Bmw-gn??
- Thread starter jswmotor
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ahollowtub
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- Joined
- Jun 9, 2006
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HESCO in Birmingham,AL did the swap about 15 years ago.Car ran 12.0's with stock everything.The car was hugger orange. 
jswmotor said:
Been thinking about this myself for a couple of years, and it's on my grandiose list of cars to build before I kick the bucket. I'd probably use a beemer from 92-98 because of the improved aerodynamics, aftermarket support and nicer interior -- the weight's about the same. I'd also gravitate towards using at least the differential from an M3 because it is a limited slip, is far stronger, and it bolts right in. Using an M3 as the project car would be better of course because you get the great suspension and brakes, though it would about double the initial car cost.
A stock 92-98 BMW 3-series 2-door weighs 2866 Lbs, has a frontal area of 21.26 sqft and a .33 Coefficient of drag. Putting out 450 horse to the wheels, it should run around a 10.8 in the quarter and have an absolute top speed around 204 mph (on paper, of course). It would actually be a little lighter with a GN motor than it would be with the standard straight 6, and I've read that you can shave off another 150lbs or so by using a carbon fiber hood, doors, and trunklid, all of which are pretty easy to find. (A full carbon fiber body can save over 350lbs on a 325, but that's not an off-the-shelf item.) The engine compartment's actually long enough that it looks like you could use a stock GN location intercooler (but you'd have to measure, of course). I've seen at least 2 installs of BMW overhead-cam V-12's into 3-series cars, so I don't think there would be much problem at all fitting a turbo 6 in. Anyway, based on all of that, I should think traction-limited 10's would be pretty easy even in a stock-looking car.
Oh, and I have found only one picture of that hugger orange GN-powered beemer (hood closed too, dang it), and not much else at all on the net. I put a good couple of hours into searching for it a few years ago. No specs, no times, and if I remember correctly, I couldn't even get a hold of the people that built it. There's also a couple of links to be found of LS1-powered 325's, so you could possibly find some other inspiration there.
Oh well. There's my two cents.
- Freed
