Why is E90 325i named 325i??

Ever wonder how BMW name their cars? For a very long time the first digit is for product line, the last 2 digit is the engine displacement. However this trend seems to be off 'a little' before, with the rollout of 2.5L 323i... even by then I thought they just tried to roundoff the digit to make things easier. All until the introduction of E90 325i....

Here's what it says in brochure I got under 325i:

"3.0-liter dual overhead cam (DOHC), 24-valve inline 215-horsepower 6-cylinder with composite magnesium-aluminum engine block and VALVETRONIC system"

With a newly design 3.0L engine, shouldn't that call 330i instead of 325i?

Now let's look at the engine for 330i:

"3.0-liter dual overhead cam (DOHC), 24-valve inline 255-horsepower 6-cylinder with composite magnesium-aluminum engine block and VALVETRONIC system"

Looks exactly the same to me, except it has 40 extra hp... can some experts advise what actually contribute to such huge change? Maybe a more aggressive ECU map?

Reply » Why is E90 325i named 325i??

As a 325i buyer, I'm hedging my bets thinking that's mostly ECU. I think I can get my car up to 240hp with an ECU flash.

Reply » Why is E90 325i named 325i??

BMW's names are supposed to show the series of the car and the engin displacement. For example, 330i means its a 3 series with a 3.0l engin. Recently, they have deviated from that on many occations. Your 325i with a 3.0l engin is one of many examples.

When the E46 first came out, there were two models: 323i and 328i. The 328i had the 2.8l engin as the name plate implied, but the 323i did not have a 2.3l engin as it seemed to indicate. It actually had a 2.5l engin. 2 years later, BMW killed both model numbers and replaced them with the 325i and 330i, which corrently indicated the respective engin displacements. If BMW sticks with this move, at about 2008 model year, the 325i will be dropped and the 330i will become the next lower model and the 335i that we are hearing about will become the next top of the line 3er. BMW may introduce another lower model (kinda like the E46 320i) at that time. Or, they may not and get the 1 series, which would be in the North American market by 2008, to play the role of the entry level BMW. I personally think the second scenatio is more likely.

That's just what I think based on what BMW did before. This does not in any way mean that this is what they will actually do though... Only time will tell...

Reply » Why is E90 325i named 325i??

I think there's more difference between the 325 and 330 engines than just the ecu, but good luck above

Interestingly, in the UK (and Europe?) the 325 is actually a 2.5litre, but we also had some wacky numbers recently like the 320 being 2.2 and the 323 being 2.5

Reply » Why is E90 325i named 325i??

We've had this discussion before. Different intake and different ECU.

Reply » Why is E90 325i named 325i??

Now their names reflect the 'effective' engine size. It more closely reflects the relative power than the actual displacement as it did before. Just as Intel and AMD abandoned the GHz naming scheme in favor of effective speeds, BMW has adopted one power plant core that they can tune to different effective power levels through various means. With the 335 likely being the same engine with dual turbos. But not a 3.5 liter engine as the old naming scheme would suggest.

But there will be more to these cars than just an ECU. Read through some of the other threads and you will find more differences than is apparent on the surface. It will likely not be practical to turn a 325 into a 330!

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