Untitled Document

My apologies to the BMW digest for swiping their stuff, but they don't have a working search function and it took a lot of effort to locate and compile these relevant posts. The text is verbatim:

Subject: 530 V8 idle with A/C on (Re: Update on Whooshing sound)
From: "Fred --- " <fred@---.COM>
Date: Wed, 7 Aug 1996 16:58:35 -0700

Our '94 530i has 33K miles and now has a low, rough idle with the
a/c on. The idle drops when the compressor kicks in, so low the car
shakes. It returns to normal when the compressor clutch releases, even
though the a/c is still on. How often the compressor cycles depends on how
hot it is outside. It's annoying, but I haven't taken it to the dealer
yet. Replacing the motor mounts might help the symptoms, but not the
cause.
Re: the whooshing sound, I have a 300ZX with an a/c that also makes
a cyclic whooshing sound since it was new. I complained and was told
it was 'normal'. 5 years and 60K miles later it still does it, but
it doesn't bother me any more. The a/c works great, as does everything
else.

- -Fred

Subject: 540i V8 Engine Problem
From: pdkmd@----.com (----)
Date: Mon, 12 Aug 96 12:55:31 EDT

I posted a question reagrding the problems with the 1995 V8 engine ( I have
a 540 V8 6sp) and so far the only response has been e-mail questions to me
regarding the narure of the problem....To answer those that have contacted
me let me state the little that I know about the situation.
Due to the materal used to coat the cylinders, or the material the
cylinders themselves are made of, the V8 engines in 1995 ( I am not sure of
other years or engines ) tend to develop a coating of sulfa ( origin -
gasoline! ) that eventually causes the engine to cease. I believe this
process takes a long time and may be realted to only certain fuels of lower
octane ( I was even told the problem only existed in the southern states as
their gas has a higher sulfa content - sounds fishy).
I understand that BMW has extended the engine warranty to 100,000 miles/5
years - and you thought these cars lasted forever-HA! The newer cars (1997)
do not have this problem to my knowledge.
HELP!!! Does ANYONE have more accurate info as to the above? Is there a
solution to the problem ( It would seem to me that at some point the cars
with the affected engines will be worth very little as beyond the warranty
period correcting the problem will be up to the owners-$$$$$$$$$$$$$$)???????

Any help with this "situation" will be greatly
appreciated,

Thanks

Paul -----

Subject: V8 engine problems
From: E21----@aol.com
Date: Mon, 12 Aug 1996 17:59:20 -0400

Paul Krieger asked about engine problems with the new V8's. Here is what I
learned while shopping for a 95 540i 6-speed (which I decided not to buy):

The sulfur in U.S. gasoline causes the new alloy in the cylinder walls to
corrode. All V8 engines produced through the 1995 model year have this
problem. The dealer fix under a "campaign" is to replace the chip with one
that causes a hotter burn of the fuel and to replace the engine thermostat to
allow the engine to heat up quicker. These two modifications cause the
sulfur to burn off quicker. The factory started to put these modifications
into production around mid-95. Beginning in 1996, the factory went back to
the original cylinder wall alloy so that the sulfur sensitivity problem is
gone as of 1996.

The symptoms of cylinder wall corrosion is a rough idle and a feeling of
easier revving and more power as the cylinder walls start to go. For a brief
window, the engine feels like it has developed more power. As the corrosion
continues, the engine performance starts to drop.

The "campaign" at all BMW dealers to perform the modifications is free.
Anyone with a V8 engine produced before 1996 should have this done
immediately. BMW has extended the warranty on all V8's to 100,000 miles/5
years. What they will do if the engine craps out after that is unknown, but
they might possible cover the repairs anyway. I have heard of several V8
owners who have received new engines as a result of this problem.

By the way, the same V8 engines tend to develop gasket leaks in the front
timing case covers. Replacement of the timing cover gaskets with better
gaskets is also covered under a "campaign," so check the front of your engine
for oil leaks.

