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5L V10 (S85) Conversion


EF Ian

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I love V10's so I'd really like to try this conversion in my 260Z, just trying to work out if it would be possible.

 

 

Engine is a BMW S85 5L V10 from the E60 M5, makes 507hp is stock form, with less restrictive exhaust system and remap up to 550HP is possible, Its not all that heavy an engine, an RB26DETT weighs 255 - 260kg and the S85 weighs around 240kg so it certainly not to heavy to put in a Z.

 

 

The engine will definitly fit lengthwise but it may be a bit tight widthwise and I'm not sure if the E92 M3 6 speed gearbox will fit in the transmission tunel and the gearstick position looks like it could be quite far back. Only other concerns are clearance of the front crossmember and steering arm.

 

 

 

 

What do you guys think?

 

 

 

 

 

Heres some photos of the engine in question:

 

 

 

TCS-M5-43-2.jpg

 

 

m3-39-1.jpg

 

 

m3-3-1.jpg

 

 

E60V10ManualGearbox2-1-1.jpg

 

 

E60V10ManualGearbox4.jpg

 

 

E46V10Conversion9-1.jpg

 

 

E46V10Conversion8.jpg

 

 

E46V10Conversion5.jpg

 

 

E90Gearbox-1.jpg

 

 

E46V10Conversion14-1.jpg

 

 

e46v10conversion23.jpg

 

 

KMSRacingEnginesdesignedandbuiltmechanicalthrottlelinkageThisreplacestheflybywiremotorsusingalloriginalmounts.jpg

 

 

mani2-1.jpg

 

 

E46V10Conversion7.jpg

 

 

E46V10Conversion6.jpg

 

 

E46V10Conversion4.jpg

 

 

BMWV101.jpg

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I'm looking into this, trying to get some measurements from the engine so I can see what it will take to make it fit. If the budget is going to be too big I won't do it and will probably go RB26DETT. If this happens I intend to pick this up later on either in another 260Z or in an E30 M3.

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I think the tranny will fit with a bit of banging and obviously cutting out the stock crossmember brackets. It doesn't appear to be much bigger than a T56. The shifter does look kind of far back though. Length wise like you said should have plenty of room. Width wise it might be a tight fit, but thats nothing some "clearancing" can't take care of. If you have the resources, make it happen. It would make for a wicked Z.

 

-Will

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Yeah, I think the tranny will fit with some alterations, don't want to loose too much room in the cabin though. I'm currently trying to find measurements/dimensions of the engine and gearbox as the engines themselvesare very hard to find where I live.

 

 

 

 

 

What is your budget anyways?

I suppose I really need to work out the maxiumum I'm prepared to spend. I guess £15k ($24k) would be my max unless I spread it out over 3 years, but I'd rather have it done quick so idealy within 18 months.

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Hmmmm...well anything is possible of course, looking at the pictures of the engine, its definitely going to be real tight, and besides your original concerns, I think height might play a factor in everything as well, intake included

 

But more importantly, whats the cost on these setups? knowing BMW you might break bank just trying to get an engine set.

 

Its a really cool idea though, and I certainly would love to see it...reminds me when I had the idea of getting a 360 modena engine and putting it in my old Rx7, which would have been awesome and possible.....till i found out the cost of the engine alone lol

 

Oh well, i can dream right? lol

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  • 2 weeks later...

Well from the images it looks to be fairly compact It's heads LOOK narrower than ford modular heads, and people put those engines in. With only a 3" stroke the deck should be fairly low as well. This all bodes well for fitment. If height is an issue, just get a cowl hood, no biggie. The oil pan looks funky but it's fairly rear-biased, which also bodes well for the swap. The engine is mostly-uncluttered at the back, but there looks to be some fuel lines back there that might need rerouting IF the pan necessitates putting the engine as far back as possible.

 

All that said.... I personally wouldn't touch it. There's many other ways to get 500, or even 550hp. Most are cheaper, some are just as interesting to me. Most are much much much less complicated. With the BMW you'll most likely need a modified ECU due to the security system, and wiring will be fun fun fun!

 

Personally, I like the sound of V10 engines, but I really don't like their inherent imbalance/vibration. Most V10 designs either have balance shafts, or deal with other limitations to get around the vibrations.

 

And not to continue being the pessimist, but I doubt it'll actually weigh in close to 500 lbs. Even though it's all aluminum, it's still a DOHC 5 liter V10. The all aluminum 4.6 liter ford motors weight over 500 lbs, and there's no reason for this V10 to be lighter, but every reason to be heavier.To me that sounds like a longblock shipping weight, not a fully dressed weight ready to pour fluid in and run. Maybe I'm wrong, I hope so.

