[Biginboca]

There’s been a lot of trash talking on the General forum the last few days. Not to get into it here but the gist of it is that any N/A car will never be fast enough for the turbo “must be fastest” crowd. Then there’s the people here who for whatever reason have chosen the N/A platform which we have to appreciate for its other characteristics than ultimate speed. And the question is, how much speed can you use in a daily anyway.

So just to see where my car is at I did a few dragy tests this morning. I didn’t want to do 0-60 runs because it’s hard on the clutch and if I’m going to trash my clutch I want a full 1/4 mile out of it. Drag strip coming soon.

Instead I took my dragy out for a ride to try some other metrics. I decided to do some 50-80mph pulls since it’s not hard on the equipment and I was able to find some benchmarks posted online for a few other legendary BMW’s for that same metric. Let’s see the results...

So that’s a 50-80mph pull in 4.23 seconds. I only did 2 pulls so there definitely might be a better one in the car, but traffic was picking up on that road and I was happy with the number I got.

To compare with some other cars I looked here:

http://www.car-videos.net/performanc...1=50&Speed2=80

And the bottom line is this... for 50-80mph pulls these legendary N/A M cars got these times:

E39m5 4.20 seconds
E46m3 4.27 seconds

So my economy commuter built bmw is now right in with those M legends. Pretty cool that a 3.0l N/A N52 can hang with those cars I think!

And we all know that the N52 motor is way more reliable and less maintenance than the engines in either of those cars. I don’t think people give it enough credit!

[Torgus]

Interesting. I'll have to see what my 50-80 is come spring...

2003 Ford Mustang SVT Cobra 4.20 s

The SVT was a supercharged 4.6 V8 that made 390 hp and 390 lb⋅ft of torque.

The n52 was a naturally aspirated 3.0 that make 255hp

[Biginboca]

Originally Posted by Torgus

Interesting. I'll have to see what my 50-80 is come spring...not a metric used much now a days. Usually it is 60-130.

2003 Ford Mustang SVT Cobra 4.20 s

The SVT was a supercharged 4.6 V8 that made 390 hp and 390 lb⋅ft of torque.

The n52 was a naturally aspirated 3.0 that make 255hp released in 2005

That cobra weighed 3,665lbs according to a quick google. Pretty sure that’s the terminator mustang which was the hellcat of its day, known to be under rated too guys were getting 390whp when they dyno’ed them stock, and with a few simple mods like pulley and tune it was all bets are off 500+hp!

60-130 sounds good but it also sounds like jail time which my testing isn’t worth to me haha

[Noir]

It has been a fervent wish of mind to get back into a muscle car... my first car was a 76 Cobra.
That terminator has kept my attention for a couple years now.... so damn cool. Need one, one day. But yeah dude, we always gonna be slow and that is OK. :,)

[gT-BMW]

i think BnB has the fastest n52 on this board. Ive been patiently waiting on your quarter mile time at the track sir! 13 sec time slip from a n/a n52 would have had the bmw engineers re thinking there profession.


lexus for a while has been build world class v6 engines. they never gave up on n/a versions. there still building it. bmw for awhile and could of still owned building world class n/a inline 6 but spent millions on r&d on a 4 cylinder turbo that wasnt that good.

[CTinline-six]

Originally Posted by gT-BMW

i think BnB has the fastest n52 on this board. Ive been patiently waiting on your quarter mile time at the track sir! 13 sec time slip from a n/a n52 would have had the bmw engineers re thinking there profession.


lexus for a while has been build world class v6 engines. they never gave up on n/a versions. there still building it. bmw for awhile and could of still owned building world class n/a inline 6 but spent millions on r&d on a 4 cylinder turbo that wasnt that good.

On paper the 2.0L Turbo N20 looks better, but driving it isn't very inspiring. I feel like I'm in a VW Jetta by the way it sounds. The N52 doesn't have the tuning capability of a turbo engine, but for a fairly reliable commuter engine it is quite fun. I hit the red line almost daily in mine, hammered the snot out of it on tail of the dragon, and average 27-28 mpg on my daily 100 mile commute.

[Biginboca]

Originally Posted by CTinline-six

On paper the 2.0L Turbo N20 looks better, but driving it isn't very inspiring. I feel like I'm in a VW Jetta by the way it sounds. The N52 doesn't have the tuning capability of a turbo engine, but for a fairly reliable commuter engine it is quite fun. I hit the red line almost daily in mine, hammered the snot out of it on tail of the dragon, and average 27-28 mpg on my daily 100 mile commute.

My son has a f30 328i manual with the N20. When he got it in like 2017 we did some 0-60 pulls to compare to my car. Despite feeling like a lump the times we measured we very close, almost identical, but the car is just numb feeling in every way. Steering, engine sound, the way the power kicks on after a short lag. Before we measured we thought it was going to be a no contest win for my car.

