BMW 320i ? what does the 3 mean?

darren

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Jan 21, 2003, 1:29:48 AM1/21/03

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Hi?

A BMW with 320i on the back does that mean its series 3?
i have a friend with that car but says its a 4 series.....

darren

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Jan 21, 2003, 1:31:51 AM1/21/03

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Also what sort of power does this car put out?
his is 1987 auto....

darren <da...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
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Big Al

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Jan 21, 2003, 2:34:09 AM1/21/03

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Never heard of a 4 series so I think your friend is wrong.

"darren" <da...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
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Lam.H

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Jan 21, 2003, 2:43:51 AM1/21/03

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Your friend may have rebadged his car... possibly taking a 4 from 540i,740i
etc... and place the 4 in front of the 20i.

A friend of mine did that to his 7 series... 007

darren

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Jan 21, 2003, 2:58:06 AM1/21/03

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no it says 320 on the back.... but under the hood he says it has 4series
somewhere.

Lam.H <lhuy...@optushome.com.au> wrote in message
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Juha

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Jan 21, 2003, 3:12:19 AM1/21/03

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Well, it is 3-series . There is no such thing as 4-series.

According to my understanding, the engine in that car is 1990cc (2 liters)
inline-6 (code M20B20) producing 129hp@6000rpm and 174nm@4000rpm.

Someone, please, correct me if I'm wrong.

- Juha -

"darren" <da...@hotmail.com> wrote in message

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Juergen

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Jan 21, 2003, 4:12:38 AM1/21/03

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@Juha,

it could be, that this is still the 122hp engine. Here in germany BMW
offered the 320i at first with 122 hp, then they announced 129hp.

Jürgen

@Darren,

the first number always says the series: here 3 series
the 2 following numbers give a hint to the displacement: here 2 ltrs.
But sometimes the displacement-Nrs are wrong: the former 740i had 4.4 ltrs.
A 1998 323i has 2,5 ltrs. and, very sad: the 530d only has a little bit more
than 2,9ltrs.
BMW has never built a 4 series. Your friend is rong. Maybe he has a 4
cylinder? then it is a 318/316....

Jürgen

Juha

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Jan 21, 2003, 4:52:48 AM1/21/03

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Thanks Juergen,

You may be right, although I have understood that M60 engine (inline-6 with
same 1990cc displacement and 122hp@6000rpm with 160nm@4000rpm) was used only
in E21 320. The car in question was stated to be 1987 model, which refers to
E30 320i. But as I said, I may be wrong. Or did they have 122hp version of
M20B20 available first?

Juha

"Juergen" <Juergen_...@yahoo.de> wrote in message
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Dori Schmetterling

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Jan 21, 2003, 5:57:33 AM1/21/03

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PS. To answer your original question more specifically, the first digit
refers to a model range/body shape.

3-series is the smallest, 5 is mid-range, 7 the largest.

DAS

"Dori Schmetterling" <n...@nospam.co.uk> wrote in message news:...

> "no it says 320 on the back.... but under the hood he says it has 4series
> somewhere"
>

> Darren, the proof of the pudding is in the eating! Let your friend find
the
> phantom phour.... (Or he is a prophet, and he knows something about a
future
> launch....)
>
> DAS
> Direct response: do...@schmetterling.com
>
>
> "Juha" <jmn...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> news:10431427...@news.vaisala.com...

Dori Schmetterling

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Jan 21, 2003, 5:54:40 AM1/21/03

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"no it says 320 on the back.... but under the hood he says it has 4series

somewhere"

Darren, the proof of the pudding is in the eating! Let your friend find the
phantom phour.... (Or he is a prophet, and he knows something about a future
launch....)

DAS
Direct response: do...@schmetterling.com

"Juha" <jmn...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
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Alistair

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Jan 21, 2003, 6:11:25 AM1/21/03

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of course...not forgetting the 8 series, the old 6 series or the new
forthcoming 6 series and 2 series.

--

Alistair

"Dori Schmetterling" <n...@nospam.co.uk> wrote in message

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Mark Ward

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Jan 21, 2003, 6:20:54 AM1/21/03

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Your right, the 3 stands for 3 series, this is just BMW's model type like Ford have a mondeo or
fiesta, you friend may mean that it is the fourth series bmw 3 series rather like a mark 4 or
mark 5 fiesta, just the current type as their have been lots of versions of the 3 series.

