I want to do an engine swap!

[sbottum622]

As a precursor, don't tell me to buy an M, this is more about the learning experience, and I do have emotional attachment to the car.

My Car: 2006 Z4 3.0i, 76k, never had any major mechanical issues. Has eisenmann race exhaust (quad), and has brand new cats.

First off, what is the most realistic, and most interesting engine swap I could do? The V10 from the M6? What do you guys think?

Aside from the Engine what else needs to come out? Whats the overall price and timeline involved?

I am hoping this will keep me busy and serve as a fun project this summer!

Thanks!

[NickyC]

Buy an ///M.

Or get NOS, two big bottles.

[intoflatlines]

S85 would be ridiculous. I'm in the area, if you ever do it I'd love to see the results!

[Finnegan]

My two cents for what it's worth.

My friend and I started down this road with an E46 M3. The thought was to apply that learning to the Z4.

The mechanical issues, how do I get the engine to fit, how do I connect X to Y, or not the big issues. It's getting the ECU for the new engine and all the existing electronics in the car to communicate with each other successfully.

All of that can be done, but it's going to take some big dollars and a big investment in time to do it.

As a rule of thumb I think you're looking at probably 2 to 3 times the labor/time cost of the parts. So if an S65 cost you 14k to 15K, you're looking at 15k-30k on the install. That's just a wild guess, it might be more, it might be less.

S65 into a 135 or 335? Not as difficult as the cars share more electronics.

[nemex12]

Originally Posted by Finnegan

My two cents for what it's worth.

My friend and I started down this road with an E46 M3. The thought was to apply that learning to the Z4.

The mechanical issues, how do I get the engine to fit, how do I connect X to Y, or not the big issues. It's getting the ECU for the new engine and all the existing electronics in the car to communicate with each other successfully.

All of that can be done, but it's going to take some big dollars and a big investment in time to do it.

As a rule of thumb I think you're looking at probably 2 to 3 times the labor/time cost of the parts. So if an S65 cost you 14k to 15K, you're looking at 15k-30k on the install. That's just a wild guess, it might be more, it might be less.

S65 into a 135 or 335? Not as difficult as the cars share more electronics.

wow, is there a thread on this? if not, please make one

[Finnegan]

Originally Posted by nemex12

wow, is there a thread on this? if not, please make one

There is. We abandoned the project for those reasons (above) and because our E46 project wouldn't have yielded much more than the CSL S54 conversion already done.

http://www.zpost.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1020243

[pokeybritches]

Take your car by one of those places that's already done the swap. Tuners do swaps to showcase their skills. Ask them for a ballpark figure. $50k is probably a good estimation, depending on what you want.

The other thing you need to think about is the end state. Do you want a car that revs for youtube videos and sits around at car shows, but where half of the electronics don't actually work? Do you want a track car that doesn't have DSC but instead relies upon an aftermarket traction control unit, aftermarket gauges, and a standalone engine management system? Do you want a totally OEM feel? Or do you simply want more power? The price difference between all of these is huge.

If you're just after more power, go for a blower or trade in your car. The blower will be unique.

[Finnegan]

^ Best answer you're going to see.

[The HACK]

El. Es. One.

Makes little sense to swap any other BMW engine in this chassis, when it's probably going to be the same amount of work to swap in a small-block V8. And it's been done before. On just about any and every generation of BMW chassis. And it'll likely be lighter than anything you can possibly think of swapping in (outside of keeping your aluminum block inline 6).

[sbottum622]

Originally Posted by pokeybritches

Take your car by one of those places that's already done the swap. Tuners do swaps to showcase their skills. Ask them for a ballpark figure. $50k is probably a good estimation, depending on what you want.

The other thing you need to think about is the end state. Do you want a car that revs for youtube videos and sits around at car shows, but where half of the electronics don't actually work? Do you want a track car that doesn't have DSC but instead relies upon an aftermarket traction control unit, aftermarket gauges, and a standalone engine management system? Do you want a totally OEM feel? Or do you simply want more power? The price difference between all of these is huge.

If you're just after more power, go for a blower or trade in your car. The blower will be unique.

I would love to do a blower, but its an N52, so where does that leave me?

[pokeybritches]

Originally Posted by sbottum622

I would love to do a blower, but its an N52, so where does that leave me?

$4495 poorer and 5 psi richer:

http://europeanautosource.com/ess-su...m-bmw-n52.html

[ferrarif1]

Engine swaps cost WAY more than you think they will and you will never get your money back out of the project. At one point I was thinking of building a cobra replica with an S85 engine. Finding the engine at a reasonable price is not an issue but the 2-3 companies that build the electronics and programming to control the engine are all right around $10k each. In your case you would need even more help fitting and integrating into the existing car.

[Aries326]

Originally Posted by pokeybritches

$4495 poorer and 5 psi richer:

http://europeanautosource.com/ess-su...m-bmw-n52.html

Did you pull the trigger? I'll probably wait a year or two. I want to see how much PSI they can actually squeeze out of this thing.

[Aries326]

Originally Posted by ferrarif1

Engine swaps cost WAY more than you think they will and you will never get your money back out of the project. At one point I was thinking of building a cobra replica with an S85 engine. Finding the engine at a reasonable price is not an issue but the 2-3 companies that build the electronics and programming to control the engine are all right around $10k each. In your case you would need even more help fitting and integrating into the existing car.

Probably only worth doing engine swaps if you own your own garage and want to showcase the shop's skills and write off the project as a business expense.