engine and drivetrain Redline of an M42 (16 valve 1.8 liter) engine

[Guest Anonymous]

Does anyone know what kind of revs. are appropriate for the M42 engine.

For the last couple of weeks I have been driving a friend's beautiful and well prepared '72 2002 with a '91 M42 engine (with a chip) and assume that the revs. are limited with the engines's computer, but curious about what are safe rev. limits/ shift points for this engine.

I'm using the car in a BMWCCA (Bluegrass Bimmers) Drivers School June 13, 14, 15 at Putnam Park in Indiana. Anyone else coming?

Larry

[Guest Anonymous]

6800 is ignition cut on a stock engine, 7200 on a chipped engine. Shift points are best at those numbers, that engine really likes to rev. Shifting below that point only bogs the engine when driving aggressively.

I have a 92 318is, believe me it gets better and better the higher you go. It's no speed demon, and is an absolute mutt off the line when in an e36. But when that Cavalier that jets past me from a light shifts at 5k, I am just into the meat of the powerband and I fly by him like he is standing there.

With race valve springs and balanced internals ( and probably a lot more than a stock motor ), the M42 touring cars did 9300 rpm. They howl like crazy at 6900 too, sounds very Ferrari-esque. Ok, maybe Ferrari LITE esque.

[Guest Anonymous]

Personally I'm reasonably impressed with the low end of the 1.8. If you tune a carbed M10 to respond as the M42 does at high revs, the M10 will barely idle, cough and choke off the line, foul the plugs in traffic, shake like a demon and get horrible gas mileage. The M42 is a pussycat around town, you can putt-putt around at 1500 rpm if you're just going from A to B in traffic. But if you want it to scream, you just have to keep the revs up. To me, _that_ the progress of electronic engine management. I love sidedrafts, but there's no substitute for technology.

Mike

[Guest Anonymous]

wonder what the cost of the entire project ($3k for supercharger and used 1.8) It could be less than M2 project...

Michael

[Guest Anonymous]

Hey Guys, we need to figure out how to get one of these engines into a 2002

http://www.gttechnic.com/gt2_gt3.html

-Bernard

[Guest Anonymous]

The problem with the M42 in the 2002 is all the work you have to do to fit it. Sure, the 1.8 breathes better at the top end when normally aspirated...but with a supercharger, you can get gobs of power out of an M10, and the parts are half as expensive.

Mike

[Guest Anonymous]

they are getting 350hp from their best motors; normally aspirated. Just drop about 11k and you can have one too.

Seriously though, they may work up a "stage 2" kit for the m42 that would be good for around 200hp. Rumor has it that Pete McHenry is developing an m42 conversion kit for "us".

Those two together could be interesting. Still might be cheaper to fit an s14.

Enjoy,

Jonathan T.

[Guest Anonymous]

(nt)

[Guest Anonymous]

The biggest problems fitting the M42 into a 2002 are the oil pan, motor mounts and exhaust. You'd have to replace the 2002 steering with a rack unit, but that's not difficult. The M42, and the later, lamer M44, are a lot more plentiful than the S14. Parts will never be as cheap as for an M10, but it certainly is a nice motor.

Somehow I don't think a 200hp carbed model will have nice around-town manners. Massaged to get, say, 180hp with EFI (100hp per liter), you could probably still run it on the street.

Mike