[Ronnydashore]

Ok it has been 7 years now and the n54/55 are still being used. Kind of ridiculous and by far the longest stretch of using an engine bmw has ever done. Will they ever come out with a 350 hp replacement with a bit better throttle response and without flopping off the cliff after 5k rpms? I think if they can make it a bit more linear with power atleast not plummeting after 5k, that would really bring back more of the NA driving experience with all the benefits of the turbo

[glangford]

My guess is you'll see at least a variant of that engine for a while now. I know that with the Mini lineup, those engines are now getting 3 cylinder 1.5 liters starting with the new F56 early next year. The logic was to standardize the 0.5 liter/cylinder arrangement across all platforms. So if you want an in-line 6, it's probably going to be a 3.0 liter N55 or variant for the forseeable future.

Given that I'd say they still have a great deal of flexibiliity in tuning the N55 to accomplish what you desire.

[floydarogers]

Originally Posted by Ronnydashore

Ok it has been 7 years now and the n54/55 are still being used. Kind of ridiculous and by far the longest stretch of using an engine bmw has ever done. ...

You aren't very old, are you? The M30 was in production from circa 1960 until '92. The M20 was in production from ~77 until '93.

BMW has little reason to bump the power, what with all the emphasis on fuel economy. If you want a newer engine, get the new M3.

[btbossman]

Originally Posted by floydarogers

You aren't very old, are you? The M30 was in production from circa 1960 until '92. The M20 was in production from ~77 until '93.

BMW has little reason to bump the power, what with all the emphasis on fuel economy. If you want a newer engine, get the new M3.

+1

[300hp]

Originally Posted by floydarogers

You aren't very old, are you? The M30 was in production from circa 1960 until '92. The M20 was in production from ~77 until '93.

BMW has little reason to bump the power, what with all the emphasis on fuel economy. If you want a newer engine, get the new M3.

+1

[tuned2ride]

The N55 is still more than competitive.

The biggest threat IMO is going with the nutty (Mercedes) route, a 355HP 2.0T like in the CLA/A45 AMG that gets abysmal mpg anyway.

Better stick to the N55 while you can... And it is excellent news that the F22 keeps it going in a compact.

[Michael Schott]

Road & Track has called the N55 the best engine in the world. For volume production cars it may well be. It's far better than anything offered in volume sales by any of it's competitors.

[300hp]

Originally Posted by Michael Schott

Road & Track has called the N55 the best engine in the world. For volume production cars it may well be. It's far better than anything offered in volume sales by any of it's competitors.

+1

[tuned2ride]

Originally Posted by Michael Schott

Road & Track has called the N55 the best engine in the world. For volume production cars it may well be. It's far better than anything offered in volume sales by any of it's competitors.

Far better is unjustified.

Remove the ZF transmission from the equation and the differences become incremental.

http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/Find....33938&id=33921

Gimme a NA engine and their immediacy anyday. Scr*w the turbos.

[300hp]

Originally Posted by tuned2ride

Far better is unjustified.

Remove the ZF transmission from the equation and the differences become incremental.

http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/Find....33938&id=33921" rel="" target="_blank">http://<a href="http://www.fuelecono...8&id=33921</a>

Gimme a NA engine and their immediacy anyday. Scr*w the turbos.

My g37 was within 1mpg of my n55 x5. The x5 weighs 5000 lbs. would you still maintain it's the transmission that gives the X5 the edge?

[EHDEN]

i heard the change is coming in 2014.

[Agamemnon]

Still makes Ward's list of best automotive engines. Would you rather have a V6 like everybody else? I bought the car because of the N55. It is a really sweet engine - it isn't broke!

[F32]

It's as smooth as production engines get. As OP mentioned, the only downside to the N55 engine/turbo setup is shitty upper-RPM power. A flatter torque curve would make the car much more fun to drive.

[oceanview]

By 2020 the CO2 exhaust for every car manufacturer must not exeed 95 gramm per Kilometer in average of all cars sold in the European Union. (N55 has a combined value of 189 gramm (Manual) or 177 gramm (Automatic))
That's why 6-cylinder in 3 Series will dissapear more and more. The blockbuster models must be close to those 95 gramm (or below) otherwise they will have to pay a Penalty.
If no other Technology than downsizing will be found to reduce CO2 we soon see 6-cylinder only on very high priced BWM cars. (At least in Europe)
So I wouldn't bet too much on a successor of the N55 for the 3/4 Series...

[bimmerjph]

If we are going to see a new one anytime soon, it will be before 2015. That is when the next rounds of CO2 emissions take effect in Europe. Based off of information I have found, BMW has still not met that fleet standard yet.

That being said, the push of Mini's and BMW's with 1.5L inline 3's may be enough to bring down their fleet average without having to re-engineer their whole engine lineup in such a small period of time.

Also, the modular architecture a new inline 4 and 6 may make it cheaper to produce than the current N20 and N55. So that has to be considered as well.


Bottom Line: No one knows. There is a lot going on that you would have to consider, and only BMW has enough information to be able to figure out what is best for them.

[Michael Schott]

Originally Posted by tuned2ride

Far better is unjustified.

Remove the ZF transmission from the equation and the differences become incremental.

http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/Find....33938&id=33921

Gimme a NA engine and their immediacy anyday. Scr*w the turbos.

NA engines are on life support in this class. You are living in the 1990's.