what will it take to make my totally stock 525 into a tire burner? any good ideas from the gear heads?
Well, a thousand horsepower wouldn't hurt. But, I'm willing to bet you could burn your tires. Try a burnout. Or if you mean into something that could probably burn rubber all the way through 1st and 2nd gear, that's a different story. What are you looking to do? How far are you willing to modify and how much cash can you throw at it?
I want instant power off the line, I want to show the Honda's and Toyota's that this 525 can hold its own.
You can look into software upgrades for your car. Supercharging is just simply too much money to be putting into the car just to have bragging rights, in all honesty. But, it is an option if you just want the overall speed and don't care what others think. If you've got the money, then that is probably the better option. Or, if you really had the money, you could do an S62 swap... M5 V8 baby! 400bhp P.S. - You're kind of "building" a car that's already out of the Toyota's and Honda's classes. You have a big luxury car while those are small, nimble "sports" cars (quotations because most of them are FWD, which is in no way sporty). They've got, very possibly, almost a thousand pounds on you with not much less power, so stock they are already ahead with the power to weight ratio. I would say the only way to actually get some comparable performance out of your 5er is if you add a large chunk of power, because the engine you've got in yours isn't what I would call a powerhouse for such a heavy vehicle. I mentioned the S62 swap in all seriousness...
Super/turbo charging is all you could do to get instant response from this M54 with 185 hp. You can drop the S62 in the 525i, but then you would need to get the 6-speed tranny as well. At that price, might as well sell the 525i and get a 2000-2001 M5 for mid 20K's.
Before you go into a potentially expensive S-engine like the S62, consider whether or not you can afford to keep such a high-strung engine like that maintained. The S-engines are far more sophisticated than their regular M-engine counterparts and require specialized maintenance to be serviced properly. For the cost of what it would take to put an S-engine inside the car, you'd actually do better to just trade your car for an a 535 or a 540. Personally, I think these FWD "mighty mice" are like the flies on a horse's tail -- nuisances that are not to be taken seriously. Pretenders to the "real car throne." The makers of those cars skipped giving those cars a real performance chassis and powertrain by going with FWD in the first place. A FWD Toyota or Honda car parked next to a BMW might as well be a Shetland pony standing next to a Budweiser Clydesdale in terms of vehicle class. Aim for a higher class of competitor -- such as Porsche or Mercedes.
Thanks, Chris! We think alike! To AndyP Alternately, if you're determined to hold onto your car but you're still interested in doing an engine swap, it won't be easy and it won't be cheap. I recommend two options: Cheapest likely engine swap: Swap in a "used but not abused" 3.0L M54 from an E39 530i, E46 330, Z3/Z4 3.0i, or a base X5 3.0i (skip the all wheel drive models). This will be good for around 225 - 230hp stock. These won't exactly melt your tires, but it's a step above your 189 hp you have now, and you would feel the difference. I highly recommend swapping in a six speed manual with that. With some aftermarket upgrades you could go even higher. Or you could just retain your stock transmission for now and do the transmission swap later. I'd also recommend a diff swap or rebuild, since I'm not sure if your aged diff will be able to handle the power increase. Or just be gentle with those burnouts until you can swap out the diff. But for what would truly give you the biggest bang for buck, but for a greater upfront cost, swap in an M62 V8 from a E34/E39 540i or a E32/E38 740i/740iL. This will put you into the 300+ hp stock neighborhood. If you choose carefully and don't mind buying used parts, this is the inexpensive way to make a monster out of your E39. You might also have to upgrade the brakes and suspension also. If you're determined to do the engine swap method, and if you haven't done one before, the M54 3.0L swap is probably your least expensive and easiest bet. It should drop right in and bolt right in. Have someone experienced in engine swaps guide you through this. I also recommend replacing any and all engine and tranny mounts while you have your old engine out. Up to you. Good luck, and happy hunting. *By the way, just so you know I practice what I preach -- I drive a stock 1988 750iL.*
A couple of months ago, a non-BMW dealership near me was selling a 2001 330i with the M54 225 hp. I though about buying the car, putting that engine in my 525i, throwing my M54 185 hp in the 330i and returning the car within the 3 day no questions asked return policy. However, that would have been stealing . Good point on the M54 225 hp engine swap. He could find a used one WITH a warranty for around $3.5-$5K.
Kudos on your personal integrity.... The M54 swap is the easiest one for his car, but pulling it off in just three days would be a bit of a stretch. Of course, if you could skip sleep for that long, I suppose it COULD be done. But in the remote chance there was something wrong with the engine in the 330i or with the swap, you might have had some 'splaining to do -- let alone been in a bit of an ethical pickle to go with that now disabled-ride of yours. However, I don't know about you, but when I start getting tired from no sleep, I start getting careless, and you don't want go THERE during a BMW engine swap. Probably best you didn't try it. I agree on the relative low cost of the M54 swap. That would be the way to go for a wallet friendly swap.
I was never really serious though. I told my better half the idea and she just rolled her eyes. Plus no way I could have shelled out the $10K they wanted for the 01 330i. Now if it were a totaled car that someone wanted like 1.5K for the whole car with a perfectly running drivetrain, then its a different story .
You don't even need the whole car.... just grab a used engine (maybe a tranny too if you were so inclined). No need to spend all that cash to get an upgraded engine. Now if you wanted stuff in addition to the drivetrain, you could still do better than 10k by picking up a wrecked one....
It's like those kids who put the noisy mufflers on their 4 cyl, while us ol' timers know that you can't mimic the "glub-glub glub-glub" idle of a real tricked out V8 hotrod .
Are we talking about the same low-IQ rice riders... that got scammed into buying those oversize coffee-can tailpipes deceived into believing "noise equals power?" Right along with those fools that thought an "R" badge on the decklid by itself "magically" adds 15 hp into their engine bay. Let them keep their little motorized toys. I drive a real car with a real engine.
Not only do you drive a car with real engine, its RWD. They assume that FWD is better off the line than RWD. However, the law of pshyics begs to differ. When the gas pedal is pressed, all force is going to the rear (i.e. tires) and better traction. Also, FWD has torque steer that is terrible IMO. I remember reading in Roundel a couple of issues ago that this guy asked Mike Miller if he could change his new M6 into AWD or even FWD........
If you are good, you can do a quick swap. Hell, did an S50 into a 1994 525i wagon in 10 hours. Then again in 8 (S52 this time) because the first motor had a broken ring land on one piston. I told him to check the motor out before we put it in, but nooooo. Anyhow, easy power on the "cheap" the M54. More expensive, the S54. About the same as that, supercharger. More than that, turbocharger. Street cred? V12 swap.
