carwow claims the S85 was the best M engine ever

veer90

Lieutenant
Nov 16, 2016
1,000
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West Nyack, NY
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e90 335i 6MT
lmao hell no

if we're talking M motors, I would take an S54 with the rod bearing recall done over an S85 any day. Cheaper to upgrade, cheaper to swap, etc etc. sounds better too (but that's subjective).

S85 is just a massive pain in the fucking ass for anything except the oem application. for no good reason. and even in the oem application it breaks all the freakin time.
 

gmx

Specialist
Dec 8, 2017
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BMW 1M
S54? Seriously? Iron block? Great for an I6 but even a S38 is up there and better if we take time into context. S54 really peaked the I6 iron block development, however it's a dinosaur by newer standards.
I have no interest in messing with my N54 other than simple bolt-ons, small improvements, and maintenance. Should it let go or even the turbos for that matter, S85 will seriously be considered.