Ryan... said:

I was averaging almost 25mpg with 80% hwy driving in my 540i. Ran like a top, 128k miles. I imagine in a lighter chassis (like the e36) it wouldn't be unreasonable to get 26-27, which isn't much worse than your typical e36 325i gets anyway.

the m60s are fine when cruising at constant speeds, but throw in high revs/stop and go and it all goes to hell. no one is going to swap an m60 into an e30 and then use it on for 80% highway driving.  driving enthusiastically with the 6banger is still going to get you 22-24mpg, but driving the m60 that way is going to be 16-18mpg.

my point is probably moot since im sure if you can afford to do such swaps, gas mileage isnt really important to you.

straight6pwr said:

m60 into e30 is a bad idea if you ask me.  weighs a shit ton, not enough room in the e34 chassis, let alone the e30 chassis for it, bad gas mileage, less reliable and more expensive to fix, and only 50hp more than a regular old s50.  

I was averaging almost 25mpg with 80% hwy driving in my 540i. Ran like a top, 128k miles. I imagine in a lighter chassis (like the e36) it wouldn't be unreasonable to get 26-27, which isn't much worse than your typical e36 325i gets anyway.

O

I'd do a HP build in this order 1.Supercharger 2.M60 3.Turbo, simply because I like me a nice exhaust note.

krautuner said:

I've never done any engine swaps but the subject has always fascinated me.

Has anyone swapped a 540i motor into a 3-series, does that make since?

Pretty sure there was a article in roundel about a M60 swapped E30 not too long ago. I've seen it done on the internets too

slap oversteer said:

http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=257138

JGood's restoration/build thread is one of the most impressive things I've seen. So cool!

Has anyone swapped a 540i motor into a 3-series, does that make since?

http://www.rawsomotion.com/

http://www.abloriginalparts.com/

Ryan, when do I get to see you again?!

Also, I like doing swaps and could entertain the idea of doing it.

Sent from the future. Or my phone, who knows.

A turbo kit is the best bet for "cheap" horsepower. The M50 is a great base for a turbo build. A guy on bimmerfest is running stock internals (with 145k miles), cometic headgasket, ARP studs, and a turbo kit pieced together off Ebay and has 400whp. I think he's got roughly $4800 stuck into it total. Last I checked he still gets 23-25mph hwy at 70mph. 

The euro engine would be sweet, but as damnboy has said, probably not the best option if you want total power and reliability. Its a big bump in power (321 vs 240bhp), and ITBs are probably awesome..

An LSX motor swap is out of the question unless you're willing to pay big bucks to have someone else install it. The "homemade" kits available online will run you over $4k in parts alone to make it fit, then you have to pay someone to install it for you, and you still dont have the motor/engine/trans included in that cost.

Or you could go for something odd and swap in something cool like an M62 and 6 speed from the 540i. That's probably my second favorite BMW engine I've ever had (other than the s62), very smooth, tons of torque, and 6 gears are pretty sweet. In a lighter e36 chassis it would be an incredible combination; BMW V8 refinement/sound/power delivery, lighter e36 chassis, and there cant be many of those swaps out there..

plus dat sound.

damnboy037 said:

I want to, but I can't decide on a twin screw or turbo tho.

Proper turbo wins 99% of the time