I am curious..

[JBranton]

While I was scrolling through cars on autotrader, I noticed that all 2006 330i BMW sedans, have a 3.0L Inline 6 Cylinder engine, which I thought was limited to the 2006 330Ci coupe model, with the ZHP Performance Package. This made me wonder, so I did some research (on Edmunds and Kelley Blue Book) and found that the 2006 330i Sedan model comes standard with that 3.0L engine, which generates 255 hp at 6,500 rpm I believe (this is all for a 6 speed manual don't know if it is different for an auto). The 2006 330Ci Coupe with the ZHP Performance package with the same 3.0L engine is listed to generate 225 hp at 5,900 rpm. I am curious if this is an editing error on the behalf of the sites, or a $3,900 option from BMW, that does not live up to its performance package name.

[Marcus-SanDiego]

The 2006 330 is the E90. That's why it has more horsepower. It's a different platform.

The 2006 330 coupe is the E46, which is why it's putting out 235 HP for the ZHP.

[danewilson77]

The 2006 330 is the E90. That's why it has more horsepower. It's a different platform.

The 2006 330 coupe is the E46, which is why it's putting out 235 HP for the ZHP.

In the FAQ?

[Marcus-SanDiego]

Not in the FAQ.

[mimalmo]

IIRC, the E90 330i isn't any faster than the ZHP, despite the hp advantage.

[Marcus-SanDiego]

I've heard that. Something to do with final gear ratios, torque, etc. No?

[mimalmo]

Weight and ratios were the things that come to mind.

[Marcus-SanDiego]

And weight. Thanks, Eli.

[rikdee]

Different engine, not an M54. It is a N52 in the 2006 E90 330i making 255hp. In 2007 it was superceded by the twin turbo N54 as th 335i and subsequent three series iterations.

[az3579]

IIRC, the E90 330i isn't any faster than the ZHP, despite the hp advantage.

This. I wouldn't necessarily say it's because of the weight, but probably the way the power's delivered. Regardless, if there is a difference, it's absolutely minimal and probably in the hundredths or thousandts of a second.


Different engine, not an M54. It is a N52 in the 2006 E90 330i making 255hp. In 2007 it was superceded by the twin turbo N54 as th 335i and subsequent three series iterations.

I always found it weird how the E90 was offered the N52 only for one year. I also find it interesting that this seems to be a trend with BMW; whenever a new 3 series comes out, the existing engines are only offered for a year or two before getting a whole new engine. (E30 started with M10B18 and M20B27, then offered an M20B25, E36 started with M42 and M50, and then offered the M44 and M52, E46 started with M52 and then went to M54, etc.)

I guess it's safe to assume that the new generation engines aren't going to be that much more powerful than the previous ones, and the increases in power are minimal to offset any weight increases. That's what happened here with the E90, IMO. That N52 ain't that much better than our M54's...

[nike001]

I feel like these e46/e90 discussions are an every day occurrence now..

I drive several e90's a day and I can say...they are sluggish. ..except 335. and even the pre-facelifts feel somewhat slow. I remember driving a 335 that was a stick and I couldn't tell if it was a 328 or a 335 because it felt about the same as mine...only a bit faster. I got back to the dealer.. looked around, low and behold it was a 335. So... Not impressive. Neither is the driving experience. The auto 328 has an annoying pitch/whine. The manual 328 likes to be revved a lot when starting out. The manual 335 is weird and numb, takes geting used to. The auto 335 is pretty nice..for a DD or whatever.

I'd still rather my zhp. Except for maybe a m-tech 335. Those are out of my price-range though ;)