We both learned a lesson that day, you can’t trust your but dyno it’s too easily influenced by sound, throttle response, etc.

[PhaceN52]

Originally Posted by Biginboca

There’s been a lot of trash talking on the General forum the last few days. Not to get into it here but the gist of it is that any N/A car will never be fast enough for the turbo “must be fastest” crowd. Then there’s the people here who for whatever reason have chosen the N/A platform which we have to appreciate for its other characteristics than ultimate speed. And the question is, how much speed can you use in a daily anyway.

So just to see where my car is at I did a few dragy tests this morning. I didn’t want to do 0-60 runs because it’s hard on the clutch and if I’m going to trash my clutch I want a full 1/4 mile out of it. Drag strip coming soon.

Instead I took my dragy out for a ride to try some other metrics. I decided to do some 50-80mph pulls since it’s not hard on the equipment and I was able to find some benchmarks posted online for a few other legendary BMW’s for that same metric. Let’s see the results...

[...]

[...]

So that’s a 50-80mph pull in 4.23 seconds. I only did 2 pulls so there definitely might be a better one in the car, but traffic was picking up on that road and I was happy with the number I got.

To compare with some other cars I looked here:

[...]

And the bottom line is this... for 50-80mph pulls these legendary N/A M cars got these times:

E39m5 4.20 seconds
E46m3 4.27 seconds

So my economy commuter built bmw is now right in with those M legends. Pretty cool that a 3.0l N/A N52 can hang with those cars I think!

And we all know that the N52 motor is way more reliable and less maintenance than the engines in either of those cars. I don’t think people give it enough credit!

Impressive comparison! Those are some real good numbers..
N52 cars are true driver's, long live that harmonically balanced straight 6 sound/music, 4pot turbo will never have this kind of involvement, and the N54/N55 mass (not everyone obviously) would get the same fun with a triturbo bicylindric with 4 stage hpfp, a hidden_near_the_firewall_timing_chain, fitted with huge and irremovable cats on which they can slap on a JB38 that promise trillions of kw, cooking to death turbo rotor bearings every now and then... aaaah that's real motoring fun

A bit of hope is coming from new 2026 Euro emission regulations, there are articles claiming that engines will see a bit of growth in capacity and cylinders... now that 95% of people have bought a fantastic unreliable downsized 1.0 for a 1,8/2 Ton car

[Jpm57tt]

You got a 104/5 mph car there .....plenty fast for most situations, most people do not understand the balance of the n/a engine vs a turbo , your example its good , as fast a 335i manual BUT with the throttle response and linear power that the 335i cant offer .
Used to have a 335i Manual a couple of years ago , now a 335d (daily car) And l will build a 330i (n53) as a track weekend car .
Very inspired project you got , enjoy it a lot.

[Efthreeoh]

So here's my opinion. After driving the basic versions of NA BMW I6 for along time, those being the M20, M52/54, and the N52 DISA and non-DISA, and two rounds with the N54 and the B58, the beauty of the NA BMW straight-6 is how it gains and drops revs in gear.

Take any of the NA sixes above, get on a complex back road with elevation changes and closing radius turns and leave it in 4th gear and drive between 40 - 70 MPH, and that's where the magic of the BMW in-line shows it worth. It lets you keep the car balance as the elevations change and the curves layout. My E30 with the M20 was just magic in that scenario; my other cars almost as close. This is where your roll on numbers show and make their case.

None of the 4 cylinders nor the turbo in-line engines have this capability. Turbos do not allow for the type of engine composure I've experienced in their non-turbo form where the RPMs rise and fall and the power is linear and predictable; you add it where and when you want.

[E92William]

Wonder what numbers more contemporary cars like the e9x m3 and the m5 do

[2one3E90]

Wow nice. Theres a reason why I got another e90 LOL its a addiction. Now i want a Boston Green one!

[marconi118]

Biginboca what are your mods?

do you hit 300HP?

I would like to do it with N53, Yes I live in europe

[Pittz1]

This why I have a F80 M3. Best of both worlds. The N52 is a great engine. Love this car(330xi) as a daily.

[Phil325i]

Originally Posted by marconi118

Biginboca what are your mods?

do you hit 300HP?

I would like to do it with N53, Yes I live in europe

Al's full build thread is here:

https://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1579797

Most of the chassis and body work should be possible on an N53, but not all the engine mods as we don't have Valvetronic.

[Biginboca]

Originally Posted by marconi118

Biginboca what are your mods?

do you hit 300HP?

I would like to do it with N53, Yes I live in europe

My build thread is admittedly rather long lol

If you want a quick rundown on the mods on the car as of when that Dragy was taken you should just look at my IG page. The car has mostly bolt ons for power mods and also lost over 300lbs of weight from stock.