Page 9 of 9 FirstFirst 123456789
Results 201 to 212 of 212

Thread: Vorshlag E46 Alpha - 330Ci LSx Build Thread

  1. #201
    Join Date
    Aug 2007
    Location
    Lleida, Spain
    Posts
    31
    My Cars
    M3 E30, 325ic E30
    Any update?

  2. #202
    modernbeat's Avatar
    modernbeat is offline Senior Member Supporting Vendor
    Join Date
    May 2006
    Location
    Dallas, TX
    Posts
    279
    My Cars
    Caged
    I think Terry will be updating this project in a new thread called project "War Hammer". Looks like we will be building two E46 V8 swapped dedicated competition cars side by side.
    Jason McDaniel at Vorshlag

  3. #203
    Fair's Avatar
    Fair is offline Senior Member Supporting Vendor
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
    Location
    Dallas, Texas
    Posts
    3,634
    My Cars
    E36 M3, E36 LS1, E30 318
    Yea, we back-burnered this E46 330 LSx project for a bit to work on other projects, but I just picked up a gaggle of refirbished E46 M3 parts for this car from the plater today.



    I found a complete E46 M3 rear subframe assembly and E46 M3 front spindles to use in this 330Ci.



    Disassembled the parts, pulled out bushings and bearings, then had them glass bead blasted...



    After two types of Nickel plating they look money.



    Nickel plate all the things! This plating will make these parts look good and last a lifetime.



    Anyway, yea, we're building this E46 330 + an E46 M3 + an E36 M3 chassis into LSx swaps at the same time, starting this month.

    more soon...
    Last edited by Fair; 09-11-2015 at 01:15 PM.
    Terry Fair @ Vorshlag Motorsports

  4. #204
    Join Date
    Aug 2007
    Location
    Lleida, Spain
    Posts
    31
    My Cars
    M3 E30, 325ic E30
    ?¿

  5. #205
    Join Date
    Oct 2013
    Location
    Mtl
    Posts
    6
    My Cars
    92 325is, Gsxr, Rt440 ci
    lol? thread revival

  6. #206
    Fair's Avatar
    Fair is offline Senior Member Supporting Vendor
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
    Location
    Dallas, Texas
    Posts
    3,634
    My Cars
    E36 M3, E36 LS1, E30 318
    Quote Originally Posted by DougNuts
    Terry,

    I know there have been some updates in the last 3 years, but what's the status of LS swaps into E46 chassis these days? A close friend of mine is kicking around the idea of building one, just as a street car.

    I see that Vorshlag sells some swap parts, but what's new in regards to making it work in the chassis? Is there anything required to keep electrical items working, such as door locks, sunroof, etc.? Would a guy need to start off with a manual car? Is there a certain car (328 vs. 330) that is the clear choice to start from? Is it remotely possible to have working A/C?
    Yea, there's a lot of things that have happened that delayed a few things on some of the E46 swap development I had hoped to tackle by now. Its a bit of a long story on why we haven't done the CAN interface for the E46... but it is actually NOW being actively developed (by the 4th set of programmers we have tried to work with over the years). Let me try to explain in my long winded, picture-laden way you are used to...



    We had every intention of building this white 2001 BMW 330 Coupe into an LS1 monster "shop car", but initially we only used it for mock-up work to develop the headers, motor mounts, and other drivetrain bits. This car was purchased as a roller with no wiring harness or interior, and it would have been difficult to use it for a street car CAN-interface test bed. We did complete the LS1 "drivetrain mount" and header development a few years ago using this car.



    We have sold approx 20 sets of our E46 swap LS1 motor mounts, trans crossmembers, steering shafts and headers for E46 racers, drifters, and a few street car guys.



    During the time period where we should have started building this monster E46 LSx "Alpha" build for a shop car... we got side tracked as we developed this silly Mustang instead.



    And with the efforts learned from racing this S197 over 5 seasons we got buried in work on these cars, made lots of suspension/brake/wheel/aero/etc components for Mustangs, and it even bled over into the S550...



    After the development we did on the S197 had run its course we sold that car in mid 2015, but had two other "shop race car" projects already underway.



