Go back to oem turbos?

langsbr

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This is where you lost me. Stock LT4 making 650/650 or modifying a stock engine and being back in the logging/tuning/logging/tuning loop again.

I want power and the ability to jump in the car whenever/wherever and not have to think twice about anything. It's also why I'm considering parting and selling. Problem is that I still love the look of the car and the driving dynamics. It would also be cheaper to swap an LT4, or similar in, than go buy a Z06 corvette.

I got ya - if your power goals are 650whp, then yeah, a stock LT4 would do it for sure. I figured once you go ST, or consider doing an LS/LT swap, you'd be aiming for 800+.
 

The Convert

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new gen LT4 will add 100 lbs. compared to the N54. While that may not seem like much, it's a 25% increase at the snout. My experience with BMW swaps (BMW family motors) is that the driving dynamics are impacted. If lead was not so expensive, I'd tell you to get four 25 lb. shot bags, throw them in the engine compartment and see how the car drives, just for mock up.

I agree you won't hit the $70-80k Z06 cost. But I'd run scared from this comment. Engine swaps are involving. The devil is in the details and the sand in your shoes is what kills you. Both time and money. Especially when doing something that has not been done 100x before you (i.e.; LT4). Resale value is questionable given the money in, and then there is the "there's an ass for every seat" problem of finding the guy that wants to drop decent coin on an LT4-swapped BMW.

Don't get me wrong, the LT4 is a badass unit. And I'm a fan of a meaty undertaking like what you are proposing. Here's a guy that did a current gen Camaro and slammed a wet sump LT4 into it. Slightly interesting read - make sure you hit post #46 for a parts list (always interesting, right). He claims 2 months to do the install - and that's a current gen GM chassis and engine product swap. His comment was, if doing it again, would just do an LT4 supercharger swap the original motor and forego the lost time and cost. Domestic-wise, I'm a Ford guy not a Chevy guy so don't know much about the platforms.

Don't mean to be negative, just thought I'd throw some thoughts on since I surmise from your thread that you're exploring and kicking the ideas around.

I'll leave one other comment - I am surprised that a reliable 650whp N54-driven car is not a reasonable option.

Filippo
Not negative. I'll check that thread out this evening.
 

Dreyo27

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Why don't you get the s55 powered m3/m4 with a DCT?

they can run 100% e85

They run 10s in the 1/4 mile with just downpipes and intake and a tune.

They handle well from the factory, no need to do LSD and coilovers

Best of all, they can be had for under 40k now on the retail side. I seen them go for low 30s on the auction.
 

fmorelli

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Manheim, their high line auction, says this in their current market report.

2015 BMW M4 2D Coupe -
Last 30 days average sale over the block, $41.5 k with 34k miles, average condition 4.1 of 5.
They list retail target at $51k.

2015 BMW M3 4D Sedan -
Last 30 days average sale over the block, $45.6k with 30k miles, average condition 4.3 of 5.
They list retail target at $53k.

If I saw a car in the Bronx, 3rd party dealer selling for well less than what he can get at auction, I'd run the other way. But the above is real data from real sales (at least at auction) and you can base real-world retail costs from there. Note retail target is derived from Manheim working with Autotrader sales.

Filippo
 
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Dreyo27

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wow,
1) looks like we are both in the same industry,
2) wow m3s hold better resale lol.
3) agree that one is too good to be true, also the stripes aren't helping. At the same time the numbers you provided are avarages. if you look at the actual bellcurve there are some outliners on both ends. Also don't forget that they are about to start coming off leases.

been looking at this one myself.
https://www.iaai.com/Vehicle?itemID=28697158&RowNumber=18&loadRecent=True

looks like a clean title so far, that might change as the auction date is announced. Also going to get it inspected to make sure that the engine didnt fail due to flood (It is in florida) and then rebuild the current one with forged internals, or just buy a used engine and pop it in.
 
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Torgus

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coming off leases will certainly help. That stripe is hideous. Given the owner thought that was a good idea imagine all the other bad decisions he has made...
 
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fmorelli

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I'm looking at month of July. They had 64 M4 sales, so data is strong. Most of them are lease cars, duly noted, so they are coming off now in droves. Once can see that as well comparing to a $4k higher price six months ago. But honestly the average is pretty on par. Most of the M4's that were under $40k were either 60k miles or sub-4 ratings, which when one digs in usually includes various body damage.

The problem in the used car business is that average dealers don't buy M cars - purple squirrels are cool to us, but sales is about turnover and it is far easier to sell slushbox 528i's all day long to people. Highline dealers do it, of course, and most of those know how to buy reasonably well. So the good stuff is paid for and the cars that have not been maintained as one would want, they go for less. The nice thing about most 20k mile cars is that no one has screwed them up too much. Mostly.

If you do decide to go the circa $40K M4/M3 route, look at BMW / Mercedes / Cadillac / Audi dealerships. BMW "sports car" trade-ins for the latter three are often hard to sell, and it becomes more about turnover and freeing up cash, loan loss, et al.

Filippo
 
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The Convert

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Why don't you get the s55 powered m3/m4 with a DCT?

they can run 100% e85

They run 10s in the 1/4 mile with just downpipes and intake and a tune.

They handle well from the factory, no need to do LSD and coilovers

Best of all, they can be had for under 40k now on the retail side. I seen them go for low 30s on the auction.
N54, N55, and S55 cars are a no go for reliability imo, and the S55 having crank bolt/hub issues like the N54 is a deal breaker. I hate the idea that you can drop $10-20k into building one of these motors just to have the crank hub randomly spin on you and you're done. Just ridiculous.
 

ShocknAwe

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N54, N55, and S55 cars are a no go for reliability imo, and the S55 having crank bolt/hub issues like the N54 is a deal breaker. I hate the idea that you can drop $10-20k into building one of these motors just to have the crank hub randomly spin on you and you're done. Just ridiculous.

Heard of this occasionally, but do we have any info anecdotal or not yet as to when this kind of failure occurs? Power level, engine mileage, etc?
 

Dreyo27

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BMW did improve the design in the later models so they are less likely to happen on those. Also tend to happen at over 650whp level.
 

fmorelli

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The VTT crank bolt capture should be a partial solution, which may suffice given that it seems the problem is not super common?

Reliability wise there is no argument that a motor built to product 650whp should be well more reliable than a motor built for 300whp that is upgraded piecemeal to 650whp. It's so easy, even as an engineer, to completely underestimate the amount of testing and iteration that is required to achieve reliability numbers. That, combined with many of the "alpha prototype" products we run on the cars, variables in mechanic skills, tuners, et cetera ... information is far from pure for decision making. No easy task and the devil is in the grey between the lines we read.

Filippo
 

doublespaces

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