The United States offers a near-unparalleled space to be an automotive enthusiast. With some of the lowest gas prices on the planet, an enormous amount of aftermarket companies, and an abundance of...
Cam bearing ledge wear is the most common VANOS-related performance issue on high-mileage N52 and N54 engines and the earliest series of N55s. Due to an overlook in design, there's a seal that will eventually wear and cause a myriad of issues. Although it may appear as a simple oil leak and some...
BMW introduced the pencil-style ignition coil to the US market in 2001 with the S54 engine. The one-piece (coil and spark plug connector are integral) design simplified the preceding two-piece, and within a few years, all of BMW’s engines were using the new style. The M54 engine received these...
The E36 and E46 M3s are some of the most accessible sports cars available on the second-hand market. BMW got it right around the new millennium, offering sport sedans with qualities that enthusiasts could get behind. Specially designed engines provided impressive power and an otherworldy noise...
Last year, FCP Euro Video Editor Stephen Coppola and I discussed power delivery problems with his SpecE46 (an E46 330i built to an agreed standard) and how he was down on power and speed relative to other cars that should be more or less identical. The engine from his race car is original to the...
Compression testing is one of the most common procedures for checking the relative health of an engine. After all, engines are air pumps, and without compression, they tend not to work well. If you ever want to know where you stand in terms of the overall health of your engine, a compression...
I’ve found that the most modern, highest-performance vehicle often isn’t the most fun to drive. Given a twisty road and the choice between a 650-horsepower, turbocharged, all-wheel drive supercar with 335-section tires or a 20-year-old M3, I would prefer the BMW. So how far does that train of...
BMW fuel injectors have been a hot topic for many owners over the last decade or so. The switch to direct fuel injection made BMW’s N5X and B5X-series engines some of the most capable Euro tuner platforms of all time. However, their initial Piezoelectric-style injectors were anything but reliable...
The N55 was a welcomed replacement for the potent but problematic N54, but in recent years, it’s developed a reputation for eating connecting rod and main bearings. Even though the internet cites frequent failures, it got me wondering: Is that reputation justified, or are a few isolated cases...
The N52 was a fixture in BMW’s lineup for nearly a decade. It’s a reliable engine suited to the highway and the race track. However, a recent recall has made light of a potential fire hazard within their PCV systems. If you own an N52-powered BMW, this is something you’ll want to fix. What is the...