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There's nothing wrong with the cast iron liners in the m54. it's still leagues better than alusil. And if you're rebuilding an m54 you can drop the m52 oil rings right in.
Had 100k miles on my m54 330ci with no problems. Apart from the bent rad, failed thermostat and a hole in the intake bootm otherwise, 5 problem free years.
Later M54 had steel cylinder liners and fixed the oil control ring issue. No oil burning on 210k mile 330 and a 166k mile 325 running E85 with 330 injectors.
Yeah i pinned a comment because i noticed this mistake after uploading. Thanks for the comment though, and appreciate the knowledge. Didn't know the oil control ring got better. I have a preface 01 with an m52tu exhaust system buts its still an m54 so I probably have a slightly different experience than most.
jezus dude based on the editing quality I would never expect you to have not even 500 subs. Feels like I'm watching a yt channel with at least 100k subs. Very interesting video
Those young blokes don't look old enough to get a driver's license - let alone do what they they've done mechanically. They've packed a lot of learning and experience into a few years. Much respect. 😉
Ahahahaha that’s a very funny comment, thanks for the kind words and respect. Would you believe I didn’t care for cars a year ago? We’re just dedicated to doing good work on ours and others cars and making good videos. More to come!!
The big advantage of m54 over m52 is the coolant circulation design. Block and head are designed in a way that larger liquid path is going from the block to the head so not much overheating issues.
@@moneyshifters no my friend they are very different. M52 has the same design as m50. 2 cooling lines are in front of cylinder 1 while in m54 much larger cooling line is between cylinder 1 and 2. You can see it if you look at the block.
@@hrsjohnny You're not arguing the right point, I'm talking about the m52tu which shares the exact same cooling setup as the m54 in all trims. Yes, the m52 cooling is the same as the m50, but im not talking about the m52. I'm talking about the m52tu. They're entirely different motors sir!
I own 3 M54 powered E46s cis, 2002-2004. Zero oil burning in any of them. Change the Mobil 1 oil every 10,000 km. No issues internally with any of them. Owned the 2002 330ci since new. Changed the T stat, water pump, belt, plugs and air filter once each. Lower control arm bushings, one set of front pads and rotors, heater fan control module, that's it. No leaks. Reliable car for 21 years.
think thats a subjective conclusion...my M54B30 is running smooth with no major issues for 350.000 (350k) kilometers on the gauge. Treat it like a lady or a warm bread and you enjoy her a lot.
Disagree, N52 was a magnesium engine and was very fiddly and also had the famed water pump issues the N54 has as well as the issue of having to replace bolts anytime you replaced a part on the engine. Just ask Gresham Performance what he thinks of N52’s
The m54 is literally the same engine but with the better ms43 ecu, bigger intake manifold, better intake cam and a true dual exhaust, the liners are steel the problem is with the low tension oil control rings but in most cases you can soak the cylinders in carbon cleaner and unstuck them also since you had the oil pan off you should have put red threadlocker on the oil pump nut because they can come loose at high rpms
M54 isnt worth it because they love to burn oil thanks to their crap piston rings.. M52TU with a bit of modding (M50 manifold etc.) will most likely last longer.. considering finding a 3.0l M54 is quite hard and finding a 2.8l M52 (for a reasonable price) not so much, tells me that the number of M54s still running is going down despite it being a newer engine.
@@pier11francesco Most 328s either got crashed or people are holding on to them because its the closest they will ever get to owning an E46 M3 :DDD personally know 3 people with coupes like that :DD most engines are from cars that rusted or got beat up too much all around. Subframe is an issue of course but honestly the car will rust away well before any subframe issues..at least in our central european experience.
@@MisoElEven yes, this is pretty much the video summed up! You will see people saying "oh the M54 will be better if you address the piston rings!!!" But that implies a full rebuild, which means your choice of engine doesnt really matter at all - its a careful balance of cost and time/effort. I'm not even sure why you would waste time rebuilding these motors when they are so plentiful in most parts of the world and can be cheaply refreshed without having to go so far as lift the head and pull pistons.
