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AWD possible?

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325i 325xi awd bmw
2K views 3 replies 2 participants last post by  toper 
#1 ·
Hey everyone, I've bee slowly putting together parts my BMW conversion, but before I get too deep, I have an important question. The car is a 325xi, and the X means it's all wheel drive. The car is from 2002, and I noticed the manual talking about torque vectoring and features of the AWD system, so it sounds computerized.
By ripping out the engine and the ECU and respective computers, should the car still drive? I mean, like right now, the car probably has no idea how fast it's going, somehow the pervious owner ripped the cables on all the ABS sensors.And so I am guessing the computer doesn't know each individual the wheel speed for this stuff to work, but the car does still drive, so is that a good sign?

What would be your recommendation moving forward with this, I love the idea of having AWD because I am in New England, but is this going to cripple the car if I remove it's electronics?
 
#2 ·
For the AWD systems, there’s a center differential. Sometimes they are electronically controlled. Really you would have to look at the specific diff. I would assume it would work like an open center differential with no power, it sometimes engineers don’t do what seems logical.

I would be more worried about no ABS in the winter on ice and snow. Especially if your vehicle gains weight with the conversion.
 
#4 ·
Okay perfect, I also proposed the question to my father, who's a trade mechanic of 35 years, and he said a similar scenario. It's likely passive AWD, so the rear wheels will always turn, and there's likely a secondary clutch inside that kicks on the front wheels when needed. So that's fine by me, I can work with that

As for the ABS sensors, I plan to replace all of those wires. I am not cutting any corners with safety in this vehicle. So no worries there, I'll get them all sorted out.
 
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