For 2016, BMW’s venerable 3 Series has received what BMW likes to call an LCI (Life Cycle Impulse) update, because calling it a refresh would be too blasé. Anyway, this update gave the 3 Series some new headlamps, taillamps, some new interior bits, sport seats as standard, some new wheels and even a new engine. The latter is available in the newly formed 340i and it replaces the old N55 found in the 335i.
The BMW N55 engine was something of legend. It was easily one of the best engines on the market throughout its entire tenure, regardless of what else was on the market. It was jet-turbine smooth, powerful and made a great noise. It was everything one could want from six inline cylinders. But, like all things, the N55 must retire and it will be deeply missed. However, some say when losing a good woman, the best way to get over her is to find another and that’s exactly what BMW did.
Enter the new B58.
Part of BMW’s new modular engine architecture, in which all engines will have 500cc cylinder displacement and will be flexible between 3,4 and 6 cylinders, the B58 is the top-dog of its new engine family. Much like the N55, the B58 displaces 3.0 liter (though it’s technically a tad bigger, at 2.998L compared to 2.979L) and uses a TwinPower twin-scroll turbocharger, though the B48’s is also a bit bigger with a 6 percent increase in turbine wheel size and 10 percent increase in compressor wheel diameter. The B58 will also feature most of the N55’s engine technologies, such as direct-injection and BMW’s Dual-Vanos and Valvetronic systems.
BMW has also stressed temperature management in the B58, more so than in the N55. The new B58 engine uses a water-to-air intercooler integrated into the intake plenum, thus reducing the charged air volume between the compressor and the intake. This increases performance by maintaining more even temperatures inside the intake. BMW has also incorporated an engine-mounted encapsulation system, which allows the engine to retain much of its heat for up to 36 hours which helps to reduce emissions and wear and tear during start-up, especially in colder climates.
During our recent trip to Mexico to spend some time with the new BMW 340i, we got a technical briefing on the new engine, explaining all of this. During this briefing, many of us were nervous that the new B58 wouldn’t have the same specialness of the N55. New doesn’t always mean better, right? Well, wrong in this case. They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. If that’s the case, the N55 must be downright blush right now. After sampling the B58, we realized it was doing one helluva N55 impression, except it might have even been a bit better.
The B58 is still as smooth as ever, as if it were running on liquid silk instead of gasoline. The power comes immediately and surges as the rev needle climbs. It still amazes me how BMW is able to make its turbocharged I6s feel naturally-aspirated. Not a whiff of turbo lag, just smooth, deliberate power. You can trim the throttle mid-corner and get back on the power on corner exit without a hint of lag. And the noise, what a noise. This new 340i could make the M3 look bad. It sounds like BMW I6s of old, with a throaty, metallic rasp and a wail as the rev needle touches red. It’s a gem of a motor, it really is.
For those of you who will miss the N55, fear not. One of the journalists on our press trip owned an E92 335i coupe, with the famous N55 engine, and claimed that the B58 was just as good. That may sound like damning the B58 with faint praise, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. The new BMW B58 engine is every bit as good as the N55 and maybe even a bit better.
[Source: WardsAuto]
I also own a e92 335i Coupe with the N55 (love it) and I can agree with everything you mentioned about the engine, smooth, a nice note, and that turbo spooling sound when you lay on the gas!
I drive one 335i sedan N55. Fantastic. “State of art” engine. To be better?? I don´t know how.
Great, really interesting article! And nice to know BMW still knows how to make a great engine ! :D (of course they do)
A very good engine, no doubt.. with the timing chain in the back, no thanks..
oooow ..what a shitty design …engine cover …flat imitation
Hi all Bmw rates it n55 engine ,Waite when the valve Tronic motor fails and semi trailer is up your ass ,it’s just the start wth there problems and the Bmw bill ,good luck with this crappy design and Bmw .I owned Bmw for 30 years never again.
Why to late you change? 30 years!!!
lol. you need to english better…
Will they be better ?They need upper crank bearings :) already as of 03/16 . What a disaster this company has become . guides, bearings going bad on 70% of their engines ,pissing oil from every corner possible , starters are replaced as maintenance items , etc etc .
Built obsolesce ,
my .02
I must have a different 340i/B58 than the one lavishly praised in the review. I’ve had my 2016 340i XDrive for four months and put close to 5K miles on it. It’s my fourth 3 series in a row since 2003, all with turbo 6 cylinders, so I’ve put a lot of miles on the series over the years. The first sign of trouble was when the car was pulled from delivery for a recall – something to do with the fuel injectors – on its way to my dealer. I find the turbo lag and driving hesitation very noticeable and irritating, especially when recovering from a turn. The engine feels like its always minimizing itself (fuel economy?) and is sluggish and irritatingly slow to respond. It even shows this pattern in Sport mode. When I get on it, the car is fine but that’s a small percentage of the actual driving time. Dealer says the car “is within specs” – the classic response. It may be that the engine is fine but the engine/tranny programming is poor. Hopefully there will be an update. At this point, I want the new car but with my old N55.
get an m2
Not missing the N55, still stuck with the N54 in my ’07 135i.
N54 > N55
We will see where we get with the B58. My N54 is pushing 500hp with not the slightest problem.
well statistically the N55> N54 on any mechanical related topic for reliability, period. And my n55 is 520WHP and its a daily. Sooooooo there is that. lol
I just picked up an M240i with the B58 engine. I previously owned an E36, E46, E90, and F30 3 series, an F80 M3 and an F25 X3. After having four doors most of my life I figured it was time for a change (several friends referred to this as my mid-life crises. But no. That happened when I bought my Jahre 30 M3). I have also owned classics like the 2002tii and 1600ti. Let’s just say I know BMWs and I know them very well.
I haven’t had the M240i long but I have had it long enough to know that this engine is by far the smoothest engine I’ve had. It’s like butter. Candidly, there are some “amenities” that came from the factory which I am not exactly thrilled about. For example, the rev-matching on downshift that is simply put, pathetic and can only be turned off by disabling the M dynamic control. But we’re talking about engines and in one word, this engine is just fantastic. It is a driver’s car and that is largely due to the B58.
I have read some of the comments below about engine issues. Were break-in procedures followed? Are you running tunes like the JB4? Do you use 93 octane? I know plenty of people who have experienced engine problems before. I am not saying BMW doesn’t have its flaws but of those people I know about 90% of them were abusing their car. Either by using tuning software that caused the engine to operate well beyond factory specifications, or in how they took care of the car (e.g., not following factory maintenance procedures at a minimum). There is still that 10% left and yes it sucks but if you want a sports car capable of doing the things that BMW does you are bound to see some issues from time to time. This is true for the Audis and Porsches of the world too. I have seen those problems first hand so let’s not kid ourselves.
At the end of the day we are looking at the N55 replacement and I will gladly say that it is just as capable, if not more capable, than the N55 was. For those of you who want the most out of your car… Dinan just put out the Stage 1 tuner for the F22 and managed to bump hp from 325 to 414 and torque from 369 to 478 ft/lb. If that doesn’t say something about this engine I don’t know what else to tell you.
The BMW blogs and f30 post/forums are now swamped with B58 related engine issues- nothing the like ever seen with the N55. It is weird stuff too- as if the penalty for smoothness is cheapness.
dont waste your money on Dinan crap. Its over priced and their gains are extremely optimistic just like everyone says on e90 forums.