318 S54 swap? - United Bimmer Community

**Chris** · 04-29-2006, 09:05 PM

posting here for a quick reply.

how hard would it be to do an S54 swap on a manual 318is (93)?
would the tranny need replaced too?
can someone give me a quick guesstimate on the price to do taht kind of swap?

**94bmw325i** · 04-29-2006, 09:12 PM

for a 318, a TON of work, if anything it would work out cheaper to start with a 325.

**Chris** · 04-29-2006, 09:33 PM

what about an S52 swap?

how much would an S52 swap cost

would i HAVE to to a tranny swap or could i get away with the stock tranny?

**brien4787** · 04-29-2006, 09:35 PM

dang... s54 into an e36 would be sick. I have no idea... have you seen it done?

**Chris** · 04-29-2006, 09:54 PM

i've seen an S54 put into an E36 M3, i'm assuiming with the right person doing the work, i could get it into a 318is (same engine bay basically).

that would just rape. talk about a sleeper. if i could do it... harry's Dinan M3 owuld need to look out!

but i'll probably end up with S52 swap..... so the question still remains. how much would an S52 engine swap cost and what all would have to be changed?

S54 E36 Engine swap SICK!!!!

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also here, scroll down and there's pics of an S38 swap into an E30....

http://forums.beyond.ca/showthread/t-88468.html

originating thread......

http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=777269

witeshark · 04-29-2006, 09:57 PM

In a 318, I'd think everything from engine mounts to front suspension... Mucho!

**xsperf** · 04-29-2006, 10:55 PM

yea not in a 318, the engine mounts are in a different place, i dont know about the tranny, but definately you need some modifications for the engine

nick_318is · 04-29-2006, 11:15 PM

I think most BMW trannys will just bolt up and work, I have heard that my 4.1 would work with a more modern BMW engine.

Storamin · 04-30-2006, 10:08 AM

s52 with FI will toast a s54 and its much cheaper. the wiring harness and everygthing fot the s54 is MUCH different than the s52.

drz · 04-30-2006, 06:11 PM

I second what Storamin says. Also, I think either engine would fry (not literally, of course) your tranny. It would fit, yes, but too much power, especially if you go FI.

**Rooz** · 04-30-2006, 06:59 PM

most impressive, funny thing is, the S54 seems to be a smaller engine with more room under the hood than the S52

**Chris** · 04-30-2006, 07:16 PM

i think an S54 in an E36 with an e46 M tranny with FI would just completely rape. talk about sleeper! of course you'd have to upgrade the entire drivetrain but i think it would be absolutely sick...

there's also the route with an S38 in an E30 woud be absolutely nuts as well. though that would involve modifying the firewall in some places to get the tranny to fit i would think.

**brien4787** · 04-30-2006, 07:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Storamin

s52 with FI will toast a s54 and its much cheaper. the wiring harness and everygthing fot the s54 is MUCH different than the s52.

Isn't a turbo setup alone for BMWs run around 10k?
And I third that... no way that tranny will hold up very long.

Storamin · 04-30-2006, 09:36 PM

no, 10k is pretty expensive. i think AA turbos are ~6k..

a supercharger, 5k, on the e36 m3 will beat the e46 m3

**94bmw325i** · 04-30-2006, 09:59 PM

the guy who did the swap is on bimmerforums, I found out he actually doesn't live too far from me, but it is a lot of work. Basically combining an e36 with an e46 wiring harness, that can't be fun.

I think an s50, or s52 318 would work very well as long as you do a lot of work so the car can handle the power, better brakes, suspension, etc.