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E89 4 pot or 6?

Specific discussion about the E89 2009 Z4 (sDrive35is, sDrive35i, sDrive30i, sDrive23i)
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Deepseaskateboard
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E89 4 pot or 6?

Post by Deepseaskateboard » Mon Oct 08, 2018 7:33 pm

R60BBA wrote: Mon Oct 08, 2018 6:46 pm
Deepseaskateboard wrote: Mon Oct 08, 2018 6:30 pm
R60BBA wrote: Mon Oct 08, 2018 6:27 pm 6 pot all the way.

The 4 pots were designed for the hairdressers. :P
You will always get called a hair dresser, 6 or 4 cylinder!

Or comments like like: “are the curlers in the boot?”
Hahah although I had an E86.

No one threw hairdresser comments when I pulled up. :driving:
Ah I see, no, thats not a hair dressers car!

I used to have one of these in blue, for a very fleeting moment. Lovely car!

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E89 4 pot or 6?

Post by Nanu » Mon Oct 08, 2018 8:00 pm

My last zed was the 28i and I was very happy with that. Good performance, good value for money and running cost were also good.

Now I have the 6 cylinder 35is and all the goods turn to greats if you know what I mean. :evil:

Drive both and get the best you can afford. To be honest you will be happy with either, just depends on your priorities
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E89 4 pot or 6?

Post by R60BBA » Mon Oct 08, 2018 8:43 pm

Twin Turbo wrote: Mon Oct 08, 2018 7:18 pm
Depends whats important, 3L better sound, more solid engine - limited tuning, and higher cost of ownership

28i, cheap to run, very tuneable - will put any Stock Z4 to shame inc Z4M and 35is - if tuned to stage 2, sound not as great, been a high-pressure turbo engine, you get the issues associated.

Get it remaped/jb4/ downpipes, induction kit, coilovers and you transform an E89 to a sports car. I have some videos of my Z4 doing track days and beating M3 doing the 1/4 mile.
N52B30 doesn’t need to be tuned.

N54B30/T0 is very tuneable and can make circa 400bhp from stage 1.

S54B32 supercharged will smash N20B20 tuned and will sound a million times better whilst it’s doing it.

:thumbsup:
Current: 2002 E46 M3
Current: 2004 R53 Cooper S
Current: 2005 997 Carrera S
Gone: 1998 E31 840Ci Sport
Gone: 2007 Z4 E86 3.0Si Sport
Gone: 2001 Z3 E36/7 2.2i San Remo Individual
Gone: 2015 F21 116d M Sport
Gone: 2012 A3 Sportback 1.2TFSI

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E89 4 pot or 6?

Post by Mr Tidy » Mon Oct 08, 2018 9:28 pm

OP, you're going to get mostly biased answers on here depending on what people have!

A naturally aspirated straight 6 was one of the things that attracted me to my car, and is one thing you don't find in any of the Z4s contemporary rivals.

But some prefer how a turbo 4 delivers it's power, like the fact it is probably a bit cheaper to run and don't mind the less tuneful soundtrack!

You really need to try one of each and see what you prefer. :thumbsup:
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E89 4 pot or 6?

Post by Smartbear » Mon Oct 08, 2018 10:08 pm

“N52B30 doesn’t need to be tuned“
If you want it to keep up with a mapped n20 it does :thumbsup:
Rob
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e89 Sdrive 20i, plenty of mumbo & good economy-the thinking bears z4
e89 Sdrive 30i, this ones busted, pass me another...
e85 3.0si sold

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E89 4 pot or 6?

Post by R60BBA » Mon Oct 08, 2018 10:14 pm

Smartbear wrote: Mon Oct 08, 2018 10:08 pm “N52B30 doesn’t need to be tuned“
If you want it to keep up with a mapped n20 it does :thumbsup:
Rob
These cars aren’t about straight line speed.

But again, N52B30 supercharged would cruise past N20B20 tuned :rofl:
Current: 2002 E46 M3
Current: 2004 R53 Cooper S
Current: 2005 997 Carrera S
Gone: 1998 E31 840Ci Sport
Gone: 2007 Z4 E86 3.0Si Sport
Gone: 2001 Z3 E36/7 2.2i San Remo Individual
Gone: 2015 F21 116d M Sport
Gone: 2012 A3 Sportback 1.2TFSI

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E89 4 pot or 6?

