The Reason Why This Is The Best BMW 6-Cylinder
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- čas přidán 19. 06. 2024
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/ visioracer
- Timestamps -
00:00 Intro
01:27 Origins of the S54
02:45 Characteristic features
04:38 Why is it so good?
05:30 CSL-made S54B32HP
06:06 Is it reliable?
06:50 Maintenance
08:02 Models and production numbers
08:51 Final words
- Disclaimer -
This video is fair use under U.S. copyright law because it is transformative in nature, uses no more of the original than necessary and has no adverse effect on the market for the original work.
- Credits -
“BMW E46 M3 CSL noise and acceleration” by Motor
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“Short Film [4K] - E46 M3” by BIMMERCLUB // EXPEDITED
• Short Film [4K] - E46 M3
“BMW E46 M3 Drive Film” by Overtake Films
• BMW E46 M3 Drive Film
“BMW E46 M3 racecars on Nordschleife - S54 intake sounds” by Belgian-Motorsport
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“The BMW M3 (E46) film. Everything about the third generation BMW M3.” by BMW
• The BMW M3 (E46) film....
“BMW Z4M Tribute | Video by Szatrasie” by szatrasie
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“989 BMW E30 S54 SMG underneath restoration” by József Kiss
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“700HP BMW M3 E46 Time Attack MONSTER | Vortech Supercharged S54 Engine AMAZING Sounds!” by NM2255 Car HD Videos
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“BMW M3 CSL Engine Bay & Carbon Airbox Up Close” by Al S
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“BMW e46 M3 CSL carbon Intake sound/roar! - #ProjectCSLbuild” by Stone Automotive
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“BMW M3 CSL Acceleration LOUD Carbon Airbox” by borjarzz
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“Axel Nörenberg - BMW M3 E46 CSL Rallycar | PURE SOUND [HD]” by PMRallyeVids
• Axel Nörenberg - BMW M...
“E46 M3 CSL Airbox induction noise, SCZA Exhaust” by Alex Brown
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“BMW E30 M3 with fully tuned S54 engine” by Jake W
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“BMW M3 E46 S54 Brutal Engine Intake Sound while Driving” by Dom2506
• BMW M3 E46 S54 Brutal ...
“Sweet BMW S54 sound!” by Axis Of Oversteer
• Sweet BMW S54 sound!
“E46 M3 0-280 SMG Launch Controll” by Hipek_M3
• E46 M3 0-280 SMG Launc...
“BMW E90 WTCC M3 | S54 intake sounds & flybys (2019-2021)” by Belgian-Motorsport
• BMW E90 WTCC M3 | S54 ... - Auta a dopravní prostředky
As an owner of 3 S54's, I absolutely love them I rebuilt all of them, bought them for pennies with a rod knock, new crank, rods, WPC treated cranks there super reliable, NA is the way to keep them, if you want more power N54 is the way to go.
The N54 is pretty damn good. Are you wanting 700+ from the N54? Fueling is the first obstacle. Second is airflow in and out of the engine and that includes head work because N54 heads are really bad for airflow, but they can handle 8000 RPM.
I prefer US spec M52B28 with the cast iron block for boost :)
@@Michael-rp5tc B58 > N54
@@danielplumley2649 I have only seen aluminum block m52b28
We had an bone stock s54 e46 which was used by the black falcon team in VLN Racing. The car had 120tkm only racetrack and the engine was never opend. i think with proper use you dont even have problems with the bearings.
I like using your videos to teach my son about engine design. Thanks for all your great video content.
ayee I'm glad to see visio doing a deep dive into the s54, a truely underated masterpiece of an engine that pushed the limits of physic and engineering. I've been obsessed for 6+ years but recently started consuming all the s54 content available so this is really a great treat!
Underrated by who?
@@posniknelb6114 anti raspers
Love your engine videos and its always lovely to see a vid abr actual sport engines
Oooh! The wet dream of my youth roars again! I'll have no sleep tonight :) Great material - thx VisioRacer!
The S54 sounds good, but the S38 sounds better
Not quite, but the s38 sounds great, but it doesn't rev as free or high as the s54
@@posniknelb6114 Maybe stock, but show me an s54 that makes as much power NA or sounds as good as this:
czcams.com/video/EFszZ3tB-g0/video.html
Agreed, so does the M88 (M1 engine)for that matter.
