It Doesn't Have to be an M to be Fun - Building a Non-M E36

Everyone loves the E36 M3, many even consider it the best M3, especially with the Euro S50 under the hood. But as prices have continued to skyrocket, those who might have passed over a 325i or 328i are starting to see the performance bargain that these lesser E36 options offer. This week, we’re looking at the best ways to make an E36 Non-M into a seriously competitive option at a fraction of the M3’s cost!

Engine

Whether it’s an M50 or M52, the non-M variants of the E36 still pack plenty of punch. In the US, there was only a 20-50hp difference between the S5X and the M5X, so with a few hearty upgrades, your 2.5 or 2.8 straight-six can certainly swing above its weight class.

Camshafts

One of the best ways to squeeze more power from your naturally aspirated M5X is with upgraded camshafts. From the factory, the M50B25 sported some fairly hot cams, but they don’t compare to the Euro S50B30 or even the US-Spec neutered version. A popular upgrade is the S50B30US 252/240-degree camshafts, which can be found either used, new from BMW, or available from Schrick.

Schrick also offers more aggressive options that are tailored to your specific needs. Regardless of what you choose, upgrading your camshafts for more lift and duration with a better lobe separation angle can improve your engine’s power output dramatically where you need it in the rev band.

Intake

There aren’t many bolt-on upgrades that add tons of power to NA engines, but with a few incremental upgrades here and there, the power will add up. On the M5X, one of the more popular choices is to swap out the factory intake for less restrictive and much more visually pleasing intakes like aFe Power or DINAN, both of which offer full intake kits that can add up to 12hp when paired with the next upgrades on our list.

M50 Manifold Conversion

Unless you’ve been under a rock or are new to the M5X engine family, you likely know how beneficial the M50 manifold is on the OBD2 engines. If you aren’t aware, the M50 manifold offers larger intake runners that flow more efficiently than the revised design used on OBD2 engines. The M50 manifold is good for roughly 10hp (give or take) by itself, more with an upgraded intake and software tune.

The unfortunate part is, it’s not the easiest conversion. If you can do camshafts, though, while you’re in there with the manifold off is the best time to upgrade! You’ll need to source a used or new OEM BMW M50 manifold, but with our Turner Motorsport M50 Manifold Conversion Kit, you’ll have the easiest time making the swap. It can be done without the kit if you’re resourceful, but you may be risking vacuum leaks under the manifold that can be a huge pain to fix. Take my word for it, specifically after an experience with both options, you are infinitely better off with the Turner kit. It comes with all new gaskets and a billet piece to adapt the manifold properly to your OBD2 M5X that’s both easier to install and eliminates vacuum leaks as a risk after the conversion.

Pulleys

Every additional horsepower from your M50 or M52 is going to be a slow, steady, uphill fight for each one, but it’s worth it. With naturally aspirated, smaller displacement engines like these, it’s all about reducing restriction, improving efficiency, and eliminating anything not necessary. The factory accessory pulleys are one source of hidden horsepower, albeit, not much. With either accessory deletes like power steering and A/C deletes or underdrive pulleys, you can free those extra few horsepowers up with ease. If you keep your accessories, and you should want to, our Power Pulley upgrade kits help squeeze out an extra 10hp from your M5X while retaining all your accessory functions. Additionally, the ECS Tuning lightweight water pump pulley can be a marginal improvement to that figure with the extra benefit of looking much better than the OEM pulley.

BAVAuto Upgraded Coil Packs

You aren’t going to see any real horsepower benefits here, but what you will feel is a more consistent spark in high-performance conditions and future-proofing to protect your engine as it continues to age with BAVAuto upgraded coil packs. There isn't any wizardry here, just an improved design for your coil packs that will help keep your spark consistent for years wherever you drive.

SHARK Injector Software

The bow that ties these upgrades together is our in-house developed SHARK Injector plug-and-play software upgrade. This device plugs into your OBD connector on the harness and is offered in several variations for your particular engine and setup. If you have an M52 with M3 cams, M50 manifold, an intake, and exhaust, for instance, we have a tune just for that configuration! Shark Injector software tunes can vary in their power improvements depending on your setup.

*Note - for OBD1 engines, our Conforti Chip Tunes are your best friend and plug right into your ECU board for a decent bump in power.

Exhaust

So we’ve covered the engine side of things, what’s next is the spent gas side! Exhaust upgrades, ideally a full system from the exhaust ports to the muffler, will free up the rest of your available power while giving your E36 the gnarly, aggressive, grunt it deserves.

