More power from an E46 (I6 Petrol)

[Straight six]

Gents

Topic might have been discussed before

It got me itching

I have E46 323i (engine has been most reliable hence I'm weary of a engine swap)

323 (126kw)
325 (141kw) as per Wikipedia

It's been stated that it's the same engine, besides ECU & Intake are the only differences

There's a 525i standing of which i can obtain the intake from

Would i then need to re-programme my ECU to be less restrictive or get ECU from the 525i

would love your views

No budget for a 330i motor...Yes i would love that

 

[TBP88]

All that hassle for 15kw - really not worth it, rather just keep the car running as is and save your cash for either a project you can spend cash on, or a new daily driver with more power...

 

[Jive_E46]

Hi, I recently acquired a 2003 M54 3er. From all the research I've done and techs I've spoken to throwing in a good fully built exhaust system is the way to go, couple that with a long tube intake system to replace all that plastic crap at the front and you'll see some gains. Dont expect much though, this is a N/A engine so the power figures are likely to be dismal.
I've learnt it's all about where that power is getting delivered and the smoothness of the tune. For a N/A car you will have to feel alot more rather than just see the needle move. That being said, the higher you rev the more power you can make on N/A, the issue is M52/M54 motors dont rev very high stock. After 7000RPM the engine suffers from valve float, so youd have to look at changing parts of the valve train to rev higher safely...or you can take a gamble and send your cams to a cam engineer to change up your opening angle to 264/248 degrees (intake/exhaust).
If you dont want to take chances then doing a Supertech Valve Spring upgrade as well as changing to solid valve lifters will do the trick. Schrick 264/248 cams are also available if you dont trust local camwork. Gas Flow the head for better air flow at high RPM and match that to a good ECU tune and you'll have a proper BMW straight 6

Wrt. Your 330i engine swap comment all youd have to do is change the crankshaft to the 3.0L version and pistons and rods(not too sure) but you open yourself up to the dangers of harmonic imbalance(oil pump nut falls of the main drive gear and into the oil sump)

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[Crash_Nemesis]

Or you can just supercharge your 323i like I did. =) You'll have e46 M3 power then.