zroadster.net

by **Gazza** » Sun 15 May, 2011 18:25

Had a look at mine, same as Terrys :wink:

by **Deano1712** » Thu 19 May, 2011 08:42

KW V3 suspension went on yesterday. All good until the front wheels went on and disappointed to see inner egde of wheel fouling the spring :head:

. I did read the strut can be close to aftermarket wheels. So Im now running KW V1.5 (rear only) until I can figure a fix. The wheel has a small lip on the inside which could use some material machining off, plus a small wheel spacer (3mm-ish). Damn car :head:

by **markrnorton** » Thu 19 May, 2011 10:46

This is a common issue with coilovers Mark. I run a 3mm space up front and shorter springs

by **Bench** » Fri 20 May, 2011 11:53

I run a 3mm spacer on my coil overs, i thought this was common to all set ups.

by **Deano1712** » Fri 20 May, 2011 22:07

Yes I think a 3mm spacer will do it, but the wheels have a lip on the inner edge that sticks out a bit more. The wheels are going to need a small mod, then all should be ok. Its just a bit annoying since the wheels were specially made and I could have had the offset right if I had known more.

Anyway good day on the car today. The master cylinder is on. Despite its different appearance it fits fine and interfaces with the servo ok - thanks for the posts Terry and Gary. The brake pipes were long enough to be bent to suit the slightly different ports. The relay box was too close and I moved it forwards a bit to clear. I got the new strut brace back from powder coating and fitted that - very happy with the look of it!

IMG_0685 by deansie1712, on Flickr

To cap this good day I have a new job!

by **pingu** » Sat 21 May, 2011 11:15

I think you need a stronger strut brace :twisted:

. If you haven't posted details, what is it?

Looks like it's just the final niggles to sort now (same here

). I hope you have time with the new job?

by **foler** » Mon 30 May, 2011 13:34

Deano1712 wrote:<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/7197859@N04/5131831337/" title="DSC02382 by deansie1712, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1078/5131831337_482c4bf0de_z.jpg" width="640" height="480" alt="DSC02382" /></a>

really like your motor mounts because his use oem rubber motor mounts!!! 5 stars

by **foler** » Mon 30 May, 2011 13:53

Deano1712 wrote:...Its important to get the diff in alignment with the engine centreline (within 0.5 degree) otherwise the driveline will vibrate...

is that reason why bmw use two-piece driveshaft? How you measure degree engine, tranny and diff?

by **Deano1712** » Mon 30 May, 2011 16:42

pingu wrote:I think you need a stronger strut brace . If you haven't posted details, what is it?

Looks like it's just the final niggles to sort now (same here ). I hope you have time with the new job?

Home made Gary, the best way.
New job doesnt start till August (in Tewkesbury) so plenty of time to get things sorted out.

foler wrote:
Deano1712 wrote:...Its important to get the diff in alignment with the engine centreline (within 0.5 degree) otherwise the driveline will vibrate...

is that reason why bmw use two-piece driveshaft? How you measure degree engine, tranny and diff?

Yes I think the 2-peice shaft will accommodate the misalignment. To measure it I set the car dead level and meaured the engine and diff using an angle finder.

by **Titan** » Wed 01 Jun, 2011 11:43

How about a 3 wheeler Mark?
Just spotted this as I was parked at the local shops
(Sorry for poor quality - taken with my phone camera)
The guy wasn't very talkative but let me take the last picture
It's a Jaguar block but I didn't get the cc

by **Deano1712** » Wed 01 Jun, 2011 12:48

haha don't think I have a big enough belly to drive one of those.

Open exhausts - I bet it was loud!

by **Deano1712** » Wed 01 Jun, 2011 16:18

I took the car out for a drive today. Pleased so far to see 85 miles out of the tank which is now showing half full. I guess I wont get another 85 out of the remainder but if I get over 150 miles total out of it that would be good.