My M52 528i blew up cause of a stupid plastic cooling hose under the intake manifold wearing out. As an E30, E34, E39 and E46 owner, no the E46 cars are not as reliable as my Lexus (Toyota), because it needs very important maintenance done on the cooling and electronic systems to keep it from blowing up or lighting up the dash like a Christmas tree. My e46 did not blow up. That being said, once you got the cooling in good shape and replace a few windows motors its not bad, the basic engine is pretty good. The older the better in many ways cause they had less electronics. later E36 or basic E46 is probably the best bet after changing out the water pump and expansion tanks. That being said all cars need maintenance, just some a lot more than others.
Yeah it’s funny, the story with these engines is that they don’t really have any issues themselves, it’s the bits and pieces around it that do everything they can to kill it. A shame.
There are plenty of resources online about turboing these cars, we're lucky enough to know a few people who have turbod their 46! What gearbox do you plan to run?
Beside oil scraper rings most importantly M52TU still has cable throttle, with much better response than laggy M54 electric throttle. But getting power out of these is super expensive.
There's ways to remove the response time through coding and can make it a direct connection with no lag - im not running a wire since I'm using the less restrictive 3.0 throttle body.
Thats only half the truth, as with m52tu cable doesnt directly open the butterfly under pressing the throtle, but it actuates the aditional potentiometer which opens the butterfly on throttle body. So there is always some lag, unlike true cable throttle in old cars. With m54 you can mod the software and lag is gone.
@@SzymonKasperczyk Im not sure if you're adressing me or original comment but i agree 100%, i think the fight cable v wire is meaningless, a wire travels at the speed of light, a cable the speed of sound - so the response time as a result of throttle body opening tardiness is negligible in an optimised setup in both cases
Thanks for watching and commenting really appreciate it. Ummm akshually ☝️☝️🤓 the BMW system valvetronic is German VTEC, tho it’s a bit more advanced as it’s infinitely variable rather than in two states. VTEC is more reliable (not to say that valvetronic is unreliable it’s an incredible system) Vanos is the VVT and VVTI you would see on other cars. We might make a video detailing vtec and valvetronic if there’s interest 😊
Just a heads up, since I didn't see anyone mention it. 01:14 the combustion chamber is not where the piston and cylinder sleeves are. The upgraded sleeves and piston rings only seal better, and last longer. The combustion chamber is the space right above the piston, where it concaves into the cylinder head, where the valves are, and is unaffected This video mentions it, so you don't have to take my word for it. ua-cam.com/video/0lXCVRnV6aE/v-deo.html
no ahaha yeah combustion is where the initial controlled ignition takes place i just made a mistake and didn't correct in post because i missed it. Good catch and nice to see our video getting recommended to people who are knowledgeable/more knowledgeable than us. Thanks for watching anyway.
The M54B30 is still a reliable beast. Quite literally the only thing you have to do is watch the oil consumption and that really only if you run the motor hard.
@@0megalul309 I jsut used the 3.0 L manifold, more power if you tune it too, even keep the ECU the same. Use the 3.0 intake cam and you can get alot of power out of the 2.8.
@@0megalul309 I don’t know, I’m not really sure how much it matters if you get a tune and make sure the pressure/ temp sensor on the back of the head near 6 cyl matches (there’s a 4 and a 2 pin connecter, make sure to match it with your loom) . I think it’s a ms43 I have bc it’s originally an m54b30 prefacelift
the b30 has quite a long stroke, its why you can push the 2.5 and 2.8 m5x to 7k+rpm but not the b30 - thats my understanding of it. Alot of m5x need the oil pump nut welded though.
M52TU is a great motor. My E36 is m52b28tu swapped. Got the m50 manifold. 2 questions for you. M50 intake manifold or m54 for this engine and why? Regarding boosting this engine is aluminum block, which can’t handle as much as iron block, I’m not planning on boosting it but why would you recommend it over the iron ? Thanks!
