Benefit/cost of de-restricting '99 323i

I have a '99 323i convertible which uses the 170bhp 2.5 ltr engine, I
believe the previous 2.5's and later both had about 193bhp, and the 323 is a
restricted version. The questions are :

1/ is it possible to de-restrict the engine, if so what is involved and at
what cost ?

2/ is there much to be gained, currently I find the engine a bit flat (
having driven diesels for the lat 7 years !) although it is creamy smooth,
and even with an auto box, seems pretty economical so far averaging about
32mpg.

My '98 323is has a 2.5L M52 engine, 168 hp, says my owners manual.

This topic was just discussed.

www.unofficialbmw.com

Go to the E36 forum. Its is a fairly new thread.

Greg

"apk1" > wrote in message
...
> I have a '99 323i convertible which uses the 170bhp 2.5 ltr engine, I
> believe the previous 2.5's and later both had about 193bhp, and the 323 is
a
> restricted version. The questions are :
>
> 1/ is it possible to de-restrict the engine, if so what is involved and at
> what cost ?
>
> 2/ is there much to be gained, currently I find the engine a bit flat (
> having driven diesels for the lat 7 years !) although it is creamy smooth,
> and even with an auto box, seems pretty economical so far averaging about
> 32mpg.
>
>

"apk1" > wrote in message >...
> I have a '99 323i convertible which uses the 170bhp 2.5 ltr engine, I
> believe the previous 2.5's and later both had about 193bhp, and the 323 is a
> restricted version. The questions are :
>
> 1/ is it possible to de-restrict the engine, if so what is involved and at
> what cost ?
>
> 2/ is there much to be gained, currently I find the engine a bit flat (
> having driven diesels for the lat 7 years !) although it is creamy smooth,
> and even with an auto box, seems pretty economical so far averaging about
> 32mpg.

If you're used to driving diesels are you spinning the engine up
fully? If it's still flat when you're hitting 6000rpm then think
about dropping in a 328 engine. That'll probably be your easiest &
cheapest mod. The 325 had more power but the max torque was 500rpm
higher up the rev range. Max hp isn't everything. With the old 325s
it was possible to use the crank from the 328 diesel to make it a
"derestricted" 328 with 200+ hp.