BMW and M Power Owners

xs2man said:
Personally I would avoid. Not for any reliability reasons perhaps, but its not a particularly quick engine nor particularly economical. I sold my 2 330i's ( 1×e46 and 1×e90) for this reason.
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Isn't the e46 330i an M54 not N53?

Fwiw, I find the M54 in my 530i plenty powerful enough albeit not brilliant (by modern standards) on fuel, it does low 20's around town and mid 30's on a steady long run.
 
xs2man said:
Personally I would avoid. Not for any reliability reasons perhaps, but its not a particularly quick engine nor particularly economical. I sold my 2 330i's ( 1×e46 and 1×e90) for this reason.
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I am constantly amazed at the stuff you post as if its fact on here at times.

The E61 530i N53 has 272bhp, it is very much powerful enough. It's also the most fuel efficient BMW petrol six ever produced. It has a stratified direct injection system (which is why it was only available in Europe) for fuel economy benefits of up to 20% over the previous N52 engine. I once did a 150 mile A road trip (hills, overtakes, etc) in an N53 engined E60 and averaged 39mpg! For context my 530d does about 42 on the same trip. On a Motorway trip it could easily top 40mpg.

Your 330i had a completely different engine, so not sure how thats relevant. Doubtless you'll explain you didn't realise but if you don't know much about these cars why dispense advice to people on them and tell people to avoid buying them?

You also didn't sell your 330i because it wasn't 'quick or economical' because you replaced it with a car that is both much slower and more thirsty :p
 
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pepsilol said:
Lmao
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I've always found his hatred of the performance/economy compromise the M54 offered as quite bizarre, for a car of it's time the ratio of performance to economy was fantastic - mine was easily quick enough and would near 40mpg on a run at times. In terms of lifetime average it's within 7mpg of my F10 diesel.
 
So glad I have the extended warranty on my E92. Went in for just a flat battery and they diagnosed and will fix under warranty;

Blocked crank case breather which has leaked oil onto the inlet manifold and glowplug control unit. Will all be replaced. (£1-1.5k)
Faulty DSC Hydro Unit (£2-2.5k)

And a few other little (comparatively) bits like a leaking washer fluid bottle/headlight nozzle and the headlight wiring has rubbed through in one spot, which i was not aware of.

So approaching £4k worth of work for this one visit and I've already had £2-3ks worth of work done previously.
 
So, I'll try again. How unreliable is the N53? :p

FWIW, I personally think the M54 is one of the best engines ever built. Had it in my Z3 and it was just sublime.
 
I recently picked up a new Estoril blue 120d M Sport pre-LCI on a relatively cheap deal (for the good lady), presumably because they were selling them off. I have to say, compared to what I've been used to in the past, it handles fantastically well. It's the first BMW I've driven to any great extent and for the size of car, the engine moves it fairly effortlessly.

It also seems much more keen to rev than the likes of an E220/E250, which seem to run out of breath much more quickly, and redline sooner.

Estoril blue is quite possibly my favourite colour for any BMW, though it looks completely ridiculous on the 2 series Active Tourer. :(
 
[TW]Fox;28072477 said:
I am constantly amazed at the stuff you post as if its fact on here at times.

The E61 530i N53 has 272bhp, it is very much powerful enough. It's also the most fuel efficient BMW petrol six ever produced. It has a stratified direct injection system (which is why it was only available in Europe) for fuel economy benefits of up to 20% over the previous N52 engine. I once did a 150 mile A road trip (hills, overtakes, etc) in an N53 engined E60 and averaged 39mpg! For context my 530d does about 42 on the same trip. On a Motorway trip it could easily top 40mpg.

Your 330i had a completely different engine, so not sure how thats relevant. Doubtless you'll explain you didn't realise but if you don't know much about these cars why dispense advice to people on them and tell people to avoid buying them?

You also didn't sell your 330i because it wasn't 'quick or economical' because you replaced it with a car that is both much slower and more thirsty :p
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Alas, but my E90 had the N53, and yet despite this, I didn't find it particularly quick, nor economical. Averaging a touch over 30 mpg during my ownership (compared to a touch under 30 mpg in the e46 with the M54).

