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BMW V8
siharrison - 19/7/13 at 08:35 AM

Morning
Has anyone got any experience of fitting a BMW 540 engine/box (6 speed manual) in a Viento?
Thanks

Not Anumber - 19/7/13 at 12:26 PM

There is someone doing this over on the Haynes Roadster forum. He has tried it all out in a mule chassis that he has extended to suit.

rusty nuts - 19/7/13 at 07:40 PM

IIRC Steve Wallace has fitted an BMW lump in his Viento

SteveWallace - 22/7/13 at 09:08 PM

I have a BMW 2.8l engine in mine, which is a straight 6. I did think about a BMW V8, but as its my first build I chickened out!

I don't know the dimensions for a BMW V8, but Rover V8's fit Viento's very well. I think that the BMW V8's might have the same sump issue that I encountered with the straight 6 in that they have a bulge on one side that gets in the way of the lower chassis rail. I just cut the sump to fit and had it re-welded (see my photo archive).

If you are going to get a BMW engine, check to see if the ECU needs a matched EWS immobiliser and key otherwise it will never start and you will be buying a new ECU. Some of the ECU's can be reprogrammed to delete the EWS signal and also the ABS speed signal that many BMW ECU's need to see to avoid going into limp home mode (All depends on age and model).

rodgling - 22/7/13 at 09:28 PM

The ABS signal doesn't need to be ABS, the signal off the speed sensor in the diff will do. I think it just wants to see a pulse train to see that the car is moving, so probably the tach signal would do the job.

Benzo - 22/7/13 at 09:58 PM

I'm putting One in my TR8..

It makes the rover look like a toy in both height and width.

Have a good look at the front sump setup before you take the plunge to, it can be converted to mid/ rear
Sump using the x5 oil pump and a custom sump.

Also manual boxes are quite hard to get.

Are you considering e34 or e39 engine? Ie 4.4 or 4L

Benzo - 22/7/13 at 10:04 PM

Rover vs M62 BM

SteveWallace - 23/7/13 at 08:03 AM

quote:
Originally posted by rodgling
The ABS signal doesn't need to be ABS, the signal off the speed sensor in the diff will do. I think it just wants to see a pulse train to see that the car is moving, so probably the tach signal would do the job.


That's what I thought, but it depends on the age of the engine/ECU. From the late '90s onwards, BMW started to use a CAN BUS system for the electrics. In this case, apparently the ABS ECU takes the speed signal and converts it into a digital signal before sending it to the main ECU, so just replacing this with a speed signal based on a pulse train does not work (or so I'm told). Of course, if you still have the ABS ECU then problem solved as it doesn't have to actually work the brakes.

I can get my ECU remapped, the rev limit raised and the need for the ABS signal deleted for £100, so I'm going that route as I am also not using the BMW diff.

siharrison - 6/8/13 at 07:07 AM

quote:
Originally posted by Benzo
I'm putting One in my TR8..

It makes the rover look like a toy in both height and width.

Have a good look at the front sump setup before you take the plunge to, it can be converted to mid/ rear
Sump using the x5 oil pump and a custom sump.

Also manual boxes are quite hard to get.

Are you considering e34 or e39 engine? Ie 4.4 or 4L


I already have an E34 540 with LSD and 6 speed box, so hope to use that! are you using the BMW ecu or something else?

[Edited on 6/8/13 by siharrison]

Benzo - 6/8/13 at 09:14 AM

My plan is to use all the bmw electronics as I believe the factory Evo can end flashed / mapped easily.