M50 manifold is better flow meaning more power up the top. M54b30 manifold (what I’m using) has alright flow but also means you get a bit more Torque at the bottom. So since this is my daily I want more torque at the bottom! But if I were to track or boost this car - m50 manifold 100%
The construction of the block is rarely the reason why the engine fails under boost - except in this case: the extra pressure in the combustion chamber from the increased intake air pressure caused a strong upward force that lifts the head off the threads, tearing the head off the block. This doesn’t happen with cast blocks as the threads of the head bolts are stronger. You can prevent this by Changing to head studs so you can torque the bolts higher Increasing thread diameter Increasing thread depth. Stock m5x aluminium can still hold slot of power, close on 400-500 without lifting the head.
imo the m52 is better than the m52tu because its a simpler engine. m52 has a metal coolant pipe under the intake instead of the 2 plastic ones in the TU. it also has a fully mechanical throttle cable while the TU has the weird half mechanical half electronic. theres no disa valve on the m52 as well. and just overall it seems to me like the m52 has less stuff around the engine which makes it easier to work on. the torque curves arent even that diffrent. the only advantage the TU has is the fact that dual vanos is easier to rebuild than single vanos because single vanos requires timing tools. but for me personally the the advantages of the m52 outweigh that.
Yeah fair enough, we find that its easier to get more power na from the m52tu than the m52 and since most of the swaps are occuring in an e46/e39 its super easy to complete since the intake and cooling system is the easiest.
Hey, do you have any idea if an engine swap from a 316i (facelift) n42b18 to the m52tub28 would be possible? I feel like thinks like the cable throttle and such would be quite challenging to "retrofit"
It's certainly possible though I recommend just buying the the car with a 6cylinder already fitted from factory - you will end up paying the same, if not more doing the swap - even if you do it yourself since you need to buy the intake and exhaust side parts, a tune on the ecu if its even the same ecu (Its not, so if u buy the engine make sure it comes with the ecu), updated sway bars and powersteering lines etc. We've done various engine swaps and a 6 to a 6 is dead easy, a 4 to a 6 isn't super easy (still doable though).
I'm looking into buying a '98 320i with a m52tub20 (110kw). Is the size the only difference or is it an overall worse engine? Is it less reliable? Love the videos, keep it up!
Thanks you for commenting and your lovely words ❤️ more to come! Now: Your m52tub20 is a fantastic motor, incredibly reliable - make sure to do lots of research on maintaining and looking after it because a little bit of knowledge will keep that magnificent motor going. The engine design is indeed the exact same! So the smaller displacement engines are indeed the exact same as the larger ones with a different rotating assembly (Pistons, Rods crank etc.) but everything will be the exact same as a m52TUb28. Your engine might feel a little under powered but it’s an easy engine swap since you already have the 6cyl wiring harness - it’s drag and drop with a tune. The difference in chassis is something you may notice however - the brakes are larger, and some other small things but really nothing drastic (like structural) good luck with your buying and send us some pics on @money_shiftersig
@@danielskrskr my car was originally a b30, so has all the b30 kit on it. I'm putting an b28 in it because when i bought the car the motor was overheated - if you watch the nulon review video it details what happened in greater depth. This b28 isn't stock tho it has the b30 cam and the b30 intake on it so the power between the b30 and this exact b28 would be small.
@moneyshifters ah I was thinking you were in the US. Here in the US, the european s50b30 and b32 are like 7 thousand dollars lmao, s52s are pretty cheap tho. It's basically a suped up m52, and I've never had a problem with the engine
@@epaminontas6972 yeah the s52 is aight, our most recent video kinda shits on it but that was a joke. They're still good motors. You get a small taste of the M performance but without the M reliability.
@@BloodScatter yeah absolutely, only thing that really interests me is location of the timing chain. Hopefully that doesn't come back to bite the design in its ass a few years from now if timing chains or tensioners start failing.
depends what car they're in. They are certainly strong motors but they can bea bit cramped to work on even in a 5ers big bay. I like the 6 cyl 5ers more just because if you want power its better to just turbo a 6 than throw in an 8 cyl. as far as reliability, mileage may vary but I'd take an m60 over an m62!
Me too. There are both great engines and the fact that the M52TU reaches it's peak torque at lower rpm is nice. But the non-TU engine has the manual acceleration pedal thing which feels slightly more directly. Where the TU engine has an electric gas pedal. And also (but that I just heard) has the TU-engine more in common with the M54 engine and less in common with the M52. And the M52TU and M54 are (again what I have heard) known for using/burning more oil than the M52.
The M50 is harder to find and also less power NA. I think its safe to say an m50 is going to be more reliable though, its a far simpler design. Big fan of the motor.
