I can see what he was thinking, put more of a balance on the car by having the engine sit behind the front wheels for more balance. I have seen the same done on a 350Z with an F20C (A kind of front mid engine approach like an RX-7 FD). The tuning difficulty for high HP has increased, but I can only imagine the handling capabilities of the car now!
No no no you guys got it all wrong.
First of all, the E36 with a 6 cylinder engine, is actually rear heavy. Weight distribution is 49.7/50.3 F/R balance on a 6 cyl. E36 coupé, even more when it's a 4 door, and even more yet, when using M52 engines (323i and 328i) instead of the M50, as it's an alu. block compared to the cast iron block of the M50.
So using a lighter engine, and moving it back into a front mid-ship config, just doesnt make any sense
Also, why get an engine that is difficult to tune, doesnt respond well to forced induction, messes up the almost perfect weight distribution and only has a marginally higher ammount of horsepower.
What it cost him, to get the engine, and do all the work required for the swap. He could've tossed in an M50B25 (it said it started life as a 318 ), and tuned it to atleast the same powerlevel as the F20. That would also give him the sexy sound of a tuned I6 engine.
But it's a common mistake to think that 6 cylinger BMW's have bad weight distribution. This has not been the case since the E30, which benefitted by having a 4 cylinder put in. But this is because it's alot lighter than subsequent models. So from E36 and onwards, you need a 6 cylinder to actually get the balance right.
Also, another thing he needed to focus on, was the suspension.
It clearly looks like the suspension setup is far too soft. The E36 has always been a heavy car, and requires a really hard suspension setup to make it handle really well. That car just looks to bounce around too much
Over all, I'm not impressed with the build. I respect the work put into it. Since I know a thing or two about BMW's in general, I think this swap is silly
There're just too many bad choices here.
This post was edited by Skip_Skovhugger (2009-10-16 08:25 GMT, 324 days ago)
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Don, you do know that since the E36 M3 (S50B30), all standard M3 engines rev. to 8250rpm right? And that the old E30 M3 S14B23 engine in DTM trim reved close to 10.000rpm?
BMW engines can take revs quite well, and unlike most Honda engines, can still produce torque while doing it
The 9600rpm redline of the F20, still doesnt mean that it's fast, or that the swap makes sense
The argument of who makes better engines would be pointless between BMW and Honda would be pointless. I understand what your saying about the swap being useless but Honda's race built engines are next to bullet prove. I have seen tons of F20Cs, K20s, B16-20s GSRs that produce power past 10.000rpms. just look at the 2007 performance lethal Honda the revs to 11.500rpms and has one of the most powerful power bands I have ever seen! Even the Honda RA808E V8 engine that revs to 19.000rpms would be nice! haha. but I can see what your saying about a strait 6 would be a better idea in this case. He should just take out that F20C and give it to me.
Hehehe you would like that wouldnt you Spike..
Altho with that said, I'd take your 7M-GTE any day og the week over an F20C.
But my point is, that the weight distribution on that car is fucked now, unless they put lead weights in the front
And it looks like a bugstandard F20C (it says 250hp, so it's VERY close to standard. I wouldnt be surpriced if the only thing changed was the rev limit).
But great that someone can see the point in my views
As for engines in general, Honda makes some of the best there is. There's no doubt about that, and I wont even try to argue with that (as you can't win *10014003b96a748bd8042**
But what I do say is, that many in the Jap. car scene, really underestimate BMW engines and what they're capable of.
People are just now finding out just how durable the M50B25 is, specially with a turbo on there.
You see street- and daily driven M50 turbo's with the power to match a 2JZ-GTE!! And that at a lower displacement
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