I don't post as if it's "fact" though. My posts are more generally based on prior experience. Other people may have different experiences though.

How quick a car is though, is an entirely subjective matter though. It isn't quick to me (in either the N53 or M54 guise), but that may not be the case for everyone.

And sure, you can always get good figures "on a run" regardless of the engine in a car. Heck I just broke 50mpg in my 530d for the first time over a 60 mile run today. Doesn't mean I can always do that, unless I drive super slow all the time, in which case, what is the point of buying the 3 litre in the first place?

And I DID sell my 330i because it was too slow and uneconomical. That doesn't mean I cant replace it with something worse in both these regards. Like I did. But then it gave me something else in another aspect, space. And the ability to plough through snowdrifts if required :p.

Scania said:
Isn't the e46 330i an M54 not N53?

Fwiw, I find the M54 in my 530i plenty powerful enough albeit not brilliant (by modern standards) on fuel, it does low 20's around town and mid 30's on a steady long run.
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This is my point. Power is subjective. You find it plenty powerful enough, and it is really, but I don't find it particularly a fast car warranting mid to high 20's on average (assuming it's driven appropriately for a 3 litre petrol).
 
[TW]Fox;28072481 said:
I've always found his hatred of the performance/economy compromise the M54 offered as quite bizarre, for a car of it's time the ratio of performance to economy was fantastic - mine was easily quick enough and would near 40mpg on a run at times. In terms of lifetime average it's within 7mpg of my F10 diesel.
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Maybe for a car of it's time, sure. But there are better options out there. If you want a quick car, there are quicker cars out there that give similar economy figures (My S4 had circa 340 BHP and was, what I would call at least, a quick car, with only a few mpg worse off for it). If you want an economical car, there are similarly fleet cars out there that give you better economy figures (a mapped 330d for example, wouldn't make much less pace than a M54 330i but would undoubtedly net you 10mpg more, on average).

For me, there was zero bonus in having the M54 330i. It was a nice enough car to drive, but it was neither quick nor economical, and even in estate form, wasn't big enough for my needs, as a second car, either. Hence the swap to my P38.
 
Just did a quick drive by of the modded exhaust with a friend, excuse his terrible camera skills, I've still got him locked in the boot for his sins. He did take it for an extended drive and couldn't stop grinning and he's more a of a bike person :p


And for those that haven't seen the before and after I took before:

 
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There a slight hum at 75+ in 6th gear but nothing major. I don't do much motorway mileage so it doesn't bother me in the slightest and it sounds absolutely epic otherwise :) I'd imagine on a dct it would be negligible due to the 7th gear.
 
All these M5's M3, M4s! lets bring it back to earth:D

My girlfriend has her heart set on a 1 Series, does anyone have one of these who could recommend which spec to go for? her budget only caters for the old shape preface lift.

We had a go in a 118 turbo diesel yesterday, wasn't as slow as i thought it would be, seemed to handle alright. Ive been doing a bit of research and the main problem with them seems to be the engine chains going. Her requirements are it needs to be able to drive the 3 miles to work & get her to the shops...

in b4 walk
 
Go petrol for a start.

But yeah, buy her a pair of trainers. It's cheaper and it'll keep her fit. Also exercise increases libido.

you're welcome
 
I assume you're looking at the recent 1 and not the original model?

If so I'd honestly have a look at the 116i, it offers perfectly acceptable performance now and should be a bit better suited to a short run every day
 
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I think the budget of around 6k will be the tail end of the first generation E87's or early E81s

Petrol as opposed to diesel? the mpg of the diesels seems great
 
Hey guys. My E46 320Ci has hit the 100K miles mark and was just wondering what, if any, preventitive maintenance I should be thinking of doing. All services are upto date and battery changed about 5000 miles ago. Otherwise its had a pretty easy life with much going wrong at all.
 
You've pretty much got everything well in hand there I'd say :) Anything major will have been flagged during MOT/service anyway.
 
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