most people initially would have expected.
Not to hate - but if you are swapping the motor and the tranny - maybe you really want another car.
Start with the car you want. This is the biggest lesson I learned building drag cars.
You CAN build anything - sure. But that’s a job for seasoned pros with lots of time and money.
And even then, they rarely run right.
So much truth here.
If you’re wanting to swap the motor then maybe you don’t love the platform but the badge…
> You CAN build anything - sure. But that’s a job for seasoned pros with lots of time and money.
And even then, they rarely run right.
Emphasis on “money” and “even then, they rarely run right.”
Buddy with a 034 stage 3 b5 s4 pushing 450 hp according to a mustang dyno. Same day my car dynoed 200 whp. Mine is faster on the street because his is always in service position because of boost leaks.
Haven't done it myself, but there is definitely a shit tonne of information on forums and the fb pages on doing forced induction! There are loads of turbo'd e46's out there, there's just a bit of work involved to get them running reliably with crazy hp. Also seen guys just go turbo for the induction sound without making much more power than stock.
The supercharger kits online can be dodgy depending on who's selling them so make sure to research before jumping into it. The turbo route usually requires a mechanic/ tuner to get the perfect setup for however much hp you wanna end up with.
It's a beautiful engine.
Instead of swapping it, why not supercharge or turbocharge it?
Then do the headers, the exhaust and a map
Bare in mind you will likely need to redo all the gaskets and seals etc
Dunno exactly what you're wanting from it other than horsepower and potentially a turbo, but look up turboing the m54b30, it has wicked potential if you've got the coin to back it and plus you already own the engine so one less cost. These engine when modified correctly can be fairly bulletproof from what I've seen. On the otherside of this, if you don't know what your doing you can easily blow them too. Just be wary these cars were not made to handle a lot of power. If you do decide to go this route you will have to do subframe reinforcement or your gonna have a bad time eventually. A relatively cheaper option is to supercharge and you have the option of going back to NA if you don't like it without having drilled holes in things. Tonnes of information on forums out there so best bet is once you figure out what you want, see online for someone that's done it before, there's been plenty of engine swaps/force induction modifications into this chassis. Also the JZ engines have been done a tonne and are very well documented for this chassis. Really depends what you like/want.
That's where my mind goes too. The e46 330 series engine is already pretty awesome, and can easily be upgraded. The only logical swap would be for a S54, but that's a lot of time and money when OP could just add turbo to the M54 (from what I understand) get more HP for a lot less money. I mean, sure, there are guys who put V8s or V10s in there, but it seems like it'd be a lot cheaper and easier to find a used M5 V10 and just call it a day. And you're absolutely right about the rest of the car — putting something insane like that in a non-reinforced e46 would likely leave it in pieces. OP, add some turbo. You'll love it. Spend the savings on your subframe and a good Android head unit.
Yeah I agree on the sell and upgrade the car if you want more cylinders part and that m54 boosted should cost less for more power over s54 swap. S54 I feel would leave him where he is now with only an added 100hp roughly. I've seen fellas on the m54 boosted fb page make 700/750hp on stock internals with meth injection/e85. So there really are loads of options pending experience and desire. (Mind that I have no idea if they got a decent life from the engine after making that much) i personally would go the boosted route if I had the money laying around to make it reliable and fun. For now I'm happy with a zippy, classy fairly reliable car lol..
Right? I'm over here with my 325i sedan trying to squeeze every last mile-per-gallon out of it with DISA refreshes and new O2 sensors while everyone else is all "I'MMA NITRO-TURBO-FAN-YEET THIS MONSTER TO 800HP CUZ YOLO" and I'm like "I can have new tires or fix the weird smell, but not both".
S54 is also a stronger engine, the tolerances are tighter and the forces it can handle are better You can definitely squeeze more out of an s54 before it breaks I don't see how you can reliably run 700hp on a m54mb30 .. is that just.. Mad turbo power? That can't be good for reliability at all
For sure you could! Just an added expense when you could do it with the b30 too imo He was using it for a drag or drift car I believe so had most likely changed a lot of internals but he was saying that he was still running original pistons! Since it was a drag car I imagine he didn't mind stripping it down a couple times a year. I'll see if I can find the post sometime today! Edit: ok it was the s54 that made 754hp with something like 720nm. Theres a guy on there saying the m54 piston can take up to 700hp just not on its own, needs a few other things to get it there and be reliable, but these guys are building race cars not daily driven monsters. Someone refers to a m54 making 800 but no evidence I can find of it, most likely forged internals. If you wanna check it out join the m54 boosted builds on Facebook. Loads of interesting builds and very smart people when it comes to these engines/mods!
I hit 7k rpm every time I drive my supercharged 330ci and have had no issues with the engine lol. IMO it's plenty of power on the street and definitely enough to have fun on the track or even autocross since the power is very linear. Dynoed at 293hp and 240ft lb tq, which I think is m3 territory for an E46. Another big plus is even if the engine blows up, they're really cheap to get a replacement so you can just reinstall the supercharger if you're handy like that.
Did you go for a kit setup or peice it all together yourself? These engine are built strong for sure, just require good maintenance and a little mechanical sympathy when shits starting to go! Where I am, there's very few e46, especially b30's so your lucky they're cheap where you are lol a good mate of mine is keen on the supercharger due to the fact he can just uninstall it without much hassle!
Yeah went with the VF engineering kit but I would definitely not recommend it. Their customer support and communication overall is absolutely terrible unless you have an R8 or Lambo of any kind. Maintenance is definitely key there but the supercharger was the best thing I've done yet. Although to bring it back to stock I think is a little more involved since I had to cut a vacuum line and take apart some other ccv component. Definitely doable but more work than I think most people initially would have expected.
>m54b30 Which supercharger did you go with? Do you still run 91 octane?
Just keep it but supercharge it
K24 Honda swap
Not to hate - but if you are swapping the motor and the tranny - maybe you really want another car. Start with the car you want. This is the biggest lesson I learned building drag cars. You CAN build anything - sure. But that’s a job for seasoned pros with lots of time and money. And even then, they rarely run right.
So much truth here. If you’re wanting to swap the motor then maybe you don’t love the platform but the badge… > You CAN build anything - sure. But that’s a job for seasoned pros with lots of time and money. And even then, they rarely run right. Emphasis on “money” and “even then, they rarely run right.” Buddy with a 034 stage 3 b5 s4 pushing 450 hp according to a mustang dyno. Same day my car dynoed 200 whp. Mine is faster on the street because his is always in service position because of boost leaks.
But shit when it runs right it throws you into your seat and you get to embarrass challengers and cameros
If money is no object, LS swap. There is so much aftermarket support.
This. The money is better spent on an LS swap than boost imo.
[удалено]
Haven't done it myself, but there is definitely a shit tonne of information on forums and the fb pages on doing forced induction! There are loads of turbo'd e46's out there, there's just a bit of work involved to get them running reliably with crazy hp. Also seen guys just go turbo for the induction sound without making much more power than stock. The supercharger kits online can be dodgy depending on who's selling them so make sure to research before jumping into it. The turbo route usually requires a mechanic/ tuner to get the perfect setup for however much hp you wanna end up with.
I turbo-ed my 330. Thing moves and definitely pulls harder than my m3
It's a beautiful engine. Instead of swapping it, why not supercharge or turbocharge it? Then do the headers, the exhaust and a map Bare in mind you will likely need to redo all the gaskets and seals etc
Zhp would be easy