I thought it was time to test the performance so I did 2x 0-100 runs (on a private road) timing it via lap mounted iphone. The car did it previously in around 12.5 seconds. Now its faster but harder to do since wheel spin is a problem and controlling it needs skills I'm just starting to learn. First run was all spin with the car snaking in first, and straightening up in 2nd but still spinning the wheels, 3rd hooked up and I reached 100 in just over 11 secs. Second run I was more careful in 1st with much less throttle, 2nd gear a bit more push and then opened it up fully in 3rd. At around 60 the wheels started losing traction and this carried on till 100 but I held the throttle wide open - slightly scary experience I have to say. Second run was faster between 10 and 11 seconds. Phew! I did a cooling down run (for me lol) and saw two black lines up the road for 100 yards from the first run :shock:

Theory says the car should do it in 9seconds but thats going to need serious practice. I dont plan to do that often though I must have laid £20 of rubber on the road!

by **Daz3** » Wed 01 Jun, 2011 16:46

Bet that put a nice smile on your face. Cars looking really good mate and also looks like you have some serious power to go with it as if an 'M' isn't fast enough already

by **pingu** » Wed 01 Jun, 2011 18:28

7.2litre V8 in 9.75secs

by **aceman** » Wed 01 Jun, 2011 21:16

It is certainly bum nipping to experience wheel spin at motorway speeds isn't it Mark, I fortunatly have traction and stability to rein it in but you can still feel/hear it and boy does it give you a wakeup call.

by **Titan** » Wed 01 Jun, 2011 21:36

aceman wrote:It is certainly bum nipping to experience wheel spin at motorway speeds

Next time we meet, ask about the "I want a poo" experience ....
I was driving south on the M5 in contra-flow at the time

by **c_w** » Thu 02 Jun, 2011 10:18

Deano1712 wrote:I took the car out for a drive today. Pleased so far to see 85 miles out of the tank which is now showing half full. I guess I wont get another 85 out of the remainder but if I get over 150 miles total out of it that would be good.

I thought it was time to test the performance so I did 2x 0-100 runs (on a private road) timing it via lap mounted iphone. The car did it previously in around 12.5 seconds. Now its faster but harder to do since wheel spin is a problem and controlling it needs skills I'm just starting to learn. First run was all spin with the car snaking in first, and straightening up in 2nd but still spinning the wheels, 3rd hooked up and I reached 100 in just over 11 secs. Second run I was more careful in 1st with much less throttle, 2nd gear a bit more push and then opened it up fully in 3rd. At around 60 the wheels started losing traction and this carried on till 100 but I held the throttle wide open - slightly scary experience I have to say. Second run was faster between 10 and 11 seconds. Phew! I did a cooling down run (for me lol) and saw two black lines up the road for 100 yards from the first run Theory says the car should do it in 9seconds but thats going to need serious practice. I dont plan to do that often though I must have laid £20 of rubber on the road!

by **c_w** » Thu 02 Jun, 2011 10:18

Deano1712 wrote:I took the car out for a drive today. Pleased so far to see 85 miles out of the tank which is now showing half full. I guess I wont get another 85 out of the remainder but if I get over 150 miles total out of it that would be good.

I thought it was time to test the performance so I did 2x 0-100 runs (on a private road) timing it via lap mounted iphone. The car did it previously in around 12.5 seconds. Now its faster but harder to do since wheel spin is a problem and controlling it needs skills I'm just starting to learn. First run was all spin with the car snaking in first, and straightening up in 2nd but still spinning the wheels, 3rd hooked up and I reached 100 in just over 11 secs. Second run I was more careful in 1st with much less throttle, 2nd gear a bit more push and then opened it up fully in 3rd. At around 60 the wheels started losing traction and this carried on till 100 but I held the throttle wide open - slightly scary experience I have to say. Second run was faster between 10 and 11 seconds. Phew! I did a cooling down run (for me lol) and saw two black lines up the road for 100 yards from the first run Theory says the car should do it in 9seconds but thats going to need serious practice. I dont plan to do that often though I must have laid £20 of rubber on the road!

