Daily drives

[Fred Smith]

BMW E91 3 Series Touring 325i 3.0L which seems to have been made 2007 - 2008 - this car was registered April 2008.

I looked here -

https://www.ultimatespecs.com/car-specs ... 5i-30.html

If this is accurate for the UK spec models then I have just worked out it is definitely an N52 as they didn't make a E91 325i with an N53 3.0 engine, and the only E91 325i's with a 3.0L engine were 07/08 N52s.

But on the other hand, if wikipedia is to be trusted and the above is US spec, then it has to be an N53 as a european car.

[Fred Smith]

It could actually be an N53, knowing all the car details would help. Is it an E9X 330i? What year etc etc.
Edit. My grandad had a 2009 E91 330i and that was a 272bhp N53.

Looks like you were right... seller swears blind it is an N53!

[Mr Tidy]

BMW E91 3 Series Touring 325i 3.0L which seems to have been made 2007 - 2008 - this car was registered April 2008.

I looked here -

https://www.ultimatespecs.com/car-specs ... 5i-30.html

If this is accurate for the UK spec models then I have just worked out it is definitely an N52 as they didn't make a E91 325i with an N53 3.0 engine, and the only E91 325i's with a 3.0L engine were 07/08 N52s.

But on the other hand, if wikipedia is to be trusted and the above is US spec, then it has to be an N53 as a european car.

I'm pretty sure all E9* 3 Series got the N53 around 2007 for the UK market and the 325i did indeed have a 3.0 litre engine, but it was mapped to only produce similar power to the 2.5 litre N52. Maybe a remap might get it to 330i power?

Another clue is the CO2 emissions. My 2006 E90 325i was 208g/km, N53s are significantly lower, around 170g/km I think. Which does make Road Tax cheaper!

But I specifically wanted an N52 when I was looking as N53s can have injector and fuel pump issues. Hence my current E90 330i also has an N52.

[Fred Smith]

I'm pretty sure all E9* 3 Series got the N53 around 2007 for the UK market and the 325i did indeed have a 3.0 litre engine, but it was mapped to only produce similar power to the 2.5 litre N52. Maybe a remap might get it to 330i power?

Another clue is the CO2 emissions. My 2006 E90 325i was 208g/km, N53s are significantly lower, around 170g/km I think. Which does make Road Tax cheaper!

But I specifically wanted an N52 when I was looking as N53s can have injector and fuel pump issues. Hence my current E90 330i also has an N52.

Bold - you are spot on... but (1) some info online is misleading (eg specs which refer to USA but don't make that clear); (2) There's always a chance a 2007 car ends up not selling til 2008 or even later; (3) The pictures all looked much more like an N52 compared to an N53 to me... but I have now learnt that the visual differences seem to relate more to the car they are in than a difference between N52 and N53.

Moving forward I think the biggest visual clue might be (can anyone confirm if I am right?) that there is a little plastic clip or something in the near left hand side of the top plastic cover on N53s as you look in the engine bay from the front, whereas this is not there on N52s.

I should have realized it was an N53 from the emissions figures.

FWIW I would love to be money no object on my new daily, but realistically I would prefer to buy one with lower power / tax / insurance and hopefully higher MPG. I want a nicer family car, but when I'm taking the missus and kid to see my sister I don't need race car performance!

[Fred Smith]

This is what seems to be the big clue you are looking at an N53 not N52, or am I wrong? The N52 does not have the little plastic section in the near left corner, the N52 is one big span of plastic.

N53 -

[Mr Tidy]

This is what seems to be the big clue you are looking at an N53 not N52, or am I wrong? The N52 does not have the little plastic section in the near left corner, the N52 is one big span of plastic.

That looks like a good clue - as you say the N52 cover doesn't have that piece you've highlighted.

Either way you've still got straight 6 loveliness to enjoy!

[Fred Smith]

That looks like a good clue - as you say the N52 cover doesn't have that piece you've highlighted.

Either way you've still got straight 6 loveliness to enjoy!

So many other bits around the engine look very different from one engine to the next... not least on different models where parts are slightly different or differently located, but those differences don't seem to tally 75% let alone 100% with whether the engine is N52 or N53. But that plastic bit seems to be 100% so far.

