Your point is? (Since it appears you have S54 envy..)

 

Any time you push the envelope on an engine as has been done with the S54, you lose durability...that's just a sad fact. Considering everything, I'd say the engine is very reliable though. Other than the bearings issue which has been fixed, there really haven't been any major issues. If you look at other marques, you will find just as many problems...look at the problems Audi had with the S4 engine. Minus a set of bad coils, I've had 50,000 trouble-free miles on my '01, and I got one of the first ones out.

You can't really blame failures associated with forced induction, etc, against its reliability because the engine clearly wasnt designed for that. On paper it would appear to be the worst engine to consider strapping a blower onto, yet it has done surprisingly well.

 

I would have to agree. Anytime you raise compression on an engine, the stress is going to be greater on the internals, therefore more chance of failure. I think bmw was able to fix this and provided a good reassurance in the 100,000 mile engine warranty they gave for the engine failures in 01 and 02.
In terms of FI, you have to know what youre doing. Dont think you can install a SCer and run boost at a ridiculous level. you need to have the internals to back up what youre pushing. think of it this way. say you work out, and you can max out on flat bench at 210 lbs. you wouldnt all of a sudden try to bench 310 just because u want to get stronger. you need to build up you core muscles, the triceps, your back, your bi's, all muscles that play a part in benching. the same goes for an engine. you are going to need stronger pistons, rods, etc if you want to run higher and higher boost when using F/I.

 

S54 has been out since 2001. I think Hyundai has blown more engines then this piece of work.

S54 is also a great platform for upgrading...i.e internals.

 

trolling thread

 

As stated above I do not have S54 envy. I actually have a few very fast cars that cure this. I just seems to me that the S54 was pushed past responsibility. It is capable of what it is doing but at what cost. If the engine was not over-worked then why was it detuned (lower Redline and less HP) for other models made since the induction of the M3. Like i said, there are very few 100,000 plus miles cars (shich is not horrible for a daily driver) that we can do a compression test on to see how well the rings, pistons, ect are holding up. In my Porsche I am running K24 turbos and over 500RWHP out of 3.6L. I know that the block can handle much more with no problems what so ever and be driven daily. I would be very very concerned driving an M3 with similar HP/L power every day. The block just doesnt seem like it will have the potential of its little brother. The S52.

 

Porsche engines are able to handle tons of power. The many guys who have GT640's and GT700 or GT800's can vouch for that.
Either way the s54 has had issues but with the right amount of research and testing i think the SC has worked out. as for a turbo kit for it, we have yet to see one, although DA motorsport is said to be working on one.

 

yes, it's a fantastic engine, and the actual number of failures is in the hundreds, not a bad percentage at all considering how many have been produced.

 

Blown engines.....have you ever heard of "Design parameters"? Saying the S54 is not a great design because of engine failures at high boost levels is an unfair accusation. A stock, unabused S54 is no less reliable than an M54....an amazing achievement considering it performance specs.

 

I was not using blown S54 of an example of failure. I was saying how it dont think it is the cylinder pressure that is causing over stress. I think it is BMW's decision to ring the engine out mos much for top-end HP. The point i was making when i said that they detuned it for M coupe and Roaster.

 

what about the 9000RPM S2000, is that not "pushing the limit"

 

Good point. What about the new GT3 motor? 3.6 liter, 415 bhp at 8400 RPM! 115.3 hp per liter, tops in the market for street legal cars. i think the FXX has more but thats not street legal.

 

S54 is a good stock engine... thats about it.

 

I see that another "Ticking Time Bomb" comment has been made. What is up with you people? The S54 engine is a great engine period. If you don't believe the people who thinks so - ask the Automotive Press and why they awarded it the "Engine of the Year" not just one year I might add. When was the last time Porsche held that honor or even won an award in the other categories?

http://www.ukintpress.com/engineoftheyear/previous04.html

I had an 01 TT 996 and will consider the 997 Turbo when the price is right.

BMW addressed the parts that caused the issues and we still are blaming the "block" for not holding up?

I am a person who can recognize achievements in which others have followed. You name me a car more pursued in the past 5 years by other sport car makers to be the car to beat?(in the respective market)

Why do the comparisons refer so often to the M3? If it is a "TICKING TIME BOMB" why doesn't the press come down on the engine and the car itself?

Because they recognize their peers were right.

 

Porsche always has an engine ranked in the top 3 for 3-4 liter engines. The Cayman S had 2nd or 3rd this for 2005. I can almost guarantee the new GT3 motor will be taking 1st place for int'l engine awards hands down. Dont forget, the Cayman S beat out the m3 i believe? not sure, for internation sports car of the year in 2005.

