vinm5

It has come to my attention that the fact that the 6 cyclinders are inline , offer better balance, and hence handling.

EVEN though, the V8 has better performance.

At the end of the day, why would people still want the v8 ?

Casper

We buy a v8 because it is a superior engine, more HP, better sound, smoother, more torque, better performance.

I mean, it is kind of crazy question, isn't it? Who would prefer a 6 cyl over an 8 cyl engine?

ksleher

i would choose the inline 6 (or a flat 6) over a V8.......but that is just me. Also, these days they do make the 'V' engines almost as good as the inline ones so there is not much of a noticable difference. Atleast this was one of the main reasons i chose 535 over 550.

Casper

You, my friend, are the exception, most people prefer the v8.

ksleher

As I said...it is just me

Waiting for an inline 8.........

redwhiteblue

I would take a turbo inline 6 any day of the week. if you drive both you can noticably tell the weight in the front of the car plus I just LOVE the smoothness of bmws I6 engines. Add the turbos and you get the smoothness plus the power-perfect combo IMO.

I have to disagree with the sound comment. The i6 in the 545 and 550 prior to this year with the new sport exhaust was no louder or growly than the i6 and actually with comparison of same exhaust/intakes the I6 is actually louder with a nicer sound than the V8 comparing same to same. For example my friend has a 545 with remus and I had a 530 and mine actually was slightly louder and we boht preffered the sound of mine. The sound in bmw V8s to their I6s is not better and to be honest I think nothing sounds better than a bmw I6 with an exhaust addition.

Reliability is another huge thing. If you look at any stats regarding reliability the I6 is proven reliable which is a big decision for some who do not lease. Now cannot speak to the turbo set up but the NA i6 is superiorly proven in reliability.

So for some the I6 makes sense.

pukka

Personally, I'd choose and N/A engine over any engine with forced induction.

But in this case I couldn't see spending 7k more for an extra two cylinders and 60hp knowing full well how turbos can be tweaked to get much more power out of them. Instead, that money got me more options that I wanted in my 535i. Besides, if I can't trust a company like BMW to make a quality trubo engine then I can't trust anybody to do it.

pukka

I'll admit I've heard some BMW's around here with 4 and 6 cylinder engines that had some pretty tight exhaust setups. But since I also own a Chevy V-8 w/custom exhaust I'd have to disagree with your quote. NOTHING sounds better than a V-8 rumble

bimmerturn

Nothing like a test drive and comparison of both engines, I did when I got my second 550i after having the 335 for 6 months. There is a definite turbo lag in the 335 and 535, it is not excessive but it's there. The V8 power band is continuous at all RPMs while the turbo 6 does feel as if it reached a Plato at times. Add to that the feel of the car, additional performance, looks, and the V8 rumble then the difference in price was a non issue.

I can tell you of many times with my old 335i where I needed to push it from about 35/40MPH and you can feel how the car just bogged down till the turbos caught up, you'll never have that with the V8.

ipp

I've hard to see how a 550i could obtain the 50/50 weight balance. But it's power forgives it for that...