Are you running normal road tyres? If so would seriously consider something more suited to the power! like semi slick or some of the numerous trackday road tyres that are around. I bet the car will be used for dry days only so wet performance won't be an issue. The extra grip will just make the car more stable in general.

Federal RS-R
Yoko AD08
Hankook RS3
Toyo R1R

by **Deano1712** » Thu 02 Jun, 2011 13:36

Yes its on normal tyres (Falken) and it would be good to have a bit more grip so it always hooked up in 3rd. In the longer term I'm going to get another set of alloys and may put some tyres you suggest on them, and use the bling CCW's for shows. It would be good to keep them in good knick.

by **c_w** » Thu 02 Jun, 2011 13:42

Deano1712 wrote:Yes its on normal tyres (Falken) and it would be good to have a bit more grip so it always hooked up in 3rd. In the longer term I'm going to get another set of alloys and may put some tyres you suggest on them, and use the bling CCW's for shows. It would be good to keep them in good knick.

Yea shame to have all that power and torque and not be able to put it all down unless you're in a high gear!

by **markrnorton** » Thu 02 Jun, 2011 13:45

Mark

Is it worth investing in something like the Racelogic traction control system ?

Might help

Mark

by **whiteminks** » Thu 02 Jun, 2011 20:07

markrnorton wrote:Mark

Is it worth investing in something like the Racelogic traction control system ?

Might help

Mark

Mark is it worth investing in some incontinence pads? Might help? :roflmao:

by **foler** » Fri 03 Jun, 2011 07:35

Deano1712 wrote:Enjoy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWWZyKl9ur8

I was hoping to having it driving this week but the clutch is leaking fluid out of the bellhousing so the engine is coming out again now!

Anyways all the hard work is done, nearly there. Problem though is the engine is not holding idle properly and I hear I need a full tune doing on the ECU. Its a bit annoying after paying good money to GM for the LS376/480 controller. Guys on LS1Tech say its not uncommon for the stock computer to do that. I will probably have it on the dyno soon. I need to find somewhere good with the LS engine.

Do you resolve idling problems and how? Engine run fine or not?

by **Deano1712** » Fri 03 Jun, 2011 10:54

foler wrote:Do you resolve idling problems and how? Engine run fine or not?

Yes I had the wrong throttle body, and the MAF installation is sensitive so I added aluminium honeycomb before/after to stabilise the airflow.

Car has passed its MOT today. Emissions just scraped through with CO at 0.3%. Happy days!

Off to Greece now for a week

by **G2JRP** » Fri 03 Jun, 2011 17:29

Have a good holiday I bet you will be glad of the break

Great job on the car

by **franky** » Sun 05 Jun, 2011 09:08

Deano1712 wrote:
franky wrote:I forgot to ask if you've had it re-mapped at all as it seems to rev to 8k.
You conversion costs, is that including the car cost or is it just the engine transplant costs?

I didnt had it remapped but I dont remember every noticing a rev limiter on it either. Odd. As for costs that figure is for the work over the last year. The engine swap part of it cost £10k-£11k.

stu wrote:Need to catch up for a coffee & run out sometime?

Sure that will be good Stu - car is nearly finished and can have a run out with it sometime soon. Will be in touch.

Still waiting for delivery of the suspension so plans this weekend have gone awry a bit. I got the brakes fully fitted but had a snag with the master cylinder. Front aluminium caliper carriers are a work of art:

IMG_0672 by deansie1712, on Flickr

A small machining company called Turbo CNC Ltd in Mansfield made them for £60. They have my recommendation

IMG_0677 by deansie1712, on Flickr

I hit a snag with the master cylinder change. The item I bought is not interchangeable with the Z3m cylinder. It would help me a lot if a member with a non-M Z3 could take a look at their brake master cylinder and let me know whether it looks like the pic below. Sorrry about the bad picture quality but you can see that the forward port is angled rearwards. Is the non-M cylinder the same? And is the reservoir the same shape?

