Moving enigne back ~2"

[vjlax18]

Anyone here ever moved the engine back towards the firewall?  I'm building a track car and there is plenty of room to move the engine rearward.  I know it can be done in E36's with different factory mount arms.  Do any of these exist for the M42 in an E30?

Also, does anyone know how much longer the E36 trany is compared to the M42?  And which drive shaft would be ~2" shorter and also fit the E36 trany?

TIA,
John

[GuySchalnat]

The m44 Z3's engine is pushed way back.  When things start failing, it is going to be a real pain to get to stuff, but it sure helps the weight distribution.

On the other hand, there is just enough space to get to things like the idle control valve on our cars.  I suspect you may be able to move it back if you've significantly reworked the intake, but otherwise, make sure you can still get to stuff.  The starter is bad enough without having less space to get to things.

-Guy

[vjlax18]

Guy, thanks for the reply.  The car will be a DMod club racer and will be completely stripped.  I may even cut the firewall out and move it back.  I'm thinking about making custom arms, but if there were factory ones, it would be much easier.  Thanks again.

[D. Clay]

I would check the rules of the class you will be running in. A lot of series have rules based on the location of the number 1 spark plug in relation to the ball joint. Also, even if it is legal, you may be moving into a class that allows so much more in the way of "open" items that you will be uncompetitive no matter how much you spend on an E30.

[vjlax18]

1. Engine
A. Must retain a BMW OEM engine block and head. Schnitzer heads are
allowed on M10 engines. All other changes, relocations, substitutions,
alterations and modifications are free. Fuel type restrictions listed in the
Stock section remain in place.
B. Engine/drivetrain configuration must remain as stock. Front engine rear
drive cars may not relocate the engine to the rear, etc.
C. Turbocharging/Supercharging - For the purpose of class determination,
engines with turbocharging or supercharging shall have the actual
engine displacement increased by a factor of 1.5 (150%), regardless of
boost level.

1.5*1.9= 2.85 DMod it is.

[GuySchalnat]

Sweet.

I'd check out the other motor mounts from various cars.  Like I said, the Z3's m44 sits almost entirely behind the front subframe, so that mount may work (it's the same basic block, I think).  Or it may not.

If you really need me to, I could go out and do some measuring of both cars, but it may take me a few days to find the time to do it.

-Guy

[vjlax18]

If it's possible for you to measure everything that would be awesome!

[GuySchalnat]

Yeah, give me a few days.  The weekend is going to be busy.

I'm now curious how they did it.

-Guy

[GuySchalnat]

And the answer is:

The Z3's front subframe has the engine mounting holes back farther.  Take a look at my e30's subframe:

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?model=AF93&mospid=47305&btnr=31_0261&hg=31&fg=05

versus my Z3's:

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?model=CH73&mospid=48091&btnr=31_0266&hg=31&fg=05

See those pieces of metal on the front and back corner of the subframe?  That's where the engine mounts go.  It's on the front in the e30, the back on the Z3.  Actually swapping in the subframe brings up all kinds of issues (like they have different sized bolts to mount to the body).  On the other hand, it may be easier to fab up a new engine mounting plate then a whole new engine mount, so perhaps this exersize could prove useful after all.

-Guy