M3 E9X Designation Combinations

[Kitsune]

When trying to research possible upgrades, I keep running into different combinations of M3, E90, E92, and '3'. (3 Series I guess).

The only time I can ever make sense of it is when they include a 'year' next to the combination. Could someone sort this out for me or link me to something that can detail all of these?

Thanks

[SoreHead]

Originally Posted by Kitsune

When trying to research possible upgrades, I keep running into different combinations of M3, E90, E92, and '3'. (3 Series I guess).

The only time I can ever make sense of it is when they include a 'year' next to the combination. Could someone sort this out for me or link me to something that can detail all of these?

Thanks

Do you mean the whole list of just the E9x series?
My understanding is:
E90 = Sedan
E92 = Coupe
E93 = Convertible

That's for all the engine options and M3.
So E90 328xi is a 3litre (huh?) sedan with AWD.

Not sure what the wagon is but I guess it's an E90 wagon????

[503Alex]

Originally Posted by SoreHead

Do you mean the whole list of just the E9x series?
My understanding is:
E90 = Sedan
E92 = Coupe
E93 = Convertible

That's for all the engine options and M3.
So E90 328xi is a 3litre (huh?) sedan with AWD.

Not sure what the wagon is but I guess it's an E90 wagon????

The wagon is an E91.

[BMWM.D.]

E91= wagon

[Kitsune]

Well, also there seems to be an E90 that isn't of the new M3.

Sometimes I have seen lised 3-Series E90 for example.

[kmarei]

e9x is the shape
not just M3
so an E92 is a coupe 3 series
could be 328 or 335 or M3

[SunnyD]

e9x is the chassis code

[BMWM.D.]

Originally Posted by Kitsune

Well, also there seems to be an E90 that isn't of the new M3.

Sometimes I have seen lised 3-Series E90 for example.

E90 = all BMW 3 series sedans (2006+)
E91 = all BMW 3 series wagons (2007+)
E92 = all BMW 3 series coupes (2007+)
E93 = all BMW 3 series convertibles (2007+)

[SoreHead]

Originally Posted by Kitsune

Well, also there seems to be an E90 that isn't of the new M3.

Sometimes I have seen lised 3-Series E90 for example.

Correct. A non M3 sedan. BMWMD said it all.

Come on man. Keep up. It couldn't be easier.
The 318i is a 143bhp 2 litre
The 320i is a 170bhp 2 litre
The 325i is a 218bhp 3 litre
The 328i is a 230bhp 3 litre
The 330i is a 272bhp 3 litre
The 335i is a 306bhp 3 litre
I think I'm going to be sick.

What happened to the days when a 318 was a 1.8 litre, the 325 was a 2.5 litre etc. Ah the old days when things were simple.

[Kitsune]

Originally Posted by SoreHead

Correct. A non M3 sedan. BMWMD said it all.

Come on man. Keep up. It couldn't be easier.
The 318i is a 143bhp 2 litre
The 320i is a 170bhp 2 litre
The 325i is a 218bhp 3 litre
The 328i is a 230bhp 3 litre
The 330i is a 272bhp 3 litre
The 335i is a 306bhp 3 litre
I think I'm going to be sick.

What happened to the days when a 318 was a 1.8 litre, the 325 was a 2.5 litre etc. Ah the old days when things were simple.

Things were once simple?

[djMpower]

Originally Posted by SoreHead

Correct. A non M3 sedan. BMWMD said it all.

Come on man. Keep up. It couldn't be easier.
The 318i is a 143bhp 2 litre
The 320i is a 170bhp 2 litre
The 325i is a 218bhp 3 litre
The 328i is a 230bhp 3 litre
The 330i is a 272bhp 3 litre
The 335i is a 306bhp 3 litre
I think I'm going to be sick.

What happened to the days when a 318 was a 1.8 litre, the 325 was a 2.5 litre etc. Ah the old days when things were simple.

Alright... I can sense I'm about to sound really stupid... but is the displacement not in the model designation anymore? I was under the impression that the current 328i was a 2.8L inline 6 and 335i was a 3.5L TT inline 6. It would only make sense. If not, then it looks like BMW went batshit crazy.

[mkoesel]

Originally Posted by SoreHead

Come on man. Keep up. It couldn't be easier.

...

I think I'm going to be sick.

Somewhat unbelievably, it is actually much more complicated than even what you said:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMW_E92

Originally Posted by djMpower

Alright... I can sense I'm about to sound really stupid... but is the displacement not in the model designation anymore?

See above. And actually, historically the model number never really consistently represented the displacement. There has always been at least a few models that didn't follow that "rule". Although today it is much worse.

[BMWM.D.]

Originally Posted by djMpower

Alright... I can sense I'm about to sound really stupid... but is the displacement not in the model designation anymore? I was under the impression that the current 328i was a 2.8L inline 6 and 335i was a 3.5L TT inline 6. It would only make sense. If not, then it looks like BMW went batshit crazy.

With the E46 (U.S.) models, it was fairly straight forward; 325i= 2.5 liter, 330i= 3.0 liter. I take that back, the 323i always had a 2.5 liter M52TU.

It got a bit more complicated with US cars when the N52 and N54 engines came out. All the current U.S. 6 cylinder models are 3.0 liters. The early 325i and 330i E90 models were both 3 liters as well, the 330i just had a different intake and an extra 40 hp or so.

I think BMW's reasoning for the current models (ie. 328i & 335i) are of nostalgia and to differentiate the performance of the 2 models. The 328i is a name that dates back to before world war II. I guess they could have called the base model a 330i, but 328i does have a ring to it.

The 335i has a twin turbo 3.0 liter. I think they chose the 35 number to express the massive increase in performance over the previous 330i cars. With both current 6 cylinders being 3 liters, there had to be some sort of compromise in the names, IMO.

[signes]

And get ready for the F-chassis designations starting with the new 7-series (F-01), then the 5-series (F-11)...