How about an M5 V8
Discussion
Just wondering if anyone has ever considered fitting a E39 BMW M5 V8 motor into a Chimaera / Griffith? Seems a tempting prospect to me to have a 400bhp V8 with German reliabilty. Why do people go the LS1 /2 route?
Is it because they are more straightforward to fit or more tunable i.e to get above 400bhp?
Sorry for the dumb questions

Sorry for the dumb questions

monstergrowler said:
Just wondering if anyone has ever considered fitting a E39 BMW M5 V8 motor into a Chimaera / Griffith? Seems a tempting prospect to me to have a 400bhp V8 with German reliabilty. Why do people go the LS1 /2 route?
Is it because they are more straightforward to fit or more tunable i.e to get above 400bhp?
Sorry for the dumb questions
Without claiming to be an expert, I'd imagine the BMW unit is considerably more expensive to buy upfront and to maintain - I think the yank lumps offer a very enticing blend of afforability, reliability and power.
Sorry for the dumb questions

tinker-27 said:
i work on a mates m5 v8 and its crap in comparison to a std ls,it burns loads of oil (they all do that sir !!) its wide as its dohc,(v8s dont slant over to the left),the clutch is weak and damped ,oh and no torque ! apart from that its ok,
Sorry. was thinking of the previous M straight 6 engine!!N
Anyone thinking of putting the M62 engine (E39 M5) beware, I ran an E39 till recently and the Vanos units, (clever timing adjustment) would cost you about £3000.00 to have done and they wear badly. Take a look at the BMW forums and you will see what I mean, there is virtual histeria about these things. Engines in good nick start at £5000 without all the clever bits!
Big Yank lump anytime for me
Big Yank lump anytime for me
2802th said:
Anyone thinking of putting the M62 engine (E39 M5) beware, I ran an E39 till recently and the Vanos units, (clever timing adjustment) would cost you about £3000.00 to have done and they wear badly. Take a look at the BMW forums and you will see what I mean, there is virtual histeria about these things. Engines in good nick start at £5000 without all the clever bits!
Big Yank lump anytime for me
hysteria is the right word - the VANOS scare is hyped WAY beyond the reality.Big Yank lump anytime for me
post 01 engines had revised piston rings. my m5 burns less oil than all my old rover v8 TVRs did.
as for the E39 engine having no torque!! hmm! It produces more torque than an 'equivalent' RV8, and enough to lug a weighty E39 laden with gizmos and gadgetry through 100 mph as quickly as any Chim/Griff weighing 600 kilos less.
sorry but the 5 litre M5 engine is a true gem. Why anyone would want to put one in a TVR though I have no idea. It would detract from the true character of a TVR in my opinion. Grunty basic brawn is what TVR is about and what makes them great. The RV8 is great old lump too!
The reason I asked if anyone had considered it is because as you have just stated the engine is a gem and is far more powerful. Morgan have done it with the aero 8 and I dont think that destroys the character of a morgan car. I understand what you are saying about the charcter and why do it, but changing the motor to a LS is surely the same argument?
I had to ask why and the simple answer provided to me was its to big...............shame
I had to ask why and the simple answer provided to me was its to big...............shame

E39 M5 V8.....No Torque.
You are kidding of course......I'm not a BMW Fanatic, but I own a 2001 e39 M5, and can assure you that it's a perfect V8.
Yes it's big and probably won't fit into a TVR, and yes, they do use a little oil. But that is due to the low friction piston rings and all part of having a highly tuned V8. As for the Vanos........that's way over hyped, and less than 5% of all E39 V8's have had any problems at all with them until over the 100,000 miles, which isn't bad for a very highly tuned engine.
I'm looking at a Tuscan, and know that I'll be spending alot more time working on that than I've ever done on any M5.
You are kidding of course......I'm not a BMW Fanatic, but I own a 2001 e39 M5, and can assure you that it's a perfect V8.
Yes it's big and probably won't fit into a TVR, and yes, they do use a little oil. But that is due to the low friction piston rings and all part of having a highly tuned V8. As for the Vanos........that's way over hyped, and less than 5% of all E39 V8's have had any problems at all with them until over the 100,000 miles, which isn't bad for a very highly tuned engine.
I'm looking at a Tuscan, and know that I'll be spending alot more time working on that than I've ever done on any M5.
A "Tweaked LS" motor.............. Sorry didn't realize we were talking "tweaked motors". And you probably haven't been in Thorney Motorsports "tweaked" M5. Nor have you probably ever been in a standard M5 otherwise you'd realize what crap your talking. 400nm of torque at under 3,000rpm.... In Standard form. How the hell can that be a "No Low Torque Engine".
LS7427ci said:
I'm confused but I'll go for LS motor any time beat anything eles on the market for money in and HP's back out hand down and I'm talking 400+ a built LS7 will run 800hp on pump gas not many engines you can say that about!!!!
Well that's er, quietened things down a bit. 
You only need to go to the Pod to see what a big yank V8 can do (and I've been going for 38 years)

The BMW V8 is physiaclly gigantic, so there's no chance of fitting one in a TVR unless you want to widen the entire car by around a foot!
I've seen these motors over on John Eales' dyno and workshop (yes he does BMW V8s too) - it's no wonder they need such a huge car to accomodate them. BMW didn't find room for any fresh air around it either...
If you want to do a transplant the LS motors are much cheaper, and much closer in in size and spirit to the RV8. Having done several transplants though (mostly RV8 but a couple of LSs) I think it is overall an even more expensive option than tuning the trusty RV8.
I've seen these motors over on John Eales' dyno and workshop (yes he does BMW V8s too) - it's no wonder they need such a huge car to accomodate them. BMW didn't find room for any fresh air around it either...
If you want to do a transplant the LS motors are much cheaper, and much closer in in size and spirit to the RV8. Having done several transplants though (mostly RV8 but a couple of LSs) I think it is overall an even more expensive option than tuning the trusty RV8.
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