BMW 335D engine

Caporegime
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Because the tds engine was absolutely dreadful in isolation let alone compared to the current x30/35d engines.

Not trying to defend the tds in the first place but it's a dagdag which seems to be the only thing that matters to MrSix and with the Z3 and E36 being similar in certain areas he'd have an easier job of getting it working. Then work can be set about trying to extract more torque.
 
Man of Honour
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Not trying to defend the tds in the first place but it's a dagdag which seems to be the only thing that matters to MrSix and with the Z3 and E36 being similar in certain areas he'd have an easier job of getting it working. Then work can be set about trying to extract more torque.

But the most powerful TDS was only ever about 140bhp - 90bhp short of the lighter M54 in the later 3.0i Z3. It was also an old-school style diesel engine, so no easy remaps here..
 

DRZ

DRZ

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Not trying to defend the tds in the first place but it's a dagdag which seems to be the only thing that matters to MrSix and with the Z3 and E36 being similar in certain areas he'd have an easier job of getting it working. Then work can be set about trying to extract more torque.

True enough I suppose but at least using a modern engine it wouldn't be as much of an abomination.

I think the best use of diesel in a Z3 would be by filling a container with it, placing it inside the car with a stick of dynamite and using that to create a hollywood-style fireball explosion.
 
Caporegime
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I think it's an utterly ridiculous idea, but as we all know MrSix has to promote his new enterprise into dagdag-performance (oxymoron?) somehow so why not start a thread asking for readily available information on Google in order to start a flame fest? :D

But being helpful... if he must do it then the tds is probably his best bet unless he's got deep, deep pockets...
 
Caporegime
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[TW]Fox;21115123 said:
Well for a start it depends on the age of the Z3. The ones with M52 engines (ie, most) have a throttle cable and a different engine management system IIRC. The later M54 engined cars moved to drive-by-wire. Therefore two similar generation engines are a more straightforward swap as you don't need to go for a full conversion electronics wise.

The majority of Z3's are M52 engined, only the facelifted models made in the last 2 years of Z3 production or so had M54's (2.2 or 3.0).

In theory something like the 260-280bhp Alpina 3.2 or 3.3 engine will not be too much of a problem to fit into an older Z3, provided you can find one. They don't fit easily into the newer ones for the above mentioned reason.

Then you've got the issue that the Z3 was never available with a diesel engine and the 335d engine was only available with an automatic transmission of the type never fitted to the Z3. So you'd need a complete transmission swap as well. The newer autoboxes (It's a ZF 6HP26) are not cheap and neither is the 335d engine itself. So, even if you did manage to get around the issues the cost of the gearbox/engine will be thousands and thousands of pounds.

And then of course you have the point that the Z3 is a small roadster and the M57 is a big diesel engine designed for and intended for heavier, bigger saloon cars. It's just not a good match. You don't want that sort of power delivery in a convertible sports car. Any economy benefits are massively, massively cancelled out by the sheer enormity of the task at hand at associated costs anyway so you end up with a diesel powered Z3 for... what purpose? To annoy people with meaningless flywheel torque figures? Can you imagine an automatic diesel small roadster? I can sort of - only sort of - get the appeal in a 635d cab because it's a big cruiser. The Z3 is anything but. Infact it's a pretty crap cruiser.

You might as well just buy a Z3 3.0i or a Z3M. Both have ideally suited engines to the type of car it is already and by virtue of its light weight, both deliver quite sterling performance. If you do want to do an engine swap I'd look into the Alpina sixes perhaps.

Sometimes i can't helped but be impressed by the BMW stuff that comes out of your head.
 
Soldato
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Wow...I popped out with the intention of replying to Fox's request for me to say a bit more and then come back to a whole host of drivel.

See ya!
 

mjt

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[TW]Fox;21127219 said:
Of course it is, it's a sports car not a cruising barge. It's unrefinement is half the point.
It's surprisingly comfortable for cruising. It's not cramped and not all that noisy tbh. Although again, this is probably because I have a proper roof.
 
Man of Honour
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It's surprisingly comfortable for cruising. It's not cramped and not all that noisy tbh. Although again, this is probably because I have a proper roof.

Indeed - we are talking about the convertible. 2 Seater cabrios dating from 1996 are not generally known for refinement :p

We dont get your version in the UK.
 

alx

alx

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Wow...I popped out with the intention of replying to Fox's request for me to say a bit more and then come back to a whole host of drivel.

See ya!

I don't think it's drivel, people just want to know the angle you're coming from for wanting to out a diesel engine in a convertible.

You have to admit it's a slightly unconventional idea.
 
Soldato
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You have to admit it's a slightly unconventional idea.

You're being too polite. Its a totally **** idea.
Z3 (1.9 - 2.8 roadster) = crap car, will never attain any kind of classic status.
Diesel engines in a 2 seater sports car = totally pointless.
So why waste the time and money to make a crap car even crapper.

The only Z3's that were good were the Z3M Roadster and Z3M Coupe.
 
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