335 twin turbo on other NA BMW engines. Engine swap into TR6

[rabrooks]

I want to put a BMW engine into my TR6. I'm considering a smaller engine but adding turbo. I have a 09 335ix. The car is quite fun to drive but the engine looks quite large for the little TR6 engine bay. I know it will fit, but hoping to save a little weight. So, it seems a smaller engine will be lighter. I want to reach at least 300hp. Although I'm fairly new to BMW brand, I'm not new to cars, mechanics, swaps etc. So please help me understand what sounds like the BMW setup to go with.
Thanks
Roger

Let me know if this is not the correct forum for this question

[somebody5788]

If you want smaller than you're better off with a Honda S2000 engine swap.

The N54 and N55 are a complicated beast, there are little to no options for running them on standalone ECU's and the factory ECU requires the OEM instrument cluster and key slot to be wired to run due to anti theft stuff.

The M/S 50/52 engines seem to be somewhat popular to swap in them though. With a bolt on supercharger they will make 300hp without breaking a sweat.

[Turbohugh]

Top mount Turbo M52 is affordable and would look like p0rn when you pop the good . They’ve put down 500 whp in factory bottoms just re bearing the parts and a mls head gasket . Numerous build threads in the FI forum


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[Def]

Honda K series is definitely a better option than anything that's been listed. Lighter, cheaper, can make more power, and has more aftermarket support.

A K24 can do 300 whp NA without anything too insane, but it will be a bit more of a street/drag type engine. A stock K24 + small turbo can take 300-350 whp. Rods would probably be the weak point, but they can do like 240-250 whp NA on stockish rods, and you wouldn't really have to rev it high with a turbo.

[Def]

BTW - another good engine would be a 4th gen 3S-GTE Toyota engine out of a Japanese Caldina. They're ~$1-1.2k *shipped* on eBay, and come stock with ~250 HP. Stock everything on the engine with a bit more boost and a free flowing exhaust will make 300 rwhp. You can get a billet wheel for the turbo and push that up another 25-40 rwhp with stock everything else. It's a really responsive and fast factory turbo engine that's really cheap. Iron block, aluminum head, modern turbo tech.

It can bolt to a Toyota W56/58 trans for a RWD application with the right drivetrain, so it eliminates some of the cost of a K series.

3S-GTE is a great engine to play around with, and very reliable at these power levels.

[someguy2800]

4 cylinders are for pussies. Small block ford 302 with alluminum heads, a decent cam, headers, and a carb. T5 on the back. 350 whp and it wind sound like a blender.

[jimmyz66]

4 cylinders are for pussies. Small block ford 302 with alluminum heads, a decent cam, headers, and a carb. T5 on the back. 350 whp and it wind sound like a blender.

+1. I Saw a old school 4 door Jag with this engine.

[dbarton62]

I want to put a BMW engine into my TR6. I'm considering a smaller engine but adding turbo. I have a 09 335ix. The car is quite fun to drive but the engine looks quite large for the little TR6 engine bay. I know it will fit, but hoping to save a little weight. So, it seems a smaller engine will be lighter. I want to reach at least 300hp. Although I'm fairly new to BMW brand, I'm not new to cars, mechanics, swaps etc. So please help me understand what sounds like the BMW setup to go with.
Thanks
Roger

Let me know if this is not the correct forum for this question

This has been done with an E36 M3 motor before.

[ajsalida]

Also N54 swapped into a E36:

https://bmw.spoolstreet.com/threads/...n54-swap.2365/

and various swaps into E46's.

There is now a stand alone ECU out there for general N54 swaps, by SCS, and Syvecs was supposed to have one out but it was delayed for some reason.

https://www.bimmerboost.com/content....and-dual-VANOS

Won't be impossible by any means but won't be cheap either. Electronics and fuel system will cost more than the motor IMHO.

[Def]

4 cylinders are for pussies. Small block ford 302 with alluminum heads, a decent cam, headers, and a carb. T5 on the back. 350 whp and it wind sound like a blender.

Meh, a well tuned 4 banger can feel amazing. Japan put out some great ones from the early 90's to mid 00's.

An old carb'd 302 is meh, and will not be a great street engine at 350 rwhp NA. An S54 would be a much more fun engine IMO.

[someguy2800]

Perhaps in the "I have to be different so people on the internet will think its cool" world a cammed up 302 is meh, but it the real world in a light little car like that it will be giggles with every turn of the key. It will make noises that will frighten children and you'll be able to pass cars on the highway at 1500 rpms. Instant power at the stab of the throttle at any rpm. The car we are talking about has no provisions for a modern EFI motor so the whole car will need to be rewired to accomodate it, the fuel system converted to a return style system, and you will either need to put it on a standalone or be at the mercy of some tuner from who knows where if you go outside of stock. A carbed v8 you just hook the mechanical pump to suck from the tank and it will take 4 wires to make it run. Call Holley and ask them what jets to put in the carb, set the total timing at 34 degrees, and let freedom ring. Its news to me that a 350 whp v8 is a bad street engine. I guess people have been doing it wrong for the last 60 years.

[Def]

You can run a returnless EFI setup. Pretty much all engines sold in the past ~10 years are that way from the factory.

I didn't say a 350 rwhp 302 would be a BAD street engine, I just said it wouldn't be great, as you need to put a fair bit of cam in it to get it to breathe up high. You get the typical "hot street cam" things of bucking down low under load, lopey idle, not much torque just off idle etc.

A standalone isn't rocket science, and they're readily available these days. Given the OP is asking about a "smaller BMW engine with a turbo," I'm guessing he isn't placing too much importance to hooking up a few wires and a fuel feed and being done with the install. A simple Bussmann 5 micro relay fuse box is all OP would need to add to run the entire EFI setup, with a power wire out of it going to the battery, and a common ground. I did the same thing to my Nissan S13 when I made a whole new wiring harness from scratch. It wasn't that hard really - injectors, coils, 12V ACC, 5V, sensor ground - that's about it, run your wires out from ECU, put plugs on, wrap, done.

[Robocop]

Any down sides to running a returnless system?

[e30polak]

Even though it's a fairly heavy motor, an s54 would be the best NA BMW option for the TR6 IMO. I had one in my 2,600 lb e30 m3 and it reminded me of my buddy's bolt on c5 z06 (which it also ran dead even with). Run velocity stack for the intoxicating induction roar, and intake manifold clearance, and make 310-340whp/ 235-2609wtq all day, screaming past 8k rpms on 91/93 octane. Easy to use the stock ecu and it will run awesome.

[Turbohugh]

M52 stroker with the top mount man would be the tits trust me !!


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[Def]

Any down sides to running a returnless system?

If you suck up air with the pump, you REALLY notice it as all air has to go through your injectors. On a return system most of the air would likely be returned back to the tank.

[Turbohugh]

This has been done with an E36 M3 motor before.

Man a top mount would look so nice right in there..
I dont know what that tank on the firewall is, but if you could get the motor back another 2-inches or so you would have a LOT of room for a topmount and get you in the 400WHP club
AND sound INSANE if because you probably can get away with not having a cat at all in addition to all that spooool. So much wow.. route the WG out the side for more insanity.

That might be too much for the lil TR6 and the classic british car crowd, and I respect the old classic roadsters, so ya may be too extreme.
Besides you might end up with a car much faster than you want .
Before you know it you'd be adding a roll cage and safety harness, big tires, breaking diffs and all that expensive stuff.
Don't listen to me, Maybe you should go NA If you boost it or put a v8 in you're gonna end up at 400Hp one way or another.