[The HACK]

Originally Posted by Ramos

Anyone who really believes BMW will swap engines in the LAST year of production of the E9x needs to think again... Do you think swapping engines is a cheap proposition? I mean just the factory retooling which can take weeks and involves shutting down !!
+ They already changed engines in the E9x series from 325 to 328 and from 330 to 335
They have never and WILL never go through 2 cycles of engine changes for the same generation car...

E36es went through 2 engines in the same generation. M50 from 1992-1994, M52 from 1994-1998, and M52Tu from 1998-1999.

[stressdoc]

There is a reason why there is an "M" in BMW. The N55 will eventually replace the N54 across the board in all series. And there are other, more exciting, engines to look forward to. Suffice it to say that if it all works out, BMW will have a slam-dunk response to the S4/5.

[s.myrr]

Another thread in another forum has a member stating the following...

"Local salesman called today to say he just found when trying to arrange a European delivery. He stated that 3 series assembly will stop next week for the changeover. Apparently it is being done to meet new standards for the US and Europe."

BS or what?

And I just put in a order for February.... this stuff is becoming interesting!

[HJV]

Originally Posted by Ramos

Anyone who really believes BMW will swap engines in the LAST year of production of the E9x needs to think again... Do you think swapping engines is a cheap proposition? I mean just the factory retooling which can take weeks and involves shutting down !!
+ They already changed engines in the E9x series from 325 to 328 and from 330 to 335
They have never and WILL never go through 2 cycles of engine changes for the same generation car...

Last two years you mean. There's two years in between March 2010 and March 2012.

[outie]

Originally Posted by ucla1995

N55 will be in the 2011 3-series this Spring. Ask your dealer to email his/her regional rep if you don't believe me.

Any idea about the 1 series? Thanks.

[PBureno]

Originally Posted by cgpublic

There is another thread on the subject of what will happen for MY 2011. It is certain that the Coupe LCI is on the way. As I posted there, to me it makes perfect sense to me to stop production of 2010 3 Series models across the board by year end for Feburary/March release, assign the N55 single turbo or the new N55 twin turbo to the MY 2011 335 (360 HP), and upgrade the present 328 to a more powerful N52 (260 - 280 HP), also for MY 2011, at the same time. All models would then be synced for the new 3 sedan in the Spring of 2012 for MY 2013.

As far as I'm concerned, there are no technical issues to prevent this from becoming reality. From a marketing perspective, this is the way to go to stay competitive in the US. The N54 HPFP is a time bomb. The 328 is underpowered in comparison to the competition. The time to move forward is Spring of 2010.

If this is true then I'm extremely happy for not buying a 2010 328i

[noro]

Originally Posted by Ti335

What you say makes sense, but BMW is known for doing strange things sometimes. For instance, the 2006 330i had a brand new engine that only lasted for one year (in North America anyway). Also, 2011 will not be the last year of production for the current generation 3-series. 2012 will be the last last model year for the E90 and 2013 for E92/E93.

If you know the history of the model line, that isn't that strange. They did the same thing with the early E46s as well. 323 -> 325, 328 -> 330 one year after the production began.

[HPIA4v2]

IMHO, it's possible BMW introduces N55 on the last E9x models, to soften the blow of sales for knowledgeable people knowing F3x is coming.
Especially, with introduction of new C-class and new A4/A5, the sales of e9x is slowing considerably lately.

[amdmaxx]

Let's see if N54 with Valvetronic shows up..That would be a delight, especially in 135... But the engine might be stronger than M3 engine.... and BMW would never allow that..

[Ti335]

Originally Posted by noro

If you know the history of the model line, that isn't that strange. They did the same thing with the early E46s as well. 323 -> 325, 328 -> 330 one year after the production began.

E46 323i and 328i were actually produced during two model years ('99 and '00) and had old engines that carried over from the E36. The E90 330i engine was a brand new unit (totally different from the E46 330i engine) and only avaialble in MY2006.