Mark Ward

In article <b0ipc9$sba$1...@lust.ihug.co.nz>, da...@hotmail.com says...

Juha

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Jan 21, 2003, 6:39:36 AM1/21/03

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Following that logic it should be second series 3 series rather than fourth
series 3 series :). The first generation of 320 was model E21 (1975-1983),
second E30 (1983-1993), third E36 (1991-2000) and fourth E46 (1998-now).
Remembering we are talking 1987 model, it should be second generation
3-series. Of course, assuming that model year is correct.

I guess the owner of the car just tries to make it sound better than it
really is ;)

Juha

"Mark Ward" <ma...@futurescope.uk.com> wrote in message
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Max Sheppard

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Jan 21, 2003, 10:57:04 AM1/21/03

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It means that your friend is an idiot, who even now is probably out
shopping for under car neon kits, or trying to rip off M3 badges from
other peoples cars.

Max Sheppard

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Jan 21, 2003, 10:58:26 AM1/21/03

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Do you think this idiot is looking at something under the hood referring
to 4 cylinders?

Andy S

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Jan 21, 2003, 2:08:11 PM1/21/03

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Yes the guy is talking crap, but he is also something of a prophet as the
next generation 3 series coupe will indeed be the 4 series (not the current
face/arse lift). BMW have decided that coupe versions of each series will be
even numbers and saloon versions will be odd numbers, hence the next-gen 320
(if they put a 2L engine in it) saloon will be a 320 and the coupe will be a
420. Doesn't change the fact that he's full of bulls**t!

Andy

Paulo Costa

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Jan 21, 2003, 7:14:57 PM1/21/03

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1987 was the last year of the E30 320i with the 122hp version of the M20
Engine. After that, among other changes, they change the ignition system
(Motronic) and the power raised to 130 or 129bhp I'm not sure. This ones
(>87) have different tail lights (higher ones) and bumpers.

The M60 engine is a 8 cyl used in 5 series and 7 series

"Juha" <jmn...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
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Archer

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Jan 21, 2003, 9:09:15 PM1/21/03

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On Tue, 21 Jan 2003 19:29:48 +1300, "darren" <da...@hotmail.com>
wrote:

>Hi?
>
>A BMW with 320i on the back does that mean its series 3?
>i have a friend with that car but says its a 4 series.....
>

Maybe it's somekind of joke.
I saw a BMW 850i and on his rear end there was a "425i" on the left
and a "425i" on the right. Nice idea. :-)

Archer

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Juha

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Jan 22, 2003, 1:28:19 AM1/22/03

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OK then, you must be right.

I'm sorry, I was not accurate with engine codes. I was referring to old M60
available in 1970's, which was the family of small inline-6s and was later
renamed to M20 when BMW changed it's engine naming conventions in early
80's. This old M60 was used in E21 320.

- Juha -

"Paulo Costa" <paulo.fco...@netvisao.pt> wrote in message
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Saintor

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Jan 22, 2003, 6:20:21 PM1/22/03

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We a have in Canada a 320, with inline six of 168HP 2.2L

"Juha" <jmn...@hotmail.com> wrote in message

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JJ

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Jan 23, 2003, 6:31:06 AM1/23/03

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Max Sheppard <max_sh...@yahoo.com> wrote in message news:<3E2D6E22...@yahoo.com>...

> Do you think this idiot is looking at something under the hood referring
> to 4 cylinders?

It was stated that the car was a 320i, and I've never heard of a
4-cylinder, 2-liter, BMW engine. If you have please let me know.

Floyd Rogers

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Jan 23, 2003, 10:24:33 AM1/23/03

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"JJ" <javo...@abv.bg> wrote
> Max Sheppard <max_sh...@yahoo.com> wrote

> > Do you think this idiot is looking at something under the hood referring
> > to 4 cylinders?
>
> It was stated that the car was a 320i, and I've never heard of a
> 4-cylinder, 2-liter, BMW engine. If you have please let me know.

E21, 1976-80.

Also,