Post by Smartbear » Tue Oct 09, 2018 7:49 am

R60BBA wrote: Mon Oct 08, 2018 10:14 pm
Smartbear wrote: Mon Oct 08, 2018 10:08 pm “N52B30 doesn’t need to be tuned“
If you want it to keep up with a mapped n20 it does :thumbsup:
Rob
These cars aren’t about straight line speed.

But again, N52B30 supercharged would cruise past N20B20 tuned :rofl:
That’s after fitting thousands of pounds of hardware so I think you’ve missed the point.
After bolting on a space X BFR interplanetary rocket my n20 would power past anything you’ve got :)
Rob
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e89 Sdrive 20i, plenty of mumbo & good economy-the thinking bears z4
e89 Sdrive 30i, this ones busted, pass me another...
e85 3.0si sold

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E89 4 pot or 6?

Post by R60BBA » Tue Oct 09, 2018 7:58 am

Smartbear wrote: Tue Oct 09, 2018 7:49 am
R60BBA wrote: Mon Oct 08, 2018 10:14 pm
Smartbear wrote: Mon Oct 08, 2018 10:08 pm “N52B30 doesn’t need to be tuned“
If you want it to keep up with a mapped n20 it does :thumbsup:
Rob
These cars aren’t about straight line speed.

But again, N52B30 supercharged would cruise past N20B20 tuned :rofl:
That’s after fitting thousands of pounds of hardware so I think you’ve missed the point.
After bolting on a space X BFR interplanetary rocket my n20 would power past anything you’ve got :)
Rob
I haven’t missed the point at all, I was responding to Twin Turbo’s comments about remapping initially.

N20B20 has forced induction from the factory. N52 and S54 don’t. It’s not exactly fair to compare a forced induction engine vs a naturally aspirated engine. Nor is it fair to compare a remapped turbo engine vs a factory mapped turbo engine.

Plus I initially said the N52 doesn’t need to be tuned, it’s good enough out the box :thumbsup:

The 6 pot wins my vote everytime. :driving:
Current: 2002 E46 M3
Current: 2004 R53 Cooper S
Current: 2005 997 Carrera S
Gone: 1998 E31 840Ci Sport
Gone: 2007 Z4 E86 3.0Si Sport
Gone: 2001 Z3 E36/7 2.2i San Remo Individual
Gone: 2015 F21 116d M Sport
Gone: 2012 A3 Sportback 1.2TFSI

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E89 4 pot or 6?

Post by Smartbear » Tue Oct 09, 2018 8:58 am

R60BBA wrote: Tue Oct 09, 2018 7:58 am
Smartbear wrote: Tue Oct 09, 2018 7:49 am
R60BBA wrote: Mon Oct 08, 2018 10:14 pm These cars aren’t about straight line speed.

But again, N52B30 supercharged would cruise past N20B20 tuned :rofl:
That’s after fitting thousands of pounds of hardware so I think you’ve missed the point.
After bolting on a space X BFR interplanetary rocket my n20 would power past anything you’ve got :)
Rob
I haven’t missed the point at all, I was responding to Twin Turbo’s comments about remapping initially.

N20B20 has forced induction from the factory. N52 and S54 don’t. It’s not exactly fair to compare a forced induction engine vs a naturally aspirated engine. Nor is it fair to compare a remapped turbo engine vs a factory mapped turbo engine.

Plus I initially said the N52 doesn’t need to be tuned, it’s good enough out the box :thumbsup:

The 6 pot wins my vote everytime. :driving:
I just wondered how many n20 engined cars you’d owned to base your opinion on?
I speak from personal experience having owned both varieties, both great in different ways & neither should be rubbished imho :thumbsup:
Rob
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e89 Sdrive 20i, plenty of mumbo & good economy-the thinking bears z4
e89 Sdrive 30i, this ones busted, pass me another...
e85 3.0si sold

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E89 4 pot or 6?

Post by Broads » Tue Oct 09, 2018 9:38 am

Maybe going off topic a little.. But to the uninitiated.. What z4's do the following engines belong in..

N52B30 doesn’t need to be tuned.
N54B30/T0 is very tuneable and can make circa 400bhp from stage 1.
S54B32 supercharged will smash N20B20 tuned and will sound a million times better whilst it’s doing it.
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E89 4 pot or 6?

