LowOrbit

Again, I am a dumb guy, but it seems turbo cars are much easier to get hp gains via chipping, and the old 2.7T Audis could see hp go from 250 to 300-330 through chipping.

Also, you are right about the 550 having more than 325hp (really it is 360hp in the U.S.) - I was thinking of my outdated 545i.

Leburpor

Ya, so it seems from reading the other posts...but why is it easier to do it on a turbo? I always thought that turbo cars meant the engines were tuned to near max, whilst naturally aspirited (which I believe the 540/550 are) engines had more potential for tuning.

BTW, lets say the 535 can be tuned to match the 550i, will this effect the drive feel?? I mean, will you lose the smooth feeling whilst accelerating?

Bimmer32

It appears that many of you prefer turbo charged engines vs. NA. So to the NA fans, what's your reason over turbo or supercharged given the current technology? Faster triple digit speed? Maybe not anymore? I don't know . . . so I'm asking.

BetterMakeWay

Ok this is the weirdest thing you'll hear but i'm a big fan of NA engines (of course petrol engines). I ended up with the 535d because nothing else seemed more appealing. I mean at that time there was only the 545i and i thought that the state of power can be easily achived in the diesel by chip tuning. BUT BUT BUT....i do like the best NA engines because 1. They give the best response there can be. 2. If we are talking about M engines i like high revy engines more than anything and turbo doesn't make a good marrige with 8000+rpms. 3. I like the progresiveness of the NA engine. 4. It's a fact that in the petrol engine categories NA engines last the most, and there is little chance for smth to fail. And that's pretty much it.

LowOrbit

I used to hate turbos given the dreaded "turbo lag", but with dual smaller turbos, this is not much of an issue. All else equal (hp, torque curves, weight), I prefer NA as I think the engine sound is nicer without a turbo/supercharger.

Just my $0.02.

BetterMakeWay

Ya it is as i said if we think of screaming engines, buuuut a tweaked turbo petrol engine sounds sometimes so intoxicating, put an insane bov and it's complete. Wooooshhh!!

EBMCS03

Newer kind of direct injection. I forget the exact name.. but some cars now directly inject the fuel to the top of the cylindar heads (al la Lexus IS 350) instead of the old way of injecting the fuel somewhere and then having the cylindar suck / push it up to the top and then ignite it. Thats the gist that I know if it. Its not the best explaination but you get the main point.

Here you go... read all about it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gasoline_direct_injection

CVTBenhogan

If you really need big hp and are willing to chip, waiting for the 535 is the only way to go. Waiting has its advantages. Heck, wait long enough and you'll see a direct injection and bi turbo V8. I've read a DI V8 is being developed, which makes sense as competitors continue to up the power. A GS460 will soon break cover.

If the 535 was released in the Spring of 07, I'd target this one. However, it will not be cheap. Keep in mind that a body refresh is coming too. Some say for MY 08 with production starting (not sure) sometime in March 07.

That said, the 550 is damn good machine.

CVT Benhogan

Ricracing

The day the facelifted 535i (with the new N54 bi-turbo engine) is out,
the new 550i will also have a new engine.

Let's see and talk about facts when we have them!


The new E92 335i coup? will soon be available.

CVTBenhogan

Disagree. :thumbsdown: A good point of any forum is to discuss future model changes, tech developments and of course our favorite car. So what if there are plenty of opinions.

Maybe you can send the poster the official brochure on the 535 when its available, while the rest of us endeavor to keep our heads in the sand.


CVT Benhogan