Big flat spot at low RPM?

[E34-520iSE]

Hi all! I let my Father in law drive my E34 today. He was complaining about a big "flat spot" on take off. To be honest the car has always been like that, ie, I have to "wind it up" a bit to get it to move, I thought it was just a bit of latency. I thought this was normal but he says it's not. Any ideas on what could cause this? It's an M20B20 engine.

Thanks,

Shaun

[infinity5]

My 530 is like that as well. until 30mph, the car basically rolls forward under gravity. It's always been that way. I'm pretty sure anything short of a diesel could beat me from 0-30. somedays its better than others. the cold helps a lot.

[JD525IA]

Could be wrong.....

Hi all! I let my Father in law drive my E34 today. He was complaining about a big "flat spot" on take off. To be honest the car has always been like that, ie, I have to "wind it up" a bit to get it to move, I thought it was just a bit of latency. I thought this was normal but he says it's not. Any ideas on what could cause this? It's an M20B20 engine.

Thanks,

Shaun

[ryan roopnarine]

Could be wrong.....

the crankshaft on an inline 6 has to be twice as long as a v6, and almost twice as long as a v8, thus people say that the power takes longer to build up in it. however, the power "feature" in an inline 6 is that the power builds up more "linearly", ie more smoothly and that he engine offers much less vibration than the v-configurations.

[Lennyz525i]

M20B20 engine + lots of weight

[Alexlind123]

Perhaps a high-lockup torque converter is in order?

[Interceptor]

Hi all! I let my Father in law drive my E34 today. He was complaining about a big "flat spot" on take off. To be honest the car has always been like that, ie, I have to "wind it up" a bit to get it to move, I thought it was just a bit of latency. I thought this was normal but he says it's not. Any ideas on what could cause this? It's an M20B20 engine.

129 HP in a car that weights 1.5 tons = not a good idea. Don't expect BMW-like performance out of it. Most of the 5ers are not made for traffic light racing anyway, they're simply too heavy. Consider it a comfortable highway cruiser.

[2fast]

A chip may help.mmmmmmchip's

[E34-520iSE]

Thanks for the replies everyone! I never had any issues with the "slow to rev up from idle" phenomenon. Just when someone else drove it and said it doesn't seem right makes me want to find out why. The car is a 5-speed manual. I have now realised there is quite a delay between me pressing the throttle pedal and the engine responding (between 1 & 2 seconds), and that's before I start releasing the clutch!
Is it a big valve/little chamber design issue? Are M20 engines "slow breathers" at low rpm? What's your thoughts on this?

Cheers,

Shaun

[632 Regal]

all bmw engines are made for higher rpm operation and are turds at low rpms. the engines arent made for low speed dragracing but for high speed use, the low rpm turd area is normal. I put in a higher ratio rear end gear which makes the car respund about 10 mph earlier but still until that point its a turd.