Post by R60BBA » Tue Oct 09, 2018 10:07 am

Smartbear wrote: Tue Oct 09, 2018 8:58 am
R60BBA wrote: Tue Oct 09, 2018 7:58 am
Smartbear wrote: Tue Oct 09, 2018 7:49 am That’s after fitting thousands of pounds of hardware so I think you’ve missed the point.
After bolting on a space X BFR interplanetary rocket my n20 would power past anything you’ve got :)
Rob
I haven’t missed the point at all, I was responding to Twin Turbo’s comments about remapping initially.

N20B20 has forced induction from the factory. N52 and S54 don’t. It’s not exactly fair to compare a forced induction engine vs a naturally aspirated engine. Nor is it fair to compare a remapped turbo engine vs a factory mapped turbo engine.

Plus I initially said the N52 doesn’t need to be tuned, it’s good enough out the box :thumbsup:

The 6 pot wins my vote everytime. :driving:
I just wondered how many n20 engined cars you’d owned to base your opinion on?
I speak from personal experience having owned both varieties, both great in different ways & neither should be rubbished imho :thumbsup:
Rob
My friend has a 228i which uses N20 I believe.

It’s decent, but as I said...6 pot is better. :driving:
Current: 2002 E46 M3
Current: 2004 R53 Cooper S
Current: 2005 997 Carrera S
Gone: 1998 E31 840Ci Sport
Gone: 2007 Z4 E86 3.0Si Sport
Gone: 2001 Z3 E36/7 2.2i San Remo Individual
Gone: 2015 F21 116d M Sport
Gone: 2012 A3 Sportback 1.2TFSI

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E89 4 pot or 6?

Post by cowboyjon » Tue Oct 09, 2018 10:11 am

I much prefer n/a cars over forced induction so it was the 6 cylinder 3.0 all the way for me.

The fact that it is more reliable, gives decent fuel economy and tax bracket is just icing on the cake.

To be honest all the above is pretty much the main reason why I have chosen a 3.0 over a 370z or even an s2000.

It just ticks all the boxes for me.
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E89 4 pot or 6?

Post by Nick9one1 » Tue Oct 09, 2018 10:15 am

There are three available engine types in the e89 Z4

Image

N54 is the most powerful and tunable.
N20 all models can be tuned to the same power
N52 has very limited tuning potential
Last edited by Nick9one1 on Tue Oct 09, 2018 10:20 am, edited 2 times in total.
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E89 4 pot or 6?

Post by R60BBA » Tue Oct 09, 2018 10:16 am

Broads wrote: Tue Oct 09, 2018 9:38 am Maybe going off topic a little.. But to the uninitiated.. What z4's do the following engines belong in..
S54B32 - E46 M3, Z3M (2nd gen) and Z4M
N52B30 - Z4 E85/E86 3.0si and E89 30i
N54B30 - Z4 E89 35i
N54B30T0 - Z4 E89 35is
N20B20 - Z4 E89 18i, 20i and 28i
Current: 2002 E46 M3
Current: 2004 R53 Cooper S
Current: 2005 997 Carrera S
Gone: 1998 E31 840Ci Sport
Gone: 2007 Z4 E86 3.0Si Sport
Gone: 2001 Z3 E36/7 2.2i San Remo Individual
Gone: 2015 F21 116d M Sport
Gone: 2012 A3 Sportback 1.2TFSI

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E89 4 pot or 6?

Post by R.E92 » Tue Oct 09, 2018 10:21 am

Twin Turbo wrote: Mon Oct 08, 2018 7:18 pm
Broads wrote: Mon Oct 08, 2018 1:09 pm ONLINE

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Post by R60BBA » Mon Oct 08, 2018 6:27 pm

6 pot all the way.

The 4 pots were designed for the hairdressers.
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Depends whats important, 3L better sound, more solid engine - limited tuning, and higher cost of ownership

28i, cheap to run, very tuneable - will put any Stock Z4 to shame inc Z4M and 35is - if tuned to stage 2, sound not as great, been a high-pressure turbo engine, you get the issues associated.

Get it remaped/jb4/ downpipes, induction kit, coilovers and you transform an E89 to a sports car. I have some videos of my Z4 doing track days and beating M3 doing the 1/4 mile.
A stock 35is will do the 1/4 mile in 13 seconds, some users showing slips as low as 12.8 and 12.9 and that's a fully stock car. I'm yet to see any modified 2.0 Z4 get close to that.

There are some modded N20 equipped 3 series getting under 13 seconds but those are XDrive cars.

Also see some Z4M users reporting 13.2 seconds so it's false to claim that the 28i will put any Z4 to shame.

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