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E36 318is turbo

20K views 20 replies 9 participants last post by  Ian S 
#1 ·
i've been looking for a turbo for a 318is for a while now and havent found any, can someone help me find one please, thanks
 
#10 ·
thank you very much boostist! everywhere i look people keep saying drop a 328 in it but i really want the turbo factor! how much money are we looking at for either option? plus there are plently of 328s but not many 318is turbos! sorry if that sounds sad! anyway thanks for the help mate!
 
#12 ·
Hi mate Like A20 says

5-7k plus for a turbo kit etc

If you do it all DIY with custom parts, maybe 4k all in

For a 328i swap, £500 for the engine and box

£500 ish for labour

£250 for miscellaneous bits

so £1250 'ish' (approximate only)

At the end of the day, getting big power out of the 318 is nigh on impossible with any reliability (and very pricey)

a 328 on the other hand. will make lots more power and will be cheaper (lots more turbo 328s)

Dont worry about being different...you woudl be with a 318i badged 2.8 litre car :hihi
 
#13 ·
thanks guys that definitely lays it out for me! my car is 1996 so not the face-lift one but i do have the m44! sounds like a good idea dropping a 328 inside....what engine code is it? m52? this sounds better....got any idea of where to get a realiable 2nd had engine from? and would i need gearbox to match. thanks again!
 
#14 ·
This question has been asked so many times that I think it's about time we did a sticky thread covering all aspects of the BMW engine conversion.

I will need a little time to prepare the write up and have it approved by the Administrators and other Super Moderators.

I think this is a very worthwhile excercise as the forum is getting soooo busy these days that it would be so much easier to provide one link to all the information required and links to sites where parts and further information such as EWS issues can be obtained:thumbsup
 
#16 ·
Sorry to disagree but I wouldn't bother with an M52 conversion. If you want a 328 buy a 328. It's not like 328 sports are worth anything these days! Insurance would probably be cheaper than insuring a 2.8 318is and resale would be better.

The other problem with 328 conversions is that the early 328's suffered from the Nikasil issue so you don't want one of those, and it pushes up the price of second hand steel linered blocks.

There are ways of getting more power out of the 318is. In the US they supercharge them to get a reliable 200bhp. The other option is to build a 2.1 conversion. A decent 2.1with cams should be pushing out 190-200bhp and you would benefit from having a new block and not having the weight of a 2.8 over the front wheels!

If you want to do any further reading check out 318ti.org or m42club.com as they have done some wonderful things to M42/M44's!
 
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