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How bulletproof is the s54?
Hey fellaZ,
It's coming close to a year now I've been contemplating some sort of FI on my M. Nowhere near execution but just wanna know how high I can bring my hopes up for the future. Supercharger is the easy, cheap, and especially safe route to go with. But that's just not enough racecar for me. That leaves only one to shed the light and that's a turbo build. I know I know, people tried it and nearly all of them went south. But that's why I'm posting this thread. There are so many turbo s54 swapped e30's, e46's, e36's, why can't the Z4's get in the game?
One thing that freaks me out the most is the very core that keeps these German horses on crack, the block. I've seen and heard people/shops passing on doing a FI build because the block just can't handle it. It either warps or one case I've heard the cylinder walls get cracked? (often times when it's bored out), which I think is complete BS but none the less, we hear more of those stories than success stories. Didn't know to either laugh or cry. To what extent can one push an s54 to warp the block? This is the only thing keeping me on the fence. Is doing a turbo build reasonable? Reliable? Or even possible for that matter?
Before you reply, here's what I have planned for if the build moves forward:
- Over build the motor. Pretty much a given considering our rod bearings and VANOS bolts have a life span shorter than Gordon Ramsay's temper.
- ECU. This is one of the top reasons we see s54's fail; just decides to fry. Standalone is a must.
- Water/Meth. Because we don't want the engine to be as hot as Caitlyn Jenner. Clearly doesn't end well.
Or just get a supercharger... lol
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