Chris Tropea
Chris Tropea Associate Editor
9/28/24 12:00 p.m.
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The N55 engine–like the one in our BMW 435i–is notorious for having oiling issues.

Here's how we fixed those issues with help from BimmerWorld.

 

Read the rest of the story

NIKOLAT
NIKOLAT New Reader
9/28/24 5:55 p.m.

This seems like a lot of monkey motion to get good oiling.  I confess not being an expert on BMWs, but I did race an ELva Mk VII DSR with a dry sump equipped engine which never had a problem with oiling during heavy braking or acceleration.  If possible why not go to a complete dry sump conversion? If no kit is available, perhaps you could devise a conversion.  Good luck and enjoy  racing!

JG Pasterjak
JG Pasterjak Production/Art Director
9/28/24 9:24 p.m.
NIKOLAT said:

This seems like a lot of monkey motion to get good oiling.  I confess not being an expert on BMWs, but I did race an ELva Mk VII DSR with a dry sump equipped engine which never had a problem with oiling during heavy braking or acceleration.  If possible why not go to a complete dry sump conversion? If no kit is available, perhaps you could devise a conversion.  Good luck and enjoy  racing!

It's a bit of an involved fix, but the reason we went this way instead of trying to work out a dry sump on our own was that BMW had already done our homework for us. This is the same oiling setup that they put in the M235iR N55-powered factory race cars, which are frequently praised for their extreme reliability. Rather than try and reinvent the wheel, we went with the off-the-shelf know good solution.

The other issue with a dry sump would be packaging. The engine bay on these things is TIGHT. Trying to find a spot to hang another rotating accessory would be difficult if we wanted to retain the a/c. Then we'd still need to fabricate a custom pan, find room for a tank, and run the plumbing. Maybe if it ever gets converted to a full-on race car that'll be an option, as we can just leverage interior or trunk space for needed bits. But as a dual-purpose street/track car, BMW's solution was our best call I think.

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