Engine of the year 2004....
Discussion
Oh how I love this engine and what it can do.
Blasting along the A10 last night on the way home from Cambridge with the rear windows open to hear the engine and exhasut.Sheer bliss!
Not sure about this bit though:
"
The twin 32-bit microprocessors in the bespoke engine management system are said to be capable of 25 million calculations a second – one reason why this performance engine can also deliver impressive fuel economy of 8.5L/100km (33.6mpg)."
My OBC tells me I average 19.6 mpg!
>> Edited by Zod on Friday 28th May 10:43

Blasting along the A10 last night on the way home from Cambridge with the rear windows open to hear the engine and exhasut.Sheer bliss!
Not sure about this bit though:
"
The twin 32-bit microprocessors in the bespoke engine management system are said to be capable of 25 million calculations a second – one reason why this performance engine can also deliver impressive fuel economy of 8.5L/100km (33.6mpg)."
My OBC tells me I average 19.6 mpg!
>> Edited by Zod on Friday 28th May 10:43
Very impressive, one of my favourite engines in fact.
However I still prefer the S50 3.2 "evo" engine- it has a wider torque range- peak at 3250 with peak power at 7400 rpm.
I have the two torque curves side by side and the loss of low speed with minimal gain in top end to me doesn't seem worth it.
I hypothesize that they had to "develop out" the low speed torque of the S54 for emissions reguations- restricting the VCT range of the engine due to smaller valve cut outs in the pistons for lower HC emissions.
However I still prefer the S50 3.2 "evo" engine- it has a wider torque range- peak at 3250 with peak power at 7400 rpm.
I have the two torque curves side by side and the loss of low speed with minimal gain in top end to me doesn't seem worth it.
I hypothesize that they had to "develop out" the low speed torque of the S54 for emissions reguations- restricting the VCT range of the engine due to smaller valve cut outs in the pistons for lower HC emissions.
And:
BMW 2.5-litre (325i, X3, 525i, Z4) 147 pts
Honda Diesel 2.2-litre (Accord (Europe)) 146 pts
Fiat Diesel 2.4-litre JTD Multijet (Alfa 156, 166, Lancia Lybra/Thesis) 126 pts
Peugeot-Citroën Diesel 2.2-litre HDi (Citroën C5, C8 Peugeot 607, 807) 112 pts
Volvo 2.3-litre (S60, V70, C70) 93 pts
Honda 2.2-litre (S2000 (North America)) 86 pts
Mazda RENESIS (RX-8) 252 pts
BMW Diesel 3-litre (330d, X3, 530d, X5, 730d) 242 pts
BMW 3-litre (Z4, 330i, X3, 530i, X5, 730i) 189 pts
Subaru 3-litre (Legacy, Outback) 133 pts
Audi Diesel 3-litre (A6, A8) 70 pts
Mercedes-AMG Diesel 3-litre (C-Class) 68 pts
Volkswagen Diesel 5-litre (Touareg/Phaeton) 199 pts
BMW 4.4-litre Valvetronic (545i, X5, 645i, 745i) 129 pts
Mercedes-AMG 6-litre (S65, CL65) 111 pts
Ferrari 5.7-litre (612) 94 pts
Aston Martin 5.9-litre (DB9, Vanquish) 91 pts
Chrysler/Dodge 5.7-litre (300C/Magnum) 88 pts
Honda 2-litre (S2000 (Europe/Asia)) 153 pts
Subaru 2-litre turbo (Impreza,
Legacy/Lancaster/Outback, Forester) 135 pts
BMW Diesel 2-litre (320d) 97 pts
Volkswagen 1.8-litre turbo (225bhp) (TT, Leon) 82 pts
BMW 2-litre Valvetronic (318i) 81 pts
Fiat Diesel 1.9-litre JTD Multijet (Alfa Romeo 156, GT) 80 pts
Honda/Acura 2-litre (Integra Type-R) 76 pts
Toyota Hybrid 1.5-litre (Prius) 362 pts
BMW MINI 1.6-litre supercharged (Cooper S) 137 pts
Toyota 1.8-litre VVTL-i 190 (Celica, Corolla, Lotus Elise 111R) 129 pts
Volkswagen 1.8-litre turbo (225bhp) (TT, Leon) 82 pts
Peugeot-Citroën/Ford Diesel 1.6-litre (Ford C-Max, Mazda 3, Peugeot 206, 307) 76 pts
Volkswagen 1.8-litre turbo (180bhp) (Audi A4, Seat Ibiza, Skoda Octavia, VW Beetle, Golf, Passat, Sharan) 71 pts
Toyota Hybrid 1.5-litre (Prius) 375 pts
Honda 1.3-litre IMA (Civic) 153 pts
Fiat-GM Diesel 1.3-litre (Panda, Punto, IDEA, Doblo, Opel/Vauxhall Agila, Corsa, Suzuki New Ignis) 139 pts
Volkswagen Diesel 5-litre (Touareg/Phaeton) 75 pts
BMW Diesel 3-litre (330d, X3, 530d, X5, 730d) 65 pts
Honda 1-litre IMA (Insight) 58 pts
total winner
Toyota Hybrid 1.5-litre (Prius) 380 pts
Volkswagen Diesel 5-litre (Touareg, Phaeton) 274 pts
BMW 3.2-litre (M3) 232 pts
Mazda RENESIS (RX-8) 205 pts
Honda 2-litre (S2000) 117 pts
Honda 1.3-litre IMA (Civic) 99 pts
BMW 2.5-litre (325i, X3, 525i, Z4) 84 pts
Honda 1-litre IMA (Insight) 9 pts
Beemer plants do pretty well . . .