Requires a rebuild - the average hobbyist mechanic could probably afford or do an engine swap, but a rebuild means all new gaskets and bearings - stacks up quickly. Not a bad idea but the 3.0 has a fair number of issues outside of that like its rather long stroke. Nice pfp
it's been proven time after time they won't fit on the top rings. The longer stroke on the 3.0 engines causes the oil pump and harmonic resonance issues that happen at 6000+ rpm. This is why BMW NEVER copied the bore and stroke on a m54 (84x89 mm). It's a failure. The new turbo inline 6 bmw's all use 82mm bore and 94 mm stroke to avoid this issue. By changing the intake manifold and cams on a tub28 to tub30 you make the same horsepower per litre as the 54b30 without the flawed resonance issues.
@@0megalul309 ive heard that the b25s are much more responsive than the b30s. im thinking of getting involved with the e46 platform. any recommendations for a 350-400hp build?
There's nothing wrong with the cast iron liners in the m54. it's still leagues better than alusil. And if you're rebuilding an m54 you can drop the m52 oil rings right in.
Wait I think I’m wrong about this! The m54 does have cast liners
628000km no issue no burning oil on my M54,only thing i did is swap it to manual ,m3 control arms and diff.
That’s awesome… 628kkm!!! That’s fantastic. Has it been rebuilt ???
Had 100k miles on my m54 330ci with no problems.
Apart from the bent rad, failed thermostat and a hole in the intake bootm otherwise, 5 problem free years.
Later M54 had steel cylinder liners and fixed the oil control ring issue. No oil burning on 210k mile 330 and a 166k mile 325 running E85 with 330 injectors.
Yeah i pinned a comment because i noticed this mistake after uploading. Thanks for the comment though, and appreciate the knowledge. Didn't know the oil control ring got better. I have a preface 01 with an m52tu exhaust system buts its still an m54 so I probably have a slightly different experience than most.
m54 330 still had oil burning issues
m54 had steel liners as well
production quality taken a big step up 💪 keen to see what u guys do next !
Appreciate the lovely comment from a lovely gent
🐐🐐🐐
jezus dude based on the editing quality I would never expect you to have not even 500 subs. Feels like I'm watching a yt channel with at least 100k subs. Very interesting video
Wow, such a nice comment, tahnks so much for that. More content coming soon. Check our newer stuff, its more polished than this.
Those young blokes don't look old enough to get a driver's license - let alone do what they they've done mechanically. They've packed a lot of learning and experience into a few years. Much respect. 😉
Ahahahaha that’s a very funny comment, thanks for the kind words and respect. Would you believe I didn’t care for cars a year ago? We’re just dedicated to doing good work on ours and others cars and making good videos. More to come!!
The big advantage of m54 over m52 is the coolant circulation design. Block and head are designed in a way that larger liquid path is going from the block to the head so not much overheating issues.
the m52tu shares the exact same cooling setup as the m54 though. But yeah you're right
@@moneyshifters no my friend they are very different. M52 has the same design as m50. 2 cooling lines are in front of cylinder 1 while in m54 much larger cooling line is between cylinder 1 and 2. You can see it if you look at the block.
@@hrsjohnny You're not arguing the right point, I'm talking about the m52tu which shares the exact same cooling setup as the m54 in all trims.
Yes, the m52 cooling is the same as the m50, but im not talking about the m52. I'm talking about the m52tu. They're entirely different motors sir!
I own 3 M54 powered E46s cis, 2002-2004. Zero oil burning in any of them. Change the Mobil 1 oil every 10,000 km. No issues internally with any of them. Owned the 2002 330ci since new. Changed the T stat, water pump, belt, plugs and air filter once each. Lower control arm bushings, one set of front pads and rotors, heater fan control module, that's it. No leaks. Reliable car for 21 years.
what mileage?
think thats a subjective conclusion...my M54B30 is running smooth with no major issues for 350.000 (350k) kilometers on the gauge. Treat it like a lady or a warm bread and you enjoy her a lot.
They're still very reliable but they just have a few problems that the m52tu does not.
N52 entered the chat.
Yeah i was about to say the N52, especially the variant found in the 130i MSport, it was very reliable.
great engine, won't argue with that!
thanks for watching ❤
Disagree, N52 was a magnesium engine and was very fiddly and also had the famed water pump issues the N54 has as well as the issue of having to replace bolts anytime you replaced a part on the engine. Just ask Gresham Performance what he thinks of N52’s
@@FieryWings01 I don't care what one person thinks. There's a host of people that agree with me.
