Building a 1000HP Capable BMW E36 M52 Turbo Engine! + FIRST DRIVE!

Today we build a new forged engine for my 1999 BMW E36 convertible and take it for its first drive! Stay tuned for the dyno video and first pulls soon! Thanks for watching!

[@shifty1927]

Love it. Built the 1st 1000whp e36 328 back in 2007. Also 1st in the 9s in the quarter. Happy to see people still building them. When we first boosted the m52 in like 04 everyone said to use a s50 or s52. No one had made over 400 on an m52 at the time. Made 540 whp, 636whp and then 715whp on the stock engine which was more than the highest hp stock s50 or s52. Biggest hurdle was headgasket sealing issues back then. Ended up o-ringing the block for the built engine and that worked.

[@tegthhu7678]

You made 715whp on stock rods? Thats pretty insane

[@shifty1927]

@@tegthhu7678 yup and this was 2006, im sure with new tech and ethanol it could make more. Also obd2 hadnt been unlocked yet so it was converted to obd1.

[@tegthhu7678]

@@shifty1927 Really impressive! Didnt know the skinny m52 rods could withstand realistically more than 500hp, of course it depends on the torque curve etc. Planning to boost my unopened m50tu with arp headstuds on ethanol

[@shifty1927]

@@tegthhu7678 yea finding the limits of the m52 had some very surprising results. Made more than the stock s52s of the day cause they would have headgaskets fail in between cylinders at like 17 psi. Those rods did end up bending and pulling the wrist pin out of the piston. Car had studs, low comp headgasket, s52 cams, PPF intake and tubular exhaust manifolds. Not too long ago i seen a supposedly stock m50nv make 880whp.

[@tavares.garage]

Make sure these piston rings are gapped!!!

[@logan-taylor]

this is such an awesome series, love that you're building a vert so well. excited for dyno content

[@Downy1230]

genuinely an insane but worthy build, also a lot of good motor building information/crazy failure points so thank you for that I'm gonna build something similar but in a m54b25 dual vanos setup

[@S1ckbg]

It sounds so good i can listen to this sound all day

[@florider_hd]

sounds great and looks great

[@DimZin]

Happy to see it back up dude. Have fun ripping it

[@randygill9559]

Awesome job Josh and team. Can't wait for Dyno day.

[@zievs9025]

Awesome video!

[@TonytheCarEnthusiast]

looks sick 😍

[@CapeRoadsPOV]

Can't wait for the dyno video!

[@zulfikaarallie1409]

I waited ❤ and finally here

[@dcs-motorsport]

This man’s car made me go out and buy a e36 vert, and it’s also gonna be yellow 🤣

[@robertfontaine3650]

With the forged pistons in the cast body do you have to warm up the car before daily driving to get the gaps right when it running like you do with a billet block?

[@PBoss-bx4lv]

It's like I'm watching Cole Houser as Rip on Yellowstone. Only a way cooler version of horse power.

[@cuhdeer2179]

Honestly this is the best sounding e36 on the interweb

[@acfilms9358]

True

[@iconicars3050]

Agreed

[@asfandsayyam5185]

Idk. @NoodyTuned has a pretty sick sounding e36

[@MrMolgu]

Even the comments are from 1999

[@sskkkkiiii]

It sounds great but you’re trippin

[@bloodyknuckles1337]

Is it possible to stroke m52b28 to 3.2 liters similar to s50b32? And if yes can you explain in details , thanks in advance 🙏

[@donovan4009]

Great build!! I have some questions. I’m am interested in building a m54 in a e60. So… Is your engine an iron or an aluminum block ???? The m54 is aluminum and I don’t know if it can handle the boost (30 psi) or the hp (700 hp). Also are u using 2618 or 4032 pistons at your boost level??? I’m asking cause I would like to build the engine to last as long as possible so 4032 pistons would be better for longevity because of the smaller piston to wall clearance. But do you think 4032 pistons could handle 30 psi of boost using pump gas only ( we don’t have meth or ethanol where I live). So my plan is m54b30, 8.5-9:1 cr, pump gas only 700 hp motor ( or as much as pump gas can give me before knock) Does it sound possible to you????

[@drewdavis239]

Did you deck the head ? Or leave the old cut ring marks?

[@jollei]

Car will feel better on oem Trans mounts

[@drewdavis239]

This is a hot tip. Improved my turbo e39 s52

[@shifty1927]

Definitely. I run solid everything even my guibo is a solid block. Wish I would of kept it a little more comfortable/streetable.

[@drewdavis239]

Guibo is the equivalent to a second harmonic balancer. It acts as a fuse and fails first , saves your trans , saves your main bearings. I had a seems legit driveshaft but they sold me one with a true critical speed in the low 6000's a.k.a. it would be real bad if I tried to top out 5th or 6th. In the end I cut up a m5 drive shaft /guibo , the car feels way way better at highway speeds. Solid driveshafts have two universals. Universal joints whip in rotation. (Speed up and slow down) You can feel it at speed... Feels like a shallow rumble strip. Guibo + c.v. joint drive shaft ftw. There is a reason bmw went with that style. A seems legit drive shaft on a e36, will exceed it's critical speed if you run solid lifters / 7800+ rpm. Critical speed a.k.a. the speed where driveshaft bends into a jump rope. Half critical speed is where it bends twice , like a s shape. All those vibrations does not help with harmonics.

[@prinsbertus]

KZbin horsepower

[@user-ot7jd9dt7t]

What gear box are you running 😂

[@Dubbisn]

Hey, i have a M52B28 in my E36 but it has an aluminium block. I am wondering if it can handle a turbo build or if i should get my hands on a iron block?

[@Cambruh]

From what I've read, aluminum blocks aren't great for boost, the head studs are prone to being stripped out of the block when under boost, some people have drilled and tapped the block to use the s54 head studs but buying and using an iron block m52b28 is probably the cheaper and easier option depending on where you live.

[@Dubbisn]

in that case i would have to get my hands on a m50b25. difficult to get an iron block m52 here unless i buy and ship it from usa. i wanna build my first turbo engine and wanna put it in my e36

[@OscarPrice007]

Depends on your hp goal, If you're looking for anywhere near 4 figures, start with an iron block and do it right, up to 500 you'll be okay with the alliminium. I currently daily a 400ish whp M52b28tu (alloy) and had no issues so fat​@Dubbisn

[@shifty1927]

​@@Dubbisni dont think anyone has pushed the limits of the aluminum m52. 500 should be no issue. Also m50 and m52 iron blocks both have 84mm bore. You could just order an m52 crank to make a 2.8 or get a m54b30 crank to have a 3 liter. Both are forged, m50 crank isn't forged. Or you can just run a m50nv they're pretty stout stock.

[@bmwe-op4jx]

Lets hope you got lucky with that bad quality athena cutring gasket 9 of 10 users have issues with leaking coolant and oil externally

[@tonka5134]

How is your gearbox going to handle this power. Should go 8 speed ZF 8HP.

[@2seep]

So many better and cheaper options than a zf8

[@shifty1927]

Ran the factory zf 5 speed with well over 800whp. Tons of launches at the drag strip and it survived. Only time they broke was loading them up in third and letting boost build. Ended up getting a faceplated tremec and adapter made around 08.

[@tobiasnyman412]

You do not run 1000hp with stock valves and springs 😅

[@frontspring1]

Maybe he will get about 700whp before valve float becomes an issue