 

BUT!!!! If you want to do it just to do it, don't let me stop you. Overall this is an interesting idea, and much cooler in my book than going mainstream with a turbo L motor, or pushrod V8. Dare to be different!

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  • 4 weeks later...

 

All that said.... I personally wouldn't touch it. There's many other ways to get 500, or even 550hp. Most are cheaper, some are just as interesting to me. Most are much much much less complicated. With the BMW you'll most likely need a modified ECU due to the security system, and wiring will be fun fun fun!

 

Obvoiusly it comes down to personal choice, but the engine itself is the reason for me wanting it, not the +500hp it makes. Yes, with this engine I'll need a completely new ECU and harness setup in order to run it.

 

 

 

 

And not to continue being the pessimist, but I doubt it'll actually weigh in close to 500 lbs. Even though it's all aluminum, it's still a DOHC 5 liter V10. The all aluminum 4.6 liter ford motors weight over 500 lbs, and there's no reason for this V10 to be lighter, but every reason to be heavier.To me that sounds like a longblock shipping weight, not a fully dressed weight ready to pour fluid in and run. Maybe I'm wrong, I hope so.

 

It will weigh closer to 580 lbs but thats still the same as an RB and they work fine in a Z.

 

 

 

 

BUT!!!! If you want to do it just to do it, don't let me stop you. Overall this is an interesting idea, and much cooler in my book than going mainstream with a turbo L motor, or pushrod V8. Dare to be different!

 

Its looking like I won't have the budget for this at the moment, its going to work out quite a lot more expensive than an RB26DET. I still need a V10 in my life at some time so I'll be revisting this later on either in another 260Z or in an E30 M3.

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It is funny to see this come up actually.  I currently have an RB25 resting in the engine bay of my 240z that I salvaged from an old project that I parted out, but I am switching my plans to do the S85 swap in my car.  While I love my RB, because it is probably the smoothest running motor I have ever built,  I want to step up my project cars to the next level.

 

The factory ECU can probably be used, but my plan was to use a standalone.  There are 2 options for standalones that I know of, one being Pectal ($$$$$$$) and the other is the Tornado 2 from a swedish company.

 

I plan on using a 6 speed out of an E90/92 m3 since they are identical to the v10 6 speed.

 

Being young engineer for Roush, I do have the budget for this project and will probably be looking to put my RB up on the market in the not so distant future.

 

I will post a build thread for this once I pull the trigger on the motor/transmission sometime in the next few months.

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Sounds good.

 

 

Make sure you do a build thread, would definitly make it cheaper/easier for me to do this swap once someone has already tried it and know what  needs done, what works and what doesn't and so on.

 

 

Good luck.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I will definitely try to document the build as much as possible.  So far I am looking at 6 months before I pull the trigger on the motor and transmission.

 

My friend works for a BMW delearship and is trying to get measurements for me on the motor before I go ahead and sell the rb25.  I am fairly confident that it will fit, since it fits into the engine bay of a 1 series, and that bay is only 1 inch wider at its narrowist point than the engine bay of my 240z.  Although I would still like to be 100% confident it will fit.

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I think I would be more concerned with height than anything else, even if the engine itself just clears the hood you still need to account for the intake which is top mounted and quite high off the block...that is if you were to stick with the factory intake. It looks to me like that intake rises a good 4-6 inches above the block at the highest point

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  • 2 months later...

Would be pretty amazing to see this done. Would haveto warn you about potential costs though. Im coming from the BMW world and these engines are rediculously expensive to mod. Not kidding dude even just a set of aftermarket headers for this motor costs over $6,000!

 

im currently putting an rb26 into my 71 240z and im amazed at how much cheaper rb parts are than m3 stuff, i would guess its about 1/3 the price for amost all the parts iv had to buy so far.

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The costs would have been beyond my budget which is Why I'm going RB26. However once I get a house sorted and move up the career ladder a bit more I do hope to fit the S80 to a car of some sort, either a 260Z or a E30 M3.

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  • 1 month later...

Wanted to check in and let you guys know I am still doing this swap.  Just have to finish up another project car I had sitting around first.  The '66 GTO I've been working on for the better part of a decade (long story, shouldn't have taken this long), is almost ready to roll out for paint.  After that car is put back together and ready to go we are probably going to sell it to fund the 240z project.  

 

In the mean time I picked up my own miller syncrowave 200 for the garage so I wont have to rely on the shop TIG at work, plus I can start cranking out some side work on the weekends to add additional funding to my Z.

 

As far as measurements go I am still working on getting someone to take rough measurements for me.  I tried emailing people on ebay that had them for sale, but none were willing to grab a tape measure for 5 minutes to help me out.

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