@@Arrozconchopsticks all good man not here to argue just stating my 50 cents worth 👍🏼👌🏼
The m54 is literally the same engine but with the better ms43 ecu, bigger intake manifold, better intake cam and a true dual exhaust, the liners are steel the problem is with the low tension oil control rings but in most cases you can soak the cylinders in carbon cleaner and unstuck them also since you had the oil pan off you should have put red threadlocker on the oil pump nut because they can come loose at high rpms
We advocate for ms43 2.8 swaps with 3.0 ancillaries
M54 isnt worth it because they love to burn oil thanks to their crap piston rings.. M52TU with a bit of modding (M50 manifold etc.) will most likely last longer.. considering finding a 3.0l M54 is quite hard and finding a 2.8l M52 (for a reasonable price) not so much, tells me that the number of M54s still running is going down despite it being a newer engine.
@@MisoElEven or maybe all of the m52tus on the market comes from the 328 1998-2000 being more successful in deleting their subframe mounts..
@@pier11francesco Most 328s either got crashed or people are holding on to them because its the closest they will ever get to owning an E46 M3 :DDD personally know 3 people with coupes like that :DD most engines are from cars that rusted or got beat up too much all around. Subframe is an issue of course but honestly the car will rust away well before any subframe issues..at least in our central european experience.
@@MisoElEven yes, this is pretty much the video summed up! You will see people saying "oh the M54 will be better if you address the piston rings!!!" But that implies a full rebuild, which means your choice of engine doesnt really matter at all - its a careful balance of cost and time/effort.
I'm not even sure why you would waste time rebuilding these motors when they are so plentiful in most parts of the world and can be cheaply refreshed without having to go so far as lift the head and pull pistons.
As a owner of a 323i I completely agree with the this ❤
M52TUB25 🔥❤🔥🔥❤🔥Indestructible motor! (just dont let it overheat!)
Nice vid, and I love the 9th Wonder beats backdrop
respect for recognising, u got good taste.
My M52 528i blew up cause of a stupid plastic cooling hose under the intake manifold wearing out. As an E30, E34, E39 and E46 owner, no the E46 cars are not as reliable as my Lexus (Toyota), because it needs very important maintenance done on the cooling and electronic systems to keep it from blowing up or lighting up the dash like a Christmas tree. My e46 did not blow up. That being said, once you got the cooling in good shape and replace a few windows motors its not bad, the basic engine is pretty good. The older the better in many ways cause they had less electronics. later E36 or basic E46 is probably the best bet after changing out the water pump and expansion tanks. That being said all cars need maintenance, just some a lot more than others.
Yeah it’s funny, the story with these engines is that they don’t really have any issues themselves, it’s the bits and pieces around it that do everything they can to kill it. A shame.
My E46 328ci gives this 2 tyres up.
M52TUB28 FTW.
Perfect spec!
Thanks for the video! I'm currently putting one of those on my 320Ci and adding a Turbo!
Don't want a lot of boost, but is a dream build!
There are plenty of resources online about turboing these cars, we're lucky enough to know a few people who have turbod their 46! What gearbox do you plan to run?
I got this recommended to me, not dissapointed
Thanks man ❤️ drop a sub, the content is only gonna get better
UNDERRATED.
thank you my bro. Always appreciate the kind words. Drop a sub if you enjoyed, more coming!❤
M3 and S54 pics in the thumbnail are triggering. Head gasket, rod bearings, vanos, all of it 😂
what we put up with for a fantastic drivers car 😭🤣
Beside oil scraper rings most importantly M52TU still has cable throttle, with much better response than laggy M54 electric throttle. But getting power out of these is super expensive.
There's ways to remove the response time through coding and can make it a direct connection with no lag - im not running a wire since I'm using the less restrictive 3.0 throttle body.
Thats only half the truth, as with m52tu cable doesnt directly open the butterfly under pressing the throtle, but it actuates the aditional potentiometer which opens the butterfly on throttle body. So there is always some lag, unlike true cable throttle in old cars. With m54 you can mod the software and lag is gone.
