GOD'S VENGEANCE - Complete Drivetrain Redux
Posted: Dec 13, 2010 12:27 AM
Perhaps due to my surname of Murphy, the law of the same name -Murphy's Law- has been in great affect in my personal undertakings. For this reason I've researched each aspect of the build over and over and sought the advice of those who've been there and done that. Many of these fine gentlemen have spent many hours on the phone and via email answering questions and elaborating on their writings as they pertain to this build. Despite this the gremlins will continue to do their dirty deeds and make life hell. With this as a cue I've decided to name the car: God's Vengeance. The name is apt because I've felt punished for attempting to create an automobile that excels at most everything: performance, comfort, amenities and aesthetics. Can one have the best of all worlds, have the cake and eat it too, in a single car? Perhaps not, but we shall see...
In the ~3 short years I've owned my 535 there have been many enjoyable moments behind the wheel: PCH, 5erFest Reno, weekend cruises through the canyons and track days. Despite these memorable occasions I've always had the lingering feeling of "if only I had more power". This is especially prevalent at the track when exiting a turn and when trying to keep up with the current generation of sports cars out on the road. I'm always wanting more power.
I've tried much of the low buck and easily installed options such as MAF kits, chips, exhaust, air filters and ignition systems. All these made little if any difference. I've even had some mild head porting and a Schrick 284 cam installed with little effect. I'm not satisfied.
Since I've developed a love for the E28 body style I'm not going to just sell the car and purchase something new. Gladly, I'm not afflicted by automotive-ADD. I simply do not have the time for multiple projects of this scope.
Following some research and test drives I've decided against purchasing an E28 M5 or performing an M30 to S38 swap. My understanding, which I've gained from those with much more experience than myself, is that the best route to achieve my goal of a tractable street car that can be enjoyable and competitive on the track against contemporary sports cars is to purpose-build a motor and drive train then add a moderate amount of boost. To this end I've spent the past several years researching and compiling parts. The idea is to take the best of what BMW offered for the cars of the era and make them better. I have no qualms whatsoever with hybridizing my car to reach the desired result. I'm no purist. There is however a limit to how much I'll spend and how much engineering and modification is reasonable to get things to work and fit properly. I'm also not giving up creature comforts. The leather, sound system, glass, seats, carpet and a/c are staying. I want it all.
The base upon which I'm building is a lightly abused M106 block and B35 cylinder head. Both will be thoroughly cleaned and inspected then bored, ported, balanced and rebuilt with the best parts to realize my goal. The entire valve train will be new and installed by Paul Burke along with one of his custom cam shafts. I've also decided with use an S38/B36 throttle housing assembly rather than the OE B35 intake manifold. Paul will add a custom fuel rail for the 65# injectors along with the B35 to B36 adapter plates. The boost will be supplied via a Garrett ball bearing GT4088R turbo, 11-blade billet compressor, 1.06 A/R divided exhaust housing, Bell air-air intercooler, dual Tial 38mm wastegates, Tial 50mm BOV, ceramic custom top-mount tubular and divided exhaust manifold, downpipe and 3" exhaust. The clutch/PP is a SPEC Stage 3+ kits which provided adequate clamping force and mild street manners. The transmission will be a rebuilt and resealed Getrag 265/5 close ratio 'dogleg'. This will be ideal for my monthly visit to the Miller Motorsports Park, my local track, a 4.48 mile road coarse. The power will be transferred to the rear wheels by a big-case s3.07, also freshly rebuilt.
The chassis is the one pictured below in my sig. Most of you know or have seen the car: purchased from Paul Ladue who purchased from a Burbank BMW shop owner who had rebuilt the motor and added enough juicy tidbits to get me interested despite previously not caring for E28's. Following two long stints on jacks to redo the interior/audio and then the suspension I feel it is a worthy example and excellent candidate for a much needed doubling of power output.
The most recent and decent shots of the car 'on the ground' are from the 2010 St. Paddy's meet in San Diego. Since this time aside from the drive train upgrades the wheels have been sold, front plate sold, fog lights and corner signals changed, brakes sold and upgraded, exhaust sold and upgraded and various interior changes have occurred as noted in the following pages.
My car is on the far right in most photos: diamantschwarz on black with M-System w/ throwing star covers and full Hartge body kit: airdam, side skirts and rear valance.
Suspension:
Ground Control coil-overs (430f/325r lbs/in) at all corners with Koni Sport shocks. Strut towers were shortened 1.25" and reinforced in four locations and powder coated yellow. Suspension Techniques sway bars (22/16mm). Mason Engineering adjustable end links. Reinforced bar and link mounts. Forged aluminum 850i LCA's with spherical bearings, Lemforder UCA's with Moose's spherical bearings. GC camber plates up front and KMAC eccentric's in the rear with Ireland Engineering subframe bushings. Racing Dynamics front strut brace and IE rear brace. Following corner balancing the total weight with me in the driver's seat was 3,692 lbs (I'm 225 lbs), with a 50% cross, 3.4% front bias and 0.9% left bias. Front camber is -1.1 degrees and rear camber -2.9 degrees. Road and track testing reveals this set up is very nicely balanced. The UCA's and sway bars have not been road tested as yet since they were installed since the drive train was rebuilt. The smaller diameter sway bars will help the somewhat limited E28 unibody transfer power to the ground. This will most likely be a limiting factor when competing with AWD and late model vehicles.
