BMW 320d dyno tested – does it make the full 177hp?

BMW 320d dyno tested – does it make the full 177hp?

A few of us BMW Club Malaysia forumers (not all are members!) took our German rides out yesterday for a group dyno session at GT Auto. A dyno (short for dynamometer) is basically a machine that can measure your car’s horsepower and torque output at the wheels.

Horsepower and torque at the wheels is always less than what the manufacturer quotes for the engine as once the power passes through the gearbox, axle, wheels and tyres, there are some power lost there – this is usually 10 to 15% for a manual transmission and 20 to 25% for an automatic transmission.

The dyno results all revealed some pretty interesting results, but what’s post-worthy here is that there were a few Malaysian spec 177 rated horsepower BMW 320d that attended the dyno, and they’ve agreed for me to share the results.

BMW 320d dyno tested – does it make the full 177hp?
Click the dyno chart for enlarged image
BMW 320d dyno tested – does it make the full 177hp?
Click the dyno chart for enlarged image

docrayboy’s 320d did a peak horsepower of 163.15 PS and 373.37Nm of torque. 163.15 PS is actually quite comparable to some of the standard automatic 328i E36s that dynoed on that day – more than enough power for a brisk drive. zhul’s 320d did similiar numbers – 159.7 PS and 37.86 kg-m (around 371Nm).

I think it’s really interesting that even after transmission and other losses, peak torque figures exceed the BMW peak torque rating of 350Nm. Wheel horsepower of about 160+ PS also exceeds the 177 horsepower rating if you add another 15% to 20% (about 184 PS to 192 PS), assuming an auto transmission with lock up clutch engaged.

It looks like BMW has underrated the 320d engine and it actually makes more power than the specs sheets suggest. But what I was actually curious about is that whether our market’s 320d will have a drop in power output compared to the spec sheets because of Euro 2 diesel quality. Looks like we’re getting at least what we signed up for.

Thanks to zhul and docrayboy for sharing their dyno charts!

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Paul Tan

After dabbling for years in the IT industry, Paul Tan initially began this site as a general blog covering various topics of personal interest. With an increasing number of readers paying rapt attention to the motoring stories, one thing led to another and the rest, as they say, is history.

 

Comments

  • Vincent on Oct 25, 2010 at 5:39 pm

    So Paul, is it true that people say BMW got a very good diesel fuel filter to refine our petrol so that it no make so much problem as others?

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  • eeeriz on Oct 25, 2010 at 5:40 pm

    Wow..160ps dynoed at wheel! Plus excellent fuel consumption of diesel, lower CO2 content, what else can u ask for..

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  • BeemerFreak on Oct 25, 2010 at 5:42 pm

    The best car in its class. And Yes!! BMW always under-promise, over-deliver.

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  • Gajen on Oct 25, 2010 at 5:54 pm

    Wow,thats good….unlike the previous 5 series 3.0d had very bad remarks…engine gave a lot of problems..

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  • Hsieng Loong on Oct 25, 2010 at 5:56 pm

    Paul,

    Wondering if there were any 325i dyno-ed yesterday. If yes, what were the topline results?

    Thanks

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  • DICKYBIRD on Oct 25, 2010 at 6:37 pm

    seems to save the earth in a car like this bmw, in this country you have to be well-moneyed. otherwise you will be driving around in local car made to take advantage of our “cheap” petrol.

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  • Seriously the torque figures for a 2.0 Diesel engine is amazing….

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    • rossi46 on Oct 26, 2010 at 11:27 am

      thats the what diesel is all about …torque..torque..torque ..flatten all hills wt ease while a same displacement petrol is screaming wt rev …

      anyway, its normal…even the hyundai r-series 2.0 diesel are doin around 380-390nm of torque….Focus 2.0 tdci around 340nm

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  • Interesting. The ZF tranny on the car is only rated to 400NM (on crank). Cutting it way too close to the tranny limits. Were these cars tuned or stock?

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    • BeemerFreak on Oct 26, 2010 at 12:42 am

      Are you sure it is 400Nm or 400lb/ft, because for what i know, the same ZF gearbox is also found in the 730LD which produces a next to no difference 500Nm of torque…………

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      • 320d uses the GA6HP19Z ZF tranny. It is rated at only 400nm on the crank.
        http://www.motor-talk.de/forum/aktion/Attachment.html?attachmentId=681806

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  • m-mealin on Oct 25, 2010 at 8:17 pm

    what a power from diesel engine…fuel efficiency + cormfy that define BMW

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • New Lotus Concept Production Dream on Oct 25, 2010 at 8:52 pm

    Watch out for the maintenance cost after warranty. The 530d has a lot of problems until BMW gave up on customer retention. Nevertheless, consumption is superb, 1088km range reflected on 530d indicator on a full refuel along the highway. It doesn’t sound like a quiet luxury car when idle as compare with the petrol 2.5 (323i or 523i). Anyway, buy it if you want to save the environment. Serious buyer may want to consider VW Passat CC (200ps/280Nm) ~ 245k, easily tuned up to (240ps/350Nm), without physical modification or Audi A4 (2.0L) ~300k. Both models are way more luxury (in terms of features) than the 320d.