IMG_0678 by deansie1712, on Flickr

It might seem like you've spent a lot, however you have to remember what you've ended up with. Its awesome.

Strange about the rev limiter, I saw one of your posts where you said it was on a rolling road making 300bhp before you did the valve clearances.

It'll be interesting to see what its making now. I want to bring the RPM limit down below 8k too :shock:

When its done i'll pop it up if you want so you can see how it feels compared to your new install.

by **RST Driver** » Fri 17 Jun, 2011 01:18

More pictures of the strut brace please, that looks great!

Insane project. :shock:

Best regards,
Phil

by **foler** » Sat 18 Jun, 2011 20:24

please, compare fuel consumption s50 vs ls3.
I am interested in bbk from m3 e46 csl which I can buy for 700 euro. I am in contact with your brake calipers adapter manufacturer.

by **Deano1712** » Mon 25 Jul, 2011 10:32

Not updated for a while so here goes...

The car is now in regular use and all is well. The engine is now officially past its running-in period so its been getting the beans. Performance is fantastic. Its pulls really strong and goes as fast as I think the Z3 can reasonably cope with :shock:

On the open road in 3rd and 4rd gear the acceleration is instant and overtaking effortless. I'm really happy with the brakes which are very powerful, well balanced and confidence inspiring. You can imagine I'm very happy with the outcome of the conversion

Recently there have been few problems - I had a clutch fluid leak which was just a loose union, and a rather annoying rattle from the gear linkage. I managed to fix that recently so its now a complete pleasure driving it.

The last tank full returned 20.1 mpg so thats not much worse than the S50 rengine returned.

Future jobs are few and I will probably do over the winter months:
. Design and make a new gear linkage with a slightly shorter throw.
. Fit an oil cooler. Sustained fast driving gets the oil too hot at the moment.
. Rig up some electronics to energise the reverse gear interlock at <4mph
. Mod the front wheels and fit the front KW suspension.

I remember thinking about doing this conversion a couple of years ago. I'm now starting to wonder what a Z4M would be like with a LS3, or maybe a LS7. :wink:

by **franky** » Sat 30 Jul, 2011 07:54

Deano1712 wrote:Not updated for a while so here goes...

The car is now in regular use and all is well. The engine is now officially past its running-in period so its been getting the beans. Performance is fantastic. Its pulls really strong and goes as fast as I think the Z3 can reasonably cope with On the open road in 3rd and 4rd gear the acceleration is instant and overtaking effortless. I'm really happy with the brakes which are very powerful, well balanced and confidence inspiring. You can imagine I'm very happy with the outcome of the conversion

Recently there have been few problems - I had a clutch fluid leak which was just a loose union, and a rather annoying rattle from the gear linkage. I managed to fix that recently so its now a complete pleasure driving it.

The last tank full returned 20.1 mpg so thats not much worse than the S50 rengine returned.

Future jobs are few and I will probably do over the winter months:
. Design and make a new gear linkage with a slightly shorter throw.
. Fit an oil cooler. Sustained fast driving gets the oil too hot at the moment.
. Rig up some electronics to energise the reverse gear interlock at <4mph
. Mod the front wheels and fit the front KW suspension.

I remember thinking about doing this conversion a couple of years ago. I'm now starting to wonder what a Z4M would be like with a LS3, or maybe a LS7.

Well done on a job well done

What are you revving it to? Did you install the 480 cam?

Your old s50 is now 600miles old in its new home :wink:

by **shantybeater** » Sat 30 Jul, 2011 08:37

I think its time for some rolling videos!!!

by **Deano1712** » Sun 21 Aug, 2011 19:47

franky wrote:Well done on a job well done

What are you revving it to? Did you install the 480 cam?

