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i might be getting a bmw e21 316 and im planning on tuning the engine so im looking for information on the best route to do this as i dont really want to do an engine transplant

turbocharged M10B16 or M10B20 tuning with either ITB's and standalone ecu or twin webers.

croma_man wrote:turbocharged M10B16 or M10B20 tuning with either ITB's and standalone ecu or twin webers.

Well, is an M10B16 strong enough to get turbocharged? Wouldn't it need a head replacement?

You could import the kit from America, where turbo'd e21 are more common?

Jim managed to get 170 brake from his m10 but it cost a few quid. Cheapest route is bigger valves, flowed head & fast road cam and either a set of 40's or once you get pissed off with fuel stops, a single weber. About 140 brake should be easily achievable.

e21-Mark wrote:You could import the kit from America, where turbo'd e21 are more common?

Jim managed to get 170 brake from his m10 but it cost a few quid. Cheapest route is bigger valves, flowed head & fast road cam and either a set of 40's or once you get pissed off with fuel stops, a single weber. About 140 brake should be easily achievable.

140 from 1.6?

Enjoy.



A 2002ti made 120bhp from the factory, so no reason why an e21 1.8 can't make decent power. Just depends how much you want to spend getting it? Having the head flowed, bigger valves and a high lift cam isn't cheap. You' might also be wanting standalone ignition and mapping, so there's another £1k there. Bottom line is you'll still need to pull the engine apart to modify it, or bolt on forced induction. I guess that's what makes engine swaps an attractive option, but I know Matt said it's not a route he wants to take.

Oh, yes, I 'd forgotten that

My engine was a 2L, fully stripped balanced rebuilt with overbore high comp pistons. Adaptor plate for s14 ITB setup, DTA ECU, crank trigger, coilpacks. Cat cams camshaft (lowish spec not as big as I'd like but it was what I had) and lightened flywheel. Probably does hit 170bhp on a good day, but I spent 2k on machining/building and ECU. Plus 200 quid for the engine in the first place, 600 for the pistons, 150 for the cam, plus all the other bits.

Why? I had a crazy dream to race in the CNC heads series at Oulton park, and using the original type of engine put me in class E, I could ask for race number 21 and therein lies the madness.

Do an engine swap mate, or accept what you have. Minute you start looking at cams or better carbs or EFI you are spending as much as doing a swap. I know I'd do a swap given my time again.