Would love to see the torque and HP curves of these three engines on one graph. Anyone have it?

 

Here's 2 (550 and 535). It's pretty simple to add the M5 data and graph it.



Lou

 

It'd be interesting to see post-ECU-tuned data for 535i on this

 

Awesome info BMWSTL! It looks like the 535 data was hand-drawn in.... maybe the 550 lines too? Where did you get this info?

If this is accurate - the 535 owners who rave about getting max torque at 1300 RPMs should acknowledge that while it matches the 550i at that exact RPM... the 550i has about 15% - 20% more torque over a wide RPM band.

+1 on seeing what the graph would look like for a super-tuned 535 aftermarket....

Here's another question though: If one wants to compare acceleration between the cars, shouldn't we be considering how fast each car can rev the RPMs to get to the "fat / high-torque" range? If you're already moving - easy to downshift & get there... but what about from a standing start? How do the 2 engines (V8 and TT6) differ in getting those revs up?

 

The 535 data was obtained from BMW's engine performance graph prinited in the E60 2008 brochure (available on e60.net information section, here: 2008 5 Series Brochure.pdf). The curves were hand drawn based on the data points onto the graph for the 550's engine that I also found on e60.net information section (along with other engines) here: http://www.e60.net/information/options/engines/

The performance information factored heavily in my decision to switch my order for a 535 to a 550. The 550's engine (stock) performs at a significantly higher level than the 535's (as expected). Torque and HP exceed the 535's at all data points. It would be very interesting to see a "tuned" 535 charted against the 550 and a stock 535. I'm not sure where a tuned 535 data set can be found.

Lou

 

Keep in mind that 550 (~3970 lbs)is heavier than 535 (~3700 lbs)by 270lbs.
If tuned 535 torque/hp curve is about the same with 550, it'd be a blast. Another factor is 535 and 550 brakes are the same.
But driving 2 cars back to back must be done to make the judgement whether we should go with tuned 535 or 550.

 

F/Ied cars usually always most likely have the upper edge in extracting more power due to the nature of the initial setup. With the case of the 335/535s I think the aftermarket scene will provide more parts to support those vehicles simply because there's a much wider range of buyers for all those models, 335i sedans, coupes, convertibles, 535i and of course the up coming 135i coupes. I went with the V8 because I like the brute power and torque and because it's more of a rarer model. Although I would love to drive a 535i that's been modded, maybe that'll change my mind?