Your old s50 is now 600miles old in its new home

The engine revs to about 6500, and yes I fitted the hot cam. Im expecting about 500hp but its not been on a dyno yet.

shantybeater wrote:I think its time for some rolling videos!!!

Yes James it is! My lady is driving it here. She is a bit tentative with it but you get a feel for the noise and drama of it :wink:

Sorry about the dirty windscreen - broken washers, now fixed.

I will get some more video done with me driving it - should be a bit more exciting to watch!

by **hornel Z3M** » Sun 21 Aug, 2011 20:08

Wow that sounds great, all you need is a pair of wings on the car and you wouldnt have to worry about overtaking :wink:

by **Dave'z3** » Sun 21 Aug, 2011 20:14

erm....all I can really think to say is FWOOR! I want one!

Dave

by **Daz3** » Sun 21 Aug, 2011 20:17

Now thats what i'm talking about

that v8 sounds awesome and has some serious pick up great work!

by **shantybeater** » Sun 21 Aug, 2011 20:17

"Just stick it in third and hoof it, proper hoof it" -Haha brilliant!

Sounds amazing, I love the noise it makes joining the dual carriageway near the end of the video .

by **stu** » Mon 29 Aug, 2011 19:43

Love the bit at the end, "Hoolingan".

Sums the car up nicely

by **maurice the martian** » Tue 30 Aug, 2011 08:24

Great vid,sounds great,pity about the camera shake,mind you i would be shaking if i let my other half drive my pride and joy :lol:

Maurice

by **Dave'z3** » Tue 30 Aug, 2011 16:28

maurice the martian wrote:Great vid,sounds great,pity about the camera shake,mind you i would be shaking if i let my other half drive my pride and joy
Maurice

I loled.

by **Mroadster.au** » Tue 13 Sep, 2011 06:44

Damn, just DAMN . . . very jealous

Cheers . . . Mike

by **Deano1712** » Sun 22 Jan, 2012 19:37

I have been doing a few jobs on the car over the last month getting it ready for the Spring. Nothing too major but I've beeen wanting to sort a few minor problems out with the installation.

The silencers on the car are standard Z3m and this is one element I was unsure was man enough for the engine. All other parts of the install are made for the job and there is nothing that could impede power output...except for the silencers. I think on the standard car they work fine but I am pushing nearly twice as much air through them. Pressure loss increases with the square of airflow so that may be affecting power and I have had the feeling the engine is not giving all the power it could. I was planing to install Magnaflow silencers but the more I looked at it it seemed hard work and expensive. I really needed to buy a TIG welder and to get a good fit (including tail pipes) it seemed to be a time consuming prospect. I work away from home now weekdays so time is restricted. Reading Pingus post about modifying the standard silencers to make them free-er flowing I came to realise this was going to give me what was needed and for virtually nil cost. You have may have seen pics like this before, but here is the internal shot of the silencer. I have removed the two off secondary pipes and cut a slot in the primary tubes. There is now a free path through which is around as big as the area of the 2.5" exhaust pipes.

I have not driven the car yet but at idle there seems little increase in noise (I was hoping for more lol).

Another issue I have had is oil temperature. I fitted a non standard temperature sensor which is not perfectly calibrated to the gauge. With spirited driving the indicated temperature has been increasing and showing up to 140degC!! I know that this has not been a real temperature but its certainly worrying seeing the gauge rise so high and not knowing what the actual is. Its held me back giving it the beans on a few occasions. The engine doesnt have an oil cooler as standard. I know its designed to run the oil hot (>100deg) to keep it free from condensation but with my smaller LS1 oil pan holding less oil it may be running a little hot. Fix for this is to fit an oil cooler and an accurate digital gauge so that I can keep a close eye on things. I have actually bought a dual digital temperature readout so I can monitor oil and coolant. To fit the oil cooler most people fit an adapter on the side of the engine block. My manifolds are a bit close there so I have used a sandwich plate above the filter. There is just enough room for this. The filter is now an inch lower but its still plenty higher than the x-brace, so no danger of it getting a whack from below.

