Installing the BMW 4.4L V8...

TehMac

Diamond Member
Aug 18, 2006
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any of you chum chums heard of installing the BMW 4.4L V8 crate motor from Dinan into the 2006-2008 BMW M Coupe? Inquiring minds wish to know...

I google'd extensively but I haven't really found much. Anyone read any magazine article/forum post detailing such a transplant?
 
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EightySix Four

Diamond Member
Jul 17, 2004
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A Big Stuff 3 aftermarket ECU can handle a BMW V10 (ITBs and VANOS) so I'm sure it could do the 4.4 V8 too.
 

TehMac

Diamond Member
Aug 18, 2006
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No idea, but the 4.4 is awesome... Just sharing that thought.

agreed although there are two types of the 4.4l from BMW. there's the 4.4l crate motor that is in the m3 and is also offered by Dinan. That's the stroked 4.0l found in normal m3s.

The other type of 4.4l is usually turbocharged in the 7 series
 

TehMac

Diamond Member
Aug 18, 2006
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I'm just kind of surprised no one seems to have done this. You'd think it'd be a pretty popular thing to do. I know there are supercharging kits out there for the car, but that seems just as much a hassle because you have to lower compression ratios by rebuilding the engine. The crate motor should fit just fine into the engine bay and would probably fit in better because it's more compact than the inline six in the standard m coupe.

Coupled with a lighter body + 450 hp (4.4L Dinan) that would be one sweet ride.
 

DivideBYZero

Lifer
May 18, 2001
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It's probably due to packaging. The Z4/Coupe have only ever had I6 mills in them, so wedging in a classic angle V8 is probably more trouble than it's worth.
 

TehMac

Diamond Member
Aug 18, 2006
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It's probably due to packaging. The Z4/Coupe have only ever had I6 mills in them, so wedging in a classic angle V8 is probably more trouble than it's worth.

The Evo magazine article posted at the top documented the 4.9L V8 from the E49 M5 being installed in a regular Z4 and the writer remarked that was one of the easier steps of installation because of the larger engine bay. And the 4.0/4.4L is lighter than the 3.2L I6 so balancing shouldn't be an issue.
 

TehMac

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Aug 18, 2006
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It's a good article, and I think the 4.9 M5 V8 is bigger than the m3 4.0/4.4L V8
 

SSSnail

Lifer
Nov 29, 2006
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That would be some serious undertaking; I've seen some guys at e46fanatics stuff new M5 and M3 engines in e46s, and that's crazy enough. Suppose you have to have lots of patience, skills, patience and skills.
 

TehMac

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Aug 18, 2006
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Well I think it's never been done because it's actually a dumb idea. The V8 makes a great noise and I still think M should have made a new M coupe with the M3 V8 but most of its power is made at a higher rev range, whereas ESS apparently has some super cool supercharger kits that do a good job at keeping a smooth powerline.

A guy at BimmerFest comments on a lot of supercharged M Cars and has a supercharged M Coupe by ESS. He also updated his supercharger to a newer version in 2009 I think.

Although it's not an M-Coupe the video on that page is pretty sweet too I think

edit: apparently the guy is in love with the 4.6L stroker motor which apparently is the 4.0L stroked a little bit more than usual...
 
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exdeath

Lifer
Jan 29, 2004
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Because with the BMW tax, it's not worth it. Better off just modifying the standard engine. You can HPF TT your 3.2L I6 for 1000 HP for less than what it would probably cost for a brand new production M V8, much less a highly marked up modded one.
 

exdeath

Lifer
Jan 29, 2004
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what's this "bmw tax" you speak of?

SS exhaust for a Camaro: $250
same SS exhaust, but in a BMW box : $2500

That, also known as Corvette tax, etc., depending on the car. Basically ripping people off because they have money to spend on expensive cars figuring they will write a blank check for a $10,000 part without thinking twice when that part costs $1,000 for every other car in the world.

How does a plastic tube and a $10 filter cost $100 for one car and $500 for another car? That phenomenon of making a fixed production cost item scale in retail price as a percentage of the price of the car it's sold to go on is known as the "BMW/Corvette/Lexus/whatever tax"

Better off modifying what you have for more power by throwing a supercharger or turbo on your I6 (even still with the BMW tax on those parts) than paying Dinan $50,000 to throw a chip and some spark plugs in a $25,000 engine for you and paying a "BMW certified" mechanic 5x the standard rate to install it for you. Or you can just pull your factory crank out and have a machine shop turn it to whatever stroke/rod journal size you want for <= $300.

The people who could afford these engine swaps you're talking about on a brand new car aren't bothering with $50,000 BMWs unless it's a dedicated track toy. Those who do have $50,000 BMWs and drive them on the street are middle class folks who work to pay the bills and still don't have $25k to throw away on an engine swap for 40 more HP, on top of their $1000 a month car payment, when they can spend $6k on a supercharger and get 100+ HP. Ok I admit I didn't even look to see how much that crate motor costs, but I can't be too far off with the money Dinan charges for things like "stage 10 tune and plug wires".
 
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TehMac

Diamond Member
Aug 18, 2006
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ah I had a feeling that's what you meant. Still, a v8 m coupe with a beefed m version of the new z4 would be pretty dang cool imo.

Shame it'll never happen
 

sdifox

No Lifer
Sep 30, 2005
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So you are going to have to rework the brakes,suspension and exhausts too.