Used to be on a poster in my dorm: 2005 M3

[D_Eclipse9916]

Yeah, s54's end up being a bit more expensive - 4x more to run it though? Man, I remember when s52's were big dough to all of us obsessed with swapping them into our e30's. What year/mileage is your Mom's?

S52s are dead nuts reliable. Throw a good cooling system and take care of the oil pump nut (do that as well on your E46), and its pretty darn near bulletproof. When my previous motor let go at ~160k miles and 3 years of tracking/racing, it was just the headgasket, all the bearings in the motor looked 100%.

My mom's is a 2002. Between ~$200 alternators, $250 water pumps, $560 rod bearing changes, $400 in specialty tools for doing the valve shims, $120 minimum oil changes, Special "M performance" only diff fluid for the variable diff.....yeah, at least 4x an E36 M3.

I use Rotella Diesel oil for engine oil, redline "off the shelf" oils for diff/trans, never replaced alternators, $60 water pumps, no special tools unless replacing a headgasket (same shelf life as an E46 M3).

The E46 M3 is a spectacular vehicle and it has a "real race" motor compared to the E36. So you gotta pay to play. You also have the MK60 Teves ABS that even Porsche guys swap into their cars. It is a superior platform in every way to the E36, just $$$.