Quote:
Originally Posted by wdb
No direct experience with the turbo E9x but I'd personally lean more towards a 328.
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Agree. I'd probably try to find a 330i but 328i can be modified to the same power level easily.
Quote:
Originally Posted by wdb
Even though they have their own special issues (oil leaks, water pumps) they tend to be less expensive to keep.
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Hehe, N54 has all these issues plus a huge pile of turbo related problems.
To name a few..
- because of higher engine operating temperature the water pump tends to fails much earlier (@60kmiles in my case) on turbo engines,
- PCV and the entire crankcase ventilation system gets clogged for the same reason and much sooner than on N51/2,
- this leads to higher crankcase pressure which in turns causes valve cover leak and oil pan leak (and potentially main seal leaks) also much sooner vs N51/2.
- plastic charge pipe tends to crack over time,
- turbos themself go out rather quickly - 70kmiles for me (wastegate stopped to close properly causing boost leak),
- then direct injection forces you to do valve cleaning @60kmiles - 80kmiles (and I was just replacing the valve cover on N51 and all the valves are clean and shiny @80kmiles).
- also IMO high low end torque wears out clutch and the entire drive train much much sooner. I replaced the clutch @75kmiles, and driveshafts 5kmiles later on 335iS. Maybe I got unlucky and the first owner abused the car before handing it over to me - that I dunno
Quote:
Originally Posted by wdb
The N51/2 is also a lightweight rev-happy darling of a motor.
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yep, I love this engine. High low end torque from N54 was fun and addictive but not even close to fun I get revving N51 getting out of turns and ramps