BMW 2.5-litre (325i, X3, 525i, Z4) 147 pts
Honda Diesel 2.2-litre (Accord (Europe)) 146 pts
Fiat Diesel 2.4-litre JTD Multijet (Alfa 156, 166, Lancia Lybra/Thesis) 126 pts
Peugeot-Citroën Diesel 2.2-litre HDi (Citroën C5, C8 Peugeot 607, 807) 112 pts
Volvo 2.3-litre (S60, V70, C70) 93 pts
Honda 2.2-litre (S2000 (North America)) 86 pts
Mazda RENESIS (RX-8) 252 pts
BMW Diesel 3-litre (330d, X3, 530d, X5, 730d) 242 pts
BMW 3-litre (Z4, 330i, X3, 530i, X5, 730i) 189 pts
Subaru 3-litre (Legacy, Outback) 133 pts
Audi Diesel 3-litre (A6, A8) 70 pts
Mercedes-AMG Diesel 3-litre (C-Class) 68 pts
Volkswagen Diesel 5-litre (Touareg/Phaeton) 199 pts
BMW 4.4-litre Valvetronic (545i, X5, 645i, 745i) 129 pts
Mercedes-AMG 6-litre (S65, CL65) 111 pts
Ferrari 5.7-litre (612) 94 pts
Aston Martin 5.9-litre (DB9, Vanquish) 91 pts
Chrysler/Dodge 5.7-litre (300C/Magnum) 88 pts
Honda 2-litre (S2000 (Europe/Asia)) 153 pts
Subaru 2-litre turbo (Impreza,
Legacy/Lancaster/Outback, Forester) 135 pts
BMW Diesel 2-litre (320d) 97 pts
Volkswagen 1.8-litre turbo (225bhp) (TT, Leon) 82 pts
BMW 2-litre Valvetronic (318i) 81 pts
Fiat Diesel 1.9-litre JTD Multijet (Alfa Romeo 156, GT) 80 pts
Honda/Acura 2-litre (Integra Type-R) 76 pts
Toyota Hybrid 1.5-litre (Prius) 362 pts
BMW MINI 1.6-litre supercharged (Cooper S) 137 pts
Toyota 1.8-litre VVTL-i 190 (Celica, Corolla, Lotus Elise 111R) 129 pts
Volkswagen 1.8-litre turbo (225bhp) (TT, Leon) 82 pts
Peugeot-Citroën/Ford Diesel 1.6-litre (Ford C-Max, Mazda 3, Peugeot 206, 307) 76 pts
Volkswagen 1.8-litre turbo (180bhp) (Audi A4, Seat Ibiza, Skoda Octavia, VW Beetle, Golf, Passat, Sharan) 71 pts
Toyota Hybrid 1.5-litre (Prius) 375 pts
Honda 1.3-litre IMA (Civic) 153 pts
Fiat-GM Diesel 1.3-litre (Panda, Punto, IDEA, Doblo, Opel/Vauxhall Agila, Corsa, Suzuki New Ignis) 139 pts
Volkswagen Diesel 5-litre (Touareg/Phaeton) 75 pts
BMW Diesel 3-litre (330d, X3, 530d, X5, 730d) 65 pts
Honda 1-litre IMA (Insight) 58 pts
total winner
Toyota Hybrid 1.5-litre (Prius) 380 pts
Volkswagen Diesel 5-litre (Touareg, Phaeton) 274 pts
BMW 3.2-litre (M3) 232 pts
Mazda RENESIS (RX-8) 205 pts
Honda 2-litre (S2000) 117 pts
Honda 1.3-litre IMA (Civic) 99 pts
BMW 2.5-litre (325i, X3, 525i, Z4) 84 pts
Honda 1-litre IMA (Insight) 9 pts
Beemer plants do pretty well . . .
This sixes ok but, 320d??
I thought that was horrible!
But seriously, the exploding M3s have been a problem.. not so bad since bmw admitted the problem and stopped blaming the drivers overrevving.
http://members.roadfly.com/jason/m3engines.htm
I thought that was horrible!
But seriously, the exploding M3s have been a problem.. not so bad since bmw admitted the problem and stopped blaming the drivers overrevving.
http://members.roadfly.com/jason/m3engines.htm
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