TURBO DIESEL POWER.
Jspeed said:
That's physically impossible b/c diesel fuel inherently burns more slowly. Since power is a function of torque times revs, the only way to make more powerful diesel engines is to make more torque.
I believe that part of BMW's answer to this is to turbo charge both their 4 and 6 cylinder engines, and at least in the case of my 4 cylinder diesel, I have 4 valves per cylinder. Not sure about the 6.
Nate's interest in a diesel that responds like a gasoline engine would probably be forgotten if he drove a 330d! No turbo lag and gobs of power.
As soon as I get my 320d chipped and make the jump from 136 hp to 178 hp, I will post a review.
The other side of the equation that no one mentioned is fuel economy - something that we are seriously concerned about here in Europe due to the high cost of both diesel and gasoline. BMW diesel engines are extremely frugal.
I drove myself to a business meeting last week (700 km) and my OBC informed me after the trip that the car consumed 4.2 liters of fuel per 100 km at an average speed of 93km/h. Not bad.
Oh yeah, that would be 1.1 gallons of fuel for every 62 miles, so approximately 55 mpg (remember, I hate math).
Lastly, I have driven my 320d about 10,000 km since December and I love it. I have not felt at all that the car is too heavy for the smaller engine. Since I drive most of the time on the highway (100-140km/h), I have found that I have plenty of passing power when needed and then when I switch on the cruise control, I can comfortably cruise along at 2100 rpm in 5th gear.
If my "ship ever comes in", I will have a tough time deciding between a 540d Touring or a M5!
Diesel on ...
Patrick