Travel on the gear lever is a bit long and the old ///M lever had to go. I have dropped the lever 40mm and now have a 6-speed gear knob which shows the correct shift pattern. The lever feels low but the travel is perfect.

Final update for now is the wheels/suspension. I'm refitting the KWV3 fronts and after carefully measuring the wheels and suspension struts it seems there is a 10mm foul between the wheel inner lip and the spring perch (purple on pic below). For anyone considering KWV3 its worth noting there is 15-20mm of reduced clearance to the wheel. My wheels fitted fine on the standard suspension, but 10mm foul on the KWV3. :cry:

Anyways I have been thinking long and hard about how to fix this. I was contemplating buying a new set of front wheels, but have settled on getting a new pair of inner shells from CCW. I had a long chat to John at CCW today about it and he was very helpful. The new shells will make the fronts 8x18 (as standard Z3M) and will just clear the strut. The suspension and wheels have been an expensive job. The shells will be around £400 delivered :roll:

by **aceman** » Sun 22 Jan, 2012 22:54

Looking good Mark I like the oil cooler install looks very neat. Don't forget to let me know about the suspension. :wink:

Have you seen this one; :shock:

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1775964

by **Volga** » Mon 23 Jan, 2012 07:34

Great project! Another Z3 4.6 L V8 from Ukraine - unfortunately the description only in Russian
http://www.drive2.ru/cars/bmw/z3/z3/z-danger/

by **Gazza** » Mon 23 Jan, 2012 08:34

How about a heatshield over the oil filter ? could help with the oil temp.

I know my Corvette has been known to cook starter motors due to the close proximity of the Headers.

The car looks and sounds great

by **pingu** » Mon 23 Jan, 2012 16:54

That exhaust mod is a great idea

.

How soon before it's 100%.

by **Deano1712** » Mon 23 Jan, 2012 22:54

Ian - yes you can have the S54 suspension. I'm in Austria this week and italy next so it will have to be after that.

Gazza - cooked starters is common on LSx too so I bought a thermal blanket for it but never fitted it. I will have to try fit it now but its tight to get access. Re oil filter I'm going to sheild the area too to keep the oil pipes cool.

Gary - I have till March. - I don't have much more planned for the car. May well call a cruise then: watch out for it.

by **c_w** » Wed 25 Jan, 2012 11:39

Are you going to bring it down to the Silverstone classic show? BMW Car club have a stand there for anyone BMW to get access to.

by **Deano1712** » Thu 26 Jan, 2012 15:02

c_w wrote:Are you going to bring it down to the Silverstone classic show? BMW Car club have a stand there for anyone BMW to get access to.

Yes I will be there Chris. You have a look and listen.

Booked two nights in Horwood House too.

by **Deano1712** » Wed 15 Feb, 2012 16:08

After a recent speeding incident and a £800 fine my insurance renewal consequently came in at a rather steep £1200 for the //M from Adrian Flux. Considering its limited to 4k miles and I only drive it in the dry in Spring/Summer that is seriously expensive and not at all reflective of the true risk. After all of the effort I have put in crashing it is not part of the plan! I have tried numerous other companies but all brokers seem to come back to Adrian Flux and there is a serious shortage of options for heavily modified cars. I was getting concerned that the long term cost of running the car may become a problem.

After trawling Bimmerforums I came across a recommendation for a company called Competition Car Insurance. After a short call they offerred cover for £780

This also includes insurance for 5 free track days so all in a very good deal. Happy days!

All they wanted to know was the car type, engine size and horsepower! Im hoping the strut brace is acceptable. :wink:

by **Gazza** » Wed 15 Feb, 2012 16:14

The strut brace is quite a heavy mod you know :lol:

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Z3M V8 Conversion

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