[GarfieldBMW]

Hello guys, good morning!

I have a question for you just out of curiosity. I own a BMW E90 2011 Facelift with 2L engine Diesel with 136 HP. Now this is my first car and I absolutely love it. It's the exact model I wanted. And despite a few repairs that I had to do (which is totally fine of course) I am really happy with my car.

Now, what I would like to check with you is related with the different engine models because I know that the exact same car has many other variants e.g. 3L engine or 3.5 the so called 330D or 335D models which are with more than 200 and some with even 300+ HP. I am not into driving too fast and etc. I enjoy normal ride with speeding only outside of the city in reasonable limit.

What I am wondering is, would I feel a big difference if I step on the gas of the same car but with let's say 3L Diesel 250HP? I was advised by a friend before buying my car to consider 2L instead of 3L because of the fuel consumption especially in the city. And in matter of fact inside the city and outside the city I am really happy with the fuel consumption overall. So I am certain that a 3/3.5L engine would feel on my pocket for sure, but what about the raw power? Now obviously math is math, and 250/300 HP is more than 136HP but is there really a big difference that you can feel the moment you step on the gas? I will appreciate if some of you have driven similar BMW models with 2L and 3L and share if the difference is huge. When I step on the gas pedal on my car even with 136HP it does speed up pretty good but again as I've said just out of curiosity, I wanted to check with you if the difference is that huge.

Thank you and take care!

[rararat4]

Haha, with the help of ChatGPT I managed to determine that you probably have 316d. The acceleration to 100 kms/h for the car is 10.9-11.2 seconds depending on options. Don't be offended but this, if true, is not really fast. I am glad you enjoy the car still. The respective figures for 330d and 335d are 6.1-6.3 and 5.7-5.9. You can appreciate that these are big differences.

I have a 2009 328i 3.0L with 230hp. Comparing this to other less powerful cars, not BMW's and an A4 diesel similar to yours, I can tell you one thing for sure. At speed, say on a highway, a car with 137hp will struggle a bit to overtake another car compared to a car with more hp. This shows up on one lane roads here in Canadian Rockies when you need to pass a laggard in a short stretch. Generally, I do not have to gear down to do it, you probably do. Let me know if I am wrong.

A diesel powered car has a lot of torque at low revs, so you do not feel like you are lacking power coming off a stop. But, the deficit shows up in some situations.

[GarfieldBMW]

Hi rararat4, thank you for your comment

I own a BMW 318D, not 316. However despite being 318D it's actually 2L engine not 1.8L. I live in Europe and we have differences compared to US/Canada.

Thanks for what you've shared. I reach 100 km/h much sooner than 10-11seconds I can tell you this for sure But yeah, I understand that driving the same BMW model with 335D will be a bit quicker.

I appreciate that you explained that "A diesel powered car has a lot of torque at low revs, so you do not feel like you are lacking power coming off a stop. But, the deficit shows up in some situations."

I've noticed that in fact my car does speed up very quickly in short distances and let's say no more than 60 km/h. On a highway however, I feel sometimes that a few more HP would be welcomed, but still I am happy with what I experience in terms of speed and comfort. I don't have any issue in overtaking other cars.

I understand that my original post is not very interesting but as I've said I was just wondering if indeed speeding is that much of a difference. Both a BMW 3 series with 2L and 3.5L engine have 260 km/h top speed but I assume the difference is how fast these two cars goes from 100 to 180 km/h for example.

Cheers

[rararat4]

There goes AI's reliability. Is there even such a thing as 316d? And so maybe the other figures I gave are suspect. I still have the E90 brochure for Canada from 2009 as glossy as it ever was. It says my manual 328i can reach 100kms/h in 6.7s. Incidentally, in 2009 automatic RWD 335i could reach 100kms/h in 5.9s vs 335d in 6.3s. Horse power respectively 300 vs 265.

I don't think I understand it well but horse power becomes important at speed. The higher torque of diesel, I am told, shows up as fuel consumption savings.

By the way the cars may have the maximum of 260 kms on the dial but the 2009 models were all electronically limited to 210kms/h here in Canada. I experienced that on an autobahn in Germany one day when another BMW would not budge over 205kms/h with my foot to the floor.

[gaze2]

You would absolutely feel the difference just from the torque torque jump going from a 318d to a 330d/335d. Its almost twice the torque from the pre lci 330d and it only goes up from there.
I went from a 120d with 161hp and 340Nm to a 325i with 215hp and 250Nm. That is almost a 100Nm loss but a 54hp gain, and the difference it noticeable. Sure it doesnt pull as quick, especially at lower rpm as a diesel. but it just keeps going. Getting to 200kph for example is so much easier in the 325i, but overtaking suddenly without changing gears feels sluggish.

Also no 335d isnt 3,5l it just has 2 turbochargers instead of 1 on the 330d