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      09-07-2010, 12:41 PM   #1
jhall1957
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Engine reliability

So here's the thing, I've been thinking about the options; my lease on Euro Del. 2009 135i is up in May of 2011, I'm thinking do I buy the 135, do I buy a CPO M3/V8, do I buy a E46 M3 or do I grab a 1M?

I keep reading people who say the NA motors are better and will be more reliabile, but I ask you, which is most likely to be more reliable a Straight 6 that is a basic motor config used for years with a pretty mild tune and a Turbo, A fairly(to the M3) new V8 or a highly tuned, high reving 6 like in the E46? And then, assuming the worst;engine failure; which likely has the easiest path to recovery?

Just a question that has been rolling around inside my head. If your worried about the Turbo, what's that cost of replacement and how does that compare to a new motor in a E46 M3 or whatever may break in the V8?
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      09-07-2010, 01:01 PM   #2
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If you're looking for cheap car to maintain, you've picked three fairly poor choices. Aside from silly stuff like Fezzas, Lambos, or Porsches, you'd be hard pressed to find three worse choices. I'd guess the N54 is cheaper to maintain than the S65 and both are cheaper than the S54, but that's all a guess.
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      09-07-2010, 01:25 PM   #3
Robert
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Unless you love the E46M3 like I do, you will be kicking yourself when you realize its 0-60 isn't competitive as before. Personally after suffering HPFP failures, I would go with the M3 or wait a year for the 1M to sort its bug out.
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      09-07-2010, 01:37 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Robert View Post
Unless you love the E46M3 like I do, you will be kicking yourself when you realize its 0-60 isn't competitive as before. Personally after suffering HPFP failures, I would go with the M3 or wait a year for the 1M to sort its bug out.
I like both too, but realistically, won't you be doing valve adjustments on the S54 more often than HPFP replacements on the N54/N55? Since the valve adjustments are $1,500 a pop, and the HPFP is $400, I'm not seeing a whole lot of win here.
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      09-07-2010, 01:50 PM   #5
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@jhall1957

99.95% of all time, all the engines/cars you mention run fine. I'd choose the car/engine who's characteristics suit your needs and wishes. "Planning the possible failure" of the engine doesn't make too much sense to me
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      09-07-2010, 02:12 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Madozu View Post
@jhall1957

99.95% of all time, all the engines/cars you mention run fine. I'd choose the car/engine who's characteristics suit your needs and wishes. "Planning the possible failure" of the engine doesn't make too much sense to me
Madozu, My thoughts exactly! You guys have all said the same thing I was thinking which is none of these are cheap to run OR fix.


It seems like the N54 may be the winner when it comes to "tune-ability" and getting the most bang for the buck! Not sure why folks keep talking about the NA motors being more reliable or better. It seems like evenyone of the above mentioned motors/cars has it's issues.

Not sure where that leaves me but since I want to do another ED this summer, I'll likely replace my wifes 335i and then wait awhile and see what develops! I have a good solid 330ci I can drive for awhile.
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      09-07-2010, 02:33 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jhall1957 View Post
It seems like the N54 may be the winner when it comes to "tune-ability" and getting the most bang for the buck! Not sure why folks keep talking about the NA motors being more reliable or better. It seems like evenyone of the above mentioned motors/cars has it's issues.
I also don't believe that general statements like "NA engines are more reliable than FI engines" are true. That might be true for one comparison but wrong for another comparison. FI engines give you torque at low rpm an NA engine can only dream of. NA engines give you a quick throttle response a FI engine can only dream of. With FI engines you easily get more power/torque when tuning. A 20% increase is very common, 30% is achievable. Increasing the power of a NA engine is much harder and therefore more cost-intensive ... and rarely brings more than 10% power increase. On the other hand: if you like engine sound, the high revving NA engine is the one for you.

It's all about YOUR taste
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      09-08-2010, 04:24 PM   #8
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wait for the M1 to have a 4 cylinder turbo
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      09-08-2010, 06:29 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Redline View Post
wait for the M1 to have a 4 cylinder turbo
Wait for that on the Z2 platform.
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