S85 V10 Swap - Is it possible

Ian

Club Member
V10's are my favourite engines and I've loved the S85 V1O from the BMW E60 M5 for long time.

So I was wondering out of interest if a swap into a 260Z would be possible, seems to me like it would be, theres definitly enouth room lengthwise although it might get a bit tight widthwise and I'm not sure if the transmission tunnel is wide enoth for the E92 M3 6 speed box which would be need with this swap, also the gearstick might come up quite far back in the cabin. The other area which would be hard to get working is the steering shaft.


You might also think with it being a 5L V10 that it would be much heavier but as it an all alloy engine it won't work out much heavier than an RB26DETT swap.


These make 507HP stock, but with the aftermarket ecu I'd have to use 520+HP is easy, with a good intake system feeding the ITB's, tubular manifolds with a decent exhaust system and remap 550HP is possible. But in a Z I;d be happy with the stock power, even putting that to the ground would be a challenge.


What do you think?




Some photos of the S85:

E60V10ManualGearbox4.jpg



BMWV101.jpg



E60V10ManualGearbox2-1-1.jpg



E46V10Conversion9.jpg



E46V10Conversion8.jpg



E46V10Conversion4.jpg



E46V10Conversion5.jpg



E46V10Conversion6.jpg



E46V10Conversion23kmspackage.jpg



KMSRacingEnginesdesignedandbuiltmechanicalthrottlelinkageThisreplacestheflybywiremotorsusingalloriginalmounts.jpg


E46V10Conversion14-1.jpg



m3-39-1.jpg



m3-3-1.jpg



E90Gearbox-1.jpg
 
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Ian

Club Member
I'm certainly going to look into doing it, I'd love a V10 and this would be a good way to do it. They sound so good I'd do it for the sound alone.

It seems RB26DETT's weigh in beetween 250 - 260kg so this would actually be lighter at 240KG so it would work out well weight wise as it also wouldn't need all the extra stuff that turbo cars need.


I guess the only way I'll really know is if I can find an S85 to stick into my empty engine bay to check for sizing and interference. But for the mean time I'm going to try and get the dimensions of the engine and compare them to the dimensional drawing I have of the S30.
 

SeanDezart

Well-Known Forum User
Awesome piece of kit - worked out the cost of an after-market ECU ?

Mods necessary to handle that much power in a Z ?

Really want that much torque in a Z ?
 

tel240z

Club Member
well here is half a v 12, the crank pully is dead in the centre, manifolds are quite big although i think the half of the v 10 looks at a lower angle, sump and steering rack may be tricky :thumbs:

Go for it :devil:
 

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Ian

Club Member
Awesome piece of kit - worked out the cost of an after-market ECU ?

Mods necessary to handle that much power in a Z ?

Really want that much torque in a Z ?
I'm aware of all that, I'm really just seeing if its possible at the moment, if I find out it is then I'll consider if I actually want to do it.




well here is half a v 12, the crank pully is dead in the centre, manifolds are quite big although i think the half of the v 10 looks at a lower angle, sump and steering rack may be tricky :thumbs:

Go for it :devil:
Thats quite a big lump of an engine :eek: The v10 would certainly be a tight fit width wise.

It might hard to get the steering rack to fit, although it might work with some modding like this one:
Steeringmod.jpg
 
anything can fit in anything with enough cash. you'd be looking at ££££'s in ecu and mapping costs alone, engines aren't cheap, the chassis would need major work to stop it twisting, brakes/suspension etc etc.

How deep is your wallet?
 

racer

Club Member
If it won't fit, then space frame then front end!
As Franky says anything is possible with enough time and money. I'd love to see it done.
Due to emission regs that engine is one of the last of it's kind. What an fantastic project it would be.
 

johnymd

Club Member
I love engine conversions like this but if you want good bang for your buck then follow my lead. I still think I'm getting great performance for minimal outlay. Still love to see you do this though a I like inivaters.
 

astroboy

Well-Known Forum User
I'm a bit touch out of touch when it comes to anything car related as I’ve been so involved with work for the last couple of years.

From looking at your pictures, that engine is what was shoehorned into a M3. It belongs to Phil Morrison from Driftworks and he had a fair amount of work to get it to fit. Not only due to the size of it, it was something to do with the electronics. I do know that he ventures to the ring a fair bit too, so it’s used properly. My understanding is that the conversion cost in excess of £100k so, it’s not a idea to take on lightly. Besides that, they have a full working facility and space to do what they needed and a small crew who would be always willing to help.