I also don't agree with the "it's the best 6 cylinder bmw ever produced" at all for that matter. It was amazing for its time but that's really looking at it through nostalgia tinted glasses.
Damn straight...
It's the best NA six cylinder. It has the best specific output.
Great video, keep on with the good work 🙂
CZcams algorithm must b out of wack, bruh I haven't seen ur vids in literal years lol. Glad ur still doing ur thing....
Another fantastic video, the daughter of a friend of my dad's had a BMW (He didn't give me any specifics) but he did tell me because she didn't drive it hard, the underside of the cam cover got covered in oil!
What?
🤪
Sounds terrific!!
As an owner of an E46 M3, I can attest that the S54 is a special engine. It sounds great and it's smooth all the way to the redline. The VANOS solenoids sometimes fail, but VANOS has other more significant problems, the exhaust hub and the seals as well as the camshaft hub bolts. If the exhaust hub fails, it can destroy the engine. These problems can be relatively inexpensively prevented.
Fantastic timing, I'm on an inline 6 kick right now! Found a dream car for sale but I can't afford it.
Awesome videos. I had a BMW K1600GT, and man, what a beautiful sound, performance, and reliability. They make amazing inline 6's.
YASSSSSSS
S38 for me anyday!!! Long live the 80's & 90's
Yeah, it's one of the best engine's of all time ❣️👌🏼
With the carbon airbox, it sounds so awesome... like a racecar ❕
Love from Berlin 🇩🇪
Ramsi 🙋🏻♂️
I had a E46 M3, titanium silver with 6spd. Great car. Regret selling it.
This made me miss my M3 so much... it's been 3 years since I last saw it.... its still sitting waiting for me to come back in my storage... Being stationed overseas sucks T-T
Great video as always. I hope you can make 1 for the Mercedes om617 engine
Yes it is a great motor, I mostly rebuilt one and put it in an e36. I have been using Redline oil and Ceratec, and it is a low oil consumer. I did have one oil analysis and it was excellent. I have shimmed it twice, and early but it shows no major wear. I am not properly geared for it with a 3.23 diff but that's ok I drive it to track days. I may change to a 3.46 or drop it to a lower value so I can use 2nd gear more, otherwise I will be using 3 and 4 mostly. The ratios are the same for the ZF until overdrive with the 6.
I think the 3.8L R6 engine from the e34 ///M5 is better had the same hp 340+....
@@schaltgetriebe6726 oh, that 3.8 is sweeet, a big step up from the e28 m5, essentially the M1 motor, I think.
@@samthing4thetrack806 My first car wos a ///M3 e30 i wos 18 and my Father say to me boy you are young you can only buy 4 zylinder.
That time i find a e28 ///M5 and want that car sooo much but i took the e30..
Now this cars costs over 100 000 + and i had no one... Shit happens.
The e30 ///M3 i destroy completely in a Race... 😪😪😪
@@schaltgetriebe6726 tragic in both ways! but at least you had time with a great car!
This is my favourite inline-six ever!!!!!!
Great video!
Do Mercedes inline 6 cylinders next please 😁😁
Would love a video on m103s and m104s
The "54" SERIES of motors are all amazing
I like the Australian setting for the video
I wouldn't say there's a lack of a successor, I'd argue the Current going B58 with its potential to reach 1000hp with Forged parts is worthy. And best part, you can afford one in the 140i and 240i
It is nothing short of a masterpiece.....
i'd pick a S38 tho
E will never replace ICE.
Hey VisioRacer. What is the most common, reused inline 4 car engine found/used everywhere in most cars in europe?
My bet is on Volkswagen Engines. Like the EA211 and the EA888. They are everywhere. Audis, VWs, Skodas, Seats and so on. There are millions and millions of these Engines on European Roads.
Great engine. I never knew 👍
Interesting, at 1:17 he shows an M3 accelerating hard on a mountain road in Victoria, Australia. Possibly Gippsland or the Dandenong ranges judging by the big trees..
The S50B30 doesn’t have a scavenging pump. The B32 got that (and is not an extra one, but an extra function).
I just installed a CSL Intake on my s54 , catless , it sounds like everything you want it to...
Love the S54❤
Ive ridden the 330i and ,and it is a real nice sounding engine, has a nice curve to it powerwise.
But so expensive, maintenance wise.
