Really interesting video and super informative!

Just catching up with the content mate. This video has done well for you. Congratulations on the 1k subs also..

Wicked video mate! Very informative 👍

super cool seeing that you've owned both versions

Great video Jason!

very good vid G, keep it up

this has convinced me to buy an e36 and turbo it now

Awesome vid though. very informative and a good breakdown at a high level. I would have loved to hear how they drove one vs the other as you didnt go through that in detail.

smashing it big boiii

E36 328i here in the US (cheap and readily available) with the stock M52...simple head gasket/spacer + ARP head studs with a decent turbo kit and you make 500whp+ all day long on 93 octane which destroys any NA S54 swapped E36. There's a ton of variables so this comparison is anything but apples to apples.

Mate I have 2 M50s and an S54 sitting at the shop... im just gonna have to follow your steps and do both 😂 great video! STX

Great video. I would almost suggest to guys wanting boost to go the n54 route. They can be had plenty cheap here in the USA.

I’ve got a 330 powered E36 if you want put it up against the s54, for some comparisons and content?

e46 m3 for 6750 in todays market was a rare find. nice to know bargains still out there!

Interested in doing the m50b28 turbo as I’m based, I have a 328i already would I only need an m50 block, and just swap the pistons, head etc over?

When it comes to prices I think that's a bit unfair tho. Nowadays people sell M3's for 20K (and I know they're still cheaper in the Uk, they always have been but not that cheap anymore, even over there.), also I don't know if that's a UK thing but you'd never be able to sell that car as a shell here, it'd sit for sale for so long. So your only real option is buying the engine itself and like you said, over 5K for a bare S54, often missing accessories. I think the turbo pricing was also quite unfair, most people won't need 1200 pounds of machining, not only even for the given work it's expensive, but that's also unnecessary work, you do not need balancing, and most people considering the option either already have an M50 or just turbo the ally block, because honestly it does it fine. Even doing the exact same hybrid engine as you did could be much cheaper, no need for ARP mains, therefore no need for line boring, no need for any balancing if you're not going for 8k+ rpm (and even there I don't think it is needed, on bimmerforum someguy is doing 8800+rpm without rebalancing his crank), really online machine work needed would be surfacing the head, and boring the cylinders since you chose a b20 block. Also buying gaskets from BMW when Elring or Reinz is perfectly fine and 50% cheaper is obviously severely impacting the budget. Apart from that the price for the actual turbo bits, mapping and exhaust is fair (although obviously there's always those guys saying they made the same for cheaper, but you know how that goes), I'd say then a normal total for the turbo build would be like 5000-5500. The s54 would be like 6000 bare ass minimum. Which still isn't a bad deal. That being said reliability and confidence wise the S54 is definitely the better choice, it's a mostly stock engine, doing exactly what it's been made to do, while the M50 turbo is a modified engine and you're pushing it beyong the engineered limits, although it's known to handle it, it hasn't been made for it. Honestly I still don't know which way to go towards in the future for my 325i. I don't think an S54 or S50 swap is quite realistic given the prices (and the direction they're going in, I like upgrading in steps so swap is not for right now, they'll probably be even more expensive by then), plus rules for swapping here at very very strict, so either I stay NA and do an M50b30 with cams, basically a US M3 replica, maybe a little more spicy, or I go bottom mount turbo on the existing b25, hard to say but I got time to think. Thing is, I do like my NA intake noise, but I also love turbo noises.

Were did you get the intake from?

I wanted to manual swap my e34 but was unsure which other transmissions can mount up to the m50 motor. can you help?

Can you please let me know why the gaskets cost 500 pounds? Were they different from the OEM?

Absolute banging video spot on. S54 swap is way quicker than a full m50b28 turbo build. Especially when doing a fully built one.

Is decent condition stock e36 worth spending 20k?

what head did you use ?, the M50B20 or the M52B28

What happened to your m50? If you still have it I’ll buy from you 👍🏼 been up too yours before

s54 in e30 would be insane too

Jesus! Idk how you did either of those builds so cheaply! As an m52 turbo owner, I can tell you I love my car but I also believe the best swap possible is s54 e36 but if you want power you need a turbo.

For everyone saying a turbo setup is better, how much weight does a turbo setup add? And wouldn’t the s54 be better for track days, autox, rally, etc? I could see why turbo would be better for drifting but what about a grip based car?

How did your car only make 315hp at 11psi Mine made 330whp at 8psi.

different powerbands, different tools for different jobs, I dont see how you compare the 2

Currently swapping an s54 into my e30 which has an s52 turbo. Mainly swapping to improve reliability. Not saying the s52 wasn’t reliable, it ran without any issues for 3 years, but I imagine the s54 will last much longer than that.

Good info... but its 2022 mate... get a wireless mic or lavalier mic

Used s54 , or brand new built m50 ? similar price of admission. One is a used gamble. One is brand new.

wtb s54 turbo

could have spent more money buying a better turbo and passed on the engine build and you would be having a very different conversation. 450hp safe vs 331hp is one thing, its the torque that matters. That would be night and day......

S54 all day

S54 turbo is best

0:23 in Europe thats a M52 engine not a M50

m52*

I hate when the m50tu is used as a base for comparison. The M50nv is by far Superior.

M50 block can take abuse.

this is like comparing apple and terds.. One is for poor people the other is not.

This video is an absolute terrible example and comparison. My Ebay Turbo CX Racing (everything) M52B28 (stock) made 450WHP @14psi, i tuned it back to 12PSI and made 430whp. 2.5" downpipe (alot of restriction) Link Ecu, I think the turbo kit alone is around 2000$, Link ecu was 1100$, came out to around 3200$ total. S54 engines alone are near 5k-6k. and its wrong to say you paid sub 6k for a full complete M3 (never going to happen again, they seem to start around 15k) Realistically youre going to spend 10k minimum to S54 an E36. and you can squeeze in right around 3500$ to turbo an M52. So Cost wise youre unbelievably exaggerated. and also that Turbo isnt matched with the M52 engine very good at all. GT3582 or GT3076 is the only way to go. and both easily make over 400whp which the NA S54 will NOT do.

All youtube is now is rich people spending all their money and showing how much better life is when u can just buy whatever u want whenever u want

S54 suck !

You've ruined a perfectly good M3 just to get the S54 engine. It's not a nice way to go about it. Good for you, but not nice.

Wow s54 for only 2.5k😮 I can only dream about that 🥲