Hi all.

Im looking to do a swap of the SR20DET into a bmw 2002 (e10).

The options I seem to have are the motor from s13, s14 or s15. Price wise - looking at ebay - there is about $1,000 difference between the s13 and the s15 version of the SR20DET.

If I'm doing the swap just to have a lot of power to 'have fun' on the back roads and burn some rubber - non track car - non daily driver - should i get the s15 motor and keep it stock or get the s13 motor and use the $1,000 to upgrade it (bigger turbo, ecu, injectors, etc..).

The concern i have is the $1,000 i can invest into a stock s13 motor may yield similar (or less) results of me just getting the s15. Or will the $1k go further on an s13 block?

Thank you all.

I would opt for the S15 motor. It makes more power out of the box and given that you're likely to run into a lot of snags getting the motor to cooperate being inside a BMW chassis, trying to drop a modded S13 SR will be a total noghtmare to troubleshoot when it doesn't start. A stock motor is always easier to diagnose versus a modded motor.

Also, 300+ rwhp will be more than enough for a 2002.

Thank you. I appreciate that reply. I'm sure ill be on this forum more once the setup is done.

300HP? I thought stock was about 250. I'm getting something with 40k miles - which is not really that many miles. I suppose with a bit more boost I can push it up to 300. I already read about some of the upgrades that can be done (bigger injectors, turbo, ecu) that can really put this in the solid 300/400 figure - but you are absolutely right, for a 2002 with 130hp stock - 250-300hp is MORE than enough.

take care.

The stock is 250 but you have some headroom to work with the boost and fuel management.

Welcome to NICO and post up some pics of the process when you start!

Also, take the 40k mile claims with a grain of salt. Most importers claim that as the mileage for their motors, but in my experience, they tend to be a bit higher in mileage than that.

Much appreciated. I didn't realize that the ending was not available in the us until I started looking and doing my research. Even the compression test they do is not an indication of the mileage. But I assume even with 55/60k miles these motors are still usable? I know that's a loaded question because if the original owner was drifting in it and crashed, there would not be any way of knowing. Bit you know, some blocks you can just beat on with very little loss of power so I thought id ask. Take care and I do hope to post pics.

TBH, mileage doesn't matter in the long run, it just gives you an idea of maintenance that was/was not done to the vehicle. Typical timing chain service intervals are 100k miles, so if an importer tells you the motor has 40k on it, but it really has 80k, be prepared to hear some chain rattle eventually if you don't change it. For the most part, the motors are pretty rock solid and even when beat on, they perform well in the long run. I rebuilt my current block and have put near 40-50k miles on it in the past 6-7 years. I autocross it, take it on mountain carving runs, etc and it still pulls just as hard now as it did after it was broken in.

Exactly what I wanted to hear. Much appreciated. Have a great weekend.