 

PorscheC4 - don't get me wrong. I enjoy the 993 better than the 996 and the 997 is a much better car than the 996. The 997 brought back what the 993 drivers complained was lacking in the 996 which was feel/soul and of course headlights

But on the link that I posted - Porsche lost out to the BMW 3.2 Inline 6 (6)years in a row. Not even close to the points scale. The reason for this is that the powerplant is there but the relibility was not there. Of course you can toss back the fact that some engines were blown and some recalls happened but even after "ALL THE TICKING TIME BOMB" talk throughout the sports car community it still garnered the best engine award for its category 3-4 litre in those years. Why would that be?

The Cayman S didn't place that high. Sorry to tell you and it placed 5th losing by 148 points to VW's engine. Besides the category that the Cayman placed in was "NEW" engine of the year awards. We all know that the S54 is not a new engine but an incredible record setting engine for awards. BMW 3.2 litre 6 years in a row and you can't dispute the facts.

I am not all things BMW mind you. I am all things good

Of course I am biased to my E39 S62 motor as well.

 

This is kinda dumb. The S54 motor won awards for a reason, it is a great motor.

Comparing it to a 996tt motor is just pointless. My once stock 996tt at only 12k miles, had a massive engine failure, took a month of engine building to fix. Now is that reliable? I dont hear much of S54 blowing anymore since the recall, it was a known problem and now fixed.

 

:boink: Plenty of guys pushing this motor without failure.

 

Ive had a friend whos money shifted 3-2 once or twice and its still kicking, and he redlines it almost daily

 

is your friend's name Sev?

 

Wow, jus wow. Alot of you guys take this to the heart. I think the guy sort of has a point. How long will it last. I mean The RX8 i think won some stupid award and was praised how good it is and what not. I had a 05 and the car sucks, pulls like ****. Three months and 5k miles i had a blown motor. Again i know its no BMW, but i wasnt comparing. I think the M3 is a great car, the motor is kick ass. Iam not sure how long it will last since i dont own one. But i dont think it will be a great high millage car. Why? Well how many 3.2L N/A cars are out there. Will it last up too 100K just fine yes, why? BMW gave the the car the cert lol. I think they know what they are doing and 100k out of a engine that dose so much is more than enough i think. S54B32:bow: dats all i got to say.

 

There was a E46 M3 sold on ebay with 220k miles on it. It was fine nothing wrong with it.

 

We shall wait and see. Unless you have a very good fortune teller.

 

Well, who wants to do some driving to find out?!

 

Speculation is like ASSuming right?

 

I've not really heard of any block failures, could be wrong.
Know failures
1. Rod Bearing issue, (clearance too tight) bearing issue not a block or durability issue here.
2. Some scattered reports of VANOS lock up issues. ( Unknown, very low sample count on this so hardy a reliable measure or statistic)

About the multiple engine issue, could be a number of things (if the engine was rebuilt, or improperly repaired by a dealer tech or improperly broken in etc)

A compression test would tell you how well, a cylinder is sealing or if you had a piston ring issue, head gasket issue, or a valve seating issue. (Leakdown would be a better measure perhaps)

I've not see any stats yet to question the piston rings, head gasket, valve seating/sealing issue, or any serious block failure issues.

So just based on "blow up counts" to infer that the general durability of the engine is in question does not sound reliable to me.

FWIW

 

I've not really heard of any block failures, could be wrong.
Known failures
1. Rod Bearing issue, (clearance too tight) bearing issue not a block or durability issue here.
2. Some scattered reports of VANOS lock up issues. ( Unknown, very low sample count on this so hardy a reliable measure or statistic)

About the multiple engine issue, could be a number of things (if the engine was rebuilt, or improperly repaired by a dealer tech or improperly broken in etc)

A compression test would tell you how well, a cylinder is sealing or if you had a piston ring issue, head gasket issue, or a valve seating issue. (Leakdown would be a better measure perhaps)

I've not see any stats yet to question the piston rings, head gasket, valve seating/sealing issue, or any serious block failure issues.

So just based on "blow up counts" to infer that the general durability of the engine is in question does not sound reliable to me.

FWIW

 

old thread, i hope mine holds up 66.5k now on the clock,

100k/6year warrenty until july 2007..

crossing fingers

 

If you properly maintain your engine i doubt there will be any problems. I admire the S54 because BMW managed to get 333 bhp out of a naturally aspirated inline six- thats good engineering for ya. Unlike a certain car maker who goes by the statement- "theres no replacement for displacement" :tsk:

 

Well I just had a compression test done on my S54 at 90k and got 160 across the board +/- 5. Thats doing ok I guess

 

Have ANY AA SC customers experienced an engine failure yet?

HPF is pushing 500+whp from a completely stock block. Heck, the S54 might be the next 2JZ-GTE, but no one would know due to high replacement cost and the shadow cast over it by the early failures. I've driven an M with over 100k miles; it pulled as good as mine with half the mileage.

 

144k miles on my '01 M3. Still runs strong with good compression. I'm not where your opinion that it is a ticking time stems from. Maybe when I hit 200k you'll change your mind?

 

Weirdest first post ever?

 

Considering this thread was started 8 years ago, I doubt he'll give a damn.