Re: High milage...

[kohlbren-m-d@xxxxxxx]

Harry Hargrave <d7nn7s@domain.elided> wrote:

>   I've almost 168K on a 92 535i.I've noticed no indication of wear,but I'm
> not certain that the engine hasn't been rebuilt.I strongly suspect that
> BMW balances its engines to finer spec. than do other manufacturers,which
> contributes to longevity.In the interest of selling more cars,its not 
> surprising that BMW dropped this engine after 93.(in the US,anyway).

I disagree with the idea that BMW would purposely build cars
that "wear out" so as to sell more cars.  Repeat customers are
going to dry up if the cars fall apart quickly.  Word of mouth
can hurt a manufacturer's reputation if a particular car is
known to not make it to a reasonable mileage.  I am convinced
that a significant factor in the overall cost of ownership of
a new Honda/Toyota is the high resale value due to their
reputation for longevity.  Lease residual values are probably
effected this same way.  Look at the lengths that Hyundai is
having to go through with their extremely long warranties in
order to recover from their horrible reputation of a decade
ago.

As for the discontinuance of the "Big 6", I think that was
simply a case of a decades old design that had run its course.
While it is an extremely durable engine, it is heavy and would
require a lot of work to bring it up to current standards of
performance, efficiency and emissions.  I'm guessing that BMW
decided to bolster the performance envelope from below with the
"Baby 6" and fill in from the top with the more modern V8s.

The current 3.0 liter "Baby 6" now makes more power than my
3.5 liter "Big 6" (225 vs. 208 hp), has a broader torque curve
due to the VANOS system (albeit at a lower absolute level
of 214 v.s 224 ft-lb.), and likely has better efficiency and
emissions performance to boot.

Regards,
Mike Kohlbrenner

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