"2.0l E85/E86 with poor performance?"

A

atreyu1

Member
Hi,
I've just bought my first Z4, a 2006 2.0 ltr SE. I've done about 500 miles in it now and have formed certain opinions about it. But could somebody please tell me if I'm expecting too much from this car. It seems to accelerate briskly enough up to 60-70 mph, for example joining a motorway after that it seems to suffer from a lack of power. At motorway speeds of between 60 and 70 mph it doesn't respond to the throttle very well. If at say 60mph in 5th gear which is a touch under 3000 rpm I put my foot down all it seems to do is get louder. The speed does increase but ever so slowly. If we believe what we read this car with it's 2 litre engine should have a top speed of 130 +mph. If that's the case then I would expect it to accelerate strongly up to at least 80mph. It makes overtaking other vehicles at speeds over 60-65 mph a bit of a problem. So the question is are they just like this or has mine got something wrong with it.
 
it's a 2.0 hardly a rocket ship :) they're not that powerful, they look fast but are basically warm hatchback territory speed wise. My 3.0 has enough umph to move it self at a good rate from pretty much any speed. I think you're expecting too much from it, plus manufacturers top speed is always a bit iffy.

limited to 155mph yet do 167mph on gps ;) that's 3.0s of course.

2.0 might have been measured over a 30mile loop foot down for it all.
 
Doesn't sound right to me. The 2.0l is still 150bhp and 150lbft which is decent enough to make good progress. It should accelerate very easily from 60-80mph, particularly if you drop it down a gear. I wonder if the Vanos isn't working properly, which is responsible for a nice lump of torque in the mid-range.

Where are you located?
 
ph001 said:
Doesn't sound right to me. The 2.0l is still 150bhp and 150lbft which is decent enough to make good progress. It should accelerate very easily from 60-80mph, particularly if you drop it down a gear. I wonder if the Vanos isn't working properly, which is responsible for a nice lump of torque in the mid-range.

Where are you located?
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depends really, if he's in 6th gear(are they 6spd?) then it wont move much.. drop it a gear down and it should pick it self up.
 
Well, I'm in Knaresborough N. Yorks so not too far away. I'd be happy to check it with Carly for you for free to see if there are any codes stored. I assume the servicing is all up to date?

It might be an idea to change the Subject title to something like "2.0l E85/E86 with poor performance?" as this will attract the attention of other 2.0l owners who can give more insight.
 
Hi, I appreciate your offer to give it the once over and don't mind driving to Knaresborough. The servicing was ok up until March last year when it all goes a bit vague. Not knowing anything about these cars doesn't make things any easier either. So yes any time your ready I'd be up for it.
 
I'll drop you a private message. I am aware of timing chain tensioner problems on the N46 engines which can allow the chain to jump a tooth and results in poor performance. You usually get rattling as well though.
 
Paul always help his 2.0l in high esteem but think you have to rag its neck. Worth dropping him a PM.

I used to have a 320SI and sold it because it was so slow even with the race derived higher revving engine.
 
tomscott said:
I used to have a 320SI and sold it because it was so slow even with the race derived higher revving engine.
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Maybe it had missed its running in service?
 
Thanks, there aren't any rattles it runs very quietly. There is however a copy of a "Health Check" carried out by a BMW dealership last year which mentions a VVT ? valve but doesn't go into detail as the owner didn't want any further work doing.
 
That, and a clean out of the VANOS solenoids would be top of my list of things to do.... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5YQ0UFOErk
 
ph001 said:
atreyu1 said:
Thanks, there aren't any rattles it runs very quietly. There is however a copy of a "Health Check" carried out by a BMW dealership last year which mentions a VVT ? valve but doesn't go into detail as the owner didn't want any further work doing.
Click to expand...

That's the valvetronic servo motor (these engines don't have a conventional throttle flap but rather control airflow with variable valve lift). I wonder if it's a problem with the sync of that. I would defo be giving this procedure a try.... http://mhhauto.com/Thread-E90-320i-valvetronic-failure-and-good-fix-to-failure
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Wouldn’t vvt be connected with variable valve timing (vanos) rather than the valvetronic valve lift system?
Rob
 
What car did you move from to the z4 op? Might just be getting used to an NA engine, surprised me when moving from a 2L diesel
 
Smartbear said:
ph001 said:
atreyu1 said:
Thanks, there aren't any rattles it runs very quietly. There is however a copy of a "Health Check" carried out by a BMW dealership last year which mentions a VVT ? valve but doesn't go into detail as the owner didn't want any further work doing.
Click to expand...

That's the valvetronic servo motor (these engines don't have a conventional throttle flap but rather control airflow with variable valve lift). I wonder if it's a problem with the sync of that. I would defo be giving this procedure a try.... http://mhhauto.com/Thread-E90-320i-valvetronic-failure-and-good-fix-to-failure
Click to expand...

Wouldn’t vvt be connected with variable valve timing (vanos) rather than the valvetronic valve lift system?
Rob
Click to expand...


I've never known BMW refer to the VANOS as VVT like Toyota would, although in essence of course this is what it is. In most BMW circles, VVT would be the Valvetronic motor actuator, e.g.: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMW-VVT-VARIABLE-VALVETRONIC-MOTOR-ACTUATOR-A2C59515104-X1-X3-Z4-E91-E46-E81-E87-/161978682202
 
Sounds like you do have a problem, Just came home from work on an empty dual carriageway in my 2.0i doing 60mph in 6th gear, floored the throttle and bags of power to increase my speed without dropping it down a cog, I'm not mechanically minded so worth listening to more knowledgeable members on the forum :thumbsup:
 
Someone asked a good question - what car are you coming from?
For my first 2.0 Z4 I came from a 2.0 TFSI A4 that really kicked in when flooring it in the sweet rev range, I felt the Z4 was underpowered in comparison (which of course it was) - although it was a lot more fun to drive :driving:
 
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