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    • rossi46 on Oct 26, 2010 at 11:24 am

      typical petrol head….cannot accept an oilburner is the future….albeit, wt hybrid ; )

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  • u can always expect higher hp rating at gt auto.

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    • Haha.. I agree… The place for impressive dyno results

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    • RabPaul on Oct 26, 2010 at 11:12 am

      How reliable are these figures? I find it hard to believe they are higher than that of the manufacturer unless of course the cars have been modified or re-tuned.

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  • For all tat power & HP, I still constantly get at least 800-900km for a full tank of diesel (52-55L)

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    • zerouzer on Oct 25, 2010 at 11:10 pm

      i got 1000km+ per tank if only most of time cruising on highway. 800-900km/tank is still far more economical than petrol cars

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  • Trans on Oct 25, 2010 at 9:51 pm

    It says there paul, 175hp at the flywheel not at the wheels…

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  • gameover on Oct 25, 2010 at 10:07 pm

    Paul, I spent a bit of time in Singapore and filled my 320d several times with Euro 4 diesel (at a good RM180+ per refill :). My butt certainly doesn’t feel any difference in terms of performance or fuel consumption so even subjectively Euro 4 doesn’t make the car faster, only cleaner.

    Good to see the numbers though.

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  • Andrew on Oct 26, 2010 at 6:10 am

    BMW is well known to underrate their engine output. To those that lurk various BMW forums on the net this shouldn’t come as a surprise.

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  • alldisc on Oct 26, 2010 at 9:37 am

    the difference on hp and bhp

    hp / horsepower = output at crank

    bhp / brake horsepower = output at wheel/brake

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  • jonny blaze on Oct 26, 2010 at 9:53 am

    narrow power band.. torque starts to dip at 2700rpm.. fun ends at 4300rpm

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    • rossi46 on Oct 26, 2010 at 5:40 pm

      another typical petrol head who don’t understand diesel…..it does not matter when 120kph is achieve at 2,000rpm engine speed….by 4,000rpm u’re doing 250kph already compared to normal petrol at 4,000rpm u only reached 150kph, hence the need for high/fuel wasting revs (unless u’re racing,there’s no point)

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  • savahn on Oct 26, 2010 at 10:11 am

    Hey Paul,

    New technologies have reduced drive train losses. The best example is on the Nissan GTR.

    So a 10% loss for a 3-series is not unbelievable.

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  • Alifz on Oct 26, 2010 at 11:27 am

    Theoil burner engine has produce much better power than petrolhead 320i..

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  • carguy123 on Oct 26, 2010 at 11:42 am

    GT auto dyno always overrated and show high hp and tq figures.. in fact they are as high as actual crank hp as opposed to the claimed wheel hp and tq…

    We always dyno scoobies and evos and it’s a known fact that if you wanna showoff hp and tq figures, go to GT…

    JC Asia dyno is a more reliable dyno.. if your car shows a high figure there.. then it’s really a fast car…

    No pun intended… but it’s all thru years of experience playing with cars and dynoing them… ;-)

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  • carguy123 on Oct 26, 2010 at 11:48 am

    GT auto dyno always show high hp and tq figures.. in fact it’s as high as crank hp and tq figures..

    It’s a known fact that if u wanna show off your hp and tq figures, go to GT Auto.. We always dyno our friend’s evos and scoobies at a few shops just to compare and found that GT auto dyno is always overrated..

    A more reliable dyno tester would be JC Asia.. if your car is dyno with high hp or tq there.. then u can expect your car to be very very fast indeed..

    No pun intended.. nor do i support any dyno shop… just talking from years of experience tuning and playing with cars… :-)

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  • dyno numbers are usually used as a benchmark.
    meaning do a run, modify, and do a second run to compare the difference.
    silly bunch of 320d owners just taking the 160hp, add 20%, and feel very happy

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  • Hyundai X20 on Oct 27, 2010 at 3:39 pm

    My X20 Dyno is 120bhp

    Base on Dr. Paul suggesting 20-25% On Auto Trans…
    It’s range of144hp-150hp (Maximum Power (ps/rpm) -143/6,000)

    yes, the assumption of 20-25% is correct!!!

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  • tricycle on Oct 27, 2010 at 5:57 pm

    how about the 320d engine sounds? does it sound good? or like a gemini taxi or like a lorry?

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    • Jim2106 on Oct 27, 2010 at 11:56 pm

      Not as sweet as 325i for sure. But i dont mind trading it with extra 100hp anyway.

      325i : 250nm
      320d : 350nm

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