CK6Speed

iTrader: (1)

One thing to note is what the compression ratio of the engine will be on the turbocharged BMW. As it stands right now, the 3.3L in the 330 is at 10.7:1 vs the IS350's 3.5L at 11.8:1. I persoanlly think if the BMW bumped displacement to 3.5L and upped the compression ratio as well they could be right in line with the Lexus engine in terms of HP. That said, my bet is the compression ratio of the turbo BMW engine will drop slightly in favor of reliability. If the supposed turbocharged BMW engine gets 310 HP, that is only a 55HP jump over its N/A version. That is kind of mild so it does appear BMW could have lowered the compression to better handle turbo application. Over all though with the compresssion ratio of the Lexus engine being so high, I wonder how well it will take to engine performance modification vs the BMW.

LEXUS FAN!

what is the source of this info?

fhumphrey04

Well lets all be honest here, bmw never was known for its reliability so the turbo wont make a huge dent in that aspect.....although subaru is highly rated for reliabilty with the majority of their cars having F/I so who knows.

The BMW should be faster than the IS350 but we'll have to wait and see for sure. This is a huge step for BMW, hopefully it is in the right direction. I've always been a fan of NA power because I hate the goofy lag feel from turbo'd engines. Part of the great thing about driving the GS400 is it's smooth powerband which is super comfy for driving at any speed.

And who ever said something about lexus being more luxurious than bmw? lol, that isnt true one bit.

CK6Speed

iTrader: (1)

I too am a fan of N/A cars. In fact I have never owned a forced induction car myself. However, todays turbo technology has improved so much that turbo lag really isn't a concern for me anymore. The reliability part still is a concern though, but not as much as it used to be. For certain types of cars I will always stay true N/A. Exotics and sports cars are one of them. There is a reason why I still love the slower N/A NSX over the faster Porsche 911 Turbo.

As for BMW reliability as whole I agree. However, I never really had a problem with the engines themselves for the most part. It is the electronics in the BMW that I'm concerned about. Still, my BMW never once left me stranded while my SC400 did, so it is still a gamble either way.

spwolf

the thing is that factory turbos usually turn on a bit later due to emissions and fuel consumption during goverment testing. With stricter tests coming in in Europe and USA, I am not sure how early will turbo spool.

nevertheless, turbo cars are easy to mod and improve, so there might be an huge potential here... but how does that go with luxury?

Also, 335 designation does not mean that the engine will be 3.5l, it may be 3.0 with turbo, which would be very bmw like.

of course, nobody knows if this is true at all but "don't skeptical"!

Johnny Rad

1. We haven't gotten the source, yet. BMW is generally a NA outfit. Consider their responses to AMG's insane SC'd hp. No SCs or Turbo set-ups.

2. On the otherhand, a 310hp 3-series entry wouldn't tread on the M3 halo car. It's currently in the 333-343hp range, as I recall.

3. When does the V8 M3 launch and how much will it be packing under the hood? If it's considerably north of the current M3, then this "310hp" may be too low for an intermediate 3-series. My guess is that they'd want to close the gap more than that.

Note: This is, of course, completely pure speculation on my part!

fhumphrey04

For track cars I think NA is a must but if turbo's are there they should be on a decent sized motor with enough power to spool them quickly....atleast that is how I feel. As far as exotics go, the veyron is the ultimate of all and it is a quad turbo, so I dont know. I'd definitely take one

I am fanatical about BMW stuff and on average their reliability isnt ever a strong point. Electrical issues are the main concern but I think the reason is mostly attributed to the idrive system. My father sold the newer 7 series a couple years ago and within the first month 5 out of 7 had electrical issues related to that evil computer system! Anyways, bmw's can be pretty reliable as long as they are maintained perfectly and babied but the problem is that a lot of people beat the living crap out of them. As long as you know what to look for when purchasing a used bmw you can end up with a piece of motoring genious instead of a piece of s***.

CK6Speed

iTrader: (1)

In a way I wish that they did put the turbo on the smaller engine just like how Audi does it with the A4. Make the turbo version the middle car and the larger displacement NA version the top car. For me that would be a tough choice. A 3.5 NA 335 that makes somewhere around 300+, or a smaller 3.0 turbo that makes a conservative 260. I personally would pick the 300+ NA version, but I've been so tempted for a while to try my hand at modifying a turbo car that the smaller turbo version might be the ticket. I have friends that take their modest A4 turbo cars and chip it, upgrade the turbos and such and get amazing results for not much money. I kind of wish BMW would follow Audi's A4 engine philosophy.

Lexmex

It certainly took BMW long enough to go the forced induction route.

SteVTEC

There's nothing low-tech at all about modern turbocharged engines. With variable turbine geometry (VTG) and direct injection technologies you can have a downsized more efficient engine with nearly non-existant turbo lag and tons of power all while still getting the same or better mileage as a larger naturally aspirated engine. Engine's like VW/Audi's 1.8T and 2.0 FSI engines are state of the art in every respect, the 2.0 FSI got a Ward's 10 Best Engines award, and believe me when I say it that this is only the beginning.

I don't think it's really possible for BMW to churn out a 3.5L Inline-6 version of their engine. The critical weakness of Inline-6 engines is lack of flexibility in displacement and application. You have to keep the length down so that they'll fit into BMW's smaller cars. On the E46 that I-6 was literally shoehorned in there with hardly an inch to spare. To cut down on lengthy, you need to keep bore spacings to a minimum which limits the maximum bore size of the engine. You also don't want your hood to be in the shape of a brick either, so engine height also needs to be minimized so that you can bring the hood down at the front and also have good aerodynamics. So engine height needs to be minimized which limits maximum stroke which also limits maximum displacement. BMW has said that they'll never ever make a V-6 engine, so their only option is to go with F/I. Dropping the 333hp M motor in there would not be as good of an option because it's extremely inefficient at 16/23 mpg. This is what happens when you stretch an N/A motor that far. Efficiency falls through the floor. I don't think M owners care, but regular BMW owners might. I guarantee you that this new "335" turbocharged I-6 will be much more efficient than the M motor while also delivering about the same or perhaps better power. BMW won't want to **** off E46 M owners just yet so I bet the power rating will be below 333hp for sure, but the torque may very well have it out-running old M's.

LexFather

Nice to see u back here

O. L. T.

iTrader: (17)

Old news. They've been talking about this for over a year. BMW likes their NA power. They make engines that are designed for mid grunt. To make a turbo would go against everything they design the cars for. I wouldn't expect it to happen if I were you.

BMW is ten times more likely to supercharge before they turbocharge. The supercharger grunt down low would interect with BMW's style much better.

I will say that if BMW made a turbo and did it correctly, it would destroy cars right and left. I'd still see more potential in a supercharger setup though. Neither seem to be a reality IMO.

LexFather

They already make turbos, with the diesal cars they are twins turbos,. .

Faraaz23

Well just because you're turbocharging and engine doesn't mean you have to lose grunt anywhere. A smaller, short-spooling turbo would result in very little turbo lag... hence having a lot of mid-end drag. The current bimmers aren't exactly torque monsters on the bottom end... so i think with the proper size turbo and tuning, they could keep similar power delivery characteristics.

O. L. T.

iTrader: (17)

Diesel... lol. Even Kenworth turbo's diesels. That's easy because of the diesel's die hard nature.