How fast is 528e? 0-60? timing belt interval

[kjtar]

Called on a car in Auto Trader, was sold, but the guy and I started talking and he has a '85 528e for sale. How fast was this car, stock? 0-60 in about 8-9 seconds? And, what's the proper timing belt change interval in miles and also time?

thanks for the replies,
Tom

[altus22]

The 528e is NOT a fast car. The e stands for economy. It has cold cams and a restrictive head. It does have a nice low torque peak if you like stoplight racing. I suggest a 535 if you're looking for an e28.
I think the belt change interval is 40k-60k miles.

[cwsqbm]

The 528e is NOT a fast car. The e stands for economy. It has cold cams and a restrictive head. It does have a nice low torque peak if you like stoplight racing. I suggest a 535 if you're looking for an e28.
I think the belt change interval is 40k-60k miles.

:stupid: I'd expect it 0-60 around 11-12 seconds (or more) based on my friend's car. Not a car for speed demons. It gets pretty good mileage though.

['96ModZ3]

I thought the "e" stood for "etna", the series of the motor. :dunno: It was designed for low end torque and fuel economy as noted. Great car for everyday driving. I just sold an '87 that was running very strong, burning no oil, and still was getting around 26 mpg with 260K on the clock....and the odo had quit working! I also have a 535i with an M5 body kit, very agile car for a 4 door. My son turns 15 next month and this will be his. Nice father/son project car.

[Manu]

Doesn't the e mean "einspritzung" ? :dunno:

['96ModZ3]

Doesn't the e mean "einspritzung" ? :dunno:

I was a little off, the "e" stands for "eta", not "etna". Einspritzung means injected if I'm not mistaken and that was used on the Mercedes nomenclature.

Here's a brief history on the eta courtesy of BMW World:
" eta THE ULTIMATE ECONOMY MACHINE
Eta is the seventh letter of the Greek alphabet. Eta is commonly used in engineering to denote "efficiency," as the efficiency of transmission of power generated in an engine to motive force at the drive shaft. In short, eta is the measure of efficiency. Departing from the 4-cylinder tradition established in the New Class and E21 model lines, the E28 5 Series and the E30 3 Series were primarily 6-cylinder cars. The decade of the 80's was a time for efficiency, especially fuel efficiency. In the 1980's BMW produced an efficient engine it called 'eta'. You can recognize these cars as the BMW 3 Series 325e and BMW 5 Series 528e models. These models shared engines, the 2.7-liter single overhead camshaft 6-cylinder M20 eta engine".