BMW M54 Engine Valve Seat Wear - It Could Be Causing Your Power Loss

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...

Everyday cars need a level of practicality, though that often interferes with a light curb weight—a quality every great performance car strives to have. It all depends on how it’s packaged, though, and the Volkswagen Mk7 GTI is both practical and light, not to mention quick, affordable, and...

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 Mk6 Volkswagen Jetta GLI shares several parts with other high-performance VWs built on the PQ35 and MQB platforms. The standard components are reliable and tested designs that have been developed over years of GTI and GLI evolution. They also give the GLI excellent braking performance right...

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...

Sure, Volvos are known for their safety, but those who’ve never driven one won’t realize that they offer luxury and comfort on par with many of the offerings from BMW and Audi. Depending on the suspension optioned on a particular model, they can also be quite sporty and fun to drive. The P3...

It’s hard to grasp just how small a company Porsche used to be. Today Porsche advertises itself best through owners, who share images of their cars painted in bespoke and specially chosen colors with personally selected interior trims and bits, but it wasn’t always like that. In its first few...

The P3 chassis piggybacked off one of the most successful Volvo generations of all time and never did quite match its predecessor in terms of sales success. However, the P3 carried on Volvo’s safety, reliability, and comfort in a striking new chassis for the world to enjoy. Now, as used models,...