Z4MC S65 DCT + Suspension/Cosmetic Build

[MPLICIT]

Originally Posted by GuidoK

So nobody has any doubts with the hydrolocked block and a 700hp build?

I really like this project but....You're taking a HUGE risk (during your first 1/4 mile run or dyno)....

I'm not sure you read the plan. There is no risk with a hydrolock block when you're sleeving it. You are completely replacing the cylinder linings with new material. In this case: a metal sleeve.

[GuidoK]

Originally Posted by ApolloTheGod

I'm not sure you read the plan. There is no risk with a hydrolock block when you're sleeving it. You are completely replacing the cylinder linings with new material. In this case: a metal sleeve.

Yes I know you're sleeving it.
But did you do any porosity checking, pressure testing, xray testing (or ultrasonic) on microcracks?
Did you measure alignment of bearing bores etc?
I dont read any of that. Just that you bought a hydrolocked block that has weld marks all over it and you're going to sleeve it.


I think you're taking a considerable risk on an (I imagine) expensive build from an engineering perspective as you're also gonna force feed it to way beyond factory spec.
Obviously I have no insight of how much you're going to spend (or save with this block) and how deep your pockets are. Those are all private considerations.

[MPLICIT]

Originally Posted by GuidoK

Yes I know you're sleeving it.
But did you do any porosity checking, pressure testing, xray testing (or ultrasonic) on microcracks?
Did you measure alignment of bearing bores etc?
I dont read any of that. Just that you bought a hydrolocked block that has weld marks all over it and you're going to sleeve it.


I think you're taking a considerable risk on an (I imagine) expensive build from an engineering perspective as you're also gonna force feed it to way beyond factory spec.
Obviously I have no insight of how much you're going to spend (or save with this block) and how deep your pockets are. Those are all private considerations.

You do have a valid point about some of the considerable risk but I think I solved that issue today when I just picked up a new engine. I'll grab yet another block that is in better shape as well so nothing holds up this build. Here's what I've figured out in life: paying good money once is better than paying more money twice

UPDATE

Alright kids, here's the deal. I know you don't want to see this project fall to the way side and take months. My stroker kit is being manufactured, block getting machined and sleeved, and still working out my SCer system, but I don't want to leave you all without updates for MONTHS while I wait for the motor build to finish and then drop it in the car. Instead, I decided today I would go buy an S65 that is already assembled so I can get it in the car and get you guys some cool burn out videos! I'll have the S54 out of the car this weekend and by next weekend I'll have the S65 running in the car with any luck.

If any of you guys want the old S54 let me know. The bottom end will need a rebuild but the rest is fine. Transmission can go as well.

In addition to grabbing the new motor I did a little more work on some of my parts for the motor builds. I'll grab more pics soon.

[chickdr]

I think that was a good move. Even a stock S65 in a Z4M would be a great build. I personally would like to be a S65B44 build. 444hp should be plenty.

[deemo319]

Originally Posted by chickdr

I think that was a good move. Even a stock S65 in a Z4M would be a great build. I personally would like to be a S65B44 build. 444hp should be plenty.

You should do it. I looked into the S65B44 for an E89 V8 conversion when the E92 M3 GTS launched and it was expensive, but the sound alone was worth every penny.

[MPLICIT]

UPDATE

As mentioned before I have a gorgeous S65 sitting in my garage now. When I was speaking to a few professionals about doing the electronics they suggested I get a used motor as it would not be wise to have to sort out drivability and electronics issues on a brand new stroked and supercharged motor that is untuned. I did not think of this so this is a big reason why this used and assembled S65 is here today. I also want to make Bimmerfest West. Like I said before as well, I want to keep you guys entertained and no one wants to wait months until something cool happens :thumbsup2:

If anyone is curious about any measurements on the S65 please let me know so that I can do them while the motor is still out of the car.

Enjoy a few glamour shots of the new bae





Here we have the DCT trans and S65 playing Tetris while we got the car in it's swap spot. The beer in the background was planned to be consumed but instead we chose to get much further. Of course we found motivation and went in to almost get the motor out but stopped for the night to pull it out in the morning. Beer was then consumed eventually :beer:




The motor tilted on the way out and I found out then at that moment there was also a large hole on the passenger side too :facepalm:



Here is the S54 in question




Some shots of the damage. I'm still deciding if I even want to pull the bottom end...





If any of you have ever done swaps in a confined space you'll know the need to get the car rolling again to get the work space cleaned up. Maybe it's OCD :clueless: And yes, trans is still in the car because I want to see how the S65 fits with a trans in the car. The DCT is too heavy to work with easily so it's much easier to leave the 6 speed in for now just to see how far back the motor can go.



Cleaning things up...



Lot's of M pride around here...



It's like like that one special moment right before things get feeling intense...



Closing up shop for the night. More to come tomorrow.

