Engine - M50 Description/Features/Specifications: Overview
90bmw17 Group 11 EngineBulletin Number 11 04 90 (2103)
Woodcliff Lake, NJ October 1990 Service Engineering
SUBJECT: 2.5 Liter Six Cylinder Engine (M50)
MODEL: 525i (E34)
BMW has developed a new six-cylinder, four-valve engine which will be found in the 525i model. Known internally as the M60 engine, it uses the same technological concept as the four-cylinder, four valve engine (M42) found in the 318i and 318is models.
The main development objectives were to maximize power output and torque and to maintain high quality standards and long life, with even easier maintenance and servicing. And, above all, to combine these objectives with the silky, smooth running of an inline six-cylinder engine.
Continuing the tradition of the other BMW multi-valve engines, the new M50 provides a high specific power output - 141 KW/188 HP @ 5900 rpm, a generous torque curve - 245 N-m @ 4700 rpm (=maximum torque) and low emission and fuel consumption levels.
Additional advanced design features include: direct solid state ignition with separate coils mounted above the spark plugs, a new generation of Digital Motor Electronics - DME 3.1, maintenance-free ribbed belt drive to the auxiliaries, self-adjusting hydraulic valve tappets, vertical oil filter configuration, a plastic intake manifold assembly and asbestos-free gaskets and seals.
Despite its use of four valves per cylinder and its higher performance, the the M50 weighs only slightly more than the M20.
The installed angle of the M50 is 30~ versus 20~ for the M20.