Model # used to depict engine capacity - why BMW 520i and 528i both 1997cc? Kelong?

[joetys]

Yes it is.

Noted. Will rent a nice car for the autobahn this coming Oktoberfest.

[peppertail]

Noted. Will rent a nice car for the autobahn this coming Oktoberfest.

Nice. Don't put up your hopes to high though. Nowadays traffic conditions hardly allow you to go at such speeds. At 250km/h you will need 2 lanes when cornering. Go on a sunday morning is best.

[singveld]

Every ragtag armies of every shit hole countries in the planet drive a toyota. Therefore people like me, will never drive a lexus.

[singveld]

Nice. Don't put up your hopes to high though. Nowadays traffic conditions hardly allow you to go at such speeds. At 250km/h you will need 2 lanes when cornering. Go on a sunday morning is best.

yes you can, but you must stay on the huge 8 lanes new autobahn. not the old hilter build 4 lanes one.
Try the main highway to berlin, once i drove continually for 1/2 hours at full speed of the car, only overtaken by big bmw, audi and porsche. the old road cannot work, because of the fxxking truck drivers.

[singveld]

lexus gs250? it is so ugly.



just look at it side by side

[singveld]

[Cerebral]

Perhaps this will explain the difference?

"THE Germans' technological prowess in downsizing engines while upsizing performance seems to know no bounds, with the latest small wonder being the BMW 528i. Despite its numerical label, the 528i is not a 5 Series mid-sized executive sedan with a 2.8-litre engine. Instead, it has a 2.0-litre turbocharged inline four-cylinder unit."

By adding a larger turbo/supercharger does not necessarily mean it is upsizing performance. What's amazing is the Rotary engine. At 1.3l engine, they generate 200+ hp

[Papsmearer]

I read that the new GS had been engineered to be aggressive to drive and so I was comparing it to other makes and while checking out BMW was surprised to discover both 520i and 528i has the same capacity. Me being myself will again lean towards the Lexus make of course but its nice to compare. I should go for a test drive of the 520i and 528i comparing each other and comparing to the GS. As for holiday in Japan already booked during the Thai Songkrang holidays coincide with the Sakura festival in Tokyo area be there for 10 days.

I guess everyone here know shit about BMWs, because your original thread question is still unanswered. So, I will explain to you why there is a BMW 520i and a BMW 538i both using a 2 litre engine (1977 cc to be exact).

For decades now, going back to the E28, there have always been a 520i and a 528i. In the past the 528i was usually a 6 cylinder engine while the 520i was always a 4 cylinder engine, That was how buyers could differentiate the 2 models. What BMW did was to introduce the twin turbo into their standard 4 cylinder engine. So, the regular 4 cylinder engine produced 181 hp, while the turbo version of this engine produced 240hp. In the past, 240 hp could only be produced by BMW's 6 cylinder engines. In other words, for a normally aspirated BMW engine to produce the same 240hp, it would have had to be a small 6 cylinder engine like the 2.8 litre inline 6. Therefore, BMW kept the 528i designation to denote NOT ACTUAL ENGINE CAPACITY, but theoretical engine capacity required to produce the same horse power of 240hp. Don't worry, most BMW salesmen don't even know this.

[LeMans2011]

Wanna try 250kmh above? Welcome to Malaysia.

[LeMans2011]

This is quite common practice. The old 523 and 525 were both 2.5 litres engine, but the chip for the 523 suppresses the performance to produce a lower horsepower so that they don't need a separate production line for 523 which are sold only in 3rd world countries like Singapore.

Similarly the current Audi S5 SB is 3.0l producing 350hp, and there is a A5 SB 3.0l producing 272hp.

For 5-series the diesel is the best drive!

Lexus is really for comfort, refinement and reliability... no WOW factor

[Papsmearer]

Thank you all for the above information its very helpful. Now I understand.

I just found out the price differences as follows:

Price difference in Thailand -
520i = 3,599,000 (S$149k)
528i = 4,099,000 (S$170k) difference about S$20k

Price difference in Singapore from sgcarmart (Performance Motor) -
520i = S$257.8k
528i = S$277.8k difference is S$20k

Price difference in Singapore from sgcarmart (Parallel Importer) -
520i = S$225k
528i = S$240k difference is S$15k

If you or anyone is even looking at a 520i, you are an idiot. The car weights over 1600kg, and to be powered by a small 4 cylinder engine producing 180 odd HP is ridiculously underpowered. The car is too heavy for this size engine. In other to enjoy the car, and take advantage of the superb chassis and drivetrain, u really need a turbo model or a 6 cylinder engine and above. The non turbo 4 cylinder is not even offered in BMW's biggest market, North America. Americans don't buy that shit. Which is why my theory of people who buy BMWs remain sound. i.e. They know nothing about the cars, and just buy for the name.

[LeMans2011]

If you or anyone is even looking at a 520i, you are an idiot. The car weights over 1600kg, and to be powered by a small 4 cylinder engine producing 180 odd HP is ridiculously underpowered. The car is too heavy for this size engine. In other to enjoy the car, and take advantage of the superb chassis and drivetrain, u really need a turbo model or a 6 cylinder engine and above. The non turbo 4 cylinder is not even offered in BMW's biggest market, North America. Americans don't buy that shit. Which is why my theory of people who buy BMWs remain sound. i.e. They know nothing about the cars, and just buy for the name.