[MPLICIT]

I can confirm right now that the S65 fits in a Z4 without ANY modification to the oil pan or the subframe. Direct fitment like it was made for it. Of course you need custom engine mounts and mild header modification on the driver side to clear the steering column and POSSIBLY brake line relocation which is easy too. Pics to follow soon

[MPLICIT]

Here is the deal. The S65 block and oil pan have been bolted together and placed in the car for fitment purposes. I am delighted to declare that the oil pan fits perfectly in the E86 without any compromises. The only issues I see are clearance for the headers on the driver side due to the steering rack. I'll allow the pictures to explain everything so far.

First up we have this great option for keeping dust out of anything




As you can see here workspace is at a premium, but I'm getting this shit done. No fucking around for me. Swap comes first.



Here we have a spare block I had laying around just for this purpose of test fitting. It has a cracked main bearing seat so no worries if I smack it around a bit.



Time to get a busted oil pan on my busted block for test fitting purposes. I got the block for free and the pan was dead cheap so I HIGHLY suggest getting busted parts like this for mock up practices and getting things in order so you don't mess up your nice new motor.



In we go...










I already know one of you wise asses is going to mention something about the S54 transmission still there. It's only there so I can see how far back I can take my block. Relax, I know it won't bolt up, not the purpose.



I decided to throw on the OEM mounts just to get an idea. Something to note here is if you were to bolt it in like this it would be about six inches too far forward but you could theoretically move the tranny up but not sure why you would. It's cool that the geometry works. This means making mounts is way easier.









Here you can see if it's mounted in like this just how far from the trans it is



Getting a little tighter...





I got it seated right where I want it and took pics. Here is the steering rack and the front of the pan. A perfect fit



Rear sump of the pan. Perfect fit.



Subframe and rack clearance. I'll still get it tighter than this but so far it looks like it's made to fix. Even the rack tunnel in the pan fits perfectly



Let's check that pan clearance as we don't want it too low. Perfect fit. Looks OEM height almost



Sway bar and front side view. Will the AC clear the sway bar and frame? It appears it will from a quick measurement. I know the AC is an issue in the E46 but I don't think it will be here.



I have it in this perfect fitment area right now so how does it look all around in perspective of the great subframe and rack fit? Here is how it looks




You'll notice it does not perfectly line up with trans and it's because it's not perfectly mounted yet or anything and the trans has upward tension on it.





Does the plenum appear to fit? Let's measure from the top of the engine and see. About 12 inches here....



Not pictured but it is 9 inches from that same spot above the start cutout to the top of the secondary air pump. From the top of the secondary air pump to the top of plenum is about 1.5 more inches. This is a total of let's say 11 inches which is under the limit of 12 so we have fitment!



There will be a ton of room between the rad support up front and front of this beast



Get an engine leveler and swivel link... You will thank me later.



Engine mounts tomorrow and then DCT trans fitment and hopefully trans mounts as well.

Questions? Just ask me.

[MPLICIT]

Update time!

I dropped the exhaust to get more clearance and work out a better flowing system. As you can see in the first picture the S65 headers bolt up to the E46 exhaust system so all that is needed at a basic level is just rerouting and one can maintain the same flanges. Makes for an easier job.



Getrag DCT trans next to the S65




Time to pull this sucker out...




Let's compare...





It does appear the DCT is a tad longer. Shouldn't be a problem.

The next challenge to work out is figuring out how to do all my hosing and tubing for coolant, AC, powersteering etc. I've come up with what I believe is a really simple and great idea. Retain the stock fittings but weld on AN connectors to run custom hosing. The pictures should explain this further. I'll have these done before next week is out.



Material removed



All the connectors



I will have to remove the heater core to take by my welder to have the connectors fabbed up



Inventory time



Everything labeled



Getting the DCT trans into it's seating position



Getting a spare S65 block into position to see how it lines up with the trans and subframe and rack






Obviously nothing is perfect fitment here but we are only going for ballpark estimations right now. I still need to look at my headers before I build engine mounts





Everything is high enough to not cause any safety issues










Here is how the trans mostly fits. You can also see why I have to relocate the heat exchanger








I'm looking at getting the E9X condenser and deleting my drier bottle from the Z4. The E9X condenser has a built in drier so there is no need for the bottle which would free up some room in engine bay.

[Honorebel]

Nice update and everything is looking great! Congrats on the progress.

[xeux]

Awesome updates.

[tominizer]

So much about this motor swap just seems exactly right.

[Swashplate]

Go on.

[dfjaws]

As someone who owns a M Coupe as well as a E90 M3, I've often thought about how sweet of a car the M Coupe would be with the S65 in it. I'll definitely be watching this thread. Keep up the great work!

[MPLICIT]

Originally Posted by dfjaws

As someone who owns a M Coupe as well as a E90 M3, I've often thought about how sweet of a car the M Coupe would be with the S65 in it. I'll definitely be watching this thread. Keep up the great work!

I'm glad you guys are enjoying this.

Update.

Got the Z4MC driveshaft out and compared it with the DCT driveshaft.




