Akula Turbocharged January 14, 2008 Share January 14, 2008 Hi jus noticed that PML brought in the 520i again. Understand its a 4 cylinder 2 litre ( 1995 cc ) engine similar to the current one in 320i but with direct injection! Think the BHP is 170 with torque of 210NM. Similar to the previous 520i but that was a 2.2 in line 6. List price in Carbuyer is about $168K. Any one have any other info to add.....? Err anti BMW 4 pots/badge also welcome.... ↡ Advertisement Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Friendstar Supercharged January 14, 2008 Share January 14, 2008 (edited) if really bring back, i applaude the move. 523 is too heavy on road tax at 2500cc. and hence.. bmw is losing a lot of market share to mercedes which has a highly popular E200 compressor (which is even better at 1800cc i heard)... 520, though underpowered, give people like me with a family the ability to afford a good german 2 litre car with a prestigous badge. Edited January 14, 2008 by Friendstar Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Akula Turbocharged January 14, 2008 Author Share January 14, 2008 think its really back, its also advertised in the newspapers on SAT. with the Asian Aerospace promo, along with the 320i. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miles 4th Gear January 14, 2008 Share January 14, 2008 i hope they put this valvetronic 2.0L direct injection engine 3 series too and bring it in. I know this engine is already in the 1 series. Didnt know they also put it in the 5 series. i think with this engine in the 3, it'll be perfect for entry level. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Throttle Neutral Newbie January 14, 2008 Share January 14, 2008 520i 4 cyclinder, it's a joke. but businesses as businesses go, will bring anything back as long as it sells. Just like how Ducati downsized the Monster 900 to 400.... BMW is losing to no one, it's the number selling car brand in town. The day they become common like toyotas would be the day they die. For $168k, not point. I sell you my 3 yr old 525i for $125k Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Akula Turbocharged January 14, 2008 Author Share January 14, 2008 If this engine is judged to be suitable to bring into SG, then the facelift 3 series later this year will most prob be equipped with it. Some countries cant accept this engine due to their fuel quality, so they have the slight improvement valvetronic engine pushing out 156BHP ( over the current 150BHP ). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
W210k 1st Gear January 14, 2008 Share January 14, 2008 (edited) Hmmm... Valvetronic + Direct Injection Adding 2 more layers of computer-managed timing functions associated with the Otto cycle, with the help of stepper motors on valve positioning. Definitely something I personally would stay away from, re longer-term vibrational stability - until tested OTR, for at least one engine model's life time. Will stick to my M52B25 engine, albeit 2.5L. The idea of having a stepper motor (something you'd find in a dot-matrix printer)operating in a very hot engine compartment, sequencing valve open/close timing, does not sound good to me. BMW has had problems with their early V8 Valvetronic engines especially (can be got from BMW USA's own website), since this further requires a pair of such stepper motors to work in sync, to ensure that the left and right bank valves both work in tandem. Having 2 electric motors to work in sync, in the order of milliseconds' accuracy is very challenging indeed. You can get them sync'd when new, but depending on how the electro-magnetic flux of the armature coils deteriorate with wear/tear and time, they can still go out-of-sync with time. All you need is say a 1 or 2 milli-second of valve opening (or closing) retardation on a bank of cylinders that will lead to measurable vibrations. I have nothing against 4-pot BMW engines, though much prefer the IL-sixes for inherent stability. For 4-pot, need to replace engine mounts and do a major retune the block at least every 60,000 km ... otherwise the car's vibrations will not be insignificant. Even a 2L 16v Jap car of the same vintage will feel much smoother on idle, IMHO. Edited January 14, 2008 by W210k Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azarael Clutched January 14, 2008 Share January 14, 2008 as mentioned, they should put the correct engine size for the right body it was designed for. of course cost is an issue but the most optimal engine capacity for a 5 series is a 530i. for 3 series, a 325 is optimal and a 7 series, a 740i. 520 4 cyclinder ? hmm....wonder how underpowered and noisy it can be ? can reviews yet by people who drove it ? a bit off topic but notice that lexus doesnt compromise on engine cc. if they put a 2 liter or 2. 5 L engine for the GS300 it would deliver a horrible driving experince...the end product would reflect badly on the experience of driving one. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azarael Clutched January 14, 2008 Share January 14, 2008 wah. i learning something new......do all 4 pots need replacement of engine mounts and retune every 60 K ? sounds very extreme ? how come in line 6 doesnt suffer the same problem ? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
