[hankock]

First off I am a noob in BMW's. Came form working on old school v8's(loving summit racing), and Imports as honda's.

And im not trying any swap on my 335i just curious about he topic.

But i would like too know why every time i search for engine swap people always steer them away from doing it, or they always suggest v10 swaps or refer people to the hartge which is hella expensive.


Why doesn't anyone look at the v8 from the 550i or x5? is it just because of the wiring and hassle of putting the swap into the chassis, or does the engine not provide a performance side to those engines. i know wiring would be a headache on its own.

[project6]

I would venture to guess that working on old school V8s and affordable imports (BMWs are imports, too) would be less costly. Parts are more readily available due to the popularity of the hobby.

Look at the roots of hot rodding. You start with a beater or a base that you can buy for not a huge amount of money and work on it (or throw money at it)until it turns into the beast that you want.

[John 070]

V8's have a common issue where they leak coolant when they get older, and it's a 9-12k job at the dealer. Who needs that?

[RoundelM3]

There are a few European tuners who produce 3-series cars with the engines from M5s or 550s, but you can buy a really nice house for the cost. The electronics hassles alone are staggering, and then you have the cost of machining any adapters needed to mount the engine in the car. Back when there were no ECUs in cars, engine swaps were relatively easy. Today, the cost, complexity, and federal emissions laws make it totally impractical. If you really want big V-8 power, buy a used E92 M3 and supercharge it.

[hankock]

Originally Posted by project6

I would venture to guess that working on old school V8s and affordable imports (BMWs are imports, too) would be less costly. Parts are more readily available due to the popularity of the hobby.

Look at the roots of hot rodding. You start with a beater or a base that you can buy for not a huge amount of money and work on it (or throw money at it)until it turns into the beast that you want.

yea, engine wise its less costly for BMW but cosmetic wise it is very comparable.

Also as time goes on 3series are getting cheaper, a 15k car to use as a shell just isn't going to cut it.

Originally Posted by John 070

V8's have a common issue where they leak coolant when they get older, and it's a 9-12k job at the dealer. Who needs that?

thanks, thats what i was looking for basically what stops people from going that route other then 200k needed for a hartge v10

Originally Posted by roundel335

There are a few European tuners who produce 3-series cars with the engines from M5s or 550s, but you can buy a really nice house for the cost. The electronics hassles alone are staggering, and then you have the cost of machining any adapters needed to mount the engine in the car. Back when there were no ECUs in cars, engine swaps were relatively easy. Today, the cost, complexity, and federal emissions laws make it totally impractical. If you really want big V-8 power, buy a used E92 M3 and supercharge it.

i think wiring is the biggest worry, CNC machine shops fab mounts reasonable, and any time you think performance emissions are gonna put a halt on a project.

and it seems that would be best option to go until time goes on but who know by then everyone will be driving bmw I8's.

[RoundelM3]

Originally Posted by hankock

yea, engine wise its less costly for BMW but cosmetic wise it is very comparable.

Also as time goes on 3series are getting cheaper, a 15k car to use as a shell just isn't going to cut it.



thanks, thats what i was looking for basically what stops people from going that route other then 200k needed for a hartge v10



i think wiring is the biggest worry, CNC machine shops fab mounts reasonable, and any time you think performance emissions are gonna put a halt on a project.

and it seems that would be best option to go until time goes on but who know by then everyone will be driving bmw I8's.

If you plan on registering a car like you suggest for street use, try and pass emissons testing without federal certification - or, better yet, getting an exemption.

[hankock]

Originally Posted by roundel335

If you plan on registering a car like you suggest for street use, try and pass emissons testing without federal certification - or, better yet, getting an exemption.

I have known no one to get exempted from emissions with a newer car that did an engine swap.

[PINeely]

I think that the main reason is just the N54/N55 put up V8 numbers with tuning for WAY less than the price of a V8 swap. That makes a swap only worth the cost if you are trying to do something profound (like get an ///M V10 in there). Additionally you have to do all sorts of electronics work to keep the computers from talking to each other.