SL-C recommended engine/transaxle combos

T

brad

First off i want to say i'm brand new here!! but i am already in awe with RCR superlite cars the sl-r and sl-c are both freaking amazing in their own rightw, and i have every intention of owning both..

anyways back to the topic.. i was thinking a real nasty motor in this car would be the bmw s85 ( m5 v10) i know they aren't a bargain but i've seen a full motor tranny setup for 18k or so, and given the race nature of the high revving motor seems like it would be awesome propelling a 2000lb car.. and theres stroker kits out there making 650bhp with full emissions... sounds pretty amazing to me..
does any body know what type of weight they are? or are there other things that make it less than ideal other than the price tag?

i have to say when i think about a race inspired bmw engine, super light mid engined supercar, and timeless looks, with outrageous performance.. one thing comes to mind McLaren F1!!! and heck car + motor + plus stroker setup could easily be done for under 100k.. sounds like a bargain!!
:shocked:
 
CANTDRIVE55

Doc Kaler

Welcome Brad!

This would be a noble project if you could pull it off. First, you will need to check out the dimensions of the V10 since most V10s are too long and would require some chassis surgery to fit. The adapter for a transaxle of your choice would need to be engineered. The ECU would be custom too. The intake would have to be routed away from the firewall. These are a few of the basic challenges you might encounter.

But, your a wise man for choosing a SL-C and SL-R...:drunk:
 
T

brad

haha... that motor on fleabay sounds very very enticing, the unfortunate part is in the immediate future i'm going to have to concentrate on making my sl-r project happen first, as new home sales haven't been very kind to us builders lately! and i'm not seeing a great market to sell my 84 porsche 930 either.. so i'll believe i'll just hang on to it.. as it is a pretty special car!!
however i would love to see the bmw v10 put in one of these cars i can only imagine how sweet that would be paired together, a motor like that is just begging for a light agile car, not the m5 tank its in, nothing against M5's i do love them.. but the noise and acceleration you could produce in a emissions exempt 2000lb car would be insanity!! i need to stop i'm getting all excited and that could lead to borrowing money against my house! hahahaha
 
A

Allen English

Looks like you guys might have another trans axle option @ a $7,800 initial order price, purchases ordered by September 14th at this price . Made for the Factory Five GTM, but possibly it would work on the SL-C? Have a look and decide for yourself.

Mods please remove this if I am out of line here posting this.

What's New

Transaxle1_small2.jpg
 
Big-Foot

Randy V

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Nice transaxle Allen - but there were a couple of things that concerned me;

First of all you have to pay for the part in full, and then WAIT for between 3 and 6 months! Your money will be put in an escrow account where it will remain until you receive your transmission.

Second of all, there are no refunds on these orders as we are committing a huge amount to the initial order.
Click to expand...

It's not that I don't trust FFR but that's a pretty open ended deal... It's like they're going to wait to place the initial order until they have a large number of orders on the books...

-edit- Price is $8,200 if you buy one without ordering a GTM.. $199 Shipping (presumably continental US only)
 
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A

Allen English

Randy you are right and yes it is alot of $ to order, but I know FFR and trust them. Others can too! They are only protecting there investment and that is the only way to get it done in this economy. Even at $8,200 I would think it is a good deal for a brand new trans axle with better gearing than the Porsche unit most people buy.

The no refund should be fine for the guy that really wants "Needs" a trans axle for the SL-C or GTM. So my thoughts are - don't invest if you don't plan to follow through with the deal. I agree with there requirements 100%.

No refunds makes sense, if you allow refunds and they start building these trans axles, they could end up with too much inventory. Not good when you are in it to make money.

What does it cost to make a G50 right for the SL-C with 500HP + application I wonder?
 
B

Les

2070322_001_1L.jpg

image courtesy of WorldCarFans.com

EFNFAST said:
Not for me - all I see is the maintenance knightmare that can become

"Old school" V8 > * :laugh:
Click to expand...

2070322_001_Mini1L.jpg

image courtesy of WorldCarFans.com

If we are under the impression that the BMW V-8 engine may be a maintenance nightmare and therefore should be excluded from consideration as a powerplant for the SL-C, here is an interesting viewpoint from pistonheads.com (An 'M' For All Reasons?):

. . . to find out what to watch out for with these (Ms-series BMWs) we spoke to Andrew Askey of Manchester-based independent BMW specialists BMTEC (BMTEC - Manchesters leading Independent BMW and Mini servicing and repair specialists.).

"First of all the engines themselves are pretty much bulletproof in our experience' he tells us. 'We've seen a few of the throttle housings fail on the V8, and they're not a repairable part. Once they've gone, they've gone, and the replacement part itself is around £600. Other than that, on the engine side of things you only need to look out for the VANOS device (BMW's variable valve timing dingus which alters cam timing by six degrees either way). There is a small filter at the front of them which you can clean, but if you're looking at one which is rattling - especially at high rpms - you might want to walk away because a specialist will relieve you of £2000 to do a complete replacement job."

. . .

In terms of any pitfalls, that was all Andrew had to tell us after more than twenty years of working with these cars.
Click to expand...

2070322_001_4L.jpg

image courtesy of WorldCarFans.com

The BMW V8 is back in the hunt!

Bassanio et Portia :-)
 
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E

Alex

Bassanio et Portia said:
If we are under the impression tht the BMW V-8 engine may be a maintenance nightmare and therefore should be excluded from consideration as a powerplant for the SL-C, here is an interesting viewpoint from pistonheads.com (An 'M' For All Reasons?):



The BMW V8 is back in the hunt!

