B10 V8: Converting to manual?

[ramius665]

It’s a German-spec B10 V8 Touring. They were never available in the U.S., so any that are there, aren’t there legally (yet). We have a restriction that any car not originally sold in the U.S. must be 25 years old to legally import and drive on public roads. The only exception is for “show and display” which is reserved for exotics and has strict limits.

It’s possible someone went through the effort of getting the emissions to U.S. requirements and imported a B10, but I can’t find any records in the public import databases. Watching the auction sites, it appears most people are importing cars as they become legal and immediately selling them for a tidy profit so I expect to see some early 00s Alpinas for sale in the U.S. soon.

[simon13]

theres b10's in canada which came from Japan, as they only have to wait 15 years to get them into Canada

[ramius665]

Closing this out for future forum searchers. Converting a B10 V8 to manual is nearly the same as converting a 540i with the following differences:

- Transmission/lambda harness is unique to Alpina. Manual transmission harness 12531437129 front lambda loom is too short to reach the lambda sensors. Harness 12531435450 only has front lambda sensors and nothing for the post-cat sensors which triggers a CEL immediately.
- Modifying the transmission harness is the quickest way to a running car
- DME must be flashed by a professional. There is no BMW ZUSB that is a direct correct conversion for the DME. I contracted a professional with extensive experience flashing DMEs for e39s and was familiar with how to overlay the Alpina fuel and ignition maps over a manual transmission 540i base tune. Zero drivability issues.

Otherwise, mechanically everything related to the swap is exactly the same as a similar 540i. The transmission bolted up to the F4 engine without issue, the clutch components fit the same, and the modifications to the wiring were the same. With the exception of the transmission itself and the driveshaft, I bought everything else brand new from BMW. Total investment was a bit under $4000 but I imagine someone focused on the budget could probably do the swap for under $2000.

[simon13]

thats fantastic, have you driven it and what do you think?

[bss325i]

I am getting closer and closer to taking the plunge in converting my B10 V8 to manual. Having converted many BMW's from auto to manual including E39 540i's, E46 Alpina B3's, the B10 will be straight forward.

It's just time for me at the moment.

Its a shame Alpina never offered the B10 V8 or V8S as a manual but I guess they didn't want to tread on the toes of the M5.

[B10BRW]

IMHO if you want a faster and Manual E39 buy an M5.
You not only have the extra cost of a conversion, the very ethos of buying an Alpina V8 has been lost and perhaps on resale would limit the market.
To me the whole point of a V8 Alpina is that it has an automatic box, with the switchtronic it is the best of 2 worlds.

With our Motorways resembling car parks who on earth would voluntarily want to have to constantly declutch and change gear

My last Manual was a 130i which I had the misfortune to drive to Manchester, nightmare journey exacerbated by crawling traffic always having to change gear.

Would never buy a manual again, I like to relax on my journeys, not give myself a work out

[bss325i]

IMHO if you want a faster and Manual E39 buy an M5.
You not only have the extra cost of a conversion, the very ethos of buying an Alpina V8 has been lost and perhaps on resale would limit the market.
To me the whole point of a V8 Alpina is that it has an automatic box, with the switchtronic it is the best of 2 worlds.

With our Motorways resembling car parks who on earth would voluntarily want to have to constantly declutch and change gear

My last Manual was a 130i which I had the misfortune to drive to Manchester, nightmare journey exacerbated by crawling traffic always having to change gear.

Would never buy a manual again, I like to relax on my journeys, not give myself a work out

Brian, I've owned two E39 M5 saloons and built an E39 M5 touring this year and enjoyed them very much.

For me an Alpina is more than just about which transmission it has. The interior, the styling, the suspension and exclusivity all contribute to experience of enjoying the brand.

Alpina's of old were more about driver focus so many of them tended to have a manual transmission and I feel Alpina missed a trick not offering a manual choice on the E39 V8 and in the UK, and the E46 B3.

The 5HP24 box in the E39 B10, while pretty robust, is very old tech now compared to the 6HP and later 8HP boxes so the 5HP can feel like a limiting factor when fighting the automatic transmission corner. An 8HP conversion is a possibility now but can work out more expensive than a manual conversion.

I do like an auto in some cars and a manual in others and having also owned a few E39 540i's with manual and automatic transmissions, I feel a manual gearbox and an LSD in an E39 B10 V8 or V8S would not detract from the experience at all.

I hear you on what can be tiresome in a manual in traffic but fortunately that is a relatively rare occurrence for me.

[ramius665]

thats fantastic, have you driven it and what do you think?

I've driven it quite a bit so far, and I'm very pleased with the results. The 6 speed is perfectly paired, just like the 540i and M5, so it has all of the power, whenever you need it. I thought I might miss the automatic in traffic but the clutch is light and responsive so it's no chore to drive when you hit stop and go. Overall, very satisfied with the experience.

[B10BRW]

I thought I might miss the automatic in traffic but the clutch is light and responsive so it's no chore to drive when you hit stop and go. Overall, very satisfied with the experience.

Unless you live in the middle of nowhere, the traffic in the UK is all stop and no go

Certain parts of our Motorway system I avoid, and that's with an auto