Jonny essex said:
Out of order JE :thumbsdown:
6k for engine swap
- Thread starter DPG
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Out of order JE :thumbsdown:
Just nitrous your engine. If it doesn't go bang- result! If it does, stick a 3.0 in (which you were doing anyway) and your next mod is nitrous (which you already have).
No lose gamble.
Ps your car is not a coupe so can never look as good as some Ms
No lose gamble.
Ps your car is not a coupe so can never look as good as some Ms
seems expensive to me but I've always been one for each to their own.
at least it's JE's own cash and he's helping to prop up the economy, I say that's a good thing. clearly there is a bmw line up, but that doesn't mean that everyone will view that as the natural progression that others do - 20 years ago I was heavily into mountain biking and used to see the same there, some people would but a relatively base spec bike and change bits that didn't need changing, turn up on a sunday morning and not want to get muddy, others would ride their bike into the ground and only change things when they gave up completely, I started on a cheap bike, maintained it fastidiously and saved for a better one, others would get a whopping loan turn up on something exotic and just want to ride into town to pose.
mostly, they were all my mates though, and I couldn't care less how they went about their hobby.
at least it's JE's own cash and he's helping to prop up the economy, I say that's a good thing. clearly there is a bmw line up, but that doesn't mean that everyone will view that as the natural progression that others do - 20 years ago I was heavily into mountain biking and used to see the same there, some people would but a relatively base spec bike and change bits that didn't need changing, turn up on a sunday morning and not want to get muddy, others would ride their bike into the ground and only change things when they gave up completely, I started on a cheap bike, maintained it fastidiously and saved for a better one, others would get a whopping loan turn up on something exotic and just want to ride into town to pose.
mostly, they were all my mates though, and I couldn't care less how they went about their hobby.
aquazi said:
Yep, then just sell the other car and he will probably make similar money back. To me this makes the most sense, you could have it all swapped over in a couple days, then JE still has low mileage minter, with all his bits, a 3.0ltr engine and won't be further out of pocket.
9k isn't a lot of money when it comes to cars but when your talking about value for money, spending 9k on a basic car that is 10 years old is... thats what I meant.
Your car is lovely for what it is, but it is what it is and making it anything else is going to be a massive audeal.
Like when I was buying, me like you I'm not hugely mechanically minded. I wanted a car that was reliable, stupidly fast, I could use every day and had a warranty so if anything went wrong they could sort it without me worrying. Its piece of mind! Now I've been on the forum so long I've become a self confessed Z geek and know how to sort most bits and pieces from learning from the wonderful Z4-forum members. But I spent my money and bought my perfect car, other than standard wheels the M is pretty much the perfect car for me, not only in looks but as a compromise between power, reliability, running costs and aesthetics.
If you build this car, it won't be any of the above and every time you have an issue it will be problematic.
I still don't understand why you won't go and have a go in an ///M if 340hp is what your aiming for thats 200hp more than your engine currently produces!! Infact it puts out what? 150hp? so your wanting to add more horsepower than the engine produces as is as a minimum! Its a big upgrade go and have a go in one!!!! See if you like it instead of dragging your heels, and ye save yourself some time, heartache and MONEY!
I guarantee you will want everything the M has, its such a better car and trying to recreate one is mindless because you've added a red roof a upgrade aero kit front bumper, lights, some tyres/wheels and a sport button remap..
When you talk about Mods tyres aren't mods... tyres are essential. MPSP were made for high performance vehicles and are OTT for a 2.0 Z4, pretty sure I said that to you when you asked about it on your tyre thread. But again its your choice, your money, but throwing money at things isn't the answer and knowledge is key.
From what I've gained from all these threads you want more power but I'm not sure you know what these engines are like, their characteristics and really what it will do to your car, let alone living with, costs of running and fixing when it goes wrong, where would you take it? The S54 has lots of problems, the S85 has lots of problems, it will be a never ending project that will be far from perfect and seen as tho we all know your a perfectionist, is that what you want??
Your car is lovely for what it is, but it is what it is and making it anything else is going to be a massive audeal.
Like when I was buying, me like you I'm not hugely mechanically minded. I wanted a car that was reliable, stupidly fast, I could use every day and had a warranty so if anything went wrong they could sort it without me worrying. Its piece of mind! Now I've been on the forum so long I've become a self confessed Z geek and know how to sort most bits and pieces from learning from the wonderful Z4-forum members. But I spent my money and bought my perfect car, other than standard wheels the M is pretty much the perfect car for me, not only in looks but as a compromise between power, reliability, running costs and aesthetics.
If you build this car, it won't be any of the above and every time you have an issue it will be problematic.
I still don't understand why you won't go and have a go in an ///M if 340hp is what your aiming for thats 200hp more than your engine currently produces!! Infact it puts out what? 150hp? so your wanting to add more horsepower than the engine produces as is as a minimum! Its a big upgrade go and have a go in one!!!! See if you like it instead of dragging your heels, and ye save yourself some time, heartache and MONEY!
