How slow should a 525i be? [Archive]

View Full Version : How slow should a 525i be?

Hypr5

03-30-2006, 03:08 AM

wingman

03-30-2006, 03:38 AM

Hey guys,

I'm just curious here...
I have an m20 auto e34... The thing is the slowest of the slow and I mean it. Anybody who has driven one knows...

Anyway - I now have an m50tu powered e34 auto - and its got a lot more grunt down low, but things like getting on the highway and passing are no better than the m20 e34. Is this normal?

The engine is rather rough at high RPMs, but I'm not sure how much more power this thing is supposed to have. Can somebody who has driven both chime in?

Thanks!

Yes I've driven both. I haven't driven the M50 more than a few squirts on a skid pan but got the chance to take off from standing to, well, fairly quick. I could feel the difference but not a great deal. Personally I find the M20 fine when on cam although it gets out of breath really high up in the revs. I've recently had my car serviced with a local euro specialist. He adjusted the valves and left a little more clearance than usual. The car feels heaps better and is a lot more responsive.

E34-520iSE

03-30-2006, 04:48 AM

I too havee driven both - M50 has better low & high rev power, M20 has 'NOTHING' below 1800 rpm, but seems to develop power linearly up to the rev-limiter.

HTH,

Shaun

Zeuk in Oz

03-30-2006, 03:58 PM

Yes I've driven both. I haven't driven the M50 more than a few squirts on a skid pan but got the chance to take off from standing to, well, fairly quick. I could feel the difference but not a great deal. Personally I find the M20 fine when on cam although it gets out of breath really high up in the revs. I've recently had my car serviced with a local euro specialist. He adjusted the valves and left a little more clearance than usual. The car feels heaps better and is a lot more responsive.
Do you know what gap he set the tappets to ? Are the tappets very noisy ?

I have always found the M20 to be very responsive, but mine is a manual and that might make a difference. I have never driven an auto.

At legal speeds the gearbox / diff ratios work very well to give excellent performance.

Tom Bombadil

03-30-2006, 04:34 PM

I drove a high-mileage M20 525A a while ago and it was sloooooow.
My 95 M50 525iT is *much* faster.
With the trans in Sport mode it is satisfying for a 4000 lb. touring wagon.

DaveVoorhis

03-30-2006, 05:34 PM

Curious. I wouldn't describe my M20 525iA as "sloooow." Off the line launches aren't exactly neck-snapping, but once the revs are up the performance is more than adequate, especially when the tranny kicks down. Maybe the Euro M20 is better than the North American version? Or maybe some of the aforementioned slug-like 525s were in serious need of a tune-up?

Hypr5

03-30-2006, 05:42 PM

Well, I'm not sure. I think everybody has different expecations of "slow" I mean, I have a 98 528 (slowww, but adequately powered as a daily driver I suppose), and in the family there is a G35. I've always had fast cars around - so yes, when the 525 is brought up, it's a slug. I like it though. My 95 is *much* faster from a stop, but it seems like up top, it's no better than the m20. Very wierd. Overall, I love the way the m20 has a constant pull that gets harder as the rev's climb. The m50 kind of fades away after 5k or so.

Blitzkrieg Bob

03-30-2006, 06:03 PM

the design.

I don't think BMWs were meant to pound from stop light top stop light.

They were built for highway-Autobahn kind of driving.

Even with my old M20, it can still will spank a ricer on the freeway and quietly crusie past them in a turn without a squeal from a tire

Hypr5

03-30-2006, 06:34 PM

I do understand that... and thats pretty much what im getting at. The m50 has NO highway power whatsoever. It's just as weak as the m20. I thought the m50 (especially the tu) was supposed to be noticeably quicker. It's only quicker from a stop, though.

RobPatt

03-30-2006, 06:40 PM

...as my 525ia w/M50tu tuned and well maintained w/140K miles on it will pull hella more than my buddies also automatic... E28 528e with only 57K miles... (m20 but the eta head?). He rides my car and he's like damn... I loved the M20 in the E30 and the M50tu in the E34 ain't bad... but it's not an M30... nor dual vanos (which I'd really like...). Maybe you got junk in the trunk or something....tires need air, dirty airfilter, something...

Zeuk in Oz

03-30-2006, 06:45 PM

My M20 pulls like a train over 3,000 revs right to red-line - almost turbine-like and quiet to boot.
I just love its smoothness and quietness.