[noro]

Originally Posted by Ti335

E46 323i and 328i were actually produced during two model years ('99 and '00) and had old engines that carried over from the E36. The E90 330i engine was a brand new unit (totally different from the E46 330i engine) and only avaialble in MY2006.

Agree on 2 years, disagree on the E36 carryover, the engines were different though not drastically. (see M50 vs M52)

[ucla1995]

Originally Posted by amdmaxx

Let's see if N54 with Valvetronic shows up..

Dude the N54 + Valvetronic (- one of the turbos) = N55.

[ucla1995]

Originally Posted by HPIA4v2

IMHO, it's possible BMW introduces N55 on the last E9x models, to soften the blow of sales for knowledgeable people knowing F3x is coming.

They aren't doing it for that reason - they're doing it because of improved emissions for the most part.

[Quasimodem]

Originally Posted by amdmaxx

Let's see if N54 with Valvetronic shows up..That would be a delight, especially in 135... But the engine might be stronger than M3 engine.... and BMW would never allow that..

They have ways of reducing the output of an engine so as not to cannibalize another model (gearing, computer programming).

[dmz]

Nah, this is BMW response for loosing the comparison test to the new S4.

Originally Posted by HPIA4v2

IMHO, it's possible BMW introduces N55 on the last E9x models, to soften the blow of sales for knowledgeable people knowing F3x is coming.
Especially, with introduction of new C-class and new A4/A5, the sales of e9x is slowing considerably lately.

Originally Posted by Ramos

Anyone who really believes BMW will swap engines in the LAST year of production of the E9x needs to think again... Do you think swapping engines is a cheap proposition? I mean just the factory retooling which can take weeks and involves shutting down !!
+ They already changed engines in the E9x series from 325 to 328 and from 330 to 335
They have never and WILL never go through 2 cycles of engine changes for the same generation car...

Actually the E60 did get 2 cycles of engine changes.
For 2004-2005: it was 525i/530i/545i
For 2006-2007: 525i/530i got updated 6 cylinder engines. 550i replaced the 545i.
For 2008-2010: then they replaced the 525i/530i with 528i/535i

[cotmfk]

Originally Posted by Ti335

E46 323i and 328i were actually produced during two model years ('99 and '00) and had old engines that carried over from the E36. The E90 330i engine was a brand new unit (totally different from the E46 330i engine) and only avaialble in MY2006.

Aren't you proving his point? (that they will have different engines in the same body style)

[ucla1995]

Originally Posted by Ramos

Anyone who really believes BMW will swap engines in the LAST year of production of the E9x needs to think again... Do you think swapping engines is a cheap proposition? I mean just the factory retooling which can take weeks and involves shutting down !!
+ They already changed engines in the E9x series from 325 to 328 and from 330 to 335
They have never and WILL never go through 2 cycles of engine changes for the same generation car...

Can we wager some beers on this?

[Ramos]

Originally Posted by beemer3

Actually the E60 did get 2 cycles of engine changes.
For 2004-2005: it was 525i/530i/545i
For 2006-2007: 525i/530i got updated 6 cylinder engines. 550i replaced the 545i.
For 2008-2010: then they replaced the 525i/530i with 528i/535i

The updated 525i and 530i in 06-07 are not new engines...

What you just described in ONE engine change for the 6 cylinder models and ONE engine change for the 8 cylinder model along with a minor HP tweak (purely advertising and software update) somewhere in the middle

[Ramos]

Originally Posted by ucla1995

Can we wager some beers on this?

Make it more interesting than beer...

[jayely1]

doesn't the new 535i get 27 mpg combined with the n55??

[cda888]

According to November's Roundel, "the 335i versions (of the LCI coupe and convertible) may be reduced from a twin to single turbo but still make 300 horsepower. Look for them by Spring 2010."

According to all the mainstream car mags (Motor Trend, Car and Driver, Automobile, Road and Track) the reason for the switch from N54 to N55 is new emissions standards in Europe that go into effect shortly.