W210k 1st Gear January 14, 2008 Share January 14, 2008 (edited) I think this has been discussed ad infinitum in other previous threads. Its called inherent stability - i.e. the tendency for an engine configuration to vibrate. More vibration = more wear and tear, thus shorter replacement frequency of the mounts. Most inherently stable first: F8 > V8 > F6 > IL6 > V6 > F4 > V4 > IL4 Note: - IL6 > V6 (a pecularity in the IL6's firing pattern), while V4 > IL4 - IL8 generally not produced for modern cars (engine block will be too long and car will either have a very long bonnet/hood, or a very deep dash board, with driver's seat and gear box situated far behind). Edited January 14, 2008 by W210k Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Porker Turbocharged January 14, 2008 Share January 14, 2008 Der... Inline 6 is inherently balanced due to the firing order of the pistons. The entire bank of cylinders is symmetrical taken from the centre line and hence the forces cancel out. Ah the beauty of physics. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Akula Turbocharged January 14, 2008 Author Share January 14, 2008 Sorry bro, too cheam for me! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miles 4th Gear January 14, 2008 Share January 14, 2008 Q1. I assume you mean F8/F6 = H8/H6 = boxer on Porsche/Subaru. If that's the case, why are there so few manufacturers adopting this sort of engine? ... even supercar makers. Q2. Dont BMW use balancer shaft to reduce/cut down vibration? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Porker Turbocharged January 14, 2008 Share January 14, 2008 Q1: Because the engine is flat and wide and is suited more to mid or rear engine layouts. It is expensive to produce as well Q2: They don't use balancer shafts for the inline 6 engines Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
inlinesix Hypersonic January 14, 2008 Share January 14, 2008 a bit off topic but notice that lexus doesnt compromise on engine cc. if they put a 2 liter or 2. 5 L engine for the GS300 it would deliver a horrible driving experince...the end product would reflect badly on the experience of driving one. Tis is because Jap has large variant of body to suit diff. variant of engine. Wbereby German has small variant of body to suit diff. variant of engine. The more variant of body, d more platform u need. Tis will somehow increase cost. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cmwmsoh Neutral Newbie January 14, 2008 Share January 14, 2008 as mentioned, they should put the correct engine size for the right body it was designed for. of course cost is an issue but the most optimal engine capacity for a 5 series is a 530i. for 3 series, a 325 is optimal and a 7 series, a 740i. 520 4 cyclinder ? hmm....wonder how underpowered and noisy it can be ? can reviews yet by people who drove it ? a bit off topic but notice that lexus doesnt compromise on engine cc. if they put a 2 liter or 2. 5 L engine for the GS300 it would deliver a horrible driving experince...the end product would reflect badly on the experience of driving one. Spot on. The trend by some car makers are to UP the cc actually. Given the power to weight ratio, most cars are actually underpowered and use up more petrol, leading to more emissions. Upping the CC does result in tax-unfriendly situation in SG, but overall, helps to save petrol and reduce emissions by giving the right amount of power to the body. RX300 -> RX350 IS200 -> IS250 Volvo S40 went from 2.0L to 2.4L MB E200 - E230/E240 Just some examples I'm aware of. For me, the idea of an inline 4 cylinder 5 series, is really missing the point. Can have far better use of the money. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azarael Clutched January 14, 2008 Share January 14, 2008 that is very true, i noticed that the fuel consumption for a camry 2.0 is about the same as a 2.4 camry....in fact if u do a lot of expressway driving, extra gear ratios 5 speed versus 4 speed makes a difference too. i understand the 520 will have a 6 speed gearbox.....it seems PML has it availabe for test drive..... anyone tried it yet , preferably a person who has tried the 523i before....looks like i will have to be the guinea pig later this weekend Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coolad 5th Gear January 14, 2008 Share January 14, 2008 as mentioned, they should put the correct engine size for the right body it was designed for. of course cost is an issue but the most optimal engine capacity for a 5 series is a 530i. for 3 series, a 325 is optimal and a 7 series, a 740i. 520 4 cyclinder ? hmm....wonder how underpowered and noisy it can be ? can reviews yet by people who drove it ? a bit off topic but notice that lexus doesnt compromise on engine cc. if they put a 2 liter or 2. 5 L engine for the GS300 it would deliver a horrible driving experince...the end product would reflect badly on the experience of driving one. Spot on .... in fact in terms of FC, all the variants you named (325, 530, 740) have the lowest FC figures within their series... its optimal power to weight ratio... the "singapore" variant 4 pot 520 is 156bhp, not 170bhp... many inherent transmission failures with the older 520... maybe this one will be different... but definitely will not provide a satisfying driving experience... for 4 pot engine balancing... Honda is the master... B series, K series, F series all can rev more than 10K without spinning itself apart... something to do with the balancer shaft and btm oil pan design... IL-6 as mentioned is inherent balanced... which is why it is such an addictive drive due to its butter smooth power delivery.. ↡ Advertisement Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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