E46 BMW 344i S Project

steveafster · Oct 29, 2014

Hi Guys I am starting a Little Project and this is what I plan to do.

I have a 2002 E46 Pre Facelift 328I Body is good rear sub-frame is cracked and torn from the chassis. Interior bad shape bought it for a Song.

I am buying a E39 540I 4.4 V8 Body and interior perfect engine only done 195000 gearbox faulty in safe mode.

I intend on ripping everything out of the e46 and transferring the whole 540 loom and electronics to the e46
I am also putting the 4.4 v8 in the e46 on a manual 6 speed gearbox and a Manual 540 I Diff.

I plan to upgrade the braking system to a Brembo Big Brake kit 17 Inch wheels

Suspension will get Bilstein adjustable coil overs

Modifeid 540 Rear subframe mounted to the e46 Body

A complete aftermarket Chassis Brace from the front of the suspension to the rear

I am fitting 2 Eaton Super chargers to the V8 Engine one for Each Bank Two throttle bodies two air mass meters two cold air intakes

After market engine management obviously

I plan to Flow the cylinder heads cam upgrades roller-bearing crank and con-rods etc etc

I will post pictures etc as I Progress with the Project and Obviously ask for Advice along the way..
:=):

Jeremy · Oct 29, 2014

:clapper::clapper: subscribed!!!

ver328i · Oct 29, 2014

:withStu:

This is awesome!!!

Good luck with the project

:coolShake:

JayDrft · Oct 29, 2014

Roller bearing crank - Now that will be interesting to see.

Ill be keeping an eye on this one!

Good luck, and welcome.

Dbn540i · Oct 29, 2014

raise: Great stuff. Subscribed!

moranor@axis · Oct 29, 2014

glad you joined in for updates

Fordkoppie · Oct 29, 2014

steveafster said:
I am also putting the 4.4 v8 in the e46 on a manual 6 speed gearbox and a Manual 540 I Diff.

Do you already have the gearbox?
If not - good luck.

steveafster said:
I plan to upgrade the braking system to a Brembo Big Brake kit 17 Inch wheels

A 330i comes standard with 325mm disc brakes, and those are the absolute maximum you can fit under 17" wheels....
So what sort of "upgrade" will you be upgrading to, underneath a 17" wheel?

steveafster said:
I am fitting 2 Eaton Super chargers to the V8 Engine one for Each Bank Two throttle bodies two air mass meters two cold air intakes

How is it that a single Eaton M112 can supply a 5.4L V8 in the F150 Lightning with oodles of boost, yet your 4.4L needs 2?

steveafster said:
roller-bearing crank and con-rods etc etc

on an m62?.....:bs:

netercol · Oct 29, 2014

nice project! also had this idea some time ago when i had a e46 chassis sitting around with no engine, projected cost turned me off in the end.

may i suggest staying with the oem management, the e39 management is nice and refined, and not that difficult to custom remap for the required fueling with forced induction..

steveafster · Oct 29, 2014

Thanx Guys

:=):

Good I am already getting positive feedback

Yes I have a Complete 39 540I thats my Donor Vehicle

I have an engineer that claims roller bearings can be done so we will see.

I am using 2 Identical superchargers that come off Merc c230 Kompressor they are rated for 1.8 to 2.5 engines so thinking this would be a novel Idea they will fit nicely on a custom inlet manifold relatively low profile. And its something unique. So If not why not...

We taught of going with 17 inch wheels but 19 inches are not completely out of the question however the vehicles mass is not increasing by too much and we don't want to go overkill on the brakes E36 M3 did quite well with 17 inches e46 m3 uses 19 inch wheels so yes still deciding on the size will obviously take good advice on this matter.

Redline · Oct 29, 2014

Sub'd:clapper:

steveafster · Oct 29, 2014

netercol said:
nice project! also had this idea some time ago when i had a e46 chassis sitting around with no engine, projected cost turned me off in the end.

may i suggest staying with the oem management, the e39 management is nice and refined, and not that difficult to custom remap for the required fueling with forced induction..

Thanks for that Advice was my line of thinking someone tried to convince me otherwise this will reduce the costs considerably.

I would like to keep the car as much BMW as possible I saw some nice European conversions having the donor car reduces the costs.

Besides this is being done for the fun of it.

:ty:

moranor@axis · Oct 29, 2014

I would suggest getting the V8 in and running 1st then super charging once you have solved any issues that come up from the swap

a V8 e46 is awesome alone

Redline · Oct 29, 2014

moranor@axis said:
I would suggest getting the V8 in and running 1st then super charging once you have solved any issues that come up from the swap

a V8 e46 is awesome alone

:withStu:

steveafster · Oct 29, 2014

moranor@axis said:
I would suggest getting the V8 in and running 1st then super charging once you have solved any issues that come up from the swap

a V8 e46 is awesome alone

Yes that is the plan Fortunately the V8 Motor only weighs 40 KG More than the 328 motor and there will be a lot more space in front of the motor V8 is a lot shorter than the Straight 6

moranor@axis · Oct 29, 2014

post pics soon :rollsmile:

steveafster · Oct 29, 2014

This is what it looks like now!

Sankekur · Oct 29, 2014

I going to go out on a limb here and say that either:
a) You haven't done nearly enough research in what you are going to attempt here.
b) Or you have no idea what you are talking about and what you are letting yourself in for.

