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Tuesday, June 21, 2016

What's Wrong on Wikipedia: Part One

The only thing automakers hate more than engineering flaws is having them revealed, along with cost cutting measures they tout as "improvements." While these were once easy to conceal, the advent of social media, and mass access to information has allowed a forum (or literally millions of forums online) for these findings to be discussed and analyzed. It's no surprise, then, that when you turn to one of the most widely used sources of fast information, Wikipedia, discrepancies arise. It seems that the closer you get to big auto industry names, and their related Wikipedia pages, the more "sanitized" the posts seem to get.

Take, for example, the post regarding the N55 motor, previously mentioned in my 335i review. As you scroll through, each section reads as a very dry, thoroughly Teutonic review of a fine piece of German engineering. Relatively short, there seems to be little of note, until you reach this last couple of paragraphs:
"The N55 is mated to ZF's 8-speed automatic transmission in most applications such as the 2011 535i and 2013 BMW 740i, and a 6-speed manual is usually available for sedans (excluding the 7-Series, and dropped for the 5 and 6 series for 2015), but not crossovers such as the X3, X5 and X6. The N55 engines in the 2011 BMW 135i and 2013 BMW 135is are mated to Getrag 7-speed Dual-clutch transmission or a 6-speed manual transmission. 
While having the same displacement and peak power output as the N54, the N55 is 15% more fuel efficient, has lower emissions, less turbo lag and better low-rev torque."
You can almost hear Hanz typing the article muttering "Ve did notzing wrong here unt ze motor is absolutely flawless unt zat is all." Sorry, Hanz, but that's not the case, and the world knows it. BMW, in developing this motor, did in fact improve on several elements which beget smoother operation, cleaner emissions, and better torque, but it did so while saving costs elsewhere. These latter changes ultimately limited what could be done with the motor; not of extreme concern to the everyday driver, but an issue with those that customize their cars. The new motor also failed to remedy many of the reliability issues found on the older motor, and introduced a new one of its own. New direct injection systems, while great for efficiency, create a carbon buildup in intake tracks that harms operation over time and must be cleaned.

Even simpler to spot is the opening regarding transmissions, in which they completely overlook that it wasn't until halfway through the N55's life that BMW started mating it to the superior and newer ZF 8-speed. Up to that point it was the same old ZF 6-speed they put in most cars, in one form or another, back since the early 2000s. Not the end of the world, the older trans is still great, but let's not open saying "The N55 is...most applications..." when the truth is more along the lines of "The N55 has been dropped in about everything we can afford to place it in, and we mate it to whatever we have a lot of at the time; recently it's been that great 8-speed." Also, don't you tell me that 6-speed manual is available in just about everything. Not here it's sure not, they don't offer it in the vast majority of models outside of specific configurations. Even then, good luck finding one at a dealer.

Hanz's conclusion should read more l like this:
"The N55 is mated to ZF's 8-speed automatic transmission in later applications such as the 2011 535i and 2013 BMW 740i, retaining the previous ZF 6-speed automatic transmission in earlier models. A 6-speed manual is usually available for sedans (excluding the 7-Series, and dropped for the 5 and 6 series for 2015), but not crossovers such as the X3, X5 and X6, and is of limited availability within the United States. The N55 engines in the 2011 BMW 135i and 2013 BMW 135is are mated to a Getrag 7-speed Dual-clutch transmission or a 6-speed manual transmission.
While having the same displacement and peak power output as the N54, the N55 is 15% more fuel efficient, has lower emissions, less turbo lag and better low-rev torque. That said, these changes are made at the sacrifice of the N54's higher power potential, forged internals and greater aftermarket support. Issues such as high pressure fuel pump (HPFP) failures have also carried over into the new model, as have problematic water pumps. Also of note is the new prevalence of issues stemming from carbon fouling from the direct injection used in N55 motors."
Ahh, the truth... MUCH better! Now you're probably wondering what you can do about updating the information online. Well, I'm such a good guy, I've gone ahead and done it for you! What you read above is exactly what I have since edited on Wikipedia itself. What we need to see is if it lasts, for how long, and if all of the changes are discarded. My guess is they'll take it back to the sunshine and rainbows that was there in the first place. Moral of the story is... don't believe everything you read on Wikipedia. There are far better sources out there, including the car community itself and the plethora of forums and blogs within it. You already know that though, you're one of the smart ones, because you're here.

See you on the road,

Alexander

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