    One of those (C4) had a number of ideas we tested on it. We proved our theories and won the races we wanted to in that, so it is being painted right now and will be sold very soon. The red E46 above is a TT-Letter build that my wife races, but we have several development projects planned for this car so its staying around for awhile. But we do need a 2nd shop car to showcase our V8 swap efforts.



    The somewhat rare "sunroof-less" E46 330 white coupe above will now likely become a SpecE46 race car for a customer later this year instead of a V8 monster...



    ...because we got the word from a customer just yesterday to start the build on this E46 M3 chassis (above) into a MEGA-monster V8 track-only car. That we can drive at certain events. With that car we will also finally be able to develop and offer a driveshaft solution (this car will have a Tremec T56 Magnum 6-speed), an LS-capable clutch hydraulic system (clutch master + TOB + bleeder), radiator / hose solutions, and a few other bits and pieces. Since it is slated to be a "no holds barred" race car it will have: a digital dash, gutted interior, no air con, and a non-BMW ABS system, so there will be no need to make the CAN interface on this particular build.



    So yea, long story short - we haven't had a chance to build a 100% street capable LS powered E46, so we haven't spent the time to develop a CAN-BUS interface. There are a number of industrious forum folks who have working gauges, air con, ABS and more in their E46 LSx swaps. Bimmerforums has an engine swap sub-forum where you can find a few folks to help in those areas. It needs a lot of special wiring and programming to make a emissions legal, fully functional street car. I have yet to see a simple, plug-and-play solution marketed or available to help with this.



    Our CAN-interface efforts have not been for a lack of trying - we worked with 3 different programmers who said they could tackle the CAN-BUS integration of a GM computer with another computer to make the FR-S LSx gauges, electric steering, air con, and other CAN-wired bits work. So far we have very little to show for their efforts, but hopefully one of them will someday get the magic black box and programming to work. If I had a dollar for every person who told me "how easy" this should be to do...



    We've recently started working with another wiring harness supplier who makes very integrated V8 swap harness solutions for BMWs and other cars. They just purchased a set of our E46 LS1 swap headers and mounts so that they can build their own shop car E46 M3 V8, which they plan to develop a wiring solution and CAN interface for these cars. Their build is a street car so it needs ALL of the sub-systems to work.



    I also hired a technician/fabricator a month ago who can reprogram GM computers via HP Tuners, and we have that suite of tuning software here at Vorshlag now. Just earlier today he tweaked the programming to make the integrated MIL light on the 1999 Miata below to work. He wired in the Mazda water temp sensor, tach signal from the GM computer, oil pressure signal, and speed signal (through a programmable decoder box) to the Mazda gauge cluster. The MIL light works perfectly, too.



    So we're working on our own in-house "capabilities" to shorten development times on new and existing V8 swaps, hopefully trimming it down from "years" to "months". Again, we have JUST started a rather ambitious E46 M3 LS swap this week, but it will allow us to develop a few more "hard parts" for use in E46 swaps, and we have a new group working on E46 LS swap wiring / CAN interface solutions. I will update this thread when we have more to share.
    Terry Fair @ Vorshlag Motorsports

  7. #207
    Join Date
    Nov 2005
    Location
    Kilmarnock, VA
    Posts
    1,873
    My Cars
    E53, E90, Triumph GT6
    Quote Originally Posted by Fair View Post
    Its a bit of a long story on why we haven't done the CAN interface for the E46... but it is actually NOW being actively developed (by the 4th set of programmers we have tried to work with over the years).
    You guys just made my day We've been supplying CAN modules to integrate Engine swaps into BMW's since sometime in 2013. We've been a part of more than 30 swap projects now. Swaps we have helped with include LS1, LS3, LS7, 2JZ, EV. Also interfaced with Haltech, AEM, and Solution1. Chassis: E46, E38, E39, Z4 (With working EPS) and even an Audi.

    I was surprised we never even seen any questions from you guys.

    Anyway our design has improved over the years and it's become a bit routine (boring). We are now starting to poke at E90's :-)

    Thaniel

  8. #208
    Join Date
    Oct 2002
    Location
    Plymouth, MI
    Posts
    829
    My Cars
    '88 635 CSi, '09 X5 4.8
    +1 on Thaniel's solution from a current user!

