The N20 is pretty good, if not a slightly fragile engine on the timing side.. the B48 is what you want. Again, look at Vehicular DIY for his exploration into the N20/B48
Stage 2 N26 owner here, glad my 50/50 weight distribution is getting some love 🥰 Unfortunately gotta sell it since I’m moving to Japan but should be a lot of fun!
Congrats on finding a car, I have had similar thoughts about a 328i set up for handling with the added benefit of a 30+ MPG daily but finding a car that isn't already dead or too expensive because it is actually still running is proving to be difficult.
Timing Chain Failures has entered the chat, i know from experience :( only did timing chain 30k miles ago already failed, did 5k oil changes too so no good
I own a 2016 328i and I see the hate it gets but its honestly not that bad. I plan to own f80 m3 or a 2021 m550i next but I'm glas to see 4 cylinders get more love I got stage 2 tune on mines and people say it picks up and theses are people with already fast cars.
Having come from the small N20 community i loved working on the N20 during rhe first 2020 summer lockdown i had so much fun being off work ordering parts ans installing on my 125i and spoke to good people on the N20 groups in the process
These cars are getting quite cheap, and the manual ones aren't too hard to find, so I definitely see a second life for these as enthusiast cars once all the normies move on to newer stuff. Yeah they've got timing chain issues, but the tools and parts are readily available and it's fairly DIY-able if you've got a little bit of wrenching know-how. Turbos are super easy to swap too, I did one not too long ago on a customer car and I recall it being one of the easiest turbo replacements I've done. They have fuel tank leaking issues but the BMW TSB is replacing a lot of them for free, so in the future most of them will have new tanks. Beyond that, the F30 is an incredibly easy chassis to work on.
Just like you mentioned Danny - we've got the parts and DIYs for people to follow on those harder to tackle jobs on the N20 Like Timing Chain and Turbo. Once you get past some of those initial problem areas, the F30 as a platform becomes something super special.
Cool to see the F3X 328i getting some love. I love the performance and sound of both the B58 and N55 but with limited front tire clearance, you definitely feel a little bit of the weight over the front axle.
I really wanted the new 2 series to had a 4cyl sports variant (call it 228 si/is/ti/tii) with the same engine of the 128ti and a few extras because while the 220i is more balanced than the m240 or M2, but is very porky for its power and the brakes are not sporty enought. Cool build you are getting yourself into, i just subbed to see your following updates.
Cant wait for a fcpeuro build on an n20. Great job guys. I personally am looking forward to this series. Take it to the next level guys, high hp, reliable n20. Build the motor!!!!
Navardi tuned has a baffled oil solution you can buy off the shelf + weld into a Uro aluminum pan. this fixed the RWD varient, AWD has a hump in the oil pan and doesn't see the same oil starvation issue
Loved my 16 428, but closer to 50k miles I got drivetrain malfunction message after flooring it out of the corner. In that case it didn’t comeback after restarting, but I got rid of the car for different reason soon after.
We think they'll have a second wind with 3rd owners, sure they take some maintenance and care, but that's what we are for haha We have the parts and DIYs!
I own arguably the least liked F30, a 328i Gran Turismo, and am greatly looking forward to this. I'd love to create a 328si GT, or 328i GTsi, however it would be described.
Amazing that the lowest spec F30 you could find comes with a full leather interior in red, Harman/Kardon sound, a sunroof, M-sport pack (even if added by previous owner), the larger display and the fact that it's a 328i and not a lower model. What the actual fuck lmao. You'd be hard pressed to find any F30 in Denmark that was this nice - or even to find anything that isn't a base 320d with cloth interior and the tiny display. Don't even get me started on ones with sunroofs. That's so crazy. How can Denmark be connected directly to Germany yet we have the absolute worst selection of BMWs, and at exorbitant prices?
Awesome video guys, that’s a lot of work to get together the cars and shoot them and give the historical perspective on the four cylinders. I’m very excited for the series.
Hope it can take the power but working for BMW I've seen a decent amount of straight 4's grenade themselves stock for god knows what reason. They're decent little motors but BMW straight 6's blow them out of the water reliability and performance wise.
FBO n20 was my first modern bmw. Extremely reliable after the timing chain replacement from FCP. I got the car at 169k. The next owner is still enjoying it at 180k.
I have owned four new BMWs before buying a new F30 328i with manual transmission and M-sport package. It was a nice looking car that was roomy but was the most boring BMW I have ever owned. When it comes to the engine, it is okay in terms of power but it had poor response due to the turbo lag and made the engine have less character than the previous responsive engines. I really hope you can make it fun without braking the bank but I doubt.
