E89 4 pot or 6?

[Marlon]

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.

I dont think you're quite right about the tax. Turbo'd cars always beat N/A cars on emissions at the same power level. This is partly the reason manufacturers are moving towards small engine forced induction these days. Better economy and lower emissions.

I've updated my Table to include Tax.
28i vs 30i similar power, but the 28i is faster to 60. £100 cheaper in road tax
30i vs 35i/is only £25 more road tax but far more powerful

Very useful table - thanks

 

[R60BBA]

How reliable is a remapped N20 vs a stock N52 is another question

They seem pretty robust so far, don’t forget my (standard) 19k mile 30i sh#t itself!
Rob

What happened to it?

 

[Smartbear]

How reliable is a remapped N20 vs a stock N52 is another question

They seem pretty robust so far, don’t forget my (standard) 19k mile 30i sh#t itself!
Rob

What happened to it?

The gearbox synchros went, it sounded as though it was turning itself into swarf every time I wanted 2nd gear, it was a shame as I really liked the car

The dealer gave me my money back after looking into the repair cost :roll:
Rob

 

[R60BBA]

They seem pretty robust so far, don’t forget my (standard) 19k mile 30i sh#t itself!
Rob

What happened to it?

The gearbox synchros went, it sounded as though it was turning itself into swarf every time I wanted 2nd gear, it was a shame as I really liked the car
605ACDD4-9972-4C31-9C14-2BF5EFD8C595.jpeg
The dealer gave me my money back after looking into the repair cost :roll:
Rob

That’s a shame but what’s a gearbox failure got to do with N52 though :?

That could’ve happened on any Z4 buddy or BMW or car for that matter! :roll:

 

[Smartbear]

What happened to it?

The gearbox synchros went, it sounded as though it was turning itself into swarf every time I wanted 2nd gear, it was a shame as I really liked the car
605ACDD4-9972-4C31-9C14-2BF5EFD8C595.jpeg
The dealer gave me my money back after looking into the repair cost :roll:
Rob

That’s a shame but what’s a gearbox failure got to do with N52 though :?

That could’ve happened on any Z4 buddy or BMW or car for that matter! :roll:

True, in that case I’ve heard of cylinder heads being changed under warranty to get rid of the lifter tick they can suffer from & there’s been several cases of fried motors due to expiring water pumps :?
Ccv’s seem to be on a knife edge of working or gumming up causing oil burning issues, apart from these things they seem to be long lasting
Rob

 

[R60BBA]

N52B30 is one of the best all round performance modern BMW 6 cylinder N/A engines.

It won numerous awards.

As I said, although I now have a much more powerful and capable S54 engine, there are times when I miss the smoothness of that engine.

 

[Andyturbo2000]

23i six-pot sounds good...way too slow for a ‘sports’ car though

 

[Mr Tidy]

That's why they made the 30i! :lol:

 

[Jembo]

That's why they made the 30i! :lol:

& perfected it with a 3.2

 

[Mr Tidy]

Mr Tidy wrote: ↑Tue Oct 09, 2018 9:03 pm
That's why they made the 30i!


& perfected it with a 3.2

I'm yet to find out, and hopefully one day I might - but this is an E89 thread. :lol:

 

[Jembo]

Mr Tidy wrote: ↑Tue Oct 09, 2018 9:03 pm
That's why they made the 30i!


& perfected it with a 3.2

I'm yet to find out, and hopefully one day I might - but this is an E89 thread. :lol:

Come to a Kent meet next year & I’ll showcase the noise

 

[Mr Tidy]

Come to a Kent meet next year & I’ll showcase the noise

If you make it to the Black Swan on Sunday you can do it then!

But I have heard an E46 M3 being driven like it was stolen - it's spine-tingling.

 

[Twin Turbo]

^

Yes I completely agree, anyone that tells you the N20's can keep up with an N54 hasn't tried.
My 35i is stage 2+ with DP, intercooler and charge pipe. It eats E92 M3's for breakfast :evil:

This is a fairly heavily tuned Z4 35i beating quite a few cars in the drag strip!

(Rolling start at 50kph)
[youtube]GqB7k5dac-o[/youtube]

https://youtu.be/GqB7k5dac-o

Well, I was after a challenge anyone with a 35i/35is stock or modified and take them head to head - but no one fancied to take me on from this forum. However, every Z4 I played with, were unable to keep up. Especially no B roads.

