Mythbusting the BMW M50 intake on my BMW E36 328i

We're finally back at Munnik's Performance Centre after a year of hard racing and driving to find out if the M50 (325i) intake makes the so called claimed gains on my E36 328i, or not?

Watch the video to find out. Big thanks to MPC, Munnik's Performance Centre in Montague Gardens, Cape Town for sponsoring my power runs.

[CSI_tuning_solutions]

as said before. ecu needs to be tuned proper to the m50 manifold. however, torque loss below 4000rpm cant be 100% compensated. but it is still the way to go if you want an easy power upgrade. and there is no mythbusting. it has been proven many times over the last 25 years that it can gain around +15hps above 5500rpm.

[johnpearson]

I did the m50 intake manifold on my S52 M3. I had to do a little tuning to the ECU to really take advantage of it. There wasn't much change with the swap alone. Once I adjusted the MAF curve and spark maps, the differences were incredible! It particularly comes alive up around 4000 rpm.

[pashkaS]

This seems about right from my experience. The M52 manifold is just not the limiting factor on a 2.5 or 2.8 and only makes marginal gains on a 3.0+. 2.8 with US S52 or Schrick camshafts does work a little bit better.

[MrJesse]

As someone who has an e36 328i with the M50 swop, I can tell you that the dyno results could not be any more accurate. I experienced the same and was disappointed.

However, this does not mean that the m50 manifold swop is not worth it. We cannot compare a stock intake manifold against the m50 swop on the stock ecu. The stock ecu can and does take time to adapt but the m52 manifold has an average flow of 193cfm per cylinder and the m50 an average of 285cfm per cylinder. The difference is huge so I don't believe the stock ecu can adapt in its most efficient form.

It would have been great to see a tuned(ecu software) stock manifold vs tuned m50 swop. Maybe that will indicate whether the swop is actually worth it and whether there are gains to be made.

I have also experienced that m3 branches helps alot! Gives 7wkw and 20nm, a b**** to install but a much needed torque gain throughout the entire rpm range, with no ecu tune.

The above is just my opinion and from my experience, others may experience it differently. For me, the m50 manifold swop is definitely worth it, if you get a chip/management along with it.

This is amazing content, looking forward to the next video so we can settle this debate for good!

[delanohutchinson]

Get the service done, interesting after a year of hard driving you havent loss power. And as far as i know different wheel/tyre dimensions will affect the power unless the dyno technician corrects it, so bigger diameter wheel should net a bit less measured power, similar to how lower gears net higher hp figures .

[winha]

They keep telling it need to be tuned but you should the be comparing tuned stock vs tuned m50 and gains would not be pleasing for those who swear by this upgrade. Tu models would be better of whit m54b22, b25 or b30 intake manifolds and you dont lose disa, i think m50 manifold swap being so popular at the time was cause they where cheap back then and they work good whit an turbo setups so every na tuner who thinks bigger is allways better and yields more gains got into them whit buttdyno.

[TechTokOffical]

Wait...u don't have the tune done? Of course there's no difference. Also a big part people don't realize are part of this is the MAF and throttle body. There no point in feeding your car extra air if the computer doesn't even know it. All doing the intake without the tune does is give u some better intake sounds

[dcrasta]

😂😂😂😂. Bruh without a tune you’re just embarrassing yourself. Bring a laptop and Romraider and a ms41 flasher and fix the maps