M series motors – automotive magic from 1986 to 2011

Buying a used M engine is an easy way to enhance the performance of any BMW. While a bit more involved than slapping a M badge on the vehicle and calling it a day, it just takes a bit of research to find the proper fitting engine based on the year and chassis type of the target BMW.

M for Motorsport

BMW’s M division saw light in 1972 to help champion the company’s Motorsports activities primarily in saloon car circuit racing. Little did they know the small group of eight employees would come to create some of the most exiting cars and engines in the world. After over a decade of Motorsports participation, that engineering knowledge transferred into BMW’s road cars beginning with the iconic M3 in 1986.

Know your code

Motorsport regulations meant the M3 was a production-based model, a necessity that kick-started the integration between road car and racecar thus making a used M engine installation in non-M BMWs a simple act.

3 series E30: Produced from 1983 to 1991, BMW decided to go touring car racing and created the M3 from the base sedan. Essentially a racecar in road trim, it received a high-compression 2.3-litre DOHC 16-valve four-cylinder motor making 192bhp in street trim. Race trim could see figures as high as 240bhp.

3 series E36 (1995-1999): There are two versions of this engine from its introduction in 1995, one for the USA and the other for Europe. Europe received a 3-litre six-cylinder putting out 286bhp with the North American version only making 240bhp. The Euro-version is the more desirable swap, even when both editions in 1997 had displacement increased to 3.2-liters. For the E36 models, the Euro-spec engines are the most valuable for conversions.

3 series E46 (2001-2006): The most commercially successful M3 so far; there was one engine worldwide. The M division revised the 3.2-litre straight six from the E36 and increased power to 333bhp and 262lb/ft of torque.

3 series E92: The current model M3 is the most technologically advanced version with M division using its Formula One experience to put a 414bhp V8 in its engine bay.

Things to consider

Before installing a used M engine into a 3 series, there is one major piece of information to look at before attempting the conversion and that is the M division builds M cars as a whole. This means base model 3 series may not have the support systems, such as chassis reinforcement, brakes, or traction control, to make full use of the extra power from the motor.