Uncle why you so rude?
I don't believe a 4 cylinder can ever produce the kind of refinement comparable to a 6 cyclinder. Even the Volvo T5 feels gruff.
I strongly believe the main reason for manufacturer to reduce the number of cylinders is costs and simplicity in production.
No doubt turbo-charger or super-charger helps to propel, but still you need a certain minimum capacity... the marketing spins from manufacturers effectively aim to make buyers pay more for a lower end engine and they call it "efficiency"

[Papsmearer]

By adding a larger turbo/supercharger does not necessarily mean it is upsizing performance. What's amazing is the Rotary engine. At 1.3l engine, they generate 200+ hp

Really, adding a turbo doesn't improve performance? I beg to differ. My personal car is turbo charged. AND THERE IS A HUGE DIFFERENCE IN PERFORMANCE. By the way, the biggest Wankel engine maker in the world (MAzda) put turbo chargers into all their RX-7 Wankel engines starting in 1986.

[Papsmearer]

Uncle why you so rude?
I don't believe a 4 cylinder can ever produce the kind of refinement comparable to a 6 cyclinder. Even the Volvo T5 feels gruff.
I strongly believe the main reason for manufacturer to reduce the number of cylinders is costs and simplicity in production.
No doubt turbo-charger or super-charger helps to propel, but still you need a certain minimum capacity... the marketing spins from manufacturers effectively aim to make buyers pay more for a lower end engine and they call it "efficiency"

I don't know what u are babbling about, the manufacturer (in this case BMW) has not reduced the number of cylinders. They still offer 4, 6 and 8 cylinder engines in their cars. If u want "efficiency", go and buy a Toyota Corolla. When u are buying a BMW, u are not buying it for "efficiency", u are buying it for performance and the sheer joy of driving. However, if you are stupid, than u put a small engine in heavy car like this, and you don't have performance nor joy of driving. U just have a brand name car that you brag to friends and family about.

[bushtucker]

get the 520i and chip tune it. you could easily obtain the 528i's 218hp or even more.

i believe the turbocharger used in both models are the same size, difference is the level of tuning done to the ECU.

[joetys]

Thank you Papsmearer for this explanation. Really appreciate it.

I guess everyone here know shit about BMWs, because your original thread question is still unanswered. So, I will explain to you why there is a BMW 520i and a BMW 538i both using a 2 litre engine (1977 cc to be exact).

For decades now, going back to the E28, there have always been a 520i and a 528i. In the past the 528i was usually a 6 cylinder engine while the 520i was always a 4 cylinder engine, That was how buyers could differentiate the 2 models. What BMW did was to introduce the twin turbo into their standard 4 cylinder engine. So, the regular 4 cylinder engine produced 181 hp, while the turbo version of this engine produced 240hp. In the past, 240 hp could only be produced by BMW's 6 cylinder engines. In other words, for a normally aspirated BMW engine to produce the same 240hp, it would have had to be a small 6 cylinder engine like the 2.8 litre inline 6. Therefore, BMW kept the 528i designation to denote NOT ACTUAL ENGINE CAPACITY, but theoretical engine capacity required to produce the same horse power of 240hp. Don't worry, most BMW salesmen don't even know this.

[joetys]

This is quite common practice. The old 523 and 525 were both 2.5 litres engine, but the chip for the 523 suppresses the performance to produce a lower horsepower so that they don't need a separate production line for 523 which are sold only in 3rd world countries like Singapore.

Similarly the current Audi S5 SB is 3.0l producing 350hp, and there is a A5 SB 3.0l producing 272hp.

For 5-series the diesel is the best drive!

Lexus is really for comfort, refinement and reliability... no WOW factor

Agree with you on the Lexus which is why this is always my car because I placed comfort and refinement over all else, however after trying the 528i I kindda enjoy it and I am sure the feeling can be addictive.

[joetys]

I don't know what u are babbling about, the manufacturer (in this case BMW) has not reduced the number of cylinders. They still offer 4, 6 and 8 cylinder engines in their cars. If u want "efficiency", go and buy a Toyota Corolla. When u are buying a BMW, u are not buying it for "efficiency", u are buying it for performance and the sheer joy of driving. However, if you are stupid, than u put a small engine in heavy car like this, and you don't have performance nor joy of driving. U just have a brand name car that you brag to friends and family about.

The auto-start-stop feature is really cool and I bet will save fuel, however I agree people who buy luxury cars no need to bother with fuel cost.

[watchman8]

The auto-start-stop feature is really cool and I bet will save fuel, however I agree people who buy luxury cars no need to bother with fuel cost.

Bro, if your inner self feels guilty about wasting fuel, then you should not drive an excessively heavy luxury car.

[watchman8]

I don't know what u are babbling about, the manufacturer (in this case BMW) has not reduced the number of cylinders. They still offer 4, 6 and 8 cylinder engines in their cars. If u want "efficiency", go and buy a Toyota Corolla. When u are buying a BMW, u are not buying it for "efficiency", u are buying it for performance and the sheer joy of driving. However, if you are stupid, than u put a small engine in heavy car like this, and you don't have performance nor joy of driving. U just have a brand name car that you brag to friends and family about.

I absolutely disagree. There is no joy of driving in Singapore given the over crowding situation, unless the joy is only derived from letting everyone else know that you can afford super expensive cars.