Regards,
Bob ------

Subject: 540i V8 Engine Problem
From: pdkmd@-----.com (-----)
Date: Mon, 12 Aug 96 18:29:02 EDT

Any help with this "situation" will be greatly
appreciated,

Thanks

Paul -----

RE: Aluminium V8 bmw engines
From: henri ------ <henri@---.-----.net>
Date: Wed, 14 Aug 1996 19:31:00 +0000

>BMW is facing a potentially huge problem. Over 50,000 5, 7 and 8 series cars >are affected by the faulty V8s.

>I just got our '95 530i 5-speed back from the dealer last night. We had
>complained about performance degredation after the EEPROM and thermostat>modification. The dealer said they could find nothing mechanically wrong with the car. I asked if they would put the car back to its original state, but the answer was no because it is costing BMW about $6,000 to replace each failed>aluminum V8 engine block. Since we are still not satisfied with the performance the next step is to talk with the BMWNA area service rep. Evidently he has the>authority to authorize additional repairs or modifications to satisfy unhappy customers.

>BMWNA extended the warranty on _all_ the modified engines to 6yrs/100K miles"on all internal engine components lubricated by engine oil" so that all cars have the same warranty, and so no car would suffer a value deduction if it were to be sold. These last two points are from my warranty paperwork.

WHAT IS THE EXTENDED WARANTEE:

What are the technical specifications of the wear limit in the extended
warantee?
Is it Cylinder compression?
Is it Oil consumption per 1000miles?
Is the Warantee intentionally vague on these points?
( So that only the loudest whining/litigious victims get the "improved"
engine replacement?)

What happens if you want to go to Mexico or Central America?
What about their gasoline?

THE FIX IS IN :
These points occur to me as I read this :

> Much of the discussion on the list was about the affects of the 'fix',
>a new ICU & thermostat that raises the engine temp to 'burn' the sulfur.
>This isn't as much of an issue for the 540i as the 530i, where the
>performance is marginal anyway and any degradation is noticable.

Another negative fix: Less performance and less durability.
Increasing the operating temperature of the engine to burn off the sulfur
in the gasoline will affect the durability of other components. The
automatic transmission will run hotter(definitely not good). The engine oil
will be hotter,the air conditioner will have to work harder, cooling system
will have less operating temperature range etc..........
Aluminiun engines of the past have been very intolerant of overheating.

RESALE ISSUE :

Resale value of these cars is surely to be severely impacted at
6years/100000miles.
What well informed buyer will want a car with a potentially worn out
complex aluminiun engine for $20000?

for example: Purchase price: $50000
at 6years /100000miles the car is worth approximately $20000
because most cars(most BMWs) depreciate at about 10% per year.
The above assumption was gleaned from Edmunds used car prices.

The market will value these cars less the cost of a new engine
($6000-$8000) which will be $12000-$14000.

Perception will be more powerful than reality with these cars,
when these cars hit the used market, they will be perceived as distressed.

Opposing arguments and facts encouraged.

Sincerely,
Henri ------
Los Angeles in the Smog (April in Paris)

Subject: Aluminium V8 bmw engines
From: "Robert M. ----- " <bob@-----.edu>
Date: Thu, 15 Aug 96 13:42:36 -0500

>Perception will be more powerful than reality with these cars,
>when these cars hit the used market, they will be perceived as
distressed.

Henri: You are thoughtful and perceptive guy. I enjoy your
discussions on the Digest.

In this case, I believe that BMW NA will make out O.K. for two reasons:

1. Not many consumers have access to the calibre of information
that we get from the Digest. They don't all know about the problems
that BMW is having with Sulfur and the V-8. We do because some of
the Digester's have these cars and shared the info and fears with
us.

2. Time dulls the memory. Unless there is a huge lawsuit with the
attendant publicity, John Q Public will never hear of this problem.
When he/she see a nice shiny 540i on the lot for 12-16K with
warranty remaining, HOLY COW!!! A new bimmeroid will be created.
They will or will not learn too late. We can't save them and we
would be foolish to assume that the government will care enough to
save them.

Is this ethical of BMW NA to handle the problem in this manner?
Who knows, though I suspect that we each have our opinions.

Bob Duckworth

Subject: Re: Aluminum V-8 BMW engines
From: Kim --------- <zgbjtjh@--------.com>
Date: Fri, 16 Aug 96 0:46:49 EDT

> From: henri ---- <henri@--------.net>
> Date: Wed, 14 Aug 1996 19:31:00 +0000
> Subject: RE: Aluminium V8 bmw engines
>
> WHAT IS THE EXTENDED WARANTEE:
>
> What are the technical specifications of the wear limit in the extended
> warantee?
> Is it Cylinder compression?
> Is it Oil consumption per 1000miles?
> Is the Warantee intentionally vague on these points?
> ( So that only the loudest whining/litigious victims get the "improved"
> engine replacement?)
>
Not sure about details but I was told by BMW service that the only way BMW NA
will authorize investigation/fix any V-8 engine problems under warranty is
if an engine balance/leakdown test is run and the engine is not within the
acceptable specs (I know this is the detail you are looking for). I was told
cylinder #8 shows low compression.

> THE FIX IS IN :
> These points occur to me as I read this :
>
> > Much of the discussion on the list was about the affects of the 'fix',
> >a new ICU & thermostat that raises the engine temp to 'burn' the sulfur.
> >This isn't as much of an issue for the 540i as the 530i, where the
> >performance is marginal anyway and any degradation is noticable.
>
> Another negative fix: Less performance and less durability.
> Increasing the operating temperature of the engine to burn off the sulfur
> in the gasoline will affect the durability of other components. The
> automatic transmission will run hotter(definitely not good). The engine oil
> will be hotter,the air conditioner will have to work harder, cooling system
> will have less operating temperature range etc..........
> Aluminiun engines of the past have been very intolerant of overheating.

Does anyone know how much hotter the engine runs? i.e. What temp did the
original thermostat open at vs the temp the campaign thermostat opens.
How much faster does the engine warm up than it used to?

My 530 has the campaign EPROM and the temp guage is at 12 o'clock after about
1 mile of easy driving (in the summer). No matter what the situation, highway,
sitting in 100 degree heat in a traffic jam, on a cool summer night, my temp
guage sits at 12 o''clock. To all you V-8 owners, what did the temp guage show
before the EPROM upgrade v.s. after?

>
> RESALE ISSUE :
>
> Resale value of these cars is surely to be severely impacted at
> 6years/100000miles.
> What well informed buyer will want a car with a potentially worn out
> complex aluminiun engine for $20000?
>
> for example: Purchase price: $50000
> at 6years /100000miles the car is worth approximately $20000
> because most cars(most BMWs) depreciate at about 10% per year.
> The above assumption was gleaned from Edmunds used car prices.
>
> The market will value these cars less the cost of a new engine
> ($6000-$8000) which will be $12000-$14000.
>
> Perception will be more powerful than reality with these cars,
> when these cars hit the used market, they will be perceived as distressed.

I also wonder about the resale value of these cars with the V-8's. For now I
am keeping my '95 530 but I will have to make a decision at about 90k miles,
whether to keep the car and hope no problem ever arises or dump it and buy a
newer car. Maybe its better if we all had the problem now and got new short blocks. But, I was told by my dealer they have not seen one engine back with a
problem which has had the EPROM/thermostat upgrade or the short block
replaced. This particular dealer is in the Atlanta Area (South East where
the problem is supposed to be the worst) and has a full time mechanic just
for the V-8 short block replacements.

Hopefully in several more years, more historical data will be available on
these engines, the gasoline to use/avoid, # of failures/100, etc. Who
knows maybe in a couple of years the sulfur content of various gasolines will
no longer be an issue (one can be optimistic) and we (aluminum V-8 owners)
will be in a better position to make an educated decision on what to do with
our cars.

