BMW B48A20 engine

The B48A20 engine is a gasoline power unit, which was developed by the engineers of the Bavarian company for installation on the BMW third series, and X4. With a working volume of 2 liters, depending on the modification, it can develop from 184 to 231 horsepower of maximum power.

Engine specifications B48A20

Advantages

It is a four-cylinder gasoline power unit developed by engineers from Munich. Introduced in 2014, the engine was designated B48, this motor is designed to replace the previous N20 range. The previous motor was taken as a basis, but the new model differed from it quite significantly: the B48A20 used a closed cylinder block made of aluminum, which housed a long-stroke crankshaft with the help of five supports. The piston stroke is 94.6 millimeters and the cylinder diameter is 82 millimeters. The cylinder walls have a wear-resistant coating with a thickness of 0.3 millimeters. The distance between the cylinders is 91 millimeters. This geometry allows for 500 cubic centimeters of volume in each cylinder, giving a total volume of 2 liters. The design also utilizes 2 balancer shafts, which are different from its predecessor.

The Bavarians covered the block with an aluminum cylinder head for 16 valves, which is equipped with two camshafts and a direct fuel injection system. The intake valves are distinguished by 30 millimeters in diameter, while the exhaust valves are 28.5 millimeters. The stem thickness is also different and is 5 and 6 millimeters on the intake and exhaust respectively. The intake camshaft is equipped with Valvetronic valve height variation. Both shafts are equipped with Double VANOS variable valve timing. The camshafts are driven by a single-row timing chain.

An MHI TD04LR6W twinscroll turbine is used as an auxiliary supercharger, which blows 0.5 bar of additional air. The liquid-cooled intercooler is located in the intake manifold. Bosch MG1 is used as the electronic engine control unit.

The North American market received this motor under the designation B46 series. Those engines are characterized by the fact that with the help of software engineers have obtained compliance with the environmental requirements of ULEV II.

Disadvantages

The BMW B48A20 engine has been produced fairly recently, which has resulted in no blunders or special problems in the design so far. These are reliable power units that provide quite a decent ride and a good resource. The main thing is to use only high-quality AI-98 gasoline, original lubricating fluids, which should be replaced 2 times more often than recommended by manufacturers. In this case, the engine will serve for quite a long time.

Of the most common problems, we can note an increased level of vibration, which is observed during engine operation. Also, closer to 100 thousand mileage of the power unit begins to appear noise in the muffler flap, which does not lead to bad consequences. But if the noise is very disturbing, then the entire exhaust system will have to be replaced. At the moment the resource of the power unit is not known.

Technical specifications

This is an in-line four-cylinder gasoline engine, which is characterized by the presence of direct fuel injection. It is recommended to use AI-98 gasoline as fuel. Fuel consumption on average is about 7.8 liters. As an additional supercharger, a turbine is installed, which allows you to get a maximum power of 231 horsepower at 6 thousand revolutions. Peak torque of 320 Nm is reached at 4.8 thousand revolutions.

Modifications

The B48B20M0 / B20B20A was produced from 2015 to the present day. It was the most deformed motor, which developed only 184 horsepower at 5 thousand rpm. The engine was designed for longitudinal installation, and was characterized by a compression ratio of 11 with a supercharger of 0.5 bar. It was intended for installation on cars with the index 20i.

B48A20M0 / B20A20A, produced from 2014 to present day. This is an analog of the B48A20 engine, but it is designed to be installed transversely. This modification stands on the BMW X1 and X2 with the designation 20i, on the BMW 220i Active Tourer, as well as on the MINI Cooper S of various versions. The maximum power of the engine was 192 horsepower at 5 thousand revolutions.

B48A20M1 – the motor has only been in production since 2018, and was used to fit the BMW X2, which is characterized by the 20i designation. Maximum power is developed at 5 thousand, and reaches 192 horsepower.

B48B20O0 / B48B20B – modification produced from 2016 to the present day. This is a longitudinal version of the engine, which was produced specifically for the BMW 125i F20, and was characterized by an increased boost pressure of up to 0.9 bar. The compression ratio was reduced to 10.2 to 1. Such a motor is capable of developing up to 224 horsepower at 5.2 thousand rpm.

The B48A20O0 / B48A20B is an engine produced since 2014 that is a transverse variant to fit under the hood of the Mini John Cooper Works, BMW X1 xDrive 25i and 225i Active Tourer. Maximum output at 5,000 rpm is 231 horsepower.

B48B20O0 is a version produced since 2015, which is characterized by a boost pressure increased to 1 bar. Such an engine is intended for installation on BMWs with the index 30i. Maximum power was reached from 5.2 thousand, and amounted to 252 horsepower.

B48B20O0 is the top modification, produced since 2013, which develops maximum power of 252 horsepower at 5 thousand revolutions. This engine can be found under the hood of BMW 630i and 730i.

B48B20O1 is a modification from 2018, which is designed to be installed on the BMW Z4 sDrive 20i, which features a maximum output of 197 horsepower at 4.5 thousand rpm.

Tuning

The simplest and most effective tuning option is to re-flash the electronic engine control unit by using Stage 1 software. This will maximize output of 290-300 horsepower and increase torque to 440 Nm. Such figures can be achieved on the 330i and 320i models. The latter model should not be pushed to the end, since it has a high compression ratio. Otherwise, you will have to install water-methanol injection.

You can try to get up to 310 horsepower of maximum power by installing a zero-clearance filter element, a dyne-pipe, and installing Stage 2 software. Maximum torque also increases to 450 Nm.

You can try converting your BMW 320i to a 330i. This is one of the most popular options, in case there is no re-flashing of the control unit, which gives a power boost to the 320i BMW. In this case, you can get the standard 258 horsepower.

This engine is installed on the following models:

BMW X4 (G02)