Because these S engines have been an offshoot of different engines, it’s possible you’ll suppose that the S54 would merely be the high-performance model of the M54 engine that was additionally launched within the 12 months 2000. However, that’s solely partially true. In phrases of title, that’s precisely what it was, however in its construct, the 2 have been fairly totally different. Instead, the S54 took its cues from the earlier iteration of the S engine, the S50, which was in manufacturing from 1992 to 2000.
The S54 was made with a forged iron block, as an alternative of the aluminum block of the M54, and featured a bore and stroke of three.4 in. by 3.6 in, leading to 3.2L of displacement, in comparison with the biggest 3.0L variant of the M54. The commonplace situation S54 was referred to as the S54B32 and was capable of generate as much as 338 hp and 269 lb-ft of torque, which was wherever from 17 to 56 hp greater than the previous S50. This can be the engine you’ll put in most passenger BMWs, just like the E46 M3 or E85 Z4 M Roadster.
BMW additionally created the S54B32HP variation of the engine, which signifies that this was the high-performance model and was solely out there in 2003 BMW E46 M3 CSL. This engine upped the ability to 355 hp and 273 lb-ft of torque, nevertheless it additionally weighed much less because of parts like utilizing a MAP sensor as an alternative of a MAF one and making the consumption out of carbon fiber.
[Featured image by Hatsukari715 via Wikimedia Commons | Cropped and scaled | Public Domain]