I did think about this combo, after seeing a Top Gear VT when there was a yellow coupe using the V10 but sadly, I’ve forgotten it’s name.

Personally, I’d take the money and buy a GTR and say hello to GTC for some carbon goodies.

If you do go ahead with this, I plead to you to keep an online diary. This would be epic and something that I would love to read over.

Best of luck.
 

Rob Gaskin

Treasurer
Staff member
Site Administrator
I can understand owners (especially the younger ones) liking the retro look of an early Datsun Coupe but wanting to fit a modern more powerful engine and gearbox. If it's done relatively cheaply and easily then it can make sense.

However to fit a huge, complex and expensive engine like this just seems way OTT to me.

I know your car Ian and it's a very smart 'usable now' classic. Why give yourself so much work and grief?

If you want more power fit a modified 2.8 into it - that will go straight in and not require extensive transmission upgrades.

You are probably just 'poking us with a stick' anyway, surely :)
 

astroboy

Well-Known Forum User
I can understand owners (especially the younger ones) liking the retro look of an early Datsun Coupe but wanting to fit a modern more powerful engine and gearbox. If it's done relatively cheaply and easily then it can make sense.

However to fit a huge, complex and expensive engine like this just seems way OTT to me.

I know your car Ian and it's a very smart 'usable now' classic. Why give yourself so much work and grief?

If you want more power fit a modified 2.8 into it - that will go straight in and not require extensive transmission upgrades.

You are probably just 'poking us with a stick' anyway, surely :)

Mr Gaskin,

I think you've hit the nail straight on the head although it would be very interesting to see someone go through all this grief and come out the other end with what you would hope is a decent and accomplished car.

I have come very close about dropping a more powerful engine into my 240z, heck I've got to a point where I've got my card out to pay for a VQ but something didn't feel right. I've been told not to do any engine conversion by my close petrol headed friends and to keep it's currently engine.

TBH, I think dropping a V10 M5 engine conversion would just cost way too much and it will need to be funded by a middle eastern prince.
 

SeanDezart

Well-Known Forum User
At the same time as advising, we should also welcome people undertaking Z challenges although I wonder where the S30 chassis is lpower-limited for +80% road use......?

300bhp ?
350 ?
400
+400 ?

Apart from the satisfaction of having accomplished a conversion, what is the' efficient' power limit - ie getting and keeping the power down and not like Daruius' Z burning tyres all day in a straight line whilst already moving ? THAT would scare the sh*t out of me even on a dry road !
 

Ian

Club Member
or buy a m5 touring, a future classic.
Not my type of car, not sporty and its big and heavy



If it won't fit, then space frame then front end!
As Franky says anything is possible with enough time and money. I'd love to see it done.
Due to emission regs that engine is one of the last of it's kind. What an fantastic project it would be.
I wouldn't want to go as extreme as space framing it, if it won't fit with some minor body mods then I wouldn't do it.




I love engine conversions like this but if you want good bang for your buck then follow my lead. I still think I'm getting great performance for minimal outlay. Still love to see you do this though a I like inivaters.
For the performance you have its definitly good value.




From looking at your pictures, that engine is what was shoehorned into a M3. It belongs to Phil Morrison from Driftworks and he had a fair amount of work to get it to fit. Not only due to the size of it, it was something to do with the electronics. I do know that he ventures to the ring a fair bit too, so it’s used properly. My understanding is that the conversion cost in excess of £100k so, it’s not a idea to take on lightly. Besides that, they have a full working facility and space to do what they needed and a small crew who would be always willing to help.
Yeah, driftworks did this conversion into an M3 as have a few others, best I've seen was into an E30 M3.

The electrics on the S85 are very complicated and integrate with all the systems in the M5/M6 so the best way to get it to work on a swap is to make your own wiring loom and use an aftermarket standalone ECU. I know this would cost a lot but 100K seems way too much, can't believe it would cost anything like that much. If the engine fits ok then mounts won't be hard to make, so after buying the engine the electronics are the next biggest or equal cost.





Personally, I’d take the money and buy a GTR and say hello to GTC for some carbon goodies.

If you do go ahead with this, I plead to you to keep an online diary. This would be epic and something that I would love to read over.

Best of luck.
I was looking a 580hp GTR before buying the 260Z but that seems to easy and its not got the oldschool style and isn't as rare or interesting.

If I can't budget something as crazy as this at the moment I'll definitly look at doing it for a future project.
 
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