BMW Rallying Forum

Sold my 205 this week and have been having a think as to what to get next, went through the usual list of cars and decided to go down the compact route like I had planned to a few years back.

After some calls and questions i have came up with a rough spec but still need advice on the do's and don'ts.

Compact shell, try and get a ti as I can use it on the road for a while first.
Bolt in SD cage, will go weld in later but ive got a feeling it might need re-shelled at some point !
Honda S2000 engine and box, not expensive and fairly bulletproof.
PDL spec Bilstien suspension.

Need to know what rear diff and ratio, looking more for acceleration than top speed. 5.1 ? Using 17" wheels.
What shafts and hubs ?
What front brakes can be used from another model, even just the dics with a set of 4 pots.
Steering rack, is there a none PAS quickrack ? Seen something about a Z4 rack but not sure. I will run the corsa setup.

Is the honda engine and box the best idea or is there one of the M range which will give the same power and reliabilty for similar money



No doubt there will be many more questions but any help and advice would be great

Hello again wee fella

We were going to have the S2000 engine until I drove one. Nothing until about a million rpm and then it's uncontrollable. I think the power band is far too narrow and as it is a revver there is very little torque.

We lost loads of time and enthusiasm messing about with engines and associated fabrication.

If I was going to do it all again I would buy a TI (It has the rear discs). Keep it standard engine/drive wise, fit the cage, brake lines inside etc and when that is all done put a 6 pot in it bolted to the TI box and then do the diff. Oh and the brakes

4.45 is better than 5.1. Diff comes from an e34 520 auto (pre 1992 E to H reg) diff back plate from an e30 or 6 pot e36 (double wings for mounting) need e30 325 shafts (I need some as well!!!!) use your compact hubs. Front brakes of a 6 pot e36 - bolt straight on.

Racks are a matter of choice. The Z racks have become pricey. I'm using the standard rack and considering de-powering it and fitting a steering quickener (from US of A !) That way racks are easy to source and dirt cheap if/when you bend it.

Trawl through the builds on the forum - all your questions will be answered.

Don't have time to check my reply just yet so I hope it makes sense.

Please feel free to add or correct me fellow forum members

Cheers Bud,
Andy

Alright Andy, hope your doing well.

Cheers for the reply.

Is the ti box strong enough to take an m3 engine ? As you might have guessed im looking for 200+ bhp!

A friend of ours remaps cars, all high end and quick stuff. He reckons that he can safely bring the power in 3-400 lower and raise the limit by around 4-500 giving a more usable spread on the S2000 engine. Need to get a shot of one first I think.

Are you building another car or still the same one ?

I'm pretty sure that NOTAX used the ti box. Correct me if I'm wrong.
We've got one off a 328.

It's the same car I'm building - 4 years now I think - and still not finished

The S2000 I drove was advertised at a garage for sale so I arranged a test drive (in the rain) as you do - and nearly swapped ends dropping it down a cog

A compact with an S2000 is featured on the forum. Some photo's here viewtopic.php?f=3&t=2036

Once you start the build remember lots of piccies on here.

I'm going to go and 'view' a S2000 when I get a chance, theres a honda dealership near work.

Good to hear your going to finish the car, rude not to

George's compact, nice car. Would be good to see him out using it.

You could always buy this Compact http://www.team-notax.co.uk/#/the-car/4535733297
Only £18K (Give or take a fiver)

Ive not got 18 quid never mind 18K !!