>
> Opposing arguments and facts encouraged.
>
> Sincerely,
> Henri -----
> Los Angeles in the Smog (April in Paris)

Kim -------
E34/'95 530i/5-speed

Subject: Re: Aluminum V-8 BMW engines
From: "Gwynne ------- " <gwynnes@---------.com>
Date: Fri, 16 Aug 1996 16:02:15 -0400

I can answer a couple of the questions posed in Kim Watters' message.

The original thermostat was 85 C (185 F), the new thermostat is 95 C (203 F)

In regards to the temperature gauge reading - I was told by a BMW NA tech
rep that the gauge on the dash is buffered by some computer system and reads
in the middle of the gauge anytime that the engine temp is within a
satisfactory range (range temperatures not known to me at this time)

Gwynne -------- '94 530IA

> From: henri -------- <henri@------.net>
> Date: Wed, 14 Aug 1996 19:31:00 +0000
> Subject: RE: Aluminium V8 bmw engines
>
> WHAT IS THE EXTENDED WARANTEE:
>
> What are the technical specifications of the wear limit in the extended
> warantee?
> Is it Cylinder compression?
> Is it Oil consumption per 1000miles?
> Is the Warantee intentionally vague on these points?
> ( So that only the loudest whining/litigious victims get the "improved"
> engine replacement?)
>
Not sure about details but I was told by BMW service that the only way BMW NA
will authorize investigation/fix any V-8 engine problems under warranty is
if an engine balance/leakdown test is run and the engine is not within the
acceptable specs (I know this is the detail you are looking for). I was told
cylinder #8 shows low compression.

I also wonder about the resale value of these cars with the V-8's. For now I
am keeping my '95 530 but I will have to make a decision at about 90k miles,
whether to keep the car and hope no problem ever arises or dump it and buy a
newer car. Maybe its better if we all had the problem now and got new short
blocks. But, I was told by my dealer they have not seen one engine back with a
problem which has had the EPROM/thermostat upgrade or the short block
replaced. This particular dealer is in the Atlanta Area (South East where
the problem is supposed to be the worst) and has a full time mechanic just
for the V-8 short block replacements.

>
> Opposing arguments and facts encouraged.
>
> Sincerely,
> Henri ----
> Los Angeles in the Smog (April in Paris)

Kim ----
E34/'95 530i/5-speed

Subject: Aluminum Block V-8 BMW's vs. Sulfur Content of U.S. Fuel
From: Ritchie ---- <Ritchie@-----.com>
Date: Fri, 16 Aug 96 14:31:00 C

I think I have heard just about everything now. BMW blaming the high (?)
sulfur content of U.S. fuel for premature V-8 engine failure is highly
suspect. This reeks about as badly as Audi's claim that the runaway car
syndrome was due to operator error.

BMW simply screwed up in the formulation of the aluminum for the V-8
block. Evidently BMW did little or no testing with the fuel formulas
used in the United States. If they had done the long term testing that
domestic manufacturers (U.S.) have carried out for many years, BMW should
have easily detected the premature failure of the V-8 engine block.

I would love to purchase a 540i, but I won't touch one with a ten foot
pole right now. I'm not sure what BMW is up to, but it sure as hell
isn't customer satisfaction. Warranty extensions (100K, is that all?)
and reprogramming the computer (so the engine runs hotter--sounds like
they're eradicating a virus, gets worse gas mileage -- EPA are you
listening?, and is SLOWER!) sounds like a kluge to me.

So, for now I wait. Good luck to those that currently own V-8 5's. I
certainly hope that you are able to get some measure of satisfaction from
BMW-NA.

RKB

Subject: Re: BMW V8 Aluminium thoughts.
From: henri ---- <henri@----.net>
Date: Fri, 16 Aug 1996 15:27:24 +0000

Kim ----- responds:

>This particular dealer is in the Atlanta Area (South East where
>the problem is supposed to be the worst) and has a full time mechanic >just for the V-8 short block replacements.
- --------------------------------------------------
Do I get it?
The warrantee is a new short block with your old heads?
The "whole thing" is dissassembled and rebuilt on the busy shop floor
of the dealership. "Quality control" is when they start the engine after
reinstallation in the car.....and hope everything is ok.......?
This whole procedure is full of potential problems beginning with
the R and R of the engine. This is major surgery.
Just keep them rolling somehow , till the 100k warrantee is over?

