not an owner yet, but looking

O

orangecurry

Member
 West Sussex
Hi invisible people.

I'm a long term E30 convertible owner, but I'm thinking of getting an older Z4 ragtop instead.

Why? We only want two seats now, and a few other boring reasons. I have to say the build-quality of the E30 is amazing, and I hope the Z4 comes close :D

We had a Z3 2.8 when they came out as well, which was nice, but a bit strangled on power.

So I'll be trawling the forum for advice on best engine and things to look out for.

Hugs.
 
Welcome on board. :)

As always depends on budget.

If your looking at E85's then the 3ltr engines offer the best bang for your buck. With the E89 I would recon the 2.0 is probably the one to look at, very tunable and plenty to be had, at least over here, but that ones a flip top not a soft top.

As you mentioned it, the the E85 has turned out to be a pretty well built reliable car. :thumbsup:
 
Thanks!

Probably E85. I'm not looking for powerrrrr so I was thinking most reliable between 2.5 and 3.0? But as I said, I'll start reading - the forum seems well stocked :)
 
welcome along! if you think the 2.8 in a Z3 was strangled on power, you'll definitely want a 3.0i in a Z4, with a useful 40 extra horses.
 
Thanks BM

I meant more that the standard setup for that engine was strangled deliberately to keep it under 200 BHP for EU company car tax rules, which was a shame.

But you are correct, I should drive both the 2.5 and 3.0 for sure.

Is there any specific issue with either engine? I'm thinking back to the VANOS era?
 
Welcome, well kind-of :wink:
No real maintenance differences comparing a pre facelift 2.5i to a 3.0i so any pro's / con's will be the same.
There are obviously differences between the pre and post facelift as they use different engines; M54 and N52 respectively. The N52 still has a vanos afaik, although it's a solenoid vanos rather than a "normal" vanos as you have in the M54 or your E30
 
orangecurry said:
Thanks BM

I meant more that the standard setup for that engine was strangled deliberately to keep it under 200 BHP for EU company car tax rules, which was a shame.

But you are correct, I should drive both the 2.5 and 3.0 for sure.

Is there any specific issue with either engine? I'm thinking back to the VANOS era?
Click to expand...

ahhh yes i see what you mean, the old restrictive inlet manifold on the M52 engine, and swapping it out for the M50 manifold.

well good news i believe the M54 doesnt have the restricted manifold, and the 3.0i makes the full 230bhp as a result.

i'm pretty sure the M54 has dual, continuously variable vanos, unlike the step change in the M52. and known faults are DISA valves and Vanos seals - i read something that said all original bmw vanos seals will have gone after about 20,000 miles, and that the midrange torque is usually slightly down as a result, but the upgraded vanos seal kit uses a different material that doesnt degrade, and therefore restores lost midrange. but generally, the M54 engine is pretty bulletproof really. Can't offer an opinion on the N52 engine that replaced it.
 
Welcome to the forum OP. :thumbsup:

Ignoring the Alpina and the M, E85s only used two 6 cylinder engines. The M54 in 2.2i, 2.5i and 3.0i format in pre-facelifts and the N52 in 2.5i, 2.5Si and 3.0Si models in the facelifts (06 onwards).

So reliability is the same for any size of M54, or any size of the N52. The only difference is between the M54 and N52.

I've only had one M54 in a 3 Series, but am on my 4th N52 - two in Z4s and two in 3 Series.

I liked the M54 but thought the N52 was a bit more fun, especially in a 2 seater as it revs higher and seems to love heading for the 7,000 rpm red-line!

So far I've had no real issues with reliability on any of them, but the N52 does have an electric water pump which just dies any time after 60K miles and costs about £300 just for the part - plus the engine overheats within a mile or so! I'm 50/50 on those so far as 2 of mine have needed new pumps and 2 haven't. But if they last that long you'll probably only ever need a new one once! There are other issues like oil leaks from cam covers and oil filter housings, but I think both engines are prone to those.

Anyway whichever generation of engine you go for I'd recommend aiming for a 3 litre, and if within budget an N52 3.0Si is as good as it gets for performance in a non-Alpina/M. BMW claimed 265bhp for the 3.0Si N52 compared to 231bhp for the 3.0i M54. Although a facelift 2.5Si was rated at 218bhp so might be worth considering depending on spec, price and proximity.

But there was only 1 trim level on pre-facelifts whereas facelifts had SE and Sport, and the Sport models came with M-Sport seats which are very sought after (used ones go for up to £1K) whereas hardly any pre-facelifts have them as they were an option.

Oh well, that's enough typing for now! Happy hunting. :thumbsup:
 
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