Which would you pick? N52 (silver engine cover) or N52k (black engine cover)
- Thread starter shuey
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[youtube]https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=76BzgLkiwvY[/youtube]
This explains the differences between the two well.
This explains the differences between the two well.
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ph001 said:
Please enlighten us
Casper355 said:
Thought I would reply to this old post just in case you are still a forum member and if anyone else is interested . My E86 production date is 02/2008 and it has the black plastic valve cover and also MSV70 DME not the MSV80 . On real oem it also confirms that it should have the MSV70 DME so the information about the DME change earlier in this post seems to be inaccurate .
Interesting thread - does anyone have anything else to contribute to this based on personal experience?
The later N52k looks to be better in many ways; with the possible exception of the valve cover revision.. has anyone had a later placcy one fail, or require replacement due to the apparently integrated CCV assy?
The later N52k looks to be better in many ways; with the possible exception of the valve cover revision.. has anyone had a later placcy one fail, or require replacement due to the apparently integrated CCV assy?
corsair said:
I’ve had three silver top N52’s and two black tops in various cars.
In my 130i (black top) I suffered with a cracked rocker cover which had to be replaced. The one in my wife’s old 125i was fine.
I’m finding out the hard way at the mod that the CCV in the silver top cars can be a pain in the arse.
I wouldn’t get too hung up on it personally.
Last year I had to replace the black plastic cam cover on my 2007 2.5si as it was leaking due to perished seals.
My mechanic consulted with a BMW specialist who advised buying a complete cam cover wth a gasket bonded to it rather than replacing just the gasket. The reason being that gasket only replacement resulted in a lot of failures and refits. So I went for the cover with the bonded gasket and it's been running great since it was fitted. It was a bit on the pricey side though.
My mechanic consulted with a BMW specialist who advised buying a complete cam cover wth a gasket bonded to it rather than replacing just the gasket. The reason being that gasket only replacement resulted in a lot of failures and refits. So I went for the cover with the bonded gasket and it's been running great since it was fitted. It was a bit on the pricey side though.
Roberltd2 said:
Yes that's usually the advice given, the gasket goes, upon replacing the gasket, the valve cover gets twisted usually resulting in a crack somewhere.
The cover has been subject to 1000's of heat cycles in it's lifetime and probably gets brittle.
So, both get replaced.
(my previous N52 had a cracked cover even before the gasket needed doing)
The gasket is not bonded into the cover at all, they're seperate, but the OEM BMW gasket does fit tighter (from what my mechanic said) allowing the cover to beturned over without the gasket falling out upon install.
Interesting reading this, looking at getting another E85 Z4 
and maybe with an N52 this time, as have this engine (N52) in my E63 and it’s such a lovely engine and has been totally reliable and other than a water pump nothing else has gone wrong, though neither did anything on my M54 E85, is there any power difference between the N52 and N52K as have seen quotes for this engine of 252bhp, 260bhp and 272bhp, also has anyone ever raced E85 M54 vs N52/N52K 1/4 mile, standing mile and track times as would be interesting to know if there was a difference and make it worth seeking out the later engine.
and maybe with an N52 this time, as have this engine (N52) in my E63 and it’s such a lovely engine and has been totally reliable and other than a water pump nothing else has gone wrong, though neither did anything on my M54 E85, is there any power difference between the N52 and N52K as have seen quotes for this engine of 252bhp, 260bhp and 272bhp, also has anyone ever raced E85 M54 vs N52/N52K 1/4 mile, standing mile and track times as would be interesting to know if there was a difference and make it worth seeking out the later engine.
As far as I know in the Si Z4s both N52 and N52k engines have a claimed output of 265PS. Those other numbers are for the N52 in other BMWs - they only quote 258 PS for my E90 330i for example.
As I posted earlier in this thread I sold my N52k Coupe and replaced it 2 days later with one with the N52 and I really didn't notice any difference in how they performed or drove so I wouldn't limit my choices to either. Strangely one of the differences is that the N52k got a revised electric water pump. But the pump in my N52k died at 60K miles. My N52 seemed to still have the original one when I sold it on 91K, so revised but maybe not improved. :roll:
I've only had one M54 in a 325ti E46 Compact and I really liked it, but overall I prefer the N52 for a bit more power and how it revs to 7,000 rpm. So much so that my 330i is my 4th N52!
No idea about performance although I know BMW claimed a 0-62 time of 5.9 seconds for the 3.0i and 5.7 for the 3.0Si, so the latter should be slightly quicker in most conditions.
As I posted earlier in this thread I sold my N52k Coupe and replaced it 2 days later with one with the N52 and I really didn't notice any difference in how they performed or drove so I wouldn't limit my choices to either. Strangely one of the differences is that the N52k got a revised electric water pump. But the pump in my N52k died at 60K miles. My N52 seemed to still have the original one when I sold it on 91K, so revised but maybe not improved. :roll:
I've only had one M54 in a 325ti E46 Compact and I really liked it, but overall I prefer the N52 for a bit more power and how it revs to 7,000 rpm. So much so that my 330i is my 4th N52!
No idea about performance although I know BMW claimed a 0-62 time of 5.9 seconds for the 3.0i and 5.7 for the 3.0Si, so the latter should be slightly quicker in most conditions.
Mr Tidy said:
Thanks for the detailed reply
I was under the impression there was a bhp difference between the N52 and N52k due to revision from grey top to black top that added more power, as has been discussed on the thread. So another questions is what makes the difference in the power output differences on the later N52k variant? PSB from wiki below 261 vs 268 ? What gives the extra 7hp, why was e85 Z4 not offered with this extra hp and I assume the highest standard output from the N52K engine, or is wiki ref to a different market ie US?
The water pump on my 2005 e63 630i (n52) died at 75k.
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Commando_Rob said:
Most of the information on there is US based, hence the power outputs being quoted as DIN measurements. 255 DIN is 258 PS, 261 DIN is 265 PS, etc. but some of it just happens to be the same as the UK spec!
I'm pretty sure BMW never sold the E9* 330 xi in the UK, and by 2007 the E9* models in the UK got the N53 engine not the N52. I think the 630i also had the N53 in the UK from 2007 onwards. It's quite likely the X3 and X5 in the UK also got the N53 around then, but I don't get involved in the X models. Anyway BMW definitely no longer sold the E87 130i in the UK after 2009.
I've no idea why the Z4 didn't get the most powerful version, unless it was to keep it in Band K for Road Tax maybe? If so we should probably be grateful for that!
It looks like a backward step to fit the E89 Z4 30i with the lowest powered version, but it seems it will happily run on 95 RON fuel whereas BMW recommended at least 98 RON "whenever possible" for my 3.0Si Z4s and my 330i so there must have been some difference maybe in mapping? Plus I think they may be one band lower for Road Tax.