A demonstration of my old 28i taking on M3:

[youtube]xERJ0KPgsgM[/youtube]

And my fastest time:
[youtube]0QpLRJrhqO4[/youtube]

However the 28i benefit was launch, big BHP cars struggle to get the power down on the drag strip - however if your reaching 400bhp - you may have got to the finish line before me. As I believe my N20 28i - still holds the fastest 1/4 mile time in the UK?

However where it would be more open, and were the 28i would have the advantage would be on a track, as there is little skill driving fast in an straight line - just look at the number of M4's all power but no control.

[youtube]0n7gLJg7ACk[/youtube]

 

[Twin Turbo]

“N52B30 doesn’t need to be tuned“
If you want it to keep up with a mapped n20 it does
Rob

These cars aren’t about straight line speed.

But again, N52B30 supercharged would cruise past N20B20 tuned

NOPE -SORRY SO UNTRUE - obviously you did not experience a 300+BHP N20 Z4

 

[Twin Turbo]

N52B30 is one of the best all round performance modern BMW 6 cylinder N/A engines.

It won numerous awards.

As I said, although I now have a much more powerful and capable S54 engine, there are times when I miss the smoothness of that engine.

So did the N20, however the N52 is a bullet proof engine with a great sound - N20 is frugal, light and more tunerable

Get a supercharged N52 your looking circa 5K, spend 5K on a N20 - you be north of 300+ BHP, better breaks, suspension, and sill have change for 10 tracks days

 

[Twin Turbo]

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

agreed -

 

[R60BBA]

“N52B30 doesn’t need to be tuned“
If you want it to keep up with a mapped n20 it does
Rob

These cars aren’t about straight line speed.

But again, N52B30 supercharged would cruise past N20B20 tuned

NOPE -SORRY SO UNTRUE - obviously you did not experience a 300+BHP N20 Z4

These cars aren’t about straight line speed at all!

I’m happy to put this up in a poll on the forum to prove you otherwise.

Supercharged N52 will make 365BHP and destroy your remapped N20 buddy.

The numbers don’t lie.

 

[Twin Turbo]

These cars aren’t about straight line speed.

But again, N52B30 supercharged would cruise past N20B20 tuned

NOPE -SORRY SO UNTRUE - obviously you did not experience a 300+BHP N20 Z4

These cars aren’t about straight line speed at all!

I’m happy to put this up in a poll on the forum to prove you otherwise.

Supercharged N52 will make 365BHP and destroy your remapped N20 buddy.

The numbers don’t lie.

All I can quote is real life experience not theory, E86 is a better handling car than E89 from factory no question on that - the E89 from factory is quite sloppy, with poor suspension and RFT.

N52 with 365BHP it would be very close to call, you only have 50 BHP more power - but I made my E89 into an B road warrior and able to pull away from any Z4 I encountered. And I had the car for over 3 years, however.

If an N52 with suppercharger and modified suspension and breaks - then it could be a different story.

Peeps, may have opinions on theory or there personal preference - but I am coming from proven experience.

You say numbers don't lie, show me a Z4 doing a quicker 1/4 mile then - otherwise, keep in your bubble

However after I say all this, I upgraded to an N55 engine lol

 

[R60BBA]

NOPE -SORRY SO UNTRUE - obviously you did not experience a 300+BHP N20 Z4

These cars aren’t about straight line speed at all!

I’m happy to put this up in a poll on the forum to prove you otherwise.

Supercharged N52 will make 365BHP and destroy your remapped N20 buddy.

The numbers don’t lie.

All I can quote is real life experience not theory, E86 is a better handling car than E89 from factory no question on that - the E89 from factory is quite sloppy, with poor suspension and RFT.

N52 with 365BHP it would be very close to call, you only have 50 BHP more power - but I made my E89 into an B road warrior and able to pull away from any Z4 I encountered. And I had the car for over 3 years, however.

If an N52 with suppercharger and modified suspension and breaks - then it could be a different story.

Peeps, may have opinions on theory or there personal preference - but I am coming from proven experience.

However after I say all this, I upgraded to an N55 engine lol

You got a SIX CYLINDER N55...

End of!

 

[Nick9one1]

I'm yet to 1/4 mile mine, but a quick search suggests the 35i DCT can do a consistent 12.8 seconds on the strip with a stage 1 remap and FMIC.
Thats quite a bit quicker than the 28i's quickest at 13.57 secs.