Packages have been coming all week and will continue for a few weeks. I ordered the E9X AC condenser because it has a built in drier to save space in the engine bay so I can delete the E46 style drier bottle. I picked up a 19 row Mishimoto oil cooler for the DCT trans (It's way bigger than it looks) and I picked up the CSF Racing Engine Oil Cooler from the E92 M3 as it's the best size for the money it seemed and I wanted the inlet and outlet pipes on opposite sides otherwise the E46 M3 one was attractive. I decided I will retain the stock PS radiator as it does a swell job and is very large. Coolant radiator is in the mail. My wallet is starting to feel lighter after some of my orders this week. We have about $15k worth of items heading in the next couple weeks.



I like to take pride in the builds I do and a BIG part of that, probably the biggest part for me anyway, is having a clean swap. I cannot stand grime or dust left in anything! I had to tear down the exterior of the engine and get her cleaned up. My OCD is killing me!

I'm taking this time to do all the gaskets and get my AN fittings welded on the PS pump, AC unit, and OF housing.

First step was to seal up the engine.



I took the headers off to get in the outlet ports and clean some of the debris out.




Cleaning out the valley of this beast was tricky. It dawned on my to flip it upside down and hit it with a powerwasher after letting it soak in brake cleaner.











Up next was dropping on some of the first goodies I did up earlier on.















I called it quits for this day and got her tucked in for bed



Next day I got her prepped for my new rod bearings I ordered. After the S54 I am not taking any more chances.




More to come soon.

[mad-dog]

Awesome build!

Do you think you can use the original tranny mounting bracket or will you have to build a new one? Would the original bracket be suitable for the manual?

Motor position with original motor mounts doesn't look that bad, to be honest, but further back is better of course. What I wondered, looking at the pictures: would it be possible, to swap left and right motor mounts? Looks like it coul fit and it would bring the motor further back.

Sorry for my english.

Regards from Germany and respect for the work.

[MPLICIT]

Originally Posted by mad-dog

Awesome build!

Do you think you can use the original tranny mounting bracket or will you have to build a new one? Would the original bracket be suitable for the manual?

Motor position with original motor mounts doesn't look that bad, to be honest, but further back is better of course. What I wondered, looking at the pictures: would it be possible, to swap left and right motor mounts? Looks like it coul fit and it would bring the motor further back.

Sorry for my english.

Regards from Germany and respect for the work.

The E92 M3 Manual Transmission bracket fits the Z4MC manual transmission chassis bracket side. The DCT does not fit OEM.

L and R motor mounts can easily be swapped and it changes the position but the engine is simply too high to work and the one on the drivers side obstructs the steering column. I have a huge update soon that will cover most of this

[mad-dog]

Originally Posted by ApolloTheGod

The E92 M3 Manual Transmission bracket fits the Z4MC manual transmission chassis bracket side. The DCT does not fit OEM.

L and R motor mounts can easily be swapped and it changes the position but the engine is simply too high to work and the one on the drivers side obstructs the steering column. I have a huge update soon that will cover most of this

Thanks for the info, I'm looking forward to the next update.

[Finnegan]

Nice to see this build coming along. Great stuff.

The mods that appear to be required to the headers make me a bit bummed. If I ever imagined doing this in California and ending up with a street legal (and DMV referee approved car) the exhaust system would need to be 100% stock with zero modifications for it to pass. <grumble>

[MPLICIT]

Originally Posted by Finnegan

Nice to see this build coming along. Great stuff.

The mods that appear to be required to the headers make me a bit bummed. If I ever imagined doing this in California and ending up with a street legal (and DMV referee approved car) the exhaust system would need to be 100% stock with zero modifications for it to pass. <grumble>

There is no need to modify any of the exhaust components except for the shape of the headers. You can use the iceengineworks kit to rebuild the driver side bank of headers so that it fits in the car more easily. You can still have your secondary catalytic converts and if you desire you can add ones just off the headers as well. You could even cut the ones off the S54 headers and weld them onto the ends of the S65 headers.

[jra]

Love love love this build. Thanks for taking the time to share!

[crawlin]

This is going to be badass! Looks awesome. If you have any questions about the trans/motor I just switched from M coupe to an E92 M3. I know how it is wondering if something isn't running/acting right if you haven't really driven it much before. I have done plenty of swaps and thought something wasn't right just because you haven't really spent much time with the drivetrain. I think your basically putting the best M naturally aspirated motor in one of the best chassis's ever. Not to mention this motor rev's higher than the M coupe which is crazy.

I hear you on the clean work space, I clean every 2-3 hours when working on projects as I hate looking for shit or kicking around a socket or something and losing it to the dusty corner of the garage.

Also I think you may be making somewhat of a mistake trying to put up crazy supercharged numbers. I would keep it N/A and leave the purity of the car alone. Not to mention with some bolts on and or stroker it'll walk almost any car and smoke cars at the track. Have you done the numbers on weight 50/50 balance and what not. I wonder how much heavier this motor is or how much weight the motor and trans weigh over the M coupe. Your going to love the trans by the way, its a well engineered trans.


P.S.- please take off M colors on kidney grill lol.