It blew up at 227k km . Such a shame That my dad mistreated the car like That :(
I've had a 3 litre z4 with same engine and that was absolutely bullet proof and cheap to maintain imoap
S54 Yea my favorite BMW engine 👍
Man I wish the E46 was cheaper over here in latin america, Over here the E90s are much cheaper for some reason.
Great video, How much is it for a E46 over there in Europe.
Unrelated question, but what was the song used in this video?
This engine is the epitome of an inline 6 normally aspirated engine
Bmw and Porsche are great 👍 👌
even tho i like the V8 more than the i6, this is still pretty amazing.
What about the 325e 2 door inline six?
S50B32 sounds the best
It's how BMW acknowledges when an engine consumes a ton of oil, but does nothing to fix it. The F10 M5 engine has the same issue, with BMW just saying "oh, just add more oil."
best sounding inline 6 bmw ever made. now they all sound like honda four cylinders.
Yaay, Ive been doing oil change every 3000-5000km, better pay for oils than for rebuilding engine
A V12 Based on two S54... that thing would have been great
You got most of it right, only it's an "ae", not "ah", when pronouncing "scarce". IDK why, it violates the common English rule.
Otherwise, great video!
Thanks, will remeber that!
Just as important of how an engine performs.. reliability should also be taken into as much consideration when naming it "best"
"Best" is definitely a matter of opinion
Heres is another one? 4.0L I6 from TVR!
The S54 gets my nod as the finest naturally aspirated engine of all time.
McLaren F1 BMW V12 engine?
@@bayerischemotorenwerke5252 um, were probably talking about something most people can afford and find.
@@wed3k OP said "finest NA engine of all time", BMW has made better engines
There are so many N/A engines that are better, hell BMW themselves have made better N/A engines. In particular the E92 M3 with the S65 comes to mind although the S38 & S52 are solid too. Sounds way better, weighs less, better throttle response, more power, etc.
Even though they are very different, I would call the s65 a direct successor to the S54. High revving high power N/A engines.
It really hurts that the E92 went to V8. It would have been amazing if instead it was a ground up designed all aluminum 3.8L 400hp straight 6 with ITB’s and maybe even dry sump for packaging purposes. Then the F10 M5 could have used a twin turbo version of that motor for over 500hp.
The astonishing thing about BMW engines, is the fantastic engineering and development teams cannot make an oil pump housing seal that doesn't leak.
The greatest M engine of all time, in my opinion, of course.
You forgot to mention the S52/S54 was based off the Mclearen F1 V12, its basically exactly half the engine. If you watch on board videos of the F1 it has a very familiar induction noise similar to an S54 with a carbon air box. 😎
I don't think that's true...source?
The designs are very similar but it was actually the S70/2 (McClaren engine) that was based off of the S50.
2.7 M20 eta
Prefer the S50B32 personally.
mine has 310k miles and still pulls hard :)
The fact that this video isn't about the M20 is very frustrating.
Z4MC owner
i think i should use 10w60 oil too on my aircooled bike!
Fidel, you should use Castrol oil.
To be honest with you VisioRacer, BMW never really made reliable engine. Majority of them suffer major issues like oil leaks, failing gaskets, overheat, failing timing chains, seizures, rod knock,oil starvation etc etc. Take any petrol Honda, Toyota engine in comparison with BMW. Not even close... unfortunately.
That's true, BMW cut alot of corners for the sake of cost mainly with plastic components that warped/cracked over time. Currently own many BMWs including S54 but also Toyota's, have to agree Toyota and Honda have some excellent engines
@@mrsam5350 H,B,K, and F series Honda engines are LEGENDARY!
Wonder if BMW will follow Nissan in starting up production again?
6-Cylinder
I think with the availability of cross flow heads and cheap turbo kits I'd rather have a built ford 300 that will just run no matter what instead of an engine I have to treat like a basket full of eggs
Sorry - nothing in my mind is better than a S38B38 (in BMW world)- an engine family (M88) that was used in actual racing vs an engine that was only really used in road cars, had problems with oil consumption, rod bearings etc - the S38 had none of the issues the S54 had (S38 was a very dependable engine), made more torque and imo better sound.
In racing form they were braking crankshafts in half.
Better go with a 330ci, much more reliable
Totally agree, I own S54 & M54 & M52 & N54, I use them all hard, on the road and track/drift, the S54 is great but too finnecky, M52 & M54 are great in all respects apart from power. The N54 is something I'm working with ATM to get to a reliable state of high power, but fingers crossed it always works well (apart from too many sensors/BMW parameters causing issues) The M52/54 is the sweet spot
S54 lacks torque/poorly matched to the body.