@@SzymonKasperczyk Im not sure if you're adressing me or original comment but i agree 100%, i think the fight cable v wire is meaningless, a wire travels at the speed of light, a cable the speed of sound - so the response time as a result of throttle body opening tardiness is negligible in an optimised setup in both cases
Sooo… Vanoss is basically like VTEC for euro cars?
German vtec
Thanks for watching and commenting
really appreciate it.
Ummm akshually ☝️☝️🤓 the BMW system valvetronic is German VTEC, tho it’s a bit more advanced as it’s infinitely variable rather than in two states. VTEC is more reliable (not to say that valvetronic is unreliable it’s an incredible system)
Vanos is the VVT and VVTI you would see on other cars.
We might make a video detailing vtec and valvetronic if there’s interest 😊
Just a heads up, since I didn't see anyone mention it.
01:14 the combustion chamber is not where the piston and cylinder sleeves are. The upgraded sleeves and piston rings only seal better, and last longer.
The combustion chamber is the space right above the piston, where it concaves into the cylinder head, where the valves are, and is unaffected
This video mentions it, so you don't have to take my word for it.
ua-cam.com/video/0lXCVRnV6aE/v-deo.html
no ahaha yeah combustion is where the initial controlled ignition takes place i just made a mistake and didn't correct in post because i missed it. Good catch and nice to see our video getting recommended to people who are knowledgeable/more knowledgeable than us. Thanks for watching anyway.
@@moneyshifters No worries... I'm glad you took it the right way. 👍
@@peterlindvall7671 always looking to learn and improve!
Funny guys, love your presentation.
Thanks! Appreciate the kind comment. More comment coming soon !
Really damn good video
Can you pls m52 swap an iX next vid
We were going to m52TU turbo swap an XM, would that be ok???
It's a combustion engine, not a explosion engine. Explosion is a detonation, supersonic flamefront. Important difference mate.
Yeah unquestionably, took some creative liberties there but they are certainly different actions entirely
The M54B30 is still a reliable beast. Quite literally the only thing you have to do is watch the oil consumption and that really only if you run the motor hard.
Certainly.
3:58 😂
the m52tu is the sleeper engine. just slap on a m54b30 manifold and b30 cams. the m52 revs higher too since its a short stroke.
you a real one for knowing that 💯.
@@moneyshifters any way to mod the throttle body tho? The half cable half electric TB is an annoyance
@@0megalul309 I jsut used the 3.0 L manifold, more power if you tune it too, even keep the ECU the same. Use the 3.0 intake cam and you can get alot of power out of the 2.8.
@@moneyshifters so ms43 or 42 ecu
@@0megalul309 I don’t know, I’m not really sure how much it matters if you get a tune and make sure the pressure/ temp sensor on the back of the head near 6 cyl matches (there’s a 4 and a 2 pin connecter, make sure to match it with your loom) . I think it’s a ms43 I have bc it’s originally an m54b30 prefacelift
The m54b30 is also strangely unbalanced at high rpm with crazy harmonic issues. Hence people welding their oil pump nuts
the b30 has quite a long stroke, its why you can push the 2.5 and 2.8 m5x to 7k+rpm but not the b30 - thats my understanding of it. Alot of m5x need the oil pump nut welded though.
0:05 I don’t see anything wrong big man bernat can easily push more ponies
Yes he has crazy flint stone abilities
this channel go hard
thanks for watching and for the nice comment, we got another banger coming soon just had a few hiccups with it.
oof, that photo of Sreten and his E30 is so accurate... he got it back on the road in case anyone's wondering :D
Sreten inspires us every day
Did the 02pilot mod for my m54 and no more oil consumption. What oher benefits?
Can rev 2.8 higher . It’s a better motor if you can get the 3.0 intake cam and 3.0 intake on it.
if you plan on boosting and have a b30 stick with that
Nice vidoe
i don’t understand alot frome this so what year and what size engine is the most reliable to buy
Thanks
@@User69390 the most reliable is any 6 cylinder and as long as it has been well looked after.
I love the s50b30 more though
True, a fantastic motor
M52TU is a great motor. My E36 is m52b28tu swapped. Got the m50 manifold. 2 questions for you.
M50 intake manifold or m54 for this engine and why?