I guarantee you will want everything the M has, its such a better car and trying to recreate one is mindless because you've added a red roof a upgrade aero kit front bumper, lights, some tyres/wheels and a sport button remap..
When you talk about Mods tyres aren't mods... tyres are essential. MPSP were made for high performance vehicles and are OTT for a 2.0 Z4, pretty sure I said that to you when you asked about it on your tyre thread. But again its your choice, your money, but throwing money at things isn't the answer and knowledge is key.
From what I've gained from all these threads you want more power but I'm not sure you know what these engines are like, their characteristics and really what it will do to your car, let alone living with, costs of running and fixing when it goes wrong, where would you take it? The S54 has lots of problems, the S85 has lots of problems, it will be a never ending project that will be far from perfect and seen as tho we all know your a perfectionist, is that what you want??
Jonny essex said:
JE
I love reading your threads and posts and have to say meeting you last year and chatting with you for a very long 5 mins you seem a proper decent geezer....
Mate you love your car and I share your passion, nearly,but going down the engine swap out can lead you down some dark paths. I been there and my parents have been there and it ain't pretty. Do what you can with what you got or suck it up and move on to some thing bigger and better.
E85 Z4 3.0Si
There’s some really wise words of advice here, I’ve also been down the engine swap route a few times in the past, all it creates is a minefield of on going problems and expensive bills.
You end up not trusting the car and have to forward plan an emergency strategy for when the car breaks down for each and every trip. You end up hating the car and grabbing the keys for your ‘daily dog’ car instead.
Unless you’re going to transport this car on the back of a trailer to car shows, don’t do it.
You’re faced with two options.
1. Stop being obsessed with more power, and stop looking at your own car being any less than the others because it’s a 2.0L. I personally think this size car suits 2.0L, Its a cracking small two seater sports car the same as Lotus, Honda S2000, Mazda MX5 and the all new Alfa Romeo 4c (1800 cc).
Even F1 cars have 1.6!!
Large engines are becoming old fashion, the new generation cars are getting smaller engines.
I think BMW sell more 2.0L engines from new in the Z4 these days, it what engine the masses want.
2. Are you really going to use all this power if you upgrade? Our roads are packed these days, it’s getting ever increasingly more difficult to stretch your cars legs these days, unless you drive to the Welsh mountains, track the car or drive at night to find clear roads.
If so, get the M as everyone is recommending.
You end up not trusting the car and have to forward plan an emergency strategy for when the car breaks down for each and every trip. You end up hating the car and grabbing the keys for your ‘daily dog’ car instead.
Unless you’re going to transport this car on the back of a trailer to car shows, don’t do it.
You’re faced with two options.
1. Stop being obsessed with more power, and stop looking at your own car being any less than the others because it’s a 2.0L. I personally think this size car suits 2.0L, Its a cracking small two seater sports car the same as Lotus, Honda S2000, Mazda MX5 and the all new Alfa Romeo 4c (1800 cc).
Even F1 cars have 1.6!!
Large engines are becoming old fashion, the new generation cars are getting smaller engines.
I think BMW sell more 2.0L engines from new in the Z4 these days, it what engine the masses want.
2. Are you really going to use all this power if you upgrade? Our roads are packed these days, it’s getting ever increasingly more difficult to stretch your cars legs these days, unless you drive to the Welsh mountains, track the car or drive at night to find clear roads.
If so, get the M as everyone is recommending.
tom 
wise words
wise words
Having painstaking read all of this, I genuinely think the best option for YOU is to supercharge the four banger.
a) You have a lot of room in bay so surely it's possible? Even if not widely done.
b) You get to keep the original engine
c) You can keep building on the power if you wish. I see no reason they couldn't pull 280 odd horses out of the 2.0 without a great effort considering your budget
I've come from a Renault scene where the guys are getting really decent figures out of charing the 2l 4pots, I'd talk to someone who specialises in supercharger kits, and see what they can come up with.
a) You have a lot of room in bay so surely it's possible? Even if not widely done.
b) You get to keep the original engine
c) You can keep building on the power if you wish. I see no reason they couldn't pull 280 odd horses out of the 2.0 without a great effort considering your budget
I've come from a Renault scene where the guys are getting really decent figures out of charing the 2l 4pots, I'd talk to someone who specialises in supercharger kits, and see what they can come up with.
domsz4 said:
With a £6k figure in mind for the engine upgrade, considering he's owned the car from new, I'd rather have a full supercharger setup, keep tweaking the power up until I blew the internals and then went forged. Or even go forged early on. My point was that within his budget for an //M engine, he could charge his own quite easily. I'll be the first to admit I know nothing about charging the 2.0 petrol bmw's but I'm sure there will be a few tuners who do, or who would be keen to give it a go.
I'm not suggesting try to make 350+ horses, but even 280 with the weight of the 2.0 z4 is going to feel pretty damn swift. Add a decent LSD to that and you'd have a great fun car with performance to match. IMO, any car that makes 200 bhp/ton is a very fun car. Power to weight is more important that outright power.