- Wed May 05, 2021 5:56 am
#50065
It depends what you want from your car and engine, as well as from your knowledge, skills and budget. These BMW engines are made to last very long, if run with the right engine oil, frequent oil change and some maintenance. They are highly refined, economic (as far as a V8 goes) and can put out maximum power for hours without even missing a beat in any climate. If anything develops problems, the on board diagnostic will most probably warn you. You give up most of that when removing the ECU.
If you want a programmable ECU, Bosch is usually the worst to use. Some modifications can be integrated and tuned by specialists, even with turbos, but for performance as you expect in a race car, the Stock Bosch has to go. It is simply to complicated to be set up in an aftermarket fashion.
So you got to choose: Have a perfect engine or maybe find some horsepower, but throw away all the BMW perfection.
The M62 is not the most athletic race engine. It's strongest version uses 5 litres to develop moderate 400 HP.
BMW even stuffed it into the Range Rover. If you search for power, you probably will throw away a lot of parts that are not made for higher rpm. The tolerance for tuning seems to decrease with every new engine generation. In the end you may come to my conclusion: A fine engine, but no race horse. Best used stock or very slightly modified.