Regarding boosting this engine is aluminum block, which can’t handle as much as iron block, I’m not planning on boosting it but why would you recommend it over the iron ? Thanks!
M50 manifold is better flow meaning more power up the top. M54b30 manifold (what I’m using) has alright flow but also means you get a bit more
Torque at the bottom. So since this is my daily I want more torque at the bottom! But if I were to track or boost this car - m50 manifold 100%
The construction of the block is rarely the reason why the engine fails under boost - except in this case: the extra pressure in the combustion chamber from the increased intake air pressure caused a strong upward force that lifts the head off the threads, tearing the head off the block. This doesn’t happen with cast blocks as the threads of the head bolts are stronger. You can prevent this by
Changing to head studs so you can torque the bolts higher
Increasing thread diameter
Increasing thread depth.
Stock m5x aluminium can still hold slot of power, close on 400-500 without lifting the head.
imo the m52 is better than the m52tu because its a simpler engine. m52 has a metal coolant pipe under the intake instead of the 2 plastic ones in the TU. it also has a fully mechanical throttle cable while the TU has the weird half mechanical half electronic. theres no disa valve on the m52 as well. and just overall it seems to me like the m52 has less stuff around the engine which makes it easier to work on. the torque curves arent even that diffrent. the only advantage the TU has is the fact that dual vanos is easier to rebuild than single vanos because single vanos requires timing tools. but for me personally the the advantages of the m52 outweigh that.
Yeah fair enough, we find that its easier to get more power na from the m52tu than the m52 and since most of the swaps are occuring in an e46/e39 its super easy to complete since the intake and cooling system is the easiest.
M52 is worse just for the fact it has alusil and not steel liners
Nice update
thanks
M52 goes very hard on LPG💪
love from eastern europe
I hate korean cars so much it's unreal
M52 goes hard on everything, legend motor 🔥🔥.
Thank you for the love!!! And thank you for watching.❤❤❤
Hey, do you have any idea if an engine swap from a 316i (facelift) n42b18 to the m52tub28 would be possible?
I feel like thinks like the cable throttle and such would be quite challenging to "retrofit"
It's certainly possible though I recommend just buying the the car with a 6cylinder already fitted from factory - you will end up paying the same, if not more doing the swap - even if you do it yourself since you need to buy the intake and exhaust side parts, a tune on the ecu if its even the same ecu (Its not, so if u buy the engine make sure it comes with the ecu), updated sway bars and powersteering lines etc. We've done various engine swaps and a 6 to a 6 is dead easy, a 4 to a 6 isn't super easy (still doable though).
I'm looking into buying a '98 320i with a m52tub20 (110kw). Is the size the only difference or is it an overall worse engine? Is it less reliable? Love the videos, keep it up!
Thanks you for commenting and your lovely words ❤️ more to come! Now:
Your m52tub20 is a fantastic motor, incredibly reliable - make sure to do lots of research on maintaining and looking after it because a little bit of knowledge will keep that magnificent motor going. The engine design is indeed the exact same! So the smaller displacement engines are indeed the exact same as the larger ones with a different rotating assembly (Pistons, Rods crank etc.) but everything will be the exact same as a m52TUb28. Your engine might feel a little under powered but it’s an easy engine swap since you already have the 6cyl wiring harness - it’s drag and drop with a tune. The difference in chassis is something you may notice however - the brakes are larger, and some other small things but really nothing drastic (like structural) good luck with your buying and send us some pics on @money_shiftersig
@@moneyshifters Thanks a lot for the info. I'll be sure to send some pics in the future.
@@lukscha5079 the b28 engine has a forged crankshaft from the factory btw while the b25 and b20 have cast iron
good stuff lads 🤙🏼
Thanks for the comment and watching
Is that an e46 330i
Yes bro. You get an award for being very observant and smart. -> ⭐️
e46 yes. but the m52 is in the 323 models. 330 has the m54
@@danielskrskr my car was originally a b30, so has all the b30 kit on it. I'm putting an b28 in it because when i bought the car the motor was overheated - if you watch the nulon review video it details what happened in greater depth. This b28 isn't stock tho it has the b30 cam and the b30 intake on it so the power between the b30 and this exact b28 would be small.