I sincerely hope it is the former, I also sincerely hope the if you intend on tearing into an M6x with the intent of changing internals that you are made of money as there pretty much no aftermarket parts available for these motors (not even in the US) so every single thing will have to be custom made.

You mentioned that you intend on modifying an e39 rear sub-frame to fit the e46, why? Why not fit an M3 rear sub-frame? This will also allow you the use of a large case diff....I assume this is the reason for changing the rear sub-frame. On the topic of the diff you mentioned that you intend to fit a 540i manual diff, again why? Why not go for one of the many LS diffs that are available in the same size and come in much better ratios?
On the subject of the sub-frame, what are you plans with the front one? You will either need make a custom sump or sub-frame to be able to fit the V8

You said that you will be using the standard DME and wiring, how do you intend to use 2 MAFs and 2 throttle on the standard DME? (not mentioning the trouble of synchronising two throttles) If you really want to stick to an OEM system you might want to look at the DME off a V12 as they had two intakes and two throttles.

Which gearbox do you plan on using? Do you already have the gearbox? They are really hard to find, though some are more readily available but crazy expensive. You choice of engine management will affect the gearbox that you can use.

What are your plans regarding a clutch? If you plan on sticking to OEM e39 stuff you will be limited to 240mm clutches. Also keep in mind if you stick to an e39 DME you will have to get a flywheel that is specifically intended for an e39 none of ones intended for other V8's will work. (The clutch is probably one the most expensive maintenance items on BMW V8's)

You mentioned that the V8 is much shorter than the I6's......don't let the length of the heads fool you, the V8's are very close to the same length as the I6's. Also regarding the issue of space you are aware that fitting one supercharger to a V8 is already pushing it in an e34 engine bay what will it be like fitting two in the smaller e46 engine bay? This is not even considering the routing of the pipes for the intercooler for two superchargers.
Also regarding the choice of motor, any specific reason you went for an M62? The M60 and S62 actually handle boost a lot better. You mentioned flowing the heads and cam upgrades...you might first want to investigate the OEM alternatives for heads and cams before doing something this drastic.

Honestly if you really want a V8 just start with a manual swap on the e39 and then take it from there, by upgrading, suspension, brakes, supercharger etc. The e39 provides a more than competent chassis that has a lot of potential.

DieselFan · Oct 29, 2014

A friend of mine was going to do this. The gearbox was almost impossible to find and like what's been said when you do find one they are ridiculously expensive. This is not something you can do on a tight budget unless you are doing everything yourself and the car can be down for a year.

danieljames · Oct 29, 2014

Sankekur said:
I going to go out on a limb here and say that either:
a) You haven't done nearly enough research in what you are going to attempt here.
b) Or you have no idea what you are talking about and what you are letting yourself in for.

I sincerely hope it is the former, I also sincerely hope the if you intend on tearing into an M6x with the intent of changing internals that you are made of money as there pretty much no aftermarket parts available for these motors (not even in the US) so every single thing will have to be custom made.

You mentioned that you intend on modifying an e39 rear sub-frame to fit the e46, why? Why not fit an M3 rear sub-frame? This will also allow you the use of a large case diff....I assume this is the reason for changing the rear sub-frame. On the topic of the diff you mentioned that you intend to fit a 540i manual diff, again why? Why not go for one of the many LS diffs that are available in the same size and come in much better ratios?
On the subject of the sub-frame, what are you plans with the front one? You will either need make a custom sump or sub-frame to be able to fit the V8

You said that you will be using the standard DME and wiring, how do you intend to use 2 MAFs and 2 throttle on the standard DME? (not mentioning the trouble of synchronising two throttles) If you really want to stick to an OEM system you might want to look at the DME off a V12 as they had two intakes and two throttles.

Which gearbox do you plan on using? Do you already have the gearbox? They are really hard to find, though some are more readily available but crazy expensive. You choice of engine management will affect the gearbox that you can use.

What are your plans regarding a clutch? If you plan on sticking to OEM e39 stuff you will be limited to 240mm clutches. Also keep in mind if you stick to an e39 DME you will have to get a flywheel that is specifically intended for an e39 none of ones intended for other V8's will work. (The clutch is probably one the most expensive maintenance items on BMW V8's)

You mentioned that the V8 is much shorter than the I6's......don't let the length of the heads fool you, the V8's are very close to the same length as the I6's. Also regarding the issue of space you are aware that fitting one supercharger to a V8 is already pushing it in an e34 engine bay what will it be like fitting two in the smaller e46 engine bay? This is not even considering the routing of the pipes for the intercooler for two superchargers.
Also regarding the choice of motor, any specific reason you went for an M62? The M60 and S62 actually handle boost a lot better. You mentioned flowing the heads and cam upgrades...you might first want to investigate the OEM alternatives for heads and cams before doing something this drastic.

Honestly if you really want a V8 just start with a manual swap on the e39 and then take it from there, by upgrading, suspension, brakes, supercharger etc. The e39 provides a more than competent chassis that has a lot of potential.

This was just clarified to be massively complicated.........

Although.......... i remember watching a youtube vidoes of a ou in the US who drop an S85 into an E46..... don't know the nitty gritty of it. My point is.... If u have the time and are willing to put in the effort then go for it boet.

I doubt there'll be a day that you ask for advice that a fanatic can't help you with. Veels geluk Mnr.

DieselFan · Oct 29, 2014

I know of a s65 with a manual gearbox for sale if you're interested in going that route.

E46 BMW 344i S Project

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