Four cylinder power for F10 5 series?

[rpmnut]

Read this bit of depressing news today:http://f10.5post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=552293BMW finally axes its long-running in-line 6 engine. *sigh*It's really kinda sad to see BMW phase out its non-turbo in-line 6. For me, the BMW driving experience has always been synonymous with the sweet sounds of an in-line 6 screaming up front. I grew up with this saying - a REAL BMW has 6 cylinders up front!Now, with this downsizing craze, in order for anyone to enjoy the feeling of driving car with the famed BMW straight-6 under the bonnet, their only option on a 5 series is to cough up 600k for an "official" 535i. That, in my books, is just crazy money for a 5-series!A 4 cylinder may be more efficient. It may be more frugal. But driving and owning a BMW has, for me, always been an emotional choice, not always a practical one. If practicality and economy was prime, I'd be driving a Camry! - lolI've always been looking forward to an upgrade to the 528i M-Sport sometime within its model run. But now that the 528 will be powered by nothing more than a 4-cylinder, I'm not so sure anymore. I reckon I'll hang on to my beloved E39 with its gorgeous-sounding M54 in-line 6 just for the joy of experiencing the six-cylinder howl when it hits 5000rpm. No 4 cylinder, no matter how efficient, will ever replicate that.R.I.P, N52. You will be sorely missed!

 

[astroboy]

The current 6-cylinder folks will be offered 4-cylinder turbo while the current 4-cylinder folks like me will be offered a 3-cylinder turbo with a loud speaker than can disguise the car as 6 or 8 cylinder..

 

[rpmnut]

LOL. And before you know it, the next 318i will have a 2-cylinder engine with twin turbos.
Kancil on steroids!

 

[astroboy]

LOL. And before you know it, the next 318i will have a 2-cylinder engine with twin turbos.
Kancil on steroids!

I dun mind driving a 2-cylinder twin turbo BMW as long as not slower than a 3-cylinder Kelisa la.. :4:

 

[rpmnut]

I dun mind driving a 2-cylinder twin turbo BMW as long as not slower than a 3-cylinder Kelisa la.. :4:

But can you imagine the sound of the engine? Macam lawnmower! LOL
Even BMW admits the 4 cylinder N20 sounds a bit "bleh". They're coming up with some sort of "sound generator" for cars with the N20.

 

[ALBundy]

Rpmnut, you can still get the 528 M sport with a 3.0 online engine Better buy now before it's phased out!

 

[rpmnut]

Rpmnut, you can still get the 528 M sport with a 3.0 online engine Better buy now before it's phased out!

The "Buy the F10" fund hasn't quite hit the target yet lah, bro. LOL.

Was hoping to grab an F10 in 2-3 years' time. Now that the N52 is gone, I guess I'll just wait till the 6-cylinder 528's become available on the 2nd hand car market before I grab one lah

Still not warming up to the concept of a 4-cylinder 5 series! lol!

 

[ALBundy]

Actually 4 cylinder 5 series was available since the e34 days, there is a 518. With the e60, there was the 520 which has similar engine as the 320. Plenty in Singapore

 

[rpmnut]

But you see...no one remembers these 4 cylinder 5's haha
"Real" 5's, I think, still need 6 cyl engines lah.

 

[initialM]

WTF?? 4 pots lar, turbodiesel lar. What has happened to BMW???
If i want 4 pot I buy Honda, if i want turbo car I buy evo, skyline.
I buy BMW bcoz of the handling and 6 pots engine. geezzz

 

[rpmnut]

WTF?? 4 pots lar, turbodiesel lar. What has happened to BMW???
If i want 4 pot I buy Honda, if i want turbo car I buy evo, skyline.
I buy BMW bcoz of the handling and 6 pots engine. geezzz

I remember when the F10 was first launched, I read somewhere that BMW was quite smug and was boasting that the 523i F10 had a "sophisticated" 6 cylinder, whereas the Merc E200K CGI "only" had a 4 cylinder and 5 speed gearbox.

Now BMW is walking the same path....*sigh*

And on a sidenote....I don't get why the 535i costs almost 600K!
The Audi A6 3.0TFSI with a PROPER six cylinder engine, supercharger, all the bells and whistles costs under 500K....

 

[ck318ci]

E60 520I is the 6 potter la..
2.2 unit that is the same in E39.

Many units in Malaysia also.

 

[Creazee]

I got racun by my partner in buying my UDM because he said 5er with "6 api" is better than my "4 api" Honda.... now "4 api" 5er?????

 

[RH5]

higher torgue and more efficiency.. its way forward.. and cheaper road tax..

 

[gregcwho]

E60 520I is the 6 potter la..
2.2 unit that is the same in E39.

Many units in Malaysia also.

That's the 523i.

The 520i came with N47B20 4 cylinder engines..which replaced the 523i as it had similar performance figures but lower cc...Think the 523 was replaced by the 525 if I am not mistaken..

Cheers

 

[astroboy]

Talking about sound, I love the NA Mivec V6 sound, BMW 6-pot can't even come close.. If sound is really that important, it can easily be solved by providing u a sound generator.. :4:

I have no problem with 4-pot.. but not the 3-pot simply because of the unbearable vibration, unless BMW has a solution to that, use a different counter weight or something.

The 1st M3 is a 4-potter, the BTCC cars those days were all 4-potter and what's wrong with those? The engine acoustic engineers in BMW has done a fantastic job on their E90 N46 engine and exhaust note. Have anyone compared that to sound to a Merc 4-potter? E90 4-potter has this bubbly note from the exhaust that sounded like a Perdana V6. The magic is in the manifold, by carefully calculate the length of the manifold pipe from each cylinder, the BMW has already successfully "played" with acoustic effect and the N46B20 seriously does not sound like an average 4-potter car in the neighborhood.

BMW has been avoiding turbo or compressor because of two thing. The fuel efficiency and the smoothness of power transition/delivery. Now both that has been "solved" and its the right time exploit the force induction technology, it also reduces the overall weight of the car, win-win situation. I'm not complaining..

I love to feather my throttle at reasonably high RPM in the corner to balance the car, especially at chicanes, NA engine is perfect for this.. let see how the FI engine behave in this department.. I have tried that with a turbo diesel and I don't like it.. simply because the RPM can't be kept high.. no fun..

 

[initialM]

Exactly AB I prefer NA due to higher rpm band.

 

[gameover]

Let's face it, the day when every car was using FI was coming and everyone, BMW included knew it. I'm surprised BMW let their NA engines survive for so long especially after facing the onslaught from excellent TFSI and CGI engines from Audi and Mercedes respectively. Look at Porsche and air cooled engines, manual gearboxes in BMW M-cars and Ferraris. This is progress

I love the sound of the N52B30 too. RIP.

 

[gOdspEed]

BMW owners will praise the 6 potters, indeed....
.....but BMW drivers will keep on admiring the legendary S14, M42 & M44....

cheers!

 

[stig]

bmw owners will praise the 6 potters, indeed....
.....but bmw drivers will keep on admiring the legendary s14, m42 & m44....

Cheers!

amen to that brutha!