Z4 Model Nomenclature Explaination Thread?

[Slimbob]

Hello,
I'm Bob or Slimbob. New to the Forum and to BMW.
My wife and I are looking to buy a Z4 to provide transportation and a lot of fun on our "Rides in the Country".

I am confused with the "Exx" numbers. Is there a FYI thread on here to explain Bimmer jargon?
Is a E85 a 3.0L? What is the key? LOL!


Would love to pick up a new language!
Please point me in the right direction.

Much Thanx!

[BimmerBreaker]

BMW's are referred to by specific chassis codes, so each car of a specific body style has a 3 digit chassis code

E85 is a 2003-2008 Z4 roadster
E86 is a 2006-2008 Z4 coupe

These cars share many components with the E46, which is the 3 series from 1999-2005

This code does not refer to engines. E85's were available with 2.5 and 3.0 M54 engines, as well as 3.0 N52 engines in both standard output and "high output" variants, as well as the M model in the M roadster. The E86 coupe variants only came with N52 and S54 engines.

For E85 and E86 models:
2003-2005 "2.5i" is an M54 2.5
2003-2005 "3.0i" is an M54 3.0
2006-2008 "3.0i" is an N52 "low output"
2006-2008 "3.0si" is an N52 "high output"
2003-2008 M models all used S54 engines