[EstorilMatt]

Hey,

I am trying to replace my F31 with an E9X with the N52 engine. Being in the UK and from what research I have done it seems they started phasing out the N52 from around 2007. I fancied a convertible but I have not found one with the N52 engine they have the replacement N54 engine. Does anyone know if the convertible was ever fitted with the N52?

I have managed to find a couple of early coupes with the N52 so I may have to go with one of these if I can not find a convertible.

Thanks for any help.
Matt

[floydarogers]

Originally Posted by EstorilMatt

I am trying to replace my F31 with an E9X with the N52 engine. Being in the UK and from what research I have done it seems they started phasing out the N52 from around 2007. I fancied a convertible but I have not found one with the N52 engine they have the replacement N54 engine. Does anyone know if the convertible was ever fitted with the N52?

N52 lasted through the end of E9x production (coupe and convertible through 2012-3), at least in the USA/CA. You should be able to find one, although UK is a small market.

[roadkillrob]

E93 330i in the UK will have the N52 all years - lots on ebay.co.uk I can see so should be easy to find them.

[dakine_surf]

N52 came in all years of the E93 (convertible) but was offered as an n51 in the US for certain states that needed SULEV.

Since you are in the UK you can get anything between a 323i and a 330i and it will have the n52b30.

Anything with an N54/55 is a 335i.

Limit your searches to e93 328i and 330i and you should find what you are looking for. Just remember Convertibles are the rarest e9X 3 series...

[hassmaschine]

How about the N53? It's similar to the N52 - but direct injection, and no valvetronic.

They did make the N52 330i E93 in europe, both RHD and LHD. But they must be rare.

[RealJ22]

Originally Posted by dakine_surf

N52 came in all years of the E93 (convertible) but was offered as an n51 in the US for certain states that needed SULEV.

Since you are in the UK you can get anything between a 323i and a 330i and it will have the n52b30.

Anything with an N54/55 is a 335i.

Limit your searches to e93 328i and 330i and you should find what you are looking for. Just remember Convertibles are the rarest e9X 3 series...

I thought some of the lower models had the N52B25?

[hassmaschine]

Yeah, the 325 in the EU is an N52B25. Also IMO it's not desirable - unlike the US version, you can't make it a 330i with a manifold swap. Also it has issues with burning oil the B30 doesn't.

Also I missed your the comment before mine - but the N52B30 was only available in the E93 for a shorter time outside the US. It was replaced by the N53 which we never had here.

[dakine_surf]

Originally Posted by hassmaschine

Yeah, the 325 in the EU is an N52B25. Also IMO it's not desirable - unlike the US version, you can't make it a 330i with a manifold swap. Also it has issues with burning oil the B30 doesn't.

Also I missed your the comment before mine - but the N52B30 was only available in the E93 for a shorter time outside the US. It was replaced by the N53 which we never had here.

Yeah, I guess I should have mentioned that... the OP didn't specify which n52 he was looking for. I'm not a fan of the B25, too many limiting factors.

Don't know a lot about the N53 either, except that they use the same god awful HPFP and there was no class action lawsuit... so no dealer replaced units.

[EstorilMatt]

Thanks guys for all your help. I have widened my search to include the E92 shape too. I have found with the spec I want but the engine is the N52K which is the updated N52, should I go for this or wait for the correct spec with the N53 engine?

[E92_BGDoc]

Originally Posted by EstorilMatt

Thanks guys for all your help. I have widened my search to include the E92 shape too. I have found with the spec I want but the engine is the N52K which is the updated N52, should I go for this or wait for the correct spec with the N53 engine?

If i were you, i'd grab it immediately before it's gone, especially if it is a 330.

Let's get things straight - in Europe if you want an E9x with NA I6 petrol engine, there are only 2 models throughout the entire production period - 325i and 330i. Since you are looking at E92/E93 i will focus on these models only as the early saloon and touring versions had slight differences when equipped with N52 engine.

The E92 coupe had two engine options - N52K and N53. The first one was only installed for about an year (from what i could understand as a temporary solution until the N53 was deployed) and it came in two versions - 2.5L in the 325i and 3.0L in the 330i. It was phased out in favour of the N53B30 around September 2007 and continued until EOP. The convertible i am 99% sure got the N53 from the start, so you will not find N52 there.

Now some info for the engines. The N53 (and the 4 cylinder N43) was an incredibly advances engine for its time - to the best of my knowledge, it was the first and only BMW petrol engine to use lean burn (stratified charge as BMW calls it) which brings significant fuel savings in low to mid load/rpm operation. However, like the N54 it had problems with the HPFP and injectiors, which are not cheap to replace. It's sound is also pretty bad, almost like a diesel due to the DI. The N52K fitted to the E92 was an update to the initial N52, which fixed/mitigated a lot of the early problems - most importantly the serious flaw in the 2.5L oil scraper rings that led to very high oil consumption. As a result you get pretty much a bulletproof engine, that also sounds very good and is a blast to drive. Hence my recommendation to get this over the N53.

[EstorilMatt]

Originally Posted by E92_BGDoc

If i were you, i'd grab it immediately before it's gone, especially if it is a 330.

Let's get things straight - in Europe if you want an E9x with NA I6 petrol engine, there are only 2 models throughout the entire production period - 325i and 330i. Since you are looking at E92/E93 i will focus on these models only as the early saloon and touring versions had slight differences when equipped with N52 engine.

The E92 coupe had two engine options - N52K and N53. The first one was only installed for about an year (from what i could understand as a temporary solution until the N53 was deployed) and it came in two versions - 2.5L in the 325i and 3.0L in the 330i. It was phased out in favour of the N53B30 around September 2007 and continued until EOP. The convertible i am 99% sure got the N53 from the start, so you will not find N52 there.

Now some info for the engines. The N53 (and the 4 cylinder N43) was an incredibly advances engine for its time - to the best of my knowledge, it was the first and only BMW petrol engine to use lean burn (stratified charge as BMW calls it) which brings significant fuel savings in low to mid load/rpm operation. However, like the N54 it had problems with the HPFP and injectiors, which are not cheap to replace. It's sound is also pretty bad, almost like a diesel due to the DI. The N52K fitted to the E92 was an update to the initial N52, which fixed/mitigated a lot of the early problems - most importantly the serious flaw in the 2.5L oil scraper rings that led to very high oil consumption. As a result you get pretty much a bulletproof engine, that also sounds very good and is a blast to drive. Hence my recommendation to get this over the N53.

Thanks for the in-depth reply E92_BGDoc that has been most helpful. The N52K I have seen is the 325I model. I will defo go and have a look at this. It seems the good 330i that are in budget seem to come up very rarely and they go very quickly that is why I will take a 325i as well.

[E92_BGDoc]

Originally Posted by EstorilMatt

Thanks for the in-depth reply E92_BGDoc that has been most helpful. The N52K I have seen is the 325I model. I will defo go and have a look at this. It seems the good 330i that are in budget seem to come up very rarely and they go very quickly that is why I will take a 325i as well.

You're welcome. I found myself in the same situation few months back when i bought my N52K powered E92 325i. I really wanted to get a 330i but there were very few cars on offer and all were high mileage combined with very high price so in the end had to settle for 325. Still, it is a great car to drive and i really enjoy it. One final recommendation - get a manual if possible, it is so much better suited to this engine than the ZF auto.

[EstorilMatt]

It has to be an auto for me as I do around 15k- 20k miles pa.