i have got a e36 325 and i love the car but i want it faster.so i was thinkin of a bigger engine.anyone got and ideas of the engine size i should go to.dont want to spend 1000's and i dont want to have to change much in the engine bay.thanks
The easiest swap would be swapping to 328 or M3(but the cost goes up a lot). That way you can keep your current tranny and not have to change much at all in the engine bay.
The budget you have set makes it hard. Most engine swaps you'll be lucky to get out of only spending a few thousand.
[quote="Mike328i"]My advice is save your money and buy a real M3. You would have to make to much altercations to get your car to the desired specifications.
Only thing you might do to get your 325 a bit faster is :
other camshafts , differnt manifolds , custom exhaust , custom airfilters upgrade in the ecu
and tbh ..you would need to make all of those together to get a real difference
Most people don't have the cash lying around to get them all at once, though. There are a few smaller, cheaper things you can do to squeeze a little more hp and torque out of it.
I've heard performance spark plugs make a noticeable difference, although obviously not as big as the difference from things like manifolds and camshaft type of stuff. But it's a little better, and fairly cheap at around $60-$90 for 6 of them depending on the brand (and assuming you're getting the higher-end performance ones). Replacing the ignition wires is a little more expensive, but still not as much as more major mods, and also helps a little bit. And you'd be amazed what a decent engine cleaning and all-around checkup can do.
There's actually a fair amount of things you can do besides what Mike328i mentioned. If you've got the money, which most people don't, you could install a turbo for a few grand. Then there's performance headers, exhaust, cat converters, induction kits, short shifters, lightened flywheels, and all kinds of stuff. Engine swaps are an expensive and work-heavy process, though, and the only real difference is 0.3-0.7 liters from your 325 engine, which isn't really a bad engine itself. You're probably better off just saving up to buy an M3 to replace your 325i if you want the engine that badly.