Bob ----- adds:
>In this case, I believe that BMW NA will make out O.K. for two reasons:
1. Not many consumers have access to the calibre of information
that we get from the Digest. They don't all know about the problems
that BMW is having with Sulfur and the V-8. We do because some of
the Digester's have these cars and shared the info and fears with
us.
>2. Time dulls the memory. Unless there is a huge lawsuit with the
attendant publicity, John Q Public will never hear of this problem.
When he/she see a nice shiny 540i on the lot for 12-16K with
warranty remaining, HOLY COW!!! A new bimmeroid will be created.
They will or will not learn too late. We can't save them and we
would be foolish to assume that the government will care enough to
save them.
- ---------------------------------------------------

If I buy a new car for" transportation" for $50-$80k from a
premium manufacturer like BMW, Is it reasonable to expect that the car
will NOT have any potential serious defects ( like this aluminium V8
issue)?

Defects which severely affect the reliability and the resale value?
If they knew they had this problem and did not disclose it while continuing
to sell these defective cars, then they deceived their customers.
After all,these cars are designed for every day transportation and not as
experimental race cars.
If the authorized dealers knew about this problem and did not disclose it,
when selling Aluminium V8 BMWs, they too are part of the deception .

I would also argue that the element of Sulphur is not some new
" unforseen " component in gasoline.

When did they know and when did they start disclosure?

FTM, this engine is being used in the "top of the line" models;
If they mishandle this, you can be sure Lexus et al will not miss the
opportunity to market these demanding customers(who tend to have long
memories). The Japanese are just getting started in this market segment.

I would offer a buy back program/exchange to any customer who asked.
Take the buy backs cars, fix them in a production line where the quality
can be assured . Resell them with confidence as "remanufactured" vehicles.
In the end, this will be far more effective public relations than the
"fix as needed"policy. It will all comes down to whether they want repeat
customers in the next 5 years.

Another question came to me.... Aluminium motorcycle engines can be
"torqued". "Torqued" is when the the block becomes distorted from stress
and typically loses its bearing journal alignment. The engine then vibrates
badly at idle . Can this also happen to these engines?

Myself,I will stick with the cast iron 6 and the "keep it simple stupid "
philosophy.

Sincerely,
Henri -----
(Los Angeles)

Subject: The Aluminum Block Controversy..
From: Don ---- <d---r@----.com>
Date: Fri, 16 Aug 1996 23:54:33 -0400 (EDT)

Butch sez:

>Subject: Aluminum Block V-8 BMW's vs. Sulfur Content of U.S. Fuel
>
>I think I have heard just about everything now. BMW blaming the high (?)
>sulfur content of U.S. fuel for premature V-8 engine failure is highly
>suspect. This reeks about as badly as Audi's claim that the runaway car
>syndrome was due to operator error.
>
>BMW simply screwed up in the formulation of the aluminum for the V-8
>block. Evidently BMW did little or no testing with the fuel formulas
>used in the United States. If they had done the long term testing that
>domestic manufacturers (U.S.) have carried out for many years, BMW should
>have easily detected the premature failure of the V-8 engine block.
>
>I would love to purchase a 540i, but I won't touch one with a ten foot
>pole right now. I'm not sure what BMW is up to, but it sure as hell
>isn't customer satisfaction. Warranty extensions (100K, is that all?)
>and reprogramming the computer (so the engine runs hotter--sounds like
>they're eradicating a virus, gets worse gas mileage -- EPA are you
>listening?, and is SLOWER!) sounds like a kluge to me.
>
>So, for now I wait. Good luck to those that currently own V-8 5's. I
>certainly hope that you are able to get some measure of satisfaction from
>BMW-NA.
>
>RKB

I actually was discussing this same topic today at lunch with BMW-Alfred..
(1983 533i Alfred).. and brought up the fact that BMW has successfully
used aluminum cylinders on their aircooled R bikes since about 1981..
and full aluminum blocks on their water cooled, fuel injected (and
later models catalytic converter equipped) K bikes since 1985.

