E 46 or e34?

[325e '87]

my stock m20 pulles on m54b25 e46s.

BUT

M54 TORQUE is pretty damn nice.

Not a fast car by any means, but they make really nice DDs.

Yep, my m20b25 is stock and I completely agree with you. The low end torque is very nice on the 54 but the one I have really loses it if I wind it out, not in a bad way, but not so much fun either. Now that the air is cooler and drier my m20 feels wonderful, I’ll be driving it for a while, waiting on my new quicklift to arrive and collecting a few parts for the e46.

[MrBurgundy]

my stock m20 pulles on m54b25 e46s.

BUT

M54 TORQUE is pretty damn nice.

Not a fast car by any means, but they make really nice DDs.

[dmanb2b]

They are really cool. Too bad they only never came with 3 pedals, although 6mt swaps are possible (and really not terribly difficult).

Yes, that is a shame. The trans tune helps a lot. Currently only just a few have swapped to mt as it involves getting trans from 330d, but not crazy difficult.

[nando]

Don't forget that the e90 came with a turbo diesel as well. Those are now well into the sub $10K category, depending on options...while stock, the emissions system can be a nightmare, however tuned it is an amazingly reliable car and returns 30+mpg with close to 600 ft/lb on stock turbos. One of the true BMW sleepers.

They are really cool. Too bad they only never came with 3 pedals, although 6mt swaps are possible (and really not terribly difficult).

[djjerme]

Just make sure the cooling system is up to snuff. That’ll kill an M54 if you over heat it. Biggest thing is the seam split on the overflow tank. Is easy to replace when it pops, but if it does pop, shut it off and do not drive it! Too easy to warp the head on them when overheated.. Otherwise, drive the piss out of it. It’s a fun chassis to toss around. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[325e '87]

I did end up buying the e46 I had posted up earlier. It’s nice, have all the service history in a spreadsheet, doesnt need anything other than pulleys on the engine, suspension work. It drives like a boat but I wont really dog on it until I get some suspension upgrades.

the M54 is ok, lots of grunt where daily driving resides, not much when it reaches upper rpm which surprised me. I dont think it is all that much faster than an m20, just different. Don’t like the drive by wire 5speed trans is nice, a/c works beautifully.

It will keep miles off my ‘89 and I will enjoy working on it, which was my goal. I only spent $2500 on it. Gave me a good excuse to finally order a quickjack. Can’t wait until that arrives.

post a photo online

[dmanb2b]

Not talking about turbo cars here. Anyone who wants a cheap turbo BMW is asking for trouble, and knows what they're getting into (hopefully). Almost as bad as owning a BMW with a V8 :p

Don't forget that the e90 came with a turbo diesel as well. Those are now well into the sub $10K category, depending on options...while stock, the emissions system can be a nightmare, however tuned it is an amazingly reliable car and returns 30+mpg with close to 600 ft/lb on stock turbos. One of the true BMW sleepers.

[TobyB]

pre- facelift e46 with a 2.5 liter isn't too thrilling.

The torque of the M54B30's not bad at all, in the 330.

The lack of LSD is a big pain in the butt.

The '92 E34 had even less motor than the 325. But after that, it got better.

I'd like an E34 touring with more motor.

E46 electronics aren't trivial, and aren't getting younger.

t
rambling.

[roguetoaster]

I keep threatening to throw one of the newer diesels into the enduro racecar. Force the drivers to do 3 hour stints... Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Mmm, torquture.

[djjerme]

I keep threatening to throw one of the newer diesels into the enduro racecar. Force the drivers to do 3 hour stints... Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Caperix]

True nothing can be as bad as a non m v8 BMW. I keep finding myself wanting to swap a n54 into an e91 though.

[nando]

Not talking about turbo cars here. Anyone who wants a cheap turbo BMW is asking for trouble, and knows what they're getting into (hopefully). Almost as bad as owning a BMW with a V8 :p

[betz]

Thanks! I just got it, and am loving it :)

[Caperix]

The e90 front regulators are better than the e46 but the rear are just as bad. The expansion tanks are a little better but the radiators fail just as often. They can both be good cars but both have similar issues. E90's do have the advantage of some extended warranties on common failure items. I would not say the new water pumps are better, I have had quite a few, especially n54/55 water pumps leak out the connector & short the wiring a few months after replacement.

[nando]

They don't really fail suddenly. There are error codes that give you hints, and you can change it to trigger a CEL. Besides that, the replacement pumps last way longer (200,000+ miles). The rest of the cooling system doesn't really have the same issues (radiator, expansion tank, etc), you don't need to replace everything at 60k miles routinely.

And even if the pump does fail, as I said, it's not going to destroy the engine like an exploding expansion tank on an E46 can. I've limped two home without issue, one was 15 miles and the other 5 miles. Totally dead waterpumps. Remember, they are already designed to run at much higher temperatures..

None of my E30s or E90s (or the X5 for that matter) have ever needed a window regulator. The E46 regulators are crap. I don't hate the cars, but BMW definitely cut a lot of corners on the build quality.