    I'm glad that Vorshlag is getting back to this. I also have a couple constructive comments for potential product improvements as I was one of the early users of the E46 Vorshlag kit. It's easier to start with a streetable solution and then adapt that for the track than the other way around. An example of this is the fact that the fitment development was done on a fairly stripped shell. As a result I had some fitment issues with the stock heat shields in and around the tunnel (note that they weren't on the car you used). Nothing major, but an 1/8" here or there would have made it truly plug and play. The trans mount is a rectangular tube with a stiff 'nylon' block and through bolts. This transmits a lot of vibration directly into the cabin right next to the driver. I adapted the Vorshlag cross member to incorporate a stock style f-body mount and still had room for dual 3" exhaust tubes. This helped NVH a lot! I also moved to a lower durometer on the engine mounts and had a further improvement. The argument against this was increased engine movement, but I have yet to have any issues as a result.

    For the clutch portion you mention above, the line from the master cylinder to the slave cylinder/TOB from a 5th Gen Camaro has the same quick connect fitting on the master cylinder end as the E46. So if you use an LS3/7 TOB you're good to go (I think this only works on a TR6060 or T56 Magnum). On my car with a regular T56 I had to use an LS1 TOB (the LS3/7 parts was too tall IIRC) and adapt the fitting to the 5th Gen line.
    Shea Burns

  9. #209
    Join Date
    Jun 2017
    Location
    New Mexico
    Posts
    2
    My Cars
    2008 335I
    [QUOTE=Fair;26519550]Sorry for the lack of updates on this car, guys! We've been using this 330 chassis to test the production E46 LS1 swap parts. The long tube E46 headers are built, motor mounts and transmission crossmember are fabbed and at the powder coater. We should have the Vorshlag E46 LS1 Stage 0 kits in stock and for sale NEXT WEEK. We already have half a dozen pre-orders. We have a bunch of of E36 LS1 Stage 0 kits in stock at the same time. Lots and lots of LS1 swap development has been going on at Vorshlag in the past few months!


    E46 ALpha 330 Coupe chassis testing production E46 LS1 motor mounts last week

    The actual E46 Alpha car has been awaiting some parts to progress. We're making a BBK for this car with a new (to us) caliper and rotor and when that is at least mocked up we can order the 18x12" front and 18x15" rear wheels.

    Look for a project update in about a week or so...

    - - - Updated - - -





    Vorshlag stocks and sells a complete BMW 6-bolt to 4-bolt flange conversion kit, located here.[/QUOT

    Pretty old thread but my saving grace if this works! I am wondering if the Vorshlag adapter will on a newer 6 bolt 2009 e90 m3 diff? If it does will accept typical drive shaft flanges?
    Last edited by 335Ist; 06-26-2017 at 03:02 AM.

  10. #210
    Join Date
    Jun 2017
    Location
    New Mexico
    Posts
    2
    My Cars
    2008 335I
    Does anyone know?

  11. #211
    Join Date
    Apr 2015
    Location
    United States
    Posts
    40
    My Cars
    1999 528iT
    Quote Originally Posted by 335Ist View Post



    Vorshlag stocks and sells a complete BMW 6-bolt to 4-bolt flange conversion kit, located here.[/QUOT

    Pretty old thread but my saving grace if this works! I am wondering if the Vorshlag adapter will on a newer 6 bolt 2009 e90 m3 diff? If it does will accept typical drive shaft flanges?
    This adaptor is nowhere to be found as far as I've looked. Any where I can buy one?

  12. #212
    modernbeat's Avatar
    modernbeat is offline Senior Member Supporting Vendor
    Join Date
    May 2006
    Location
    Dallas, TX
    Posts
    279
    My Cars
    Caged
    Quote Originally Posted by fast5speed View Post
    This adaptor is nowhere to be found as far as I've looked. Any where I can buy one?
    It is on the Vorshlag site under E36 Engine Swap parts. But, I have no idea if it would fit the E90 differential you are looking at. The E90-M3 comes with a CV style front flange which is fairly easy for a driveshaft shop to make a driveshaft for, as long as you can use a CV style driveshaft. If you want to use a u-joint, there are CV to u-joint adapter plates.
    Jason McDaniel at Vorshlag

Page 9 of 9 FirstFirst 123456789

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •