{"id":2875,"date":"2013-10-08T03:31:01","date_gmt":"2013-10-08T03:31:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/engineswapdepot.com\/?p=2875"},"modified":"2015-04-05T02:18:12","modified_gmt":"2015-04-05T06:18:12","slug":"race-bmw-e46-m3-with-ls7","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/engineswapdepot.com\/?p=2875","title":{"rendered":"Race BMW E46 M3 with LS7"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>What do you do when you need a quality racecar on a budget? Castro Motorsports used a very popular recipe from the engine swap cookbook. First start with a base consisting of a two-door BMW then stuff with lots of Chevy small block.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Once we found the car we wanted, we knew that the suspension and brake options were plentiful, and that the stock 3.2L S54 inline 6 was a great engine on and off the race track. While we could have built the S54 into an impressive naturally aspirated, 400+hp motor, or gone with the forced induction route to achieve the power figures that would keep the car competitive, all of those options were going to be expensive. The NA engine build wasn\u2019t going to have enough power for the money spent. A centrifugal supercharger didn\u2019t provide the torque numbers we wanted, for the amount of money spent. Finally, with HPF (Horsepower Freaks) being the only available option for a reliable, off the shelf turbo kit, the price for high powered kit was going to put us over budget. Then we had a better idea, which would get under the skin of many BMW enthusiasts, especially the purists in love with the M3 platform. With the GM LS engine platform becoming such a popular choice in recent years, and with Kalon having recently owned and loved his C6 Z06, we chose to give the Bavarian sports car an American heart. <\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>The LS7 engine was built by <a href=\"http:\/\/cunningham-motorsports.com\/\">Cunningham Motorsports<\/a> and consists of a Darton sleeved over-bored LS7 block, factory balanced LS7 crank and titanium connecting rods, custom Wiseco forged pistons, West Coast Stage 2 heads, and a Dailey Engineering Stage 3 dry sump system.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"420\" height=\"315\" src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/AedtqdHUS6Q\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/video\/embed?video_id=375819142548692\" width=\"568\" height=\"320\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/video\/embed?video_id=376851845778755\" width=\"568\" height=\"320\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"http:\/\/ls1tech.com\/forums\/conversions-hybrids\/1678482-castro-motorsport-kato-racing-s-ls7-e40z06-m3-race-car-build.html\">LS1Tech<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/media\/set\/?set=a.342522209211719.1073741827.167702226693719&#038;type=3\">Facebook Gallery<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What do you do when you need a quality racecar on a budget? Castro Motorsports used a very popular recipe from the engine swap cookbook. First start with a base consisting of a two-door BMW then stuff with lots of Chevy small block. Once we found the car we wanted, we knew that the suspension&hellip;&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/engineswapdepot.com\/?p=2875\" rel=\"bookmark\">Read More &raquo;<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Race BMW E46 M3 with LS7<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"neve_meta_sidebar":"","neve_meta_container":"","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"","neve_meta_content_width":0,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[151],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2875","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-e46"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":101132,"url":"https:\/\/engineswapdepot.com\/?p=101132","url_meta":{"origin":2875,"position":0},"title":"2004 BMW 325xi with a S54 Inline-Six","author":"swaptastic","date":"June 6, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"This 2004 BMW 325xi came from the factory with a 2.5 L inline-six and five-speed manual transmission and AWD drivetrain. The previous owner converted the wagon to rear-wheel drive. In the engine bay they swapped a 3.2 L S54 inline-six from a 2003 BMW M3 making around 333 hp and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;E46&quot;","block_context":{"text":"E46","link":"https:\/\/engineswapdepot.com\/?cat=151"},"img":{"alt_text":"2004 BMW 325xi converted to RWD with a S54 inline-six","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/2004-BMW-325xi-with-a-S54-Inline-Six-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/2004-BMW-325xi-with-a-S54-Inline-Six-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/2004-BMW-325xi-with-a-S54-Inline-Six-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/2004-BMW-325xi-with-a-S54-Inline-Six-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/2004-BMW-325xi-with-a-S54-Inline-Six-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":130986,"url":"https:\/\/engineswapdepot.com\/?p=130986","url_meta":{"origin":2875,"position":1},"title":"S54-Powered BMW E30 Wagon","author":"swaptastic","date":"April 29, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Precision Sport Industries (PSI) gave this 1988 BMW 320i Touring several upgrades at their company in Winter Park, Florida. The project starts with a 3.2 L S54 inline-six from a 2005 BMW E46 M3 swapped into the engine bay. Behind that is an E46 M3 six-speed manual transmission and limited-slip\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;E30&quot;","block_context":{"text":"E30","link":"https:\/\/engineswapdepot.com\/?cat=121"},"img":{"alt_text":"BMW E30 wagon with a S54 inline-six","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/1988-BMW-E30-wagon-with-a-S54-inline-six-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/1988-BMW-E30-wagon-with-a-S54-inline-six-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/1988-BMW-E30-wagon-with-a-S54-inline-six-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/1988-BMW-E30-wagon-with-a-S54-inline-six-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/1988-BMW-E30-wagon-with-a-S54-inline-six-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":110245,"url":"https:\/\/engineswapdepot.com\/?p=110245","url_meta":{"origin":2875,"position":2},"title":"BMW