Headers

You’ll find the most benefit from exhaust upgrades with a set of improved headers, like our ‘Shorty' style stainless steel headers. These directly replace the factory headers for a bolt-on performance solution that both look fantastic under the hood and sound incredible. By maximizing the header lengths and increasing the diameter, these headers help your M5X squeeze out those last few available ponies.

Catback

With the E36 platform, there aren’t nearly as many off-the-shelf exhaust systems as there should be. However, what is available are all considered excellent options. Ansa Sport, Supersprint, Corsa, and Borla all have appealing cat-back options designed for optimal flow, aggressive sound, and attractive stainless steel construction.

Suspension

While it's still a hearty list of performance upgrades to the engine we’ve presented here, the real benefits for your E36 will come from suspension and brake upgrades. Having a suspension and brake setup that can help you use every ounce of power your E36 produces will give your elderly 3-series the ability to hang with even some of the most high-performance modern cars typically seen at a weekend track event.

Coilovers

A solid suspension setup begins with quality coilovers that offer the adjustment ranges you need to dial in the perfect ride height, damper settings, and camber/caster angles to maximize your E36’s traction and lower its center of gravity. Fortunately, you’re spoiled for choice in this segment and can find something to fit nearly any budget and build goal. Popular options tend to be true coilover designs that feature adjustable camber plates, damper settings, and independent ride height adjustment that doesn't affect spring preload. However, if you are looking for a modular setup and choose coilovers that don't include camber plates, we've got you covered. Our new Hybrid Camber/Caster Plates are designed to work with either factory spring perches or common coilover setups like KW and Bilstein so you can add all the adjustment settings you need when you're ready.

Sway Bars / End Links

With a lowered ride height and more aggressive spring rates, you'll experience some reduction in body roll, but the real benefits will come from upgraded sway bars and end links. Beefier sway bars help keep your E36 flatter in the corners and allow you to fine-tune your handling characteristics by either increasing or decreasing the aggressiveness of your sway bars. This lets you tune out under or oversteer, or induce it, to set your car up to your preferences. It's also a smart idea to pair the sway bars with adjustable end links that will allow you to eliminate preload on the sway bar and orient it where it won’t contact anything in extremely lowered applications.

Quick Steer/Roll Center Correction Kit

With a lowered ride height, your control arm articulation suffers since it no longer has a full range of motion. This can cause issues in cornering, as your suspension geometry is not in spec. Lowered ride heights also cause what is known as ‘bump steer’ which results in your wheels changing direction after an uneven bump. Our Quick Steer and Roll Center Correction kit is designed to return your control arm angles to their proper orientation and mitigate bump steer while simultaneously giving your steering rack a faster feeling thanks to the relocated tie rod position on the knuckle. Naturally, this means more responsive and faster steering with the added benefit of correcting the only downsides to lowering your E36.

Tubular Front Control Arms/Monoball FCABs

Another common upgrade, especially in the drift community, is tubular control arms. They offer improved durability over the cast factory arms as well as a minor reduction in unsprung weight. Paired with our Monoball FCABs, which eliminate deflection without increasing NVH, your E36 will have the most direct, responsive, and engaging handling possible.

Adjustable Rear Lower Control Arms - Race

For the rear of your E36, you will also likely have some camber correction to do just like up front once your car is lowered. Our Adjustable RCAs in race configuration feature hime joints for zero deflection and offer the adjustability range you need to dial back your camber for optimal alignment settings that the factory arms don’t allow.

Rear Upper Strut Mounts - Reinforcement and Monoball Upgrades

The final suspension modifications to round out a fully-built suspension setup on your E36, your rear upper strut mounts need attention. For one, the factory rear shock towers are a known weak point, especially in competitively driven E36s, and can fail catastrophically. You must reinforce those strut towers with something like ECS Rear Shock Mount Reinforcement Plates. While you’re there, it's also a great time to eliminate deflection in that mount by upgrading to Monoball USMs for a more direct suspension feel through the corners.

Interior

E36 interiors are notoriously bad. They fall apart just sitting in your driveway overnight, especially the door cards. If your interior is in a sad state, or if you just want a minimalist racecar, MKAH Motorsports has all the interior delete panels you need to strip your E36 without leaving ugly, bare, stamped steel as your only option.

Aero

Finally, to show off all these upgrades as the sport-inspired, competitive, race car build it is, you need to step up the exterior appearance. The E36 is a pretty car, no arguments here, but the non-M versions look a bit tame in comparison to the M3. Fortunately, an M3 front and rear bumper conversion are as simple as a swap. With M3 front and rear bumpers, your options for front lips and rear diffusers open up to include our new E36 M3 LTW front lip and adjustable splitter.