landmannnn Posted December 2, 2006 Share Posted December 2, 2006 I see one of the specialist 4x4 breakers is advertising the bmw 4.4V8 brand new for £2,250. I am guessing that although it was fiitted to the RR for a while it wouldn't replace the rover v8 easily. Am I right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mwncidur Posted December 2, 2006 Share Posted December 2, 2006 I would say you guess correctly. I did think about this engine for a racer project, the way around the gearbox problem would be to get an engine and box from a bmw 740 and a remote transfer box. big horses for cheapness though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
will_warne Posted December 2, 2006 Share Posted December 2, 2006 I see one of the specialist 4x4 breakers is advertising the bmw 4.4V8 brand new for £2,250.I am guessing that although it was fiitted to the RR for a while it wouldn't replace the rover v8 easily. Am I right? I'd say not as, AFAIK, they never shared a common gearbox making it a little more complicated. Plus, most BMW engines have a very complicated ECU setup which need things like the security system to 'talk' to it to make it work. Having said that most things can be done if you're prepared to put in the time / money. Nice engine too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pugwash Posted December 2, 2006 Share Posted December 2, 2006 i really considered this a while ago as i was really depressed with the thought of spending a considerable amount of cash on a rover v8 only for it to be entirely useless. A few things i found: 1. Some of the older 4.4 V8 (especially the ones with the nikasil liners) were mated to a ZF4HP24! The bellhousings clearly are different but i stripped the box down and reckon you could happily bodge the tail assembly so that you could mate an LT230 to it. The box could be controlled by an aftermarket PCM. 2. Avoid any 4.4 with nikasil liners they are a nightmare (IIRC these are up to 97 engines) 3.engine can easily be controlled by Megasquirt 4. Engine is SERIOUSLY underpowered for it's size- they usually ran a CR of only 9:1 or less (so that they could run on crappy US unleaded) which means you coujld have a load more power with a little bit of work 5. Engine comes on Cam very strongly and is lacking in low down torque- especially when compared back to back with an audi 4.2 or an SBC. 6. Vanos can be a pain when (not if) it goes wrong. I went off the idea because they aren't particularily powerful for the size, and aren't particularily efficient- they are also very veyr complicated- i had a 540i for a while which had all sorts of things in the engine- 2 cam sensors, a coupe of O2 sensors, knock sensors all over the place. lots of stuff like that. it was just too much hassle for me and bang per buck worked out cheaper either with a LS1/ LS6 or and Audi 4.2. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest dew110CSW Posted December 2, 2006 Share Posted December 2, 2006 Is an Audi 4.2 easy(ier) to fit then? And does it have any gains over say an RPI 4.6 V8 which will fit fairly easy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pugwash Posted December 2, 2006 Share Posted December 2, 2006 it's a bit of a bitch to fit to anything but it can be done. gains in what way exactly? power? economy? well lets assume a nicely tuned 4.6 RV8 will make 265 useable bhp if you're very lucky. An audi 4.2 makes an easy 375bhp and 360lb/ft on an almost flat curve with the right tuning- it is an extremely advanced engine which weighs bugger all. 64 valves, cr of 10.4:1 or something silly like that (obviously with konck sensors). I had an 01 A8 4.2 which frequently AVERAGED 28 mpg on the motorway! It also did 0-60 in well under 6 seconds on BP ultimate fuel and topped out at an indicated 168 on an autobahn once- there was more to go but it hit the rev limiter! I really miss that car!! To be honest you are comparing chalk and cheese- the rover V8 is a 50 year old desing and has VE of about 60% or something similar- i seem to remember that the VE of the audi V8 was up near 90% or something incredible (it sounds very high to me and i can't verfiy it anywhere but the bhp and engine size sounds about right!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mwncidur Posted December 2, 2006 Share Posted December 2, 2006 I too shyed away from the bmw engine from what people had said about the vanos etc, i'm currently investigating the chevy ls route pound for pound thats some serious grunt for your tokens! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pugwash Posted December 3, 2006 Share Posted December 3, 2006 yep you're not wrong there. you can get LS1 from breakers in the states for £1600 with very low miles and good figures. You have to add 20% for taxes and a couple of hundred for shipping but you still end up with 350bhp (and a real 350bhp not a "rover" figure!) and a bucket of torque. It will also be totally reliable and can be rebuilt for bugger all- get one with a 4L80e mated to it and you can buy a kit from Marks4wd in Oz for about 300 squids which allows you to bolt an LT230 straight up. You will then have a drivetrain which is virtually unbreakable. (although you will need to buy a g/box controller for the 4L80e!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Hiatt Posted December 3, 2006 Share Posted December 3, 2006 I also looked at fitting a BMW V8 into my racer but found they were quite heavy for the HP and opted for a Chevy. A brief looked at the Audi V8 timing chains stopped that investigation. A World Products 454 small block Chevy complete crate engine, 600hp/575tq, for $11k looks good value at the current exchange rate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
will_warne Posted December 3, 2006 Share Posted December 3, 2006 A World Products 454 small block Chevy complete crate engine, 600hp/575tq, for $11k looks good value at the current exchange rate Yeah, spend that on an RV8 and you'll have about half those figures Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landmannnn Posted December 3, 2006 Author Share Posted December 3, 2006 yep you're not wrong there.you can get LS1 from breakers in the states for £1600 with very low miles and good figures. You have to add 20% for taxes and a couple of hundred for shipping but you still end up with 350bhp (and a real 350bhp not a "rover" figure!) and a bucket of torque. It will also be totally reliable and can be rebuilt for bugger all- get one with a 4L80e mated to it and you can buy a kit from Marks4wd in Oz for about 300 squids which allows you to bolt an LT230 straight up. You will then have a drivetrain which is virtually unbreakable. (although you will need to buy a g/box controller for the 4L80e!) Pugwash, got any websites/details etc for breakers in the US? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pugwash Posted December 3, 2006 Share Posted December 3, 2006 Cleveland PickaPart i have used them in the past and have got on them with them very well- they invariably have a large selection of engines and fully test them with oil press, vacuum and compression tests which means you at least know what you are getting. i was very very very tempted by some of the LS6s they had in but they are just too much money for me at £4grand or so! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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