M635CSI (euro)

fhd16 · #1 (**permalink**) 03-13-2002, 10:08 AM

Hey everyone, I must say, great site!!!!!!
Well a year back i was considering two cars, a 1995 Volvo 850 T-5R and a 1986 BMW M635CSI EURO. I bought the volvo because i didn't have the money to repair the bastardly hand-made BMW M engine if it were to have problems.

My question to all of you is, are they really that prone to problems?
What kind of tuning options do i have with these cars?
What's my power ceiling, and what's the determining factor? (pistons, rods, trans?)

I'll have my T-5R up to 300 hp pulling low 13's for the 1320, so i'm thinking about getting an M635csi as a project car for the coming year.

Thanks a ton,
David

C70Kai · #2 (**permalink**) 03-13-2002, 10:13 PM

Not sure if anyone would want to reply to a Volvo owner, but that's some fast Volvo you got there, David.

Han · #3 (**permalink**) 03-13-2002, 11:08 PM

sorry for the OT...

but, Kai, i heard you raced my friend eric in his C5.
he was very impressed by your C70.

C70Kai · #4 (**permalink**) 03-14-2002, 07:12 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Han
sorry for the OT...

but, Kai, i heard you raced my friend eric in his C5.
he was very impressed by your C70.

Hey....Han,

Hehe..I didn't really race with Eric. LoL~! C'mon..like I'd stand a chance. I heard he's got at least 365+ at wheels. Now, that's some power there, needless to say the torque....

So, you have the E30 M3, eh?

That's always been one of my favorite BMW...just can't find one for myself at good price and hasn't really been abused...oops, I mean raced.

Quadzilla · #5 (**permalink**) 03-24-2002, 01:35 PM

Well the 6 platform suffers from some inherent problems, most of them based on the E28 chassis. The big issue is suspension. If you run too much wheel and tire on the stock setup you beat the snot out of the control and thrust arms and their bushings. Also de-cambering is a PITA. The biggest thing with the chassis is the suspension, after that they are rather solid. If you can live without the load leveling suspension you have a whole world of options to make it as tight or as comfortable as you'd like.

The driveline is classic BMW solidness. The big thing to make you avoid is beating on the ZF automatic... push them too hard and they vomit on the road. The 5 speeds are dependable and durable. Rear diffs are either 3.64 or 3.90 but any 3 or 5 gearset will swap in. 6's came with limited slip as an option and stock on the M.

The engines varied a bit but in round terms the 3.5L 12 valve in europe made about 220 while in the US made about 200. The only difference is the presence of cats. There is no compression or valve or cam difference. The M's had the 24 valve higher compression head with the individual throttles which helped get them going. The euro M had more snot than the US M due to compression and injection controls.

To make power with the stock 12 valve mill the things to do are very basic, classic gear head work. First off is the head, have it done with biger valves and the big bore throttle body. Decking will boost compression but you will need a new cam gear to take up the offset. The block could use forged rods and pistons. Schrick offers ?the only? cam for it in a 284* format. Having the intake extrude honed will also help. On the exhaust side the factory manifold are good enough but if you are going to go with headers run 2.5 or 3? all the way. Rechipping the engine and trans (if you stay auto) will help bring all of this in line. The only recommendation I can add to all of this is a serious oil cooler. For the M mill I recommend having it set out entrly to a reputable firm like Korman to have it gone over and rebuilt for what you plan to do, they can bee seen as the worlds scariest coo-coo clock.