S52 swap bro, you get almost .2 more liters than the m54b30, and its dead reliable
The s52 was never sold outside the US and is not a very good engine compared to its competitors (s50b30 and s50b32)
@moneyshifters ah I was thinking you were in the US. Here in the US, the european s50b30 and b32 are like 7 thousand dollars lmao, s52s are pretty cheap tho. It's basically a suped up m52, and I've never had a problem with the engine
@@epaminontas6972 yeah the s52 is aight, our most recent video kinda shits on it but that was a joke. They're still good motors. You get a small taste of the M performance but without the M reliability.
@@moneyshiftersyea pretty much lmao
Tbh, I don't really agree. In my mind the only reliable modern BMW engine is the M70 and derivatives like the M73
interesting comment. If we're talking reliable BMW engines of the modern era surely the B58 deserves a mention?
@@moneyshifters Yes, the B58 as well. However, that engine is still quite new so only time will tell if it is going to stay reliable.
@@BloodScatter yeah absolutely, only thing that really interests me is location of the timing chain. Hopefully that doesn't come back to bite the design in its ass a few years from now if timing chains or tensioners start failing.
What’s your opinion on the M60b40 motor? My nikasil block is still running pretty at 126k!
depends what car they're in. They are certainly strong motors but they can bea bit cramped to work on even in a 5ers big bay. I like the 6 cyl 5ers more just because if you want power its better to just turbo a 6 than throw in an 8 cyl.
as far as reliability, mileage may vary but I'd take an m60 over an m62!
I honestly like the original M52 better!
Interesting! Why's that? Thanks for watching too.
Me too. There are both great engines and the fact that the M52TU reaches it's peak torque at lower rpm is nice. But the non-TU engine has the manual acceleration pedal thing which feels slightly more directly. Where the TU engine has an electric gas pedal. And also (but that I just heard) has the TU-engine more in common with the M54 engine and less in common with the M52. And the M52TU and M54 are (again what I have heard) known for using/burning more oil than the M52.
@@4bl0xx30 in our experience the oil consumption of the m54 is much worse than the m52s. Everything else you said is certainly correct though!
@@4bl0xx30 m54 has laggy electric throttle, m52tu has a "hybrid" throttle with cable still there.
M57 🥴
No women were involved in production of M52BTU.
M50 Is more Better. 3.0 liter, Better m57! 😅
M50 with m54b30 rotating assembly 💪 ultimate
m52b30 is best
M52b30??!
hey guys where are you based?
East coast Australia!
M50 less reliable than M52 TU?
The M50 is harder to find and also less power NA. I think its safe to say an m50 is going to be more reliable though, its a far simpler design. Big fan of the motor.
link for the metal impeller water pump
We're based in australia so where we buy from might be different to you. Where are you located??
@@moneyshifters Singapore. I've dealt with cmp before, great chaps
@@0megalul309 we have clickable automotive but now we buy our parts from a specialist mechanic (GreshM performance) and he gives us fantastic prices.
👍🇵🇹
Thanks for watching ❤️
Get a 3.0 m54 and fit the tu rings?
Requires a rebuild - the average hobbyist mechanic could probably afford or do an engine swap, but a rebuild means all new gaskets and bearings - stacks up quickly. Not a bad idea but the 3.0 has a fair number of issues outside of that like its rather long stroke. Nice pfp
Bad move. Now you are down 30hp. Should have just changed the piston rings with the updated parts
that... requires a rebuild. when the power loss can be made up by transferring the 3.0L parts on to it
it's been proven time after time they won't fit on the top rings.
The longer stroke on the 3.0 engines causes the oil pump and harmonic resonance issues that happen at 6000+ rpm. This is why BMW NEVER copied the bore and stroke on a m54 (84x89 mm). It's a failure.
The new turbo inline 6 bmw's all use 82mm bore and 94 mm stroke to avoid this issue. By changing the intake manifold and cams on a tub28 to tub30 you make the same horsepower per litre as the 54b30 without the flawed resonance issues.
@@0megalul309is the harmonic issue the limiting factor on the m54? thus causing the 6k redline?
@@retroactive1 only on the b30 since it's an under square engine
@@0megalul309 ive heard that the b25s are much more responsive than the b30s. im thinking of getting involved with the e46 platform. any recommendations for a 350-400hp build?