Quote:
Originally Posted by PMP
I think your post is good and you obviously put a lot of thought into it. However, my neighbor (who owns a Lexus and a Maxima) and I just opened up our trunks and took our the mini maglights to compare the cooling system components.
Not seeing it. The BMW has a lot more "shiny aluminum looking parts" (neighbor's description) and roughly the same amount of black plastic tubing in the air intake section. Our door handles are very similar except that mine are larger and his are smaller and the plastic around the handle appears to be softer (and has a bunch of tiny dings in it). My car is newer so that might just be wear.
Not saying you are wrong, but those "cheap" components must be deep inside the car where they cannot be observed from the top. Incidentally, the BMW has a cover on the bottom of the car, the Lexus does not.
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The E39 cooling system was just an example of BMW's car building philosophy. Maintain the feel and balance at all costs, even if it means sacrificing reliability. The N52 in your E90 saves weight in the front end via the magnesium alloy block, so maybe they don't need to use cheapo plastic stuff in the cooling system anymore. I'm not a metallurgist so I can't make any intelligent post about how a magnesium alloy block will hold up over the long term (or not) compared to aluminum. But it is lighter and not as strong as aluminum, which is why BMW went back to the aluminum block for the TT N54 motor. And a lot of it is dependent on the specific application and design anyways. Did BMW get it right the first time around on these mag blocks, or will they have fatigue issues and eventual block failure 5-10 years down the road? Your guess is as good as mine.
Yes, a lot of the stuff that makes the difference is stuff you won't even notice or see.