E46 M3 with a LS3 V8","author":"swaptastic","date":"January 16, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Ash Burrows enjoys driving his BMW E46 M3 at the track. Unfortunately during one of those outings the S54 inline-six threw a rod. Ash sent the red coupe to Craig Taylor at DynoTorque to fix the issue with more cylinders. In the engine bay DynoTorque swapped a 6.2 L LS3\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;E46&quot;","block_context":{"text":"E46","link":"https:\/\/engineswapdepot.com\/?cat=151"},"img":{"alt_text":"BMW E46 M3 with a LS3 V8","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/BMW-E46-M3-with-a-LS3-V8-01.jpg?fit=960%2C720&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/BMW-E46-M3-with-a-LS3-V8-01.jpg?fit=960%2C720&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/BMW-E46-M3-with-a-LS3-V8-01.jpg?fit=960%2C720&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/BMW-E46-M3-with-a-LS3-V8-01.jpg?fit=960%2C720&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":119014,"url":"https:\/\/engineswapdepot.com\/?p=119014","url_meta":{"origin":2875,"position":3},"title":"BMW E46 M3 with a S85 V10","author":"swaptastic","date":"August 6, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Manhart skipped upgrading the 3.2 L S54 inline-six that originally came in this BMW E46 M3 CSL. Instead they swapped a 5.0 L S85 V10 from a BMW E60 M5. Manhart increased the motor's output to 560 hp (411 kW) and 550 Nm (405 lb-ft) of torque. The V10's sound\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;E46&quot;","block_context":{"text":"E46","link":"https:\/\/engineswapdepot.com\/?cat=151"},"img":{"alt_text":"BMW E46 M3 with a S85 V10","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/BMW-E46-M3-with-a-S85-V10-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/BMW-E46-M3-with-a-S85-V10-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/BMW-E46-M3-with-a-S85-V10-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/BMW-E46-M3-with-a-S85-V10-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/BMW-E46-M3-with-a-S85-V10-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":123962,"url":"https:\/\/engineswapdepot.com\/?p=123962","url_meta":{"origin":2875,"position":4},"title":"BMW F82 with a S54 Inline-Six","author":"swaptastic","date":"November 27, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"KK Autommotive built this BMW F82 M4 race car at their company in D\u00fcderode, Germany in 2018. In the engine bay sits a naturally aspirated 3.5 L S54 inline-six making 323 kW (433 hp) on a Motec M130 ECU. Behind that is a Tractive RD906 six-speed sequential transmission transferring power\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;F82&quot;","block_context":{"text":"F82","link":"https:\/\/engineswapdepot.com\/?cat=1286"},"img":{"alt_text":"BMW F82 with a S54 Inline-Six","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/BMW-F82-with-a-S54-Inline-Six-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/BMW-F82-with-a-S54-Inline-Six-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/BMW-F82-with-a-S54-Inline-Six-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/BMW-F82-with-a-S54-Inline-Six-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/BMW-F82-with-a-S54-Inline-Six-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":57521,"url":"https:\/\/engineswapdepot.com\/?p=57521","url_meta":{"origin":2875,"position":5},"title":"1972 Datsun 240Z Swaps from a S38 to a S54 Inline-Six","author":"swaptastic","date":"June 19, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Several years ago we shared Christopher's Datsun 240Z with a BMW S38 inline-six. Earlier this year he replaced the S38 inline-six with a 3.2 L S54 inline-six from a 2001 BMW E46 M3. The new motor produces around 343 horsepower with a less restrictive exhaust. Besides the increased power, the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;240Z&quot;","block_context":{"text":"240Z","link":"https:\/\/engineswapdepot.com\/?cat=93"},"img":{"alt_text":"1972 Datsun 240Z with a BMW S54 inline-six","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/1972-Datsun-240Z-with-a-BMW-S54-inline-six-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C797&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/1972-Datsun-240Z-with-a-BMW-S54-inline-six-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C797&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/1972-Datsun-240Z-with-a-BMW-S54-inline-six-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C797&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/1972-Datsun-240Z-with-a-BMW-S54-inline-six-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C797&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/1972-Datsun-240Z-with-a-BMW-S54-inline-six-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C797&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/engineswapdepot.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2875","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/engineswapdepot.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/engineswapdepot.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/engineswapdepot.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/engineswapdepot.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2875"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/engineswapdepot.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2875\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/engineswapdepot.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2875"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/engineswapdepot.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2875"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/engineswapdepot.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2875"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}