Easier to just work out the years and models your looking for.. my search continues. I am very fussy... blue or black, N52, Manual, leather interior, good nick, touring... so few out there for sale at any one time, and most are far from perfect and located MILES away. My one flexibility so far is that I am open to any performance level - I appreciate lower running costs, but I like performance too. I'd love a black or le mans blue or estoril blue (did they do it even?) with champagne interior, m-sport. Touring and manual are the killers - so little out there. One I looked at a few months ago might have been OK, but really it needed a respray and a new interior... yeah, it was a shitheap.

Anyone on the forum half handy around a car and located near hereford to look at one for me?

Need to do all the little jobs on my Mitsubishi and E86... the latter has not had the TLC it deserves, and the former needs to be prepped for sale... but part of me thinks "f**k it, just SORN it at my dad's" - it's worth so little and is such a decent workhorse that's done family holidays and trips to my sister in south wales. £200 a year in depreciation, assuming it's worth nothing after 10 years... and 80k miles, lot of recent maintenance on brakes and tyres, MOT, not too shabby, thule roofrack... it's worth something.

[Mr Tidy]

When I was looking for a Touring in 2018 manual 330is seemed to be twice the price of 325is which is why I bought a 325i!

But 6 cylinder E9*s are very high geared (higher than Z4s) and it struggled to maintain speed on a gradient on a Motorway in 6th which is why I talked myself into an E90 330i in 2018.

That plastic cover is a giveaway, as are emissions, engine size for 325is, and claimed power output for 330is. It's 258 bhp for N52s and 272bhp for N53s.

FWIW both of mine have been SEs. I don't really miss the M-Sport bits on a 3 Series when I've got a Z4 for fun!

I don't think they did them in Estoril Blue, but Le Mans Blue looks great. My 325i had Lemon leather which I really liked but both of mine are Sparkling Graphite which isn't that exciting, and my 330i has beige leather. But when you're buying used beggars can't be choosers.

Good luck finding the right one anyway.

Not sure how well it will come out but this is Lemon leather.

Touring7.jpg (33.39 KiB) Viewed 1664 times

[BMWZ4MC]

Some markets continued to use the N52 beyond 2007 due to the high sulphur content of the fuel sold in those countries. As an example, the 325 and 335 were sold in Australia but the only N53-engined 330s here are personal imports.
Why is that relevant? If you’re considering buying an N53, it would be worth checking that the sulphur content of UK petrol hasn’t increased in the last 15 years.

[Fred Smith]

I'd happily take a black interior, but I'd prefer lemon!

[Fred Smith]

Some markets continued to use the N52 beyond 2007 due to the high sulphur content of the fuel sold in those countries. As an example, the 325 and 335 were sold in Australia but the only N53-engined 330s here are personal imports. Why is that relevant? If you’re considering buying an N53, it would be worth checking that the sulphur content of UK petrol hasn’t increased in the last 15 years.

N52 is my aim!

[BMWZ4MC]

I'd happily take a black interior, but I'd prefer lemon!

Just make sure the whole car isn’t a lemon

[BMWZ4MC]

Some markets continued to use the N52 beyond 2007 due to the high sulphur content of the fuel sold in those countries. As an example, the 325 and 335 were sold in Australia but the only N53-engined 330s here are personal imports. Why is that relevant? If you’re considering buying an N53, it would be worth checking that the sulphur content of UK petrol hasn’t increased in the last 15 years.

N52 is my aim!

[Mr Tidy]

BMWZ4MC wrote: ↑Sun Dec 29, 2024 12:13 am
Some markets continued to use the N52 beyond 2007 due to the high sulphur content of the fuel sold in those countries. As an example, the 325 and 335 were sold in Australia but the only N53-engined 330s here are personal imports. Why is that relevant? If you’re considering buying an N53, it would be worth checking that the sulphur content of UK petrol hasn’t increased in the last 15 years.
N52 is my aim!

Sort of on that topic BMW recommended a minimum of 98RON fuel for the N52 engines in 3 Series "whenever possible" like the facelift Z4s so I've used mostly Tesco Momentum 99RON in mine.

[BMWZ4MC]

I use 99 RON in my cars because I want to be certain that every last horse is pulling to its maximum potential