SC David

03-30-2006, 08:25 PM

I just got back from taking my girlfriend to work in her E30 325 here in the city (San Fran). I love driving that little car, although it's a vert which I don't prefer. Whenever I needed to make a quick move, the car went just where I wanted it and was very responsive and very maneuverable. It's definitely a better driver's car, but my M20 E34 isn't too much different, and in fact I prefer it to her E30. Although it may be a bit slower, and there is no doubt in my mind that the M20 wasn't the right engine for such a heavy car, it still is just as maneuverable and all around feels like a more solid car.

Hers has about 50k more miles than mine yet runs much better than mine. It starts smoothly every time, whereas mine needs about 30 seconds of revving to operate well. I love the E30 because it pulls and pulls without stopping. I've only gone to about 90mph in it, but I'm sure it would pull easily up to about 120 like my car does. If the M20 were as effective in my car as it is in the E30 it would be just about the perfect car. I wouldn't mind having those heated sport seats either :)

liquidtiger720

03-30-2006, 09:18 PM

zuzuk212

03-30-2006, 09:24 PM

I have no problem with my tu ... although it's not an auto ... I have no highway passing problems.

Ken

632 Regal

03-30-2006, 09:30 PM

the 530 pulls the same from 80-130. Thats as far as I pushed it with adreneline pumping.

Kalevera

03-30-2006, 09:51 PM

Comparing the ETA/SuperETA to the I motor is a bit disingenuous. A 5 speed ETA car is very competent with the get up and go; automatics are tedious. We have an auto 325e loaner -- we let all of the kids/people with kids take it and it always comes back in one piece :)

best, whit

Hypr5

03-30-2006, 09:54 PM

Hmm....

I really have no problems passing people. The only part I feel my car looses its breath is at the high rpm ranges....like 5500+. It also takes forever to go faster after I hit 125ish mph. 1mph-125mph tho...its smooooooth and pulls nicely.

lol.... judging by the amount of time that it takes to get to 65mph.... I don't think I'd ever have enough space to get to a speed like 125mph. mine must be broken!

Kalevera

03-30-2006, 09:54 PM

I thought this car was what your children drove around in? :)

Anyway, you've got a new head on the thing...of course it pulls like a train (relativistically speaking).

best, whit

granit_silber

03-31-2006, 08:03 AM

Hey guys,

I'm just curious here...
I have an m20 auto e34... The thing is the slowest of the slow and I mean it. Anybody who has driven one knows...

Anyway - I now have an m50tu powered e34 auto - and its got a lot more grunt down low, but things like getting on the highway and passing are no better than the m20 e34. Is this normal?

The engine is rather rough at high RPMs, but I'm not sure how much more power this thing is supposed to have. Can somebody who has driven both chime in?

Thanks!

Maybe your M50 needs a little love. Mine has plenty of grunt. Of course I always wish it had more, but 60 to 100mph times are quick and full of punch! My engine comes on cam at about 3700rpm and from there it pulls like a freight train to 5000 (where the AT shifts). I love it!
-ashley

Lennyz525i

03-31-2006, 11:04 AM

My m20 E34 has been sitting dead for a more than a month now but from what I remember it really lacked low end torque. Like trying to catch a green/yellow light and you're in 3rd gear at 2.7K rpm, ouch...
It always ran really good on the highway though. It pulled from 85 to 100 like there was no tomorrow.

About the M20B25, how does that low end or head eta conversion work again to give it some more power?

Jon K

03-31-2006, 11:07 AM

To drive an M50 E34 anywhere near fast the car needs to have a manual trans. The M50 is a really high revving motor, which isn't necessarily true with the M20. My M50 @ 7k rpm is retarded.

CharlesAFerg

03-31-2006, 01:56 PM

Seems like thats exactly how my North American M20 performs. I don't find it slow at all, and I've been driving in a Porsche 928 lately :-p
...Although I am curious what an M50 feels like... My car is an auto by the way.
-Charles

Curious. I wouldn't describe my M20 525iA as "sloooow." Off the line launches aren't exactly neck-snapping, but once the revs are up the performance is more than adequate, especially when the tranny kicks down. Maybe the Euro M20 is better than the North American version? Or maybe some of the aforementioned slug-like 525s were in serious need of a tune-up?