You have to rev the snot out of it to get it going.
Drop it in an e36 M3 and now you’ve got something.
I’ve had every iteration of the M3 and the e46 was my least favorite.
Just my opinion.
I agree that the engine doesn't feel like it was matched well to the E46 body. 269 lb/f just doesn't feel very impressive in a 3500 lb car. The cars are still fast because of the wide power band and high redline, but they're not especially fun to drive in my opinion.
On a side note, I have to say that I disagree that the S54 has to be revved up to make power. They have a super flat torque curve and the torque surges at just over 3000rpm and stays strong until redline - very impressive for its time.
Best body: E46.
Best engine: S58.
Put them together.
Maybe B58
@@mrsam5350 S58 is a higher performance version of B58.
@@exothermal.sprocket yep I know, but from what I've seen / people I've spoken to there are less issues with the B58
@@mrsam5350 Perhaps.
Yet, even with a modified 2JZ, arguably the higher horsepower versions will have more problems, unless someone has poured cash into them.
I stole one of them last year
I got an e46 m3 with extra hardtop and spare wheel set and valve adjustment tools with shims for $11k
I’m still orgasming every time i drive it
Mozem len potvrdit,ze je to naprosto uzasny motor. Uz davno co som predal tuto e46-ku a dodnes to povazujem za velmi velku chybu. Zial nebolo kde garazovat,tak musela ist. 😢
Poznám takých ľudí, čo ľutujú pred E46 M3
Why can't every motor be a v12 though.
Shame that EU killed it in 10 years no more engines.
clickbait image in list, specifically shown to make people open content to see.. which part author think is "the key"
Best BMW engine is M50b28 no vanos
M50b25 is best 😅
No question about it bro
The best bmw engine is diesel powered, the m57d30. It doesn't break
"Reliability among BMW fanatics" 🤪🤣🤣
Or...... IF they run, they run good
Omg 1.5 litre per 1000km. 1.8 tfsi, where are you now?????
s54>s38
S52 is better
6:50 My question to BMW: In what world is it "fine" for a road car engine to consume 1.5 liters of oil per 1000km? Sure, the engine is powerful, but it's not an F1 engine, and it doesn't even have forced induction. 100 horsepower per liter isn't uncommon these days either.
"These days" as you say. But you have to put in context that this engine was sold 2 decades earlier ! And its predecessor a decade more ! The S50b32 was the first road engine to reach 100hp per liter 🫡
@@laurentbruneel9382 Well I'm not a car expert, so I don't know for sure, but I still don't believe that kind of oil consumption would've been generally accepted even back in the day.
@@Tuppoo94 It is. Close to every high revving Engines are consuming massives amounts of oil when they are at high engine speeds, like 7000+ rpms. And also keep in Mind, that BMW is claiming these Numbers because they know that an M3 is not your average grocery getter which chills at 1500-2500 RPM for most of its life but more likely gets beaten the crap out of it.
You're right, this kind of oil consumption seems exaggerated. I had an S50 and it burned strictly no oil.
Maybe one thing to consider remarkable for this engine is its high revving abilities according to its long stroke. Compared to others high revving engines of this era like Honda or Ferrari, torque delivery in mid range is way better. And this undersquare characteristics could explain the stress and wear that rod bearings suffer from.
@Retired Bore I was not considering motorcycle engine, should I have precised it...
343hp? 😂 Kia's V6 powered Sedona minivan, makes 300hp.
But keep in mind that that V6 has a slightly higher displacment of around 0,3 Liters and also is close to 20 Years newer then the S54. :)
@Maximilian Bönicke and the v6 is turbocharged
yes but s54 is too cool for spool
@@anhondacivic6541nope, NA.
@@Twobarpsi it was the v6 I was talking about
"reliable" my ass
it's the same kind of reliability 6.0 PS owners talk about, it's reliable once you "bulletproof" it.
Nah m57 is better
Unmatched xD Are you kidding me? Maybe in europe.
This car is a very overrated pos. Heavy as a boat, handles like crap, crappy interior, no potential. Yes, compared to fiat punto or peugeot 206 it is a rocket, but compared to other sport cars it`s a bmw.
The CLK55 is better to drive, faster, sounds better, and is reliable