F20C-swapped BMW Solves A Lot of Problems
F20C BMW by Japanese tuning shop IMPACT! magic has us intrigued.
We (Okay, I will be honest, it’s mainly me) are always envious of the Drift King Keiichi Tsuchiya. It seems as though he always gets behind the wheel of the coolest cars to come from Japan, or anywhere else for that matter. This video in particular caught my eye because it combines two things I have a great affinity for: Honda and BMW. My personal “fleet” is currently comprised of two Bimmers and a Honda.
So you could imagine my excitement when I stumbled across this video of the Drift King wheeling an E36 3-series with a very distinct engine note. The unmistakable sound of 9000 RPM worth of VTEC, no doubt. Watching the tach swing way past the indicated 6500 RPM redline was hilarious. Not unlike the old B16-powered Civic Si after an ECU reflash as it screamed to 10,000 revs.
Details on the build, please.
This sorcery is the work of Japanese tuning shop IMPACT! magic, which specializes in Hondas and European cars. Doing some digging through their website, I was able to find this particular E36 build. In short, it is a complete F20C drivetrain swap, with the S2000 engine and transmission used in the E36 chassis. It features an ATS brand limited-slip differential and a 4.4 final drive swap in what I assume is an S2000 differential, as 4.4 isn’t a particularly common BMW final drive, aftermarket or otherwise. It appears ATS does do BMW differentials, though final drive ratios are not specified. I’m open to being corrected on the diff details, because now that I think about it, I’m not sure how an S2K diff could have been used unless a custom rear subframe was built for the car to accept it.
The base car started life as a 318iS, which featured a DOHC M42 four cylinder making a massive 138 horsepower in stock form. Naturally, the extra 100+ horsepower from the F20 would go a long way with the car. Purely a guess, but I would wager F20C engines are a more common commodity in Japan than, say, an S50/S52 engine from an E36 M3. IMPACT! magic states that a custom swap kit was made to fit the F20C in the E36. I wonder if they have a few spare kits leftover? Just asking for a “friend” who has a worn out E46 with 220,000 miles.