Being even more enthused about BMW bikes (hey! It really IS a motorcycle
company who happens to make some nice cars!).. I've followed the BMW
motorcycle mailing list (which is VERY active, makes this one a breeze
to read).. and has about 1200 members (we're actually an organization..
Internet BMW Riders). So far - to date - NO ONE has ever reported
any engine failure on these engines due to cylinder problems.. and
we do use the same gas as the cars. Many of these bikes have well
over 100,000 miles on them (people have reported at re-ringing
time, around 200,000 miles on the K's and 100,000 miles on the R's
that the crosshatch on the cylinder walls is still visible, and
NO sign of wear or corrosion at all).

It seems like BMW knows HOW to do it - and it really puzzles me
how they did it wrong on the cars. It would also seem that they
know what they did different (there is a different name for the
evaporated cylinder coating on bikes vs cars.. the bikes call
it 'nickosil' for nickel-silicon.. forget what the car one is
called, but I do recall that it has a different name..)

Best (and sticking to the 3.5l big-six..)

=======================================
Don ----
Spring Lk Hts, NJ, USA
d---@----.com
=======================================

Subject: Re: Aluminium V8 warrantee after 100k miles
From: henri ---- <henri@----.----.net>
Date: Sun, 18 Aug 1996 05:55:29 +0000

Jerry ---- writes:
>If your engine got the DME and thermostat mod early in its life, why _assume_
>that those updates are not going to be effective? IMO, if the engine
>develops problems later, even after the warranty expires, BMW will be
>obligated to provide some sort of compensation. This will be especially true
>when you consider how long the iron block engines last with reasonable care.

Really? What would obligate them to do anything after the warrantee
parameters have expired ?
We recently heard from a Digest member that BMW NA told him that at 100K miles
he had received the useful life out of the engine.(Both engines were the cast iron "6")
(He had a cylinder head crack in one car and bad camshaft in the other.)

Regards,
Henri ----

Subject: Re: The Aluminum Block Controversy..
From: Rod ---- <rodb@---- .---- .ca>
Date: Sun, 18 Aug 1996 10:38:41 UTC-0700

> It seems like BMW knows HOW to do it - and it really puzzles me
> how they did it wrong on the cars. It would also seem that they
> know what they did different (there is a different name for the
> evaporated cylinder coating on bikes vs cars.. the bikes call
> it 'nickosil' for nickel-silicon.. forget what the car one is
> called, but I do recall that it has a different name..)

It appears that the coating on bikes is the same as the coating on
the V-8 engines: Nikasil. Doing a web search I found that Nikasil is
used on the Ferrari 512 TR engine, the Jaguar XK8 V8, ZR-1 LT5, and
Espirit Turbo SE.

The Lotus glossary says:

> A permanent nickel and silicon treatment applied to aluminum.
> Creates an extremely hard, wear-resistant and durable surface.

Here's the info from one of Jim's old posts. This explains why the V12
engines have not had any problems. One further note is that someone
mentioned that Porsche has successfully used Nikasil for the past few
years in NA without problems. Maybe on hotter air cooled engines
the sulphur isn't a problem?

> The 2.8l was to be made of Nikasil alloy, the same as used in the M60
> V-8 blocks .. this material was found incomatible with a lot of US fuels
> due to sulfur content ... so for the M60, they are going to sleeve the
> blocks in the 3.x and 4.x liter V-8's ...
>
> There is not enough "meat" in the 2.8 block to sleeve, so they are changing
> the alloy to Alusil (same as the M70 V12) which is immune to sulfur but more
> expensive ...

