[db17k]

Originally Posted by 3aficionado

Yes. Fuel aside, by definition a direct injection engine should produce more power than an indirect injection engine.

"Direct injection refers to fuel injected straight into the combustion chamber above the piston. The technique has long been used on diesel engines in place of indirect injection into a prechamber. The newest systems use high pressure and timed delivery to dramatically reduce soot and smoky exhaust.

Direct injection also can be used in gasoline engines instead of regular fuel injection. This results in cleaner emissions, increased full-throttle power, and potentially better fuel economy." - CNET Car Technology Term Glossary

For additional, yet simplified, information on Direct Injection technology see this WikiPedia page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gasoline_Direct_Injection

Lets hope if BMW uses Direct Injection they also keep their double-VANOS technology for even more efficient operation.

Direct Injection, like the Lexus IS has. . .

[abc]

Originally Posted by db17k

i don't think they'll increase the horsepower for the three series untill 2007 when the 2008 models come out, that seems to be the trend. wait two years after the new model is released then increase the power. like the 1999-2000 328i (197 HP), and the 2001-2005 330i (225 HP)

that's how it's been in the past, but right now if they repeated that it'd be a bit too held back for us to feast on when all the other 'lesser' players top bmw on the HP game.

earlier 2005 bmw did say they are giving in to the HP 0-60 game for NorthAmerica... and we'll see changes sooner than we think... now i haven't seen anything yet, i thought they couldn't possibly halt the initial specs of the e90 engine, and they did not... so if more HP doesn't come in the 2nd yr of the e90 then all the noise was just noise, which really would be kinda sad.

[skatemur]

well if indeed BMW North America does choose to make some powertrain changes for the 3 series to up its HP figures, does this mean that the coupe/cabrio prices will be much higher than the sedan? In other words, with possible power increases, what kind of MSRP do you expect the coupe to carry with it?

[3aficionado]

Originally Posted by skatemur

well if indeed BMW North America does choose to make some powertrain changes for the 3 series to up its HP figures, does this mean that the coupe/cabrio prices will be much higher than the sedan? In other words, with possible power increases, what kind of MSRP do you expect the coupe to carry with it?

The cabrio is always more expensive than the coupe which is more than the sedan. If they make nominal displacement changes and change badgings we could see either little change in price or an entire line increase of, maybe, $1000-$1500US. This is a SWAG based on the minor increase that occurred when the e46 was rebadged in 2001.

So to follow this SWAG, the current e46 330ci MSRP is $37,600US. A new (not rebadged) e90 330ci MSRP would be/have been $38,400US. And a rebadged 330 turned into a 335ci could start at MSRP $39,900US.

BMW is already more than the IS350. To increase the price over $40K MSRP to match the IS HP would negate the benefits. The HP junkies would turn their arguments from ‘the G and IS has more HP’ to ‘it costs a lot more money to buy similar HP in a BMW’. BMW won’t want to price themselves out giving more fuel to the competition. This is just a guess.

[David328M-Sport]

Originally Posted by Gavinw

Not to mention different gasoline's octane rating. California maxes out at 91, I know Georgia has 93. The standard octane rating for premium in Europe is 95, and BP's is 97. The fuel used has an effect on power output.

hey gavin,

just to clarify octane ratings, there are 3 standards, RON, MON, and PON.

europe and here in australia and various other places around the world use the RON rating. in the USA the PON numbers are used.

a 98RON rated fuel has a PON equivalent number of 93/94.

so the octane ratings you see are not universal numbers, with the RON rating being the oldest and probably most in need of updating.

i hope this helps.

all the best.

[skatemur]

Originally Posted by abc

earlier 2005 bmw did say they are giving in to the HP 0-60 game for NorthAmerica... and we'll see changes sooner than we think... now i haven't seen anything yet, i thought they couldn't possibly halt the initial specs of the e90 engine, and they did not... so if more HP doesn't come in the 2nd yr of the e90 then all the noise was just noise, which really would be kinda sad.

so if this is indeed true, which seems more than likley, especially since BMW is willing to introduce the M5 and 6 with standard manual transmissions, specifically because of American buyer demand, then what kind of figures would you all think we'd be looking at for HP in the coupe? Somewhere in the 265 range like the 1 series? Would this require adjustments to the exhaust? Sorry for the torrent of questions that im sure have either already been answered, or arent really answerable as of yet, but i am just very curious about the 3 series, the e92 to be specific. I was looking into the IS350, but after test driving it, im not sold on just straight line acceleration. So it seems as though the Ultimate Driving Machines are what i will be buying in the future.

[abc]

yeah man, a prestigious lux/sports coupe should bang out in the 275-300 HP range.. but more realistically for BMW it'd probably be 265-275... some number above the 4door model.

[abc]

Originally Posted by 3aficionado

The cabrio is always more expensive than the coupe which is more than the sedan. If they make nominal displacement changes and change badgings we could see either little change in price or an entire line increase of, maybe, $1000-$1500US. This is a SWAG based on the minor increase that occurred when the e46 was rebadged in 2001.

So to follow this SWAG, the current e46 330ci MSRP is $37,600US. A new (not rebadged) e90 330ci MSRP would be/have been $38,400US. And a rebadged 330 turned into a 335ci could start at MSRP $39,900US.

BMW is already more than the IS350. To increase the price over $40K MSRP to match the IS HP would negate the benefits. The HP junkies would turn their arguments from ‘the G and IS has more HP’ to ‘it costs a lot more money to buy similar HP in a BMW’. BMW won’t want to price themselves out giving more fuel to the competition. This is just a guess.

yes BMW should really eat the cost of injecting these HP upped engines... at most, an increase of 2-300 bucks... beyond that... people are going to do cost comparisons and like you said, negate the plus 'feel' injected from the 'ooh' factor of more powerful engines.

[sward]

In Sweden, and the rest of Europe, the modelyear is when the car is registered for the first time. So there are no E90 2006 yet in Europe. This was a change a couple of years ago and not everyone follows it.

The problem is that technicaly a E46 could be a 2006 if it hasen't been registered yeat.