Bassanio et Portia :-)
Click to expand...

$3500 to replace the VANOS thing-a-mah-bob ..... $3500 buys you like 1/2 a crate LS engine ... still pass on the BMW one :D
 
Ron Earp

Ron Earp

Admin
Allen English said:
Looks like you guys might have another trans axle option @ a $7,800 initial order price, purchases ordered by September 14th at this price . Made for the Factory Five GTM, but possibly it would work on the SL-C? Have a look and decide for yourself.

Mods please remove this if I am out of line here posting this.

What's New

Transaxle1_small2.jpg
Click to expand...


Whatever happened to the FF GTM transmission? Was it ever built?
 
T

Damian

As far as Vanos goes all you have to do is contact Dr.Vanos DrVanos.com for a rebuild kit and it is LESS than quoted (although they at present do not have a rebuild for the V10 as there are not enough failures to justify R&D. Vanos was an issue with the S54 and some older 6 cyl. engines) You also have the option of LOCKING the VANOS (as is done in almost every single race BMW motor) so that is a non event. Now this has already been done .::Home::. and a trans axel has already been made and is in a running car although an Ultima GTR (which I posted info on in another thread. Oh and that is all on the OEM ECU).Now having said that I'm going the LS route
 
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T

Damian

The oldr M5 V8 had issues with oil build up clogging things and than POP goes the motor. As long as maintenance is up to date that is not an issue either.
 
D

Paul

The real expensive vanos issue is usually on the s62 v8, and contrary to internet forums, actual failures are not that common. US s52(and m52) 6 cyl. vanos units get noisy with age and have an internal seal that wears out.
Some s85 vanos units get a little noisier than normal, but still function fine. Most s85 vanos issues are related to the oil lines and rarely the high pressure pump. S65 vanos failures are so far virtually unheard of.......BMW racing engines have the vanos system removed beacuse it's prohibited in most professional category racing. There is no good reason to remove it.....But yeah, there are way cheaper ways to make more power....I drove an e92 m3 with the G-power supercharger kit on it. It was crazy, but there was so much money tied up into making that power.
 
T

Damian

Gpower has had more than a few motors blow up with their kits (all over the BMW community). Actually Gintani and them are going through some tuff times now due to all the bad press. The issue was to much boost (over 6psi) on stock internals. some were due to meth. failures. The real "rumor" was again the rod bearing issue (which to date has been proven false). To date Auto talent has only seen ONE with said problems and that was on a 10K mile motor that came in for the RD Sports stroker kit (which beat a NEW Skyline GTR from a roll which has been making it's rounds as well). The kits are not all that expensive when you consider what you get (same as a new LS9 all in). The S65 weighs in at 445lbs which is LIGHTER than the S54 in-line six.
 
B

Les

EFNFAST said:
Bassanio et Portia said:
Originally Posted by Bassanio et Portia View Post
If we are under the impression tht the BMW V-8 engine may be a maintenance nightmare and therefore should be excluded from consideration as a powerplant for the SL-C, here is an interesting viewpoint from pistonheads.com (An 'M' For All Reasons?):



The BMW V8 is back in the hunt!

Bassanio et Portia :-)
Click to expand...
$3500 to replace the VANOS thing-a-mah-bob ..... $3500 buys you like 1/2 a crate LS engine ... still pass on the BMW one :D
Click to expand...
:idea: Oh-ooooh! I know what your are doing, Alex!

You actually like the BMW V8. You actually want to see the engine in an SL-C.

AND, you are, as the Animaniacs say of Dr. Scratchansniff, "a pee-sychiatrist".

DrScratchansniff_5954.jpg

Dr. Scratchansniff, Pee-sychiatrist (image c Warner Bros., courtesy tvtropes.com Animaniacs - Television Tropes & Idioms

You are using "Reverse Pee-sychology" on me. Every time I mention the BWM V8/turbocompounded Wankel rotary/regenerative all-wheel drive, you nit-pick some little thing, goading me to the point where I get fed up and say, "Okay, Mister! You have thrown down the gauntlet! You don't think it is good???? Well, I'll show you!"

One day soon, you'll be at your favourite road racing track, with your SL-C. All the Superlight forum members are there too, in their SL-C's.

After several sessions of blasting around the circuit with your mighty LS-X powered SL-C, you sit in the stands and relax. You lean back, sip your favorite beverage, and watch the other SL-C's blast past you, most of them shaking the wooden benches, the little umbrella in your drink, nay, your very body, with the bullroars of their American V8's.

And then another SLC goes by, just as fast as the others, but shrieking at 8,400 BMW V8 rpm. And you smile: Bassanio et Portia's car turned out really good.

Good job, Dr. Alex! :thumbsup:

Bassanio et Portia :-)
 
S

Ricardo Montalvo

Ron Earp said:
It isn't a big rocket science to build a 8500 RPM pushrod V8 either........
Click to expand...

:thumbsup:....That would run circles around and destroy that BMW engine.

I understand wanting these German/Italian OHC engines for the unique cool factor. I could never argue that. They are sexy...

but if I were looking for naturally aspirated performance, nothing available now (for any sensible amount of $$ anyway) touches the dinosaur technology pushrod LS motor.

OHC's aren't new technology anyway. That's been around since the 1920's or longer. :shout:
 
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