S54s has no direct successor, so BMW S65 V8 engines power the succeeding M3 generations.ĭue to the emission regulations in some countries, such as Europe and the United States, power and torque outputs may vary. S54’s Engine Control Unit (ECU) is Siemens MSS 54. To avoid oil deprivation during corners, BMW integrated S54 engines with scavenging oil pumps to manage lubrication which is also present on S50 engines but not on regular S50B30s. It uses an electronic throttle control (replacing mechanical linkage), and its bucket-style tappets were replaced by finger-follower valve actuation. There is also an increase in the bore size to 87 mm and the compression ratio from 11.3 to 11.5, resulting in a 3,246 cc displacement. In comparison with the BMW S50 engine, S54s engines are equipped with revised camshafts, also known as VANOS (Variable Valve Timing for BMW), on both intake and exhaust camshafts which enhances the engine’s responsiveness at different operating conditions. A high-revving engine has a redline of 8,000RPM and much more productive compared to the previous BMW S52 engine. Though M54s and S54s carry the same number, they don’t share much apart from a few parts.īMW S54’s engine block is made from cast iron, and its cylinder heads are made from Aluminum.
BMW S54 won the best engine in the international competition of power units for their 3.0 to 4.0 Liter category in 2001 until 2006. S54s debuted in E46 M3 in 2000 and have been in productions up until 2008. However, it is actually more of a BMW S50 evolution and shares only a few parts with its smaller brother, M54. So today, we will talk about BMW’s S54 engine, which is marketed as the high-powered variant of the M54 engine. It only shows that inline-six is capable of warranting the consumers the power they demanded and wanted, that they don’t need more cylinders to achieve higher ceiling outputs.
Before the V8 era, inline-six was the thing and remained there for a long time, even competing against their bigger counterparts.
It is a fact that the last naturally-aspirated inline-six S54s was the highest output engine before the invasion of V8 motors on the market.