This is so cool. I was really looking forward to doing something similar and buying a 430i (b48 with lower compression ratio) to do a build with - but unfortunately here in the UK i can't yet get insured on it. However, I can get insured on the B48 420i - but i'm not sure if it's worth it or not. I don't know if there are other differences besides the higher compression ratio that might cause me problems, so not sure if i'd be making a bad investment. Any ideas?
I own a 2012 N18 in a Mini R57. It's more closer to a Peugeot engine but is a BMW made. I wonder how much it shares in common with the N20. Both engines struggle with timing chain issues but I've been pretty impressed with the torque and sound of my N18. Truly a wonderful car and engine if taken care of.
Awesome just did a full refresh of my 328i. Love this car. Wish this video would have come earlier but FCPeuro was definitely a big help in getting the knowledge and parts to do the job. Including timing chain replacement
@@Krezo200 we had to do it on this car, and basically any other N20 in our lot - sometimes as early as 60k if poorly maintained but usually around 100k 😕
@fcpeuro-media My experience has been around 80k,but I am thinking it is a time issue also now. I just did two 2013 X3s,one had 55k,the other only 43k. Both had the usual broken guides,and the 43k one needed rod bearings as well.
Very good video man! Even just a few minutes in, I can appreciate and compliment the content, editing, information presentation and everything. First time encountering your channel, but will be on the lookout
Well done FCP Euro! 💥💥💥 I think it's the perfect time for F30 to be used as a track car, especially given that you can't find a decent E90 let alone E46 anymore. Looking forward to seeing the full build!
This video couldn't of come at a better time... ive really been on the fence about selling my car ( 2013 328i ) with a semi rare build Sport Package 6MT / RWD / Slick top with HK / HID ... It was either ( get rid of it as is running fine ). Or keep and redo suspension / chains and possibly a new turbo to get rid of that wastegate rattle.. This series might be what I needed to start doing some updates vs selling a perfectly looking car that I dont owe $1 on.
Hold onto it for a few more weeks at the very least.... let us show you the way, we promise this playbook will make you never want to sell yours - you've got a proper spec!
i had a n20 328i and the reason why i havent touch one again it`s cuz i lost to a lexus f sport i mean it was stock but it broke my heart of how slow it was 😮💨
A Lexus F Sport what though? You can get almost every model in F Sport trim with every engine variant. My buddy has an IS250 F Sport and the 328 crushes him. But I could see a 350 being tougher to beat.
Do frequent oil changes on n20 so the plastic chain guides don't snap (85% of the time that's what causes the timing chain issue in those engines). Ir just to preventive maintenance and replace the guides all together when u buy a 4 cylinder. The n20 is reliable bro I'm on my 2nd daily 3/428i well over 100k miles and not a single issue . Its absolutely not a garbage engine so long as u maintain it and don't drive it like an M6
The n20b20 is terrible, it has timing chain/chain guide issues, premature rod bearing wear issues, and issues with the ecu and tcu communicating properly, requiring constant resets to get it back to normal, not to mention cooling and proper oil lubrication issues under load. Its not worth it for the power that the engine can handle.
@harleyross1975 ive had one, i had a 2013, it made it to 76k miles and had all of the mentioned issues. I had to have the engine replaced in it at 70k miles because of the rod bearings wearing prematurely.
i used to own a 2014 328xi. it was such a little fun car, dyno tuned the engine and transmission myself. you could even disable the AWD and leave it in RWD mode for a bit of drifting
As a 2013 328i ZSL, ZPP, ZMT owner I am very much looking forward to this video series. I got my car with 34K miles on it in 2016; eight years later, I still love driving it. Yes, steering is muted, and, argh, I just had the timing chain update done. Even with oil changes every 5K miles, my chain was stretched at 157K miles. Also just had to replace the dual mass flywheel; yet, I am so happy that, despite the expense, my car is back to me and ready to go for many more miles. When I have the guts to DIY, FCP Euro has helped me so much keep my car in tip top shape at 158K miles. As for your car search, I don't think you looked hard enough. I just found a 2013 328i in Massachusetts that is spec'd out like my car: ZSL, ZPP, ZMT, and it is an N20. I feel like the F30 328i becomes a proper BMW with a manual and driven exclusively in sport mode. It is too late to swap cars?
curious to see what you guys do, but Pocono for MPact is in august. right now its the last week of march/first week of April per the videos comments at around the ~9 minute mark...
