BMW 128i Engine: Complete Guide

BMW has been manufacturing engines for aircraft, automobiles and motorcycles, since 1917. And from then till now, it is not stopping to produce the powerful machines that rule under the hood. If you want to know about the top 11 strongest engines of BMW know here! From in-line engines to V12 turbo engines, BMW never went out of the line of the most successful engine manufacturers. Among all these, there’s one iconic engine that we’re going to know about, and that is BMW 128i Engine. Here’s the BMW 128i Engine: Complete Guide.

If you start making a list of the best BMW engines, then you might end up with nothing but only scratching you’re head. Well, it is definitely very tough to find the best among the best. The BMW always carries a breathtaking message in its name. The ‘M’ in the middle of the BMW stands for “Motoren”. The meaning of “Motoren” is engines. From aircraft to motorcycles BMW made its name from the beginning of the company. The BMW 128i(2011) not only made the engines more powerful but also very fast and efficient. Here’s the complete Guide for the BMW 128i.

Specifications of BMW 128i Engine

The BMW 128i has 6 cylinders and the type of engine is inline. The engine code was N52B30, and it was the first water-cooled engine. It uses the aluminium/magnesium composite construction in the engine block. There has a feature in BMW 128i called variable valve lift. And because of the use of lighter material in the block and head, the redline was raised from 6,500 rpm to 7,000 rpm except for one BMW engine mode i.e. N52B25.

This engine uses double-VANOS, which is electronic throttle control and variable valve timing. But there are some drawbacks of the engine too. Because of the magnesium used in the block, there are more chances of corrosion in the engine due to water. Also, it may creep under high temperature. The cam-type in the BMW 128i engine is a double overhead cam (DOHC). The BMW 128i engine has been first used in the 2009 BMW 1 Series 128i car. 

Configuration of BMW 128i Engine

The BMW 128i engine is a petrol fuel type engine, with the fuel system of electronic fuel injection. The lubrication in the BMW i8 engine is the wet sump and the coolant used in this engine is water. The engine alignment is longitudinal and the engine size is 182.8 cu-in. There are 24 valves in the BMW 128i Engine.

The compression ratio is 10.7 and the engine produces the maximum power of 231 PS or 228 bhp or 170 kW at 6500 rpm. The maximum torque produces by the engine is 271 Nm or 199 lb. ft @2750 rpm. There is a 6-speed manual and automatic transmission gearbox. The curb weight of the engine is 3,352 to 3,494 lbs. The bore of the BMW 128i is 85 mm(3.35 in), and the stroke of 88 mm (3.46 in).

Fuel Consumption of BMW 128i Engine

The combined fuel consumption means the fuel consumed by this engine on the highway and in the city as well is 10.7L/100km or 26 mpg UK / 22 mpg-US. And if we look separately at the fuel consumed on the highway and in the city then, on the highway it’s 8.4L/100km or 3.4 mpg UK / 28 mpg-US. And in the city, the fuel consumed is 13.1L/100km or 22 mpg UK / 18 mpg-US.

The fuel capacity of the BMW 128i engine is 53L (11.7 UK gallons and 14 US gallons). 495 km or 308 miles is the maximum range of the BMW 128i engine. And the estimated CO2 emissions by the engine is 255g/Km.

Performance 

The top speed of the engine is 209 km/h or 130 Mph and the engines reaches 0 to 100 km/h in just 6.4 s.

Drawbacks

• The most common issue in 128i is the leakage in the valve cover gasket and the crack in the valve cover. You can recognize this problem if there is oil all around the valve cover and the threads of spark plugs are oily. 
• Sometimes there are failures in the electric water pump. As sometimes the car goes into limp mode and it is advisable to replace the electric water pump at every 60+ miles.
• Sometimes the leakage in the windshield washer tank happens and the fluid starts running low often. And sometimes there happens to be a pool of fluid under the car after filling the tank.
• If there is leakage in front of the engine around filter housing or oil pooling on the ground under the car or on skid cover then there might be oil filter housing gasket failure.

The Notes for maintenance and required parts of the 128i engine 

Here are the maintenance of the engine and required parts list:

• The BMW LL-01 Oil of ~6-7 qts is used in the BMW 128i engine. 
• The oil filter used in this engine is  Mann-filter HU 816 X.
• The spark plug used in these engines are  NGK LZFR6AP11GS, NGK 6619 LFR6AIX-11.
• The air filter used is Mann Filter C27 114.
• The cabin filter used is Mann-Filter CUK 8430.
• The coolant used is 1gal BMW coolant + 1gal distilled water, mixed 50/50.

Many engines in the market got launched and got vanished, some very soon and some with ruling the market for adequate time. But the BMW 128i engine is from the list of evergreen engines. However, the production of this engine gets stopped by the BMW because of the modern engines. But if you’re a lover of the BMW 128i engines then you can look for the used engines of BMW here. And also, you can know about how to check the quality of the used engine?