gengar

Yeah, I forgot about the S600/CL600 biturbo, although Benz has already moved away from FI on the 230k model as well.

STIG

and also SL600.

vraa

iTrader: (2)

Forget referring to specific cars, they all share similar engines.

Mercedes' big engines are
The 550 is n/a
The 63 is n/a
The 65's and 600's are turboed.
The 55's are some s/ced, but on the tiny cars (SLK and C) are n/a.

All methods have their place. Personally I prefer n/a and I'm glad that's the route the IS-F went and I hope the LF-A goes.

I don't like turbo's because they muffles exhausts and I think a supercharger whine is a little too immature.

RFFG

Damn...nice...

LexFather

I would think they did it to out power Benz and the competition. They are backstabbing their O.G enthusiasts.

For years they said AMG was "not pure" and N/A was the way to go. THey stuck their noses up at AMG.

Well their N/A cars could never match the Benz FI and AMG cars for power. The 760 is an afterthought compared to the S600.

Their cars are getting heavier and more complicated. An old "M" enthusiast wrote into EVO and echo's that "M" stands for "MASS".

Make no mistake about it, this engine is simply a beast and if the 335 engine is any indication, a tt V-8 scared me with the potential it has.

BMW gets rid of their old, O.G enthusiasts for new ones, bottom line.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

i agree with you, mike, well put

although i think they are kind of slapping themselves now in terms of performance. it's funny to see how the 335i outrun the m3 with chips

Koma

iTrader: (3)

The M cars aren't all about straight out power though, they're meant to handle around a track as well. I think BMW thinks that FI engines have extra mass and weight and that throws off the balance of power and weight for the M cars. We'll see how they try to market their N/A M cars when you can up the boost in a cheaper FI engine and throw some suspension upgrades into it.
Nothing like the sound of a turbo spool and blow off though.

vraa

iTrader: (2)

Very true! The blowoffs on some cars is just another level. Very 'leviathan' I think

I also can't deny the F40... the triple exhaust thing was sick.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

i am not discounting the m3 on the track (in fact i still think it will shine). but still though, having the 335 walking away from the m3 on the straight, that's not too pretty isn't it (especially when the m3 cost quite a bit more)

for example on the e46 (m3 vs 330), c class (c63 vs c350), is (is-f vs is350), a4 (rs4 vs 3.0), it's much harder to make the "normal" version faster than the sport version

KKelly

Currently, yes you are correct. However, in 1989 BMW's 3.6 in the M5 had 311hp without turbos (and only a 7250rpm rev limit) and, in Europe, their 3.8 had 340hp in 1993 without turbos. Not sure why BMW doesn't want to go back to the big inline sixes but would guess it is weight and trying to limit the actual variations of engines produced to increase economies of scale. The 3.0 base is now used in all but the V8's and now the same V8 will be used in everything but the //M cars.

natnut

By placing the turbochargers in between the 2 rows of cylinders, BMW is shooting the aftermarket in the foot. There will be limited space for increase in size of the turbos so the aftermarket won't be able to make big turbos fit into that restricted space.

Och

iTrader: (3)

None of BMW's high output vehicles have ever been even remotely reliable. M3. M5, even the brand new 335 is suffering from overheating. What are the chances of this new engine being reliable? Sorry, but if you want insane power and have the cash, MB AMG is the way to go.

DASHOCKER

iTrader: (2)

LOL.. I just spilled my morning coffee.. Comical post

Koma

iTrader: (3)

Well the M engines are typically high strung, most any engine that spins that high has reliability issues.

Koma

iTrader: (3)

Never thought of it that way, but I do find it an interesting space savings concept.
Another plus of having them there is that they spool much more quickly with almost no lag because the exhaust right after being fired shoots through the turbo and the turbos being so close can spin the FI air back into the intake manifolds.
Some tuner will get around this though.