E89 4 pot or 6?

B

Broads

Member
 Melksham
Hey chaps,

After lurking here for a while waiting for the perfect Z4 to come up, I have upped my game in terms of considering finance, so now an E89 isnt totally out of the question.

I took out a lovely looking sdrive Msport 2.0l Twin turbo. It looked great and for me was in the right color scheme and had heated seats. However I have a feeling that I will esentially be missing something for going with another 4pot my last being a 1.9 z3.
I was however quite impressed with its power output and exhaust note.

I have another lined up to drive for a very similar price. This one also a sdrive23i msport but 2.5 straight six. But lacking in the heated seats.


What can I expect between the two> on paper the 0-60 times are comparible.
Is the straight six / cheaper more reliable than twin turbos or is there nothing in it?



Previously I was considering a 3l e85.

Also getting very confused with the numbering system.. and packs sline / msport etc.
are there any good guides?

eg 28i is actually a 2 litre? but remapped? am I correct? can you map a 2.0 to a 28i or do you need to get different parts installed as well?


Thanks.
 
Broads said:
Hey chaps,

After lurking here for a while waiting for the perfect Z4 to come up, I have upped my game in terms of considering finance, so now an E89 isnt totally out of the question.

I took out a lovely looking sdrive Msport 2.0l Twin turbo. It looked great and for me was in the right color scheme and had heated seats. However I have a feeling that I will esentially be missing something for going with another 4pot my last being a 1.9 z3.
I was however quite impressed with its power output and exhaust note.

I have another lined up to drive for a very similar price. This one also a sdrive23i msport but 2.5 straight six. But lacking in the heated seats.


What can I expect between the two> on paper the 0-60 times are comparible.
Is the straight six / cheaper more reliable than twin turbos or is there nothing in it?



Previously I was considering a 3l e85.

Also getting very confused with the numbering system.. and packs sline / msport etc.
are there any good guides?

eg 28i is actually a 2 litre? but remapped? am I correct? can you map a 2.0 to a 28i or do you need to get different parts installed as well?


Thanks.
Click to expand...

Hi, the 4pot e89 range all use the same 2litre engine & the 20i can be mapped to approaching 300bhp/300ftlbs of torque. They aren’t twin turbo engines but “twin scroll” which reduces lag to virtually zero :thumbsup:
They have better economy than the 23i & cheaper tax but don’t sound as nice as the 6pot.
Both engine types seem very durable.
The 4pots are newer models and because of this are generally more expensive to buy.
Rob
 
The N20 fitted to all the 4 pots is not twin turbo, it's a single turbo (twin scroll). It should feel a bit more torquey compared to the lower capacity six pots i.e. sdrive23i but some of this is due to the somewhat less linear delivery of the turbo motor. The downside is a bit of lag when picking up from lower rpms. I think both are equally reliable.

The big benefit of the 18i / 20i of course is that a simple remap can easily get you to 250bhp which will certainly give the sdrive30i a good run for it's money.
 
Ok, so its a single turbo, but twin scroll, whatever one of those is?

Certainly the car ticks all the right box's for me, and if there is nothing to worry about in terms of reliability of engine / turbos' then the only thing between the two is colour and heated seats.

Also sounds like with a remap it also give the 3l a run for its money. Is there any danger in a remap. does it force the engine to do more than its capable of, ergo damaging long term?
 
250 - 280bhp is well within it's limits (250bhp is pretty much what the 28i does anyway). Charge temps might be getting a bit higher than you would like when you start getting towards 300bhp. Always best to check with a mod friendly insurer of any premium impact of course (Adrian Flux are very sympathetic).
 
The 20i feels faster than the E86 3.0si

Not saying it is necessarily faster, but it feels faster.
Maybe due to torque.

I have a 20i, its a fantastic car.
 
Deepseaskateboard is that as standard or once re-mapped.. I've driven a E85 3.0 and that felt faster to me.
On the whole though, it sounds like the 2.0 is still a good car despite its engine size.

Where 3l and 2.5 e85's seem to be prefered on this site over the 2.0 it seems less of a issue with this car?
 
My car is all stock, it was an approved used Bmw.

The E89 needs a nice warm engine, and needs to be in sport plus, for full effect.

I had an e86 coupe for a very short while, but the 20i is the better car.

20i also looks better than the E85 in my opinion.
 
Deepseaskateboard said:
R60BBA said:
6 pot all the way.

The 4 pots were designed for the hairdressers. :P
Click to expand...

You will always get called a hair dresser, 6 or 4 cylinder!

Or comments like like: “are the curlers in the boot?”
Click to expand...

Hahah although I had an E86.

No one threw hairdresser comments when I pulled up. :driving:
 

Attachments

  • 927DFB1F-2E58-4AD6-8703-4D7331515B2E.jpeg
    927DFB1F-2E58-4AD6-8703-4D7331515B2E.jpeg
    234.9 KB · Views: 1,381
john-e89 said:
Pop in a larger intercooler if you map it and all’s well. :thumbsup:
Click to expand...

Get better results from a downpipe, intercooler means the engine can run cooler for longer - so you have more power available to you - however when I was looking there was no intercooler availble - so things may have changed now.

Only found one supplier who offered charge pipe, but I was not 100% convinced it would fit - as i got burnt buying downpipe for my 28i

Still for sale lol
 
Broads said:
ONLINE

R60BBA
Member

Posts: 660
Joined: Sat Sep 30, 2017 7:53 pm
Location: London, United Kingdom
Contact: Contact R60BBA
Report this post Quote
Post by R60BBA » Mon Oct 08, 2018 6:27 pm

6 pot all the way.

The 4 pots were designed for the hairdressers.
E46 M3 Coupe
S54B32
Carbon Schwarz

IG: bavarianjunkie
https://youtu.be/y0ymv8jOC0Y
Top
Click to expand...

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.
 
R60BBA said:
Deepseaskateboard said:
R60BBA said:
6 pot all the way.

The 4 pots were designed for the hairdressers. :P
Click to expand...

You will always get called a hair dresser, 6 or 4 cylinder!

Or comments like like: “are the curlers in the boot?”
Click to expand...

Hahah although I had an E86.

No one threw hairdresser comments when I pulled up. :driving:
Click to expand...

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!
 
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
 
Twin Turbo said:
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.
Click to expand...

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:
 
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:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom