Why The BMW B58 Engine Is A Fashionable 2JZ

Ask any automobile fan to call essentially the most iconic inline-six they’ll consider, and also you’re more likely to get one reply: the Toyota 2JZ. Produced from 1991 to 2007, Toyota’s well-known inline-six turned an icon after it featured within the Mk4/A80 Toyota Supra. It could have adhered to the Japanese gentleman’s settlement on energy outputs in inventory kind (not less than in Japan – within the US, it made almost 45 hp extra due to a couple mechanical revisions), however the aftermarket rapidly unlocked the secrets and techniques of the 2J, pumping a ton of increase to generate four-figure horsepower numbers on a inventory backside finish. It quickly developed a popularity for being bulletproof, dependable in inventory kind, and simply tunable (and nonetheless dependable) once you needed large energy.

However the 2JZ is now 17 years outdated, the world has moved on technologically, and when Toyota had to decide on an inline-six for the brand new A90 GR Supra, it did not construct a ‘new 2JZ,’ it turned to BMW for the B58. However what if we have been to inform you the BMW B58 engine is a real blue fashionable equal to the 2JZ? Earlier than you get the pitchforks prepared and beat down my entrance door, let’s take a look at why that is the case.

BMW B58 vs. Toyota 2JZ Specs Are Nearer Than You Assume

Earlier than we get into the detailed mechanical evaluation of what makes the B58 the brand new 2JZ, it is value noting that there are a whole lot of similarities between these motors of their primary specs. For the sake of this argument, we’ll examine like for like – that means the turbocharged Toyota 2JZ GTE as an alternative of its naturally aspirated model. We’ll even be trying on the B58, and never the S58 utilized in a wide range of M automobiles, which relies on the B58’s core structure.

Whereas there are variations, the numbers are surprisingly shut. The extra fashionable Bimmer motor produces extra energy and does so throughout a broader rev vary, and it is the identical within the torque stakes. However contemplating the advances made in turbocharging know-how, fueling, and extra, the hole between these figures is smaller than is perhaps anticipated. The mechanical similarities proceed once you look deeper, notably as they each pertain to creating large energy.

The Secret To Large Energy: Solid Internals

One of many large promoting factors for the 2JZ within the tuning scene was its means to make four-figure horsepower numbers on the inventory backside finish. Merely dumping extra gasoline and extra increase into the combustion chamber was a simple approach to triple the quantity of energy it made, with little or no detriment to its reliability. Within the fashionable tuning scene, 1,000 horsepower is not unattainable, however we have picked up on a pattern the place, in high-performance builds meant for drag or drift, it is simpler to comply with a recipe you realize will work, which frequently means an engine transplant of one thing older and easier that makes large energy with minor mods, just like the 2JZ or GM LS V8.

However we have now seen our justifiable share of B58 builds able to reaching those self same four-figure outputs, and whereas issues like turbochargers, gasoline injectors, and different ancillaries get swapped out in these builds, the inner of the B58 largely stay unchanged.

The rationale for that is that the B58 ships from the manufacturing unit with a solid metal crankshaft and solid conrods. The 2JZ? This additionally had a solid metal crank, which was key to it with the ability to take in tons of increase and put out large energy.

A One-Measurement-Matches-All Answer: One Engine, Many Automobiles

All through historical past, there have been nice engines which have powered one or two automobiles, and there have been nice engines which have powered dozens. Each the 2JZ and B58 fall into the latter camp. We explored the 2JZ earlier than, and located a listing of greater than 10 automobiles powered by the 2JZ in numerous iterations. Whereas the Supra is essentially the most well-known, not all purposes are performance-oriented. In some instances, they have been luxurious automobiles that relied on the silky easy nature of an inline-six and leveraged the inherent reliability of the 2JZ to solidify Toyota’s popularity for constructing unbreakable automobiles.

As for the BMW B58, this engine was launched in 2015, and since its introduction, it is powered 18 automobiles (eighteen!), and never all of them have been BMW-badged both. There’s nearly no nameplate that wears a BMW badge that hasn’t been powered by the B58, because it was geared up to each rear-drive-based mannequin since its introduction. BMW fashions powered by the B58 embody:

1 Sequence (M140i)

2 Sequence (M240i)

3 Sequence (M340i)

4 Sequence (M440i)

5 Sequence (540i)

6 Sequence (640i)

7 Sequence (740i)

8 Sequence (840i)

X3 (X3 M40i)

X4 (X4 M40i)

X5 (X5 xDrive40i)

X6 (X6 xDrive40i)

X7 (X7 xDrive40i)

Z4 (Z4 M40i)

Moreover, 4 non-BMW fashions have been powered by the B58:

Boldmen CR4

Toyota GR Supra

Ineos Grenadier

Morgan Plus Six

The place The 2JZ And B58 Differ

Whereas these two engines are related in some ways, additionally they differ in a couple of key areas. As with every two issues developed 20 years aside from each other, applied sciences carried out of their growth will differ. One such instance is that whereas the 2JZ had a forged iron block that would face up to a ton of abuse, the B58 depends on aluminum for its block.

There are extra variations between the 2, and for a larger deep-dive into the mechanical adjustments, the video under does a wonderful job with a side-by-side teardown evaluating all of the nitty-gritty particulars.

Is The BMW B58 Worthy Of Succeeding The 2JZ?

It is troublesome to match engines from totally different eras and totally different producers, as they’re finally apples and oranges within the grand scheme of issues. We even have to recollect how a lot the world has modified and the way a lot fashionable automobiles depend on electronics. For that cause, you are more likely to see extra reliability points with the B58 than with the 2JZ, nevertheless it’s value remembering that lots of the B58’s points will stem from its ancillaries and never core elements. That stated, the proliferation of the B58 is much larger than the 2JZ ever achieved, and whereas the 2JZ has achieved its fame within the palms of gearheads who perceive the upkeep necessities of a high-performance motor, most informal patrons who purchase a mid-level BMW with a B58 should not mechanically inclined. This isn’t an M engine, in spite of everything. As we have lined earlier than, even essentially the most dependable engine could be killed by poor possession.

With these ideas in thoughts, the B58 looks as if a good non secular successor to the 2JZ. Nice efficiency proper out of the field is paired with large potential efficiency from the aftermarket, and broad availability is proof of its inherent reliability and flexibility. Whether or not you are after one thing that wafts alongside effortlessly or one thing you possibly can hustle and benefit from the efficiency of, there is a sturdy likelihood you may get it with a B58. The truth that Toyota selected the B58 for the most recent Supra is probably simply the cherry on the highest: the official Toyota stamp of approval that the B58 actually is the fashionable equal of the 2JZ.