This is right around (a little below, actually) what my 1997 328is makes.
I'll stick with the E36 for the time being... even if the interior is falling apart :-)
Photography by Tim Suddard
How much power did our 15-year-old BMW 328i really make? After changing the fluids, it was time to put the car on the dyno.
We headed to DeLand Dyno, only about 35 minutes away from our base near Daytona Beach, Florida. Call them at (910) 968-6553 or follow on Instagram.
The shop charges $60 for three pulls and another $20 to hook up equipment to test the air-fuel ratio.
We arrived on time, and Nick quickly and professionally strapped our BMW to his above-ground Dynojet.
As our 2011 BMW 328i is rated at 230 horsepower at the crank, we hoped to make about 190 horsepower at the wheels.
Our final numbers? We saw a best figure of 198.47 horsepower and 185 lb.-ft. of torque.
We came out a few horsepower ahead of the game. Perhaps our well-worn engine or those synthetic fluids made a difference.
The curves looked good, too: flat torque with just a slight tapering off, along with a horsepower curve that pulled steadily without any dips or bobbles.
The air-fuel ratio was 13.8:1 at 6000 rpm, so no worries there as well.
This is right around (a little below, actually) what my 1997 328is makes.
I'll stick with the E36 for the time being... even if the interior is falling apart :-)
In reply to randallprince :
Is that at the wheels or the rated crank power? The n52 really is a nice engine, the magnesium block makes it alot lighter than the m52. Those numbers are also on the stock mid power level tune that limits max valve lift. BMW rated the high output tune at 255 horse power, with mods even more. They will not beet an s54 for power but for a street N/A inline 6 they are pretty good.
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