- --
Rod ---- , IRIS IS-6 @ Laboratory for Computational Intelligence
University of British Columbia
rod---- @---- .---- .ca

Subject: RE: M60 Corrosion/ BMW Warranty
From: Jerry ---- <73621.2717@---- .COM>
Date: 18 Aug 96 17:01:49 EDT

Henri wrote in response to my post about BMW's obligation to M60 engine
owners:

> Really? What would obligate them to do anything after the
> warrantee parameters have expired? We recently heard from a
> Digest member that BMW NA told him that at 100K miles he had
> received the useful life out of the engine. (Both engines were the
> cast iron "6") (He had a cylinder head crack in one car and bad
> camshaft in the other.)

The difference is that the Nikasil corrosion is a well-documented, and
easily-diagnosed design problem. It has been written up in the Roundel, and
in at least one other national car mag. There's no question that many people
on this list are very well informed about BMW issues, however I think it's
presumptuous to think we're the only ones who are aware of this issue, as
someone has implied.

A cracked cylinder head and a bad camshaft can be caused by any number of
reasons, and it is difficult for any owner to disprove that they were caused
by inadequate care or maintenance. Please note that I have no information
about the iron-block-6 cases you mentioned, so I am certainly not suggesting
_that_ specific owner maintained his/her engine poorly.

I think my original point is still valid, i.e. unless there have been
instances where the _modified_ engine has developed the same corrosion
problem, why get alarmed. If you own one of these engines, maintain it
properly, and hope for the best. If something goes wrong, _that_ will
be the time to get worked up.

Regards,
Jerry
Arlington, TX (18-Aug-96, 15:54)
'95 540i-6 spd

Subject: Re: The Aluminum Block Controversy...
From: Deepak ---- <---- @---- .---- .com>
Date: Mon, 19 Aug 1996 17:19:38 -0700

> I actually was discussing this same topic today at lunch with BMW-Alfred..
> (1983 533i Alfred).. and brought up the fact that BMW has successfully
> used aluminum cylinders on their aircooled R bikes since about 1981..
> and full aluminum blocks on their water cooled, fuel injected (and
> later models catalytic converter equipped) K bikes since 1985.
>
> Being even more enthused about BMW bikes (hey! It really IS a motorcycle
> company who happens to make some nice cars!).. I've followed the BMW
> motorcycle mailing list (which is VERY active, makes this one a breeze
> to read).. and has about 1200 members (we're actually an organization..
> Internet BMW Riders). So far - to date - NO ONE has ever reported
> any engine failure on these engines due to cylinder problems.. and
> we do use the same gas as the cars. Many of these bikes have well
> over 100,000 miles on them (people have reported at re-ringing
> time, around 200,000 miles on the K's and 100,000 miles on the R's
> that the crosshatch on the cylinder walls is still visible, and
> NO sign of wear or corrosion at all).
>
> It seems like BMW knows HOW to do it - and it really puzzles me
> how they did it wrong on the cars. It would also seem that they
> know what they did different (there is a different name for the
> evaporated cylinder coating on bikes vs cars.. the bikes call
> it 'nickosil' for nickel-silicon.. forget what the car one is
> called, but I do recall that it has a different name..)

BMW has built aluminum blocks before in their cars as well. The original
750i had a 5-liter all-aluminum V12 with nickel-plated cylinder walls.

Subject: Nikasil cylinder linings - one owners high mileage data point
From: Kirk ---- <---- @---- .---- .com>
Date: Tue, 20 Aug 1996 13:03:43 -0700

There was mention of aluminum and Porsche and air-cooled and Nikasil and =
no problems.

FWIW, I am original owner of a 145k miles "water cooled" non-turbo 944 =
which [I believe] has Nikasil coated cylinders. Engine runs perfectly =
fine. Absolutely no [performance-wise] sign of any wear. 140k of the =
145k miles were midwestern miles (Indiana, Missouri primarily).

Kirk S
'95 M3
'88 944