How about an M5 V8

How about an M5 V8

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Discussion

monstergrowler

Original Poster:

112 posts

204 months

Monday 1st October 2007
quotequote all
Just wondering if anyone has ever considered fitting a E39 BMW M5 V8 motor into a Chimaera / Griffith? Seems a tempting prospect to me to have a 400bhp V8 with German reliabilty. Why do people go the LS1 /2 route? boxedin Is it because they are more straightforward to fit or more tunable i.e to get above 400bhp?
Sorry for the dumb questions boxedin

GingerNinja

3,961 posts

263 months

Monday 1st October 2007
quotequote all
monstergrowler said:
Just wondering if anyone has ever considered fitting a E39 BMW M5 V8 motor into a Chimaera / Griffith? Seems a tempting prospect to me to have a 400bhp V8 with German reliabilty. Why do people go the LS1 /2 route? boxedin Is it because they are more straightforward to fit or more tunable i.e to get above 400bhp?
Sorry for the dumb questions boxedin
Without claiming to be an expert, I'd imagine the BMW unit is considerably more expensive to buy upfront and to maintain - I think the yank lumps offer a very enticing blend of afforability, reliability and power.

350Matt

3,749 posts

284 months

Tuesday 2nd October 2007
quotequote all
Not only that the BMW lump is a whopper, its the width across the heads which will dictate how easy it is to fit and I'd say nearly all 4V V8's won't go in a TVR.
this is why the LS1 is proving more and more popular

Matt

monstergrowler

Original Poster:

112 posts

204 months

Tuesday 2nd October 2007
quotequote all
Thanks just wondered. whistle .

heightswitch

6,319 posts

255 months

Tuesday 2nd October 2007
quotequote all
monstergrowler said:
Thanks just wondered. whistle .
It also slants over to the left and would foul steering etc without lots of work.

N.

tinker-27

835 posts

229 months

Tuesday 2nd October 2007
quotequote all
i work on a mates m5 v8 and its crap in comparison to a std ls,it burns loads of oil (they all do that sir !!) its wide as its dohc,(v8s dont slant over to the left),the clutch is weak and damped ,oh and no torque ! apart from that its ok,

heightswitch

6,319 posts

255 months

Wednesday 3rd October 2007
quotequote all
tinker-27 said:
i work on a mates m5 v8 and its crap in comparison to a std ls,it burns loads of oil (they all do that sir !!) its wide as its dohc,(v8s dont slant over to the left),the clutch is weak and damped ,oh and no torque ! apart from that its ok,
Sorry. was thinking of the previous M straight 6 engine!!
N

2802th

212 posts

217 months

Thursday 11th October 2007
quotequote all
Anyone thinking of putting the M62 engine (E39 M5) beware, I ran an E39 till recently and the Vanos units, (clever timing adjustment) would cost you about £3000.00 to have done and they wear badly. Take a look at the BMW forums and you will see what I mean, there is virtual histeria about these things. Engines in good nick start at £5000 without all the clever bits!
Big Yank lump anytime for me

Trellis

583 posts

244 months

Sunday 21st October 2007
quotequote all
2802th said:
Anyone thinking of putting the M62 engine (E39 M5) beware, I ran an E39 till recently and the Vanos units, (clever timing adjustment) would cost you about £3000.00 to have done and they wear badly. Take a look at the BMW forums and you will see what I mean, there is virtual histeria about these things. Engines in good nick start at £5000 without all the clever bits!
Big Yank lump anytime for me
hysteria is the right word - the VANOS scare is hyped WAY beyond the reality.

post 01 engines had revised piston rings. my m5 burns less oil than all my old rover v8 TVRs did.

as for the E39 engine having no torque!! hmm! It produces more torque than an 'equivalent' RV8, and enough to lug a weighty E39 laden with gizmos and gadgetry through 100 mph as quickly as any Chim/Griff weighing 600 kilos less.

sorry but the 5 litre M5 engine is a true gem. Why anyone would want to put one in a TVR though I have no idea. It would detract from the true character of a TVR in my opinion. Grunty basic brawn is what TVR is about and what makes them great. The RV8 is great old lump too!




monstergrowler

Original Poster:

112 posts

204 months

Sunday 21st October 2007
quotequote all
The reason I asked if anyone had considered it is because as you have just stated the engine is a gem and is far more powerful. Morgan have done it with the aero 8 and I dont think that destroys the character of a morgan car. I understand what you are saying about the charcter and why do it, but changing the motor to a LS is surely the same argument?

