I confess... I'm stupid about Bimmers| Grassroots Motorsports forum |

SVreX MegaDork
6/10/14 9:40 a.m.

Just never figured out the model designations.

They are all just numbers...

I generally have to look at pictures and decide if it's one I like.

Anyone want to attempt an idiot's guide?

Or anyone want to confess their ignorance, like me?

bmwbav Reader
6/10/14 9:49 a.m.

Here is the knowledge you seek.

http://www.turnermotorsport.com/t-bmw-chassis-codes.aspx

nicksta43 UltraDork
6/10/14 9:51 a.m.

In the past the smaller the first number the smaller the car. 3<5<7

The last two were generally closely related to engine displacement.

318=3series 1.8L 525=5series 2.5L

That's not always the case as the first E21's where 2.0L but when the later ones got the 1.8L M10 they where still named 320, at least here in the states.

Mr_Clutch42 Reader
6/10/14 9:55 a.m.

I believe that you also didn't figure it out because you never wanted to buy one. I thought the same thing about 7 or 8 years ago when they were all to expensive for me. Actually, it's not so good because many other manufacturers are changing car names to just letters or letters and numbers because of selling globally. They don't want to have to look up to see if Seville translates to sex, or idiot in another language.

Anyway, 325i, 328ci, 335d, etc. means 3-series car. The last two numbers are supposed to designate the engine size, but not always. They're historically the smallest BMW car.

525i, 535d, etc. means 5-series car. It's the mid-sized sedan they sell. It directly competes with the Mercedes E-class for comparison.

735i,745i, etc. means 7-series car. It's the flagship, big sedan they sell. It directly competes with the Mercedes S-class. The letters at the end designate fuel injection for i (I guess it's historical now) d for diesel, ci for coupe fuel injected, and xi for all wheel drive fuel injected.

The first number is the most important one to remember to know which car it is. The rest, you don't have to really worry about until you buy one. You probably know that the M3 is the M division engineered car. It's the same with the M5 and the recent M6.

Mercedes and Audi do almost the same thing. They use just letters and numbers to name their cars.

Giant Purple Snorklewacker MegaDork
6/10/14 10:39 a.m.

To throw a wrench in... this year BMW changed the pattern to make even numbers coupes and odd sedans and bumped the E to F for the 3 series.

MadScientistMatt UberDork
6/10/14 12:11 p.m.

Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote: To throw a wrench in... this year BMW changed the pattern to make even numbers coupes and odd sedans and bumped the E to F for the 3 series.

Although in some ways, the 4 series has been kind of continuing what they'd done earlier - such as the 635i or the 850. The even numbered cars tend to be either a less practical (coupe or convertible) or more luxurious version of the odd numbered series one below it.

Mr_Clutch42 Reader
6/10/14 12:21 p.m.

In reply to Giant Purple Snorklewacker: So you're saying that for the F30, a coupe is a 330i and a sedan is a 335i? Oh, boy.

Mr_Clutch42 Reader
6/10/14 12:22 p.m.

In reply to MadScientistMatt: What about the 850? Is it because it's more sporty than the 845 because of the V12 or is it more luxurious?

racerdave600 Dork
6/10/14 12:34 p.m.

I think they have way too many model designations. My parents, long time BMW owners, recently commented that when they went to look for a new car for my mom, was "this is crazy." You needed a decoder ring to find what you wanted. Almost every car on the lot had a different model designation.

MadScientistMatt UberDork
6/10/14 1:11 p.m.

The newest ones have coupes starting with 3 and sedans starting with 4. Apparently, there's also a stretched sedan or a 4 door hardtop that starts with 4. The 850 is a coupe version of a 750. That line wasn't clear - I meant evens and odds in the series number, not the model number.

SVreX MegaDork
6/10/14 1:24 p.m.

Ok, so a 2002 was 2/3 the size of a compact, with a 0.2L engine, right?

I thought I was starting to get it, but then you started throwing in the exceptions. It's starting to sound like an English grammar lesson

To paraphrase Syndrome, "If EVERYTHING is an exception to the standard, then NOTHING is standard"

dculberson UltraDork
6/10/14 1:31 p.m.

A 2002 predates the current nomenclature. What era of BMW are you trying to understand?

mtn UltimaDork
6/10/14 1:42 p.m.

Keep it simple, General guidelines: First number is the size (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8)--most common are 3,5,7. Second two are engine size.

The Chassis code will designate the generation, E or F followed by two numbers.

Small variations out there, but that will be correct for about 85% of the Bimmers out between the early 80's and now.

Fobroader Reader
6/10/14 1:52 p.m.

Only thing you need to know about BMW is M.......

RossD PowerDork
6/10/14 2:03 p.m.

"S" at the end use to mean Sport, but does it still?

"X" or "X-drive" means all wheel drive.

"i" represents fuel injection (antiquated).

"d" was for diesel.

"C" used to mean coupe but the numbers are changing that and was already covered.

"t" was for a wagon or touring... but how did the turbocharged engines fit in with that...

06HHR Reader
6/10/14 2:12 p.m.

mtn wrote: Keep it simple, General guidelines: First number is the size (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8)--most common are 3,5,7. Second two are engine size. The Chassis code will designate the generation, E or F followed by two numbers. Small variations out there, but that will be correct for about 85% of the Bimmers out between the early 80's and now.

^This. Stick with this and you can identify practically any BMW you are subject to see in person, mind you there are exceptions (Z series roadsters, M1, M-series sedans and coupes) But you won't be seeing a M1 (or a 1M for that matter) or a Z8 on a daily basis, unless you live next door to an exotic BMW store

nicksta43 UltraDork
6/10/14 2:30 p.m.

In reply to RossD:

C also is used for convertibles. One comes before the i and one after. On the big cars L is used to denote the long version or limousine. Again at some point it switched from in front to behind the i or vice versa.

Mr_Clutch42 Reader
6/10/14 3:48 p.m.

Did they only use a capital "C" for convertibles and a "c" for coupes? Did they start the L versions in the 00s? I thought that they only used a lowercase "s" for sport instead of a capital "S" for the E36. I completely forgot that their sports cars are separate. I guess the Z is for their 2 seater sports car. We barely get the wagons, or touring cars, so I guess they would want a "t" designation. They don't use "t" for turbocharging, probably due to a few things, like excessive length model "names". Imagine a 335txi. Or, a 335ttxi for turbo touring injection awd . Diesel engines are almost always turbocharged, so they would technically want to "name" them 535td instead of just 535d. Then, they would have to decide if they want to label their cars with two "tt" for twin turbos to differentiate from the single turbo engines. Europe gets a M5 diesel with three turbos, so "ttt" is excessive, along with all this silliness I'm doing, .