The BMW N52 is a

naturally aspirated Naturally may refer to: ;Albums * '' Naturally!'', an album by Nat Adderley * ''Naturally'' (Houston Person album) * ''Naturally'' (J. J. Cale album) * ''Naturally'' (John Pizzarelli album) * ''Naturally'' (Sharon Jones album) * ''Naturally'' ...

straight-six petrol engine which was produced from 2004 to 2015. The N52 replaced the

BMW M54 The BMW M54 is a naturally aspirated straight-6 petrol engine produced from 2000 to 2006. It was released in the E53 X5 and is the replacement for the M52 engine. The S54 is the equivalent high performance engine, used in the E46 M3, the Z3 M ...

and debuted on the E90 3 Series and E63 6 Series. The N52 was the first water-cooled engine to use magnesium/aluminium composite construction in the engine block. It was also listed as one of

Ward's 10 Best Engines 10 of the World's best engines is an annual list of the ten ''"''best''"'' automobile engines available in the U.S. market, that are selected by '' Ward's AutoWorld'' magazine. The list was started in 1994 for Model Year 1995, and has been drawn ev ...

in 2006 and 2007. In European markets, the N52 began to be phased out following the release of the

BMW N53 The BMW N53 is a naturally aspirated straight-six petrol engine which was produced from 2006 to 2013. The N53 replaced the BMW N52 and was released in 2006 in the post-facelift E60 5 Series. BMW never sold the N53 engine in North American, Austr ...

in 2007. However, in markets such as the United States, Canada, Australia and Malaysia, the N53 was deemed unsuitable due to the high levels of sulfur in the fuel. From the year 2011, the N52 began to be replaced by the BMW N20 turbocharged four-cylinder engine until production of the N52 finished in 2015. Unlike its predecessors, there is no

BMW M BMW M GmbH, formerly known as BMW Motorsport GmbH, is a subsidiary of BMW AG that manufactures high-performance cars. BMW M ("M" for "motorsport") was initially created to facilitate BMW's racing program, which was very successful in the 1960 ...

version of the N52. __TOC__

Design

Compared with its M54 predecessor, the N52 features Valvetronic (variable valve lift), a lighter block due to the use of a magnesium alloy and an electric water pump (replacing the belt-driven water pump) and a variable output oil pump. The redline was increased from 6,500 rpm to 7,000 rpm, except for N52B25 (130 kW). Like the M54, the N52 uses

electronic throttle control Electronic throttle control (ETC) is an automobile technology which electronically "connects" the accelerator pedal to the throttle, replacing a mechanical linkage. A typical ETC system consists of three major components: (i) an accelerator ped ...

and variable valve timing ( double-VANOS). Higher output versions of the N52 use a three-stage

variable length intake manifold In internal combustion engines, a variable-length intake manifold (VLIM),variable intake manifold (VIM), or variable intake system (VIS) is an automobile internal combustion engine manifold technology. As the name implies, VLIM/VIM/VIS can vary ...

(also called "DISA"). The N52 engine block is made from a combination of magnesium and aluminium. Magnesium is lighter than aluminium, however it has a greater risk of corrosion from water and may creep under load at high temperatures; this makes traditional magnesium alloys not suited for withstanding the high loads to which an engine block is exposed. Therefore, BMW used a magnesium alloy for the crankcase shell, with an aluminum 'inner block' to overcome the limitations of magnesium alloys. The cylinder liners are made of Alusil and a hollow

camshaft A camshaft is a shaft that contains a row of pointed cams, in order to convert rotational motion to reciprocating motion. Camshafts are used in piston engines (to operate the intake and exhaust valves), mechanically controlled ignition systems ...

is used to reduce weight. The

engine control unit An engine control unit (ECU), also commonly called an engine control module (ECM), is a type of electronic control unit that controls a series of actuators on an internal combustion engine to ensure optimal engine performance. It does this by ...

(also called "DME") is a Siemens MSV70.

Models

N52B25

Applications: * 2006 E90 323i — Canada and Australia * 2004-2007 E60/E61 523i * 2006-2008 E85 Z4 2.5i Applications: * 2007-2011 E90 323i — Canada and Australia * 2010-2011 F10 523i * 2009-2011 E89 Z4 sDrive23i Applications: * 2005-2010 E83 X3 2.5si, xDrive25i * 2005-2010 E60/E61 525i, 525xi — except U.S. and Canada * 2004-2013 E90/E91/E92/E93 325i, 325xi — except U.S. and Canada * 2005-2008 E85 Z4 2.5si

N52B30

The models of the N52 have a bore of , a

stroke A stroke is a disease, medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemorr ...

of and a

compression ratio The compression ratio is the ratio between the volume of the cylinder and combustion chamber in an internal combustion engine at their maximum and minimum values. A fundamental specification for such engines, it is measured two ways: the stati ...

of 10.7:1. Variations in power output are often due to different intake manifolds and variations of engine management software. Applications: * 2006-2007 E90/E92/E93 325i, 325xi — U.S. and Canada only * 2006-2007 E60/E61 525i, 525xi — U.S. and Canada only * 2006-2008 E85 Z4 3.0i — U.S. and Canada only * 2008-2011 E82/E88 125i * 2008-2010 E60/E61 528i, 528xi — U.S. and Canada only * 2009-2010 E84 X1 xDrive25i Applications: * 2007-2013 E90/E91/E92/E93 328i, 328xi — U.S. and Canada only * 2008-2013 E82/E88 128i — U.S. and Canada only Applications: * 2010-2011 F10 528i Applications: * 2004-2007 E63/E64 630i * 2005-2007 E90/E92/E93 330i, 330xi * 2005-2008 E65/E66 730i * 2005-2009 E60/E61 530i, 530xi * 2009-2015 F01 730i * 2008-2011 E89 Z4 sDrive30i * 2009-2011 E84 X1 xDrive28i * 2009-2012 E87 130i * 2010-2011 F25 X3 28i Applications: * 2005-2008 E85/E86 Z4 3.0si * 2006-2009 E87 130i Applications: * 2006–2010 E83 X3 3.0si * 2006-2010 E70 X5 3.0si, xDrive30i * 2007-2010 E63/E64 630i * 2007-2013 E90/E92/E93 330i, 330xi

N51B30

The N51 engine is a

SULEV Super ultra-low emissions vehicle (SULEV) is a U.S. classification for passenger vehicle emissions. The classification is based on producing 90% fewer emissions than the average gasoline-powered vehicle. The SULEV standard is stricter than the stan ...

version of the N52 that was sold in parts of the United States that had SULEV legislation. Differences to the N52 versions include a

variable-length intake manifold In internal combustion engines, a variable-length intake manifold (VLIM),variable intake manifold (VIM), or variable intake system (VIS) is an automobile internal combustion engine manifold technology. As the name implies, VLIM/VIM/VIS can vary ...

("DISA") with three stages instead of one, and a

lowered from 10.7:1 to 10.0:1.

Recalls

In 2017, BMW recalled 740,000 six-cylinder models due to reports of the heater for the crankcase ventilation valve short-circuiting and causing a fire.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bmw N52 N52 Straight-six engines Gasoline engines by model