I had to ask why and the simple answer provided to me was its to big...............shame hehe

Jim Green

449 posts

214 months

Monday 14th January 2008
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E39 M5 V8.....No Torque.

You are kidding of course......I'm not a BMW Fanatic, but I own a 2001 e39 M5, and can assure you that it's a perfect V8.

Yes it's big and probably won't fit into a TVR, and yes, they do use a little oil. But that is due to the low friction piston rings and all part of having a highly tuned V8. As for the Vanos........that's way over hyped, and less than 5% of all E39 V8's have had any problems at all with them until over the 100,000 miles, which isn't bad for a very highly tuned engine.

I'm looking at a Tuscan, and know that I'll be spending alot more time working on that than I've ever done on any M5.

snorky

2,322 posts

256 months

Wednesday 23rd January 2008
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Last time I was at RT Racing they had a Cerb in ther being fitted with an M3 engine and g/box - don't know if it ever got finished...

Brummmie

5,284 posts

226 months

Wednesday 23rd January 2008
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Jim Green said:
E39 M5 V8.....No Torque.

You are kidding of course......I'm not a BMW Fanatic, but I own a 2001 e39 M5, and can assure you that it's a perfect V8
You havent driven a tweaked LS motor yet then?

Guillotine

5,516 posts

269 months

Sunday 3rd February 2008
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snorky said:
Last time I was at RT Racing they had a Cerb in ther being fitted with an M3 engine and g/box - don't know if it ever got finished...
STR6, LOOKED LIKE A VERY NICE INSTALLATION TOO.

Jim Green

449 posts

214 months

Friday 16th May 2008
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A "Tweaked LS" motor.............. Sorry didn't realize we were talking "tweaked motors". And you probably haven't been in Thorney Motorsports "tweaked" M5. Nor have you probably ever been in a standard M5 otherwise you'd realize what crap your talking. 400nm of torque at under 3,000rpm.... In Standard form. How the hell can that be a "No Low Torque Engine".


LS7427ci

91 posts

196 months

Tuesday 27th May 2008
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I'm confused but I'll go for LS motor any time beat anything eles on the market for money in and HP's back out hand down and I'm talking 400+ a built LS7 will run 800hp on pump gas not many engines you can say that about!!!!

grahamw48

9,944 posts

243 months

Saturday 31st May 2008
quotequote all
LS7427ci said:
I'm confused but I'll go for LS motor any time beat anything eles on the market for money in and HP's back out hand down and I'm talking 400+ a built LS7 will run 800hp on pump gas not many engines you can say that about!!!!
Well that's er, quietened things down a bit. hehe

You only need to go to the Pod to see what a big yank V8 can do (and I've been going for 38 years) smile

Mark Adams

356 posts

265 months

Wednesday 11th June 2008
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The BMW V8 is physiaclly gigantic, so there's no chance of fitting one in a TVR unless you want to widen the entire car by around a foot!

I've seen these motors over on John Eales' dyno and workshop (yes he does BMW V8s too) - it's no wonder they need such a huge car to accomodate them. BMW didn't find room for any fresh air around it either...

If you want to do a transplant the LS motors are much cheaper, and much closer in in size and spirit to the RV8. Having done several transplants though (mostly RV8 but a couple of LSs) I think it is overall an even more expensive option than tuning the trusty RV8.

LS7427ci

91 posts

196 months

Wednesday 11th June 2008
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LS will beat a Rover hands down for money in and power out and still hold together!!!!!

Mark Adams

356 posts

265 months

Wednesday 11th June 2008
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That's undoubtedly true, but I was referring to the overall cost (maybe not very clearly). The engineering work to get the engine in is almost always more than the cost of the engine itself....

Edited by Mark Adams on Wednesday 11th June 20:06