...but you might have just been slower.
You hear all the time about e36 BMW with V8 stuffed up front, more rare is an e-36 with a 4 cylinder S14. Even more rare and odd an e36 with an S14 and an e30 semi trailing arm rear suspension.
Our friend Seth Thomas got the chance to drive this rare British Touring Car Championship car at Road Atlanta recently and sent us the video to share. Seth writes:
This past weekend I had the chance to drive an old touring car from Europe. I am not 100% sure on the specific series the car ran in while in Europe but I can tell you this thing was a blast to drive. It was an early 90s E36 BMW 2-door chassis with a 2.5L Gruppe A S14 stuffed under the hood with individual throttle bodies working with a slide type throttle linkage. Along with the wild motor it had a sequential 6-speed transmission with gears so close it kept the car in a 1500 RPM revband the whole time. Coming out of turn 7 at Road Atlanta I was in 5th gear before the bridge and 6th shortly after. Shifting this quick was similar to driving a big rig.
Overall this was a great experience and I am glad Drew Slayton gave me the opportunity. Watch the video below to see our race during the BMWCCA 1.5 Hour enduro. We qualified on the pole with a 1:32.85 on a set of scrubbed Yokohama slicks. We started the race on a set of Nitto NT01s to ensure they would last the whole time and to not waste a good set of slicks for the sprint races the rest of the weekend. Best I could manage on the NT01s was a 1:35.10. We led the first half of the race until some trouble popped up about 35 minutes in. Watch to find out what happened.
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Ah yes, love it.
ReplyDeleteNot sure what series that car ran in either, since BTCC was 2-Liter at the time already, or maybe the used a 2 Liter S14?
Unless it was a Division 2 car from exactly 1990. HMMmm, interesting!
Thanks again for another awesome video, sucks about the wheel nut, thought.
DTM?
ReplyDeleteHEY YOU STOLE MY PICTURES!
ReplyDeleteWell, Seth sent me those so if you want a credit just contact via email
ReplyDeleteI do know that the early e36 touring cars used s14s until they came up with the s42 engine based on the m42. Very cool stuff.
ReplyDeleteSeth: did the s14 have the second row of "stand off" injectors?
Here is some more info I got on the car today from a guy who knew the previous owner. I don't believe the engine is making the same power as advertised below and it is believed to be around 300.
ReplyDeleteIt is a 95 Motorsport Cage M/3. It was built by Roger Moore in England for a special series at Silverstone. It is a E-36 with an E/30 DTM suspension, the front sway bar is a 2" pipe. It has a 2.5 S-14 DTM 360 HP engine. The motor has slider throttles, no butter flies, two stage fuel injection, second stage kicks in at 5,500 RPM, remote oil filter, carbon fiber motorsport air box. The rev limiter was 10,000. Engine management is BMW Motorsport DTM. It has an Astra Tech full data acquisition system. Brakes are 6-pot AP front, 4-pot rear. Gear box is Hollinger 6 speed sequential. You can use the clutch to start 1st gear and reverse and that's it. Centerlock wheels.
Wow very nice. How the hell do you get e30 suspension into an e36. The rear subframes are completely different. :)
ReplyDeletehttp://dl.dropbox.com/u/152190/bmw/subframe/e30.png
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/152190/bmw/subframe/e36.png
Love the gearbox..
Chris Blown, the E30, 36, 46, Z3, and Z4 are all very similar. My Frankenstein E30 has parts from all of them. All you need is the willingness to cut out metal and weld it back.
ReplyDeleteGreat info on that, thanks a lot.
ReplyDeleteAnd yeah, if i recall correctly, the E36 Ti's all had E30 rear suspension. Might be wrong.
Thanks again!
Surprised he's running the ltw wing. Series rules maybe?
ReplyDelete