Here are a few teaser pics of the work in progress. In the interest of time I'll wait and post more later. Thanks for the interest. Feedback and input is almost always appreciated.
After Paul's magic:
In the ~3 short years I've owned my 535 there have been many enjoyable moments behind the wheel: PCH, 5erFest Reno, weekend cruises through the canyons and track days. Despite these memorable occasions I've always had the lingering feeling of "if only I had more power". This is especially prevalent at the track when exiting a turn and when trying to keep up with the current generation of sports cars out on the road. I'm always wanting more power.
I've tried much of the low buck and easily installed options such as MAF kits, chips, exhaust, air filters and ignition systems. All these made little if any difference. I've even had some mild head porting and a Schrick 284 cam installed with little effect. I'm not satisfied.
Since I've developed a love for the E28 body style I'm not going to just sell the car and purchase something new. Gladly, I'm not afflicted by automotive-ADD. I simply do not have the time for multiple projects of this scope.
Following some research and test drives I've decided against purchasing an E28 M5 or performing an M30 to S38 swap. My understanding, which I've gained from those with much more experience than myself, is that the best route to achieve my goal of a tractable street car that can be enjoyable and competitive on the track against contemporary sports cars is to purpose-build a motor and drive train then add a moderate amount of boost. To this end I've spent the past several years researching and compiling parts. The idea is to take the best of what BMW offered for the cars of the era and make them better. I have no qualms whatsoever with hybridizing my car to reach the desired result. I'm no purist. There is however a limit to how much I'll spend and how much engineering and modification is reasonable to get things to work and fit properly. I'm also not giving up creature comforts. The leather, sound system, glass, seats, carpet and a/c are staying. I want it all.
The base upon which I'm building is a lightly abused M106 block and B35 cylinder head. Both will be thoroughly cleaned and inspected then bored, ported, balanced and rebuilt with the best parts to realize my goal. The entire valve train will be new and installed by Paul Burke along with one of his custom cam shafts. I've also decided with use an S38/B36 throttle housing assembly rather than the OE B35 intake manifold. Paul will add a custom fuel rail for the 65# injectors along with the B35 to B36 adapter plates. The boost will be supplied via a Garrett ball bearing GT4088R turbo, 11-blade billet compressor, 1.06 A/R divided exhaust housing, Bell air-air intercooler, dual Tial 38mm wastegates, Tial 50mm BOV, ceramic custom top-mount tubular and divided exhaust manifold, downpipe and 3" exhaust. The clutch/PP is a SPEC Stage 3+ kits which provided adequate clamping force and mild street manners. The transmission will be a rebuilt and resealed Getrag 265/5 close ratio 'dogleg'. This will be ideal for my monthly visit to the Miller Motorsports Park, my local track, a 4.48 mile road coarse. The power will be transferred to the rear wheels by a big-case s3.07, also freshly rebuilt.
The chassis is the one pictured below in my sig. Most of you know or have seen the car: purchased from Paul Ladue who purchased from a Burbank BMW shop owner who had rebuilt the motor and added enough juicy tidbits to get me interested despite previously not caring for E28's. Following two long stints on jacks to redo the interior/audio and then the suspension I feel it is a worthy example and excellent candidate for a much needed doubling of power output.
The most recent and decent shots of the car 'on the ground' are from the 2010 St. Paddy's meet in San Diego. Since this time aside from the drive train upgrades the wheels have been sold, front plate sold, fog lights and corner signals changed, brakes sold and upgraded, exhaust sold and upgraded and various interior changes have occurred as noted in the following pages.
My car is on the far right in most photos: diamantschwarz on black with M-System w/ throwing star covers and full Hartge body kit: airdam, side skirts and rear valance.
Suspension:
Ground Control coil-overs (430f/325r lbs/in) at all corners with Koni Sport shocks. Strut towers were shortened 1.25" and reinforced in four locations and powder coated yellow. Suspension Techniques sway bars (22/16mm). Mason Engineering adjustable end links. Reinforced bar and link mounts. Forged aluminum 850i LCA's with spherical bearings, Lemforder UCA's with Moose's spherical bearings. GC camber plates up front and KMAC eccentric's in the rear with Ireland Engineering subframe bushings. Racing Dynamics front strut brace and IE rear brace. Following corner balancing the total weight with me in the driver's seat was 3,692 lbs (I'm 225 lbs), with a 50% cross, 3.4% front bias and 0.9% left bias. Front camber is -1.1 degrees and rear camber -2.9 degrees. Road and track testing reveals this set up is very nicely balanced. The UCA's and sway bars have not been road tested as yet since they were installed since the drive train was rebuilt. The smaller diameter sway bars will help the somewhat limited E28 unibody transfer power to the ground. This will most likely be a limiting factor when competing with AWD and late model vehicles.
Here are a few teaser pics of the work in progress. In the interest of time I'll wait and post more later. Thanks for the interest. Feedback and input is almost always appreciated.
After Paul's magic:
Bad ASs.
Lord knows you've been talking about it enough! 
