This question extends outside of E39's. How does the BMW naming convention apply to the motor? So I have a 528i which is a 2.8 inline 6. Are the 530i's 3.0 inline 6's. What kind of motor does the 540i have in it, I thought it was a V8. Just looking for some clarification.

This question extends outside of E39's. How does the BMW naming convention apply to the motor? So I have a 528i which is a 2.8 inline 6. Are the 530i's 3.0 inline 6's. What kind of motor does the 540i have in it, I thought it was a V8. Just looking for some clarification.
The 540i/iT has a 4.4 liter V8.

BMW numbering is usually not exact. take the E30 and theE28 325e and 528e, both had a 2.7 I6.

Wade

Wikipedia would be a good start for your research.....

The i stands for fuel injection...I believe...

The first number is the body style (ie. 528i = 5 series)
The last two are the engines size (ie. 530i = 3l engine)

There are a few models that don't live up to this code.....(ie. 01 540i = 4.4l...but a 94 540i = 4l)

confusing??? mabye...
Important??? not so much....
worth researching??? yes...that way when you go to the car meets you know what you're talking about :D

I believe the i in the 528i means inline; not like the othe cylinder sin V.

Back in the day the numbering directly correlated to engine size (for the most part), but not so much any more.

I believe the i in the 528i means inline; not like the othe cylinder sin V.

The "i" is for injection or fuel injection. It started with the bmws of the late 60s to early 70s (like the 2002Ti vs. the 2002) in order to differentiate it from the cars that hard carbs. Since then it has just stuck as all of the cars are fuel injected.

I believe the i in the 528i means inline; not like the othe cylinder sin V.

By this rational the 540i is an inline 8 :eyecrazy




;)

By this rational the 540i is an inline 8 :eyecrazy




;)

you haven't seen the 540v ?:devillook

Back in the day the numbering directly correlated to engine size (for the most part), but not so much any more.

well if i recall correctly, i was reading that on the e36, they had the 318, 323, 325, 328.

although the 323 was still a 2.5 L i read that they didn't want it to be confused with the previous 2.5L

:rolleyes

i is for fuel injected
e is a engine meant for fuel efecenty...meh spelling..
d is for deseil
t is for touring
c is for coupe
s is for special edition
x is all wheel drive
the first number is model
the next two is engine displacemnt in decaliters, but they also lie on that one, but higher number is higher power

thats all i can think of now

m is motorsport, and is a differnt company than BMW AG, and m cars have diffenernt vin numbers that corresponds to that(BMW M GHMB)

I thought the C was for convertable and the S was for sport....
:dunno:

By this rational the 540i is an inline 8 :eyecrazy

And the 760Li must have an in-line 12. :lol

Oter examples.
E23 745= 3,2 Turbo
E90/2 335 = 3.0 Turbo
E36 323 = 2.5. BMW Downtuned the 2,5 liter engine and introduced another 2.8 liter engine which had only 1 horsepower gain from the previous 325i. This was done because 200hp + goes into higher insurance group in Germany.
E46 320 = 2.0 I6 (at least in Europe)
E46 316 = 1.8
E46 318 = 1.9

These are just some examples maybe there are more :)

I thought the C was for convertable and the S was for sport....
:dunno:

from what Ive seen C can stand for either coupe or convertible. Ive even seen some convertibles listed as "330cic" ...but Ive definitely witnessed examples of C meaning different things on different cars

I also thought S was for sport :shifty

These are just some examples maybe there are more :)

Yeah... currently sold E60 528i has a 3-liter engine, and the 535i also has a 3-liter engine, although the two engines are very different. Same goes for E90 328i and 335i.

l is long wheel base as well

td is turbo desiel

and i mispelled bmw m's thingy....gmbh

from wiki
BMWs follow a certain nomenclature in the naming many of their vehicles; a 3 digit number is followed by 1 or 2 letters. The first number is the series number. The next two numbers is traditionally the engine displacement in liters multiplied by 10.
The system of letters is as follows:

d = diesel
i = fuel-injected
x = all wheel drive
L = long wheel base
C = coupe
T = touring (wagon/estate)
t = hatchback
g = biogas
s = sport package