VANOS or no VANOS?

[mrea1206]

Hello everyone i'm new to this forum.
Just wondering what bmws are faster, the 97-98 540i or the 99-2003 w/vanos. What are the advantages/disadvantages of vanos?

[brettski]

Welcome to the Werkz

From my understanding, and I may be corrected by others here, the 99+ models had a double vanos as opposed to a single on the earlier models that you are referring to. The 99+ M62 engine was referred to as the M62TU (technical update) and had better fuel efficency. I don't know that there was a big performance gain from the torque or HP perspective.

[denyo77]

there was a slight torque improvement with the double Vanos afaik

[Youngproexec]

I think there was a slight improvement in hp. From 282 to 290.

[BimmerE39]

Double VANOS has better power delivery in more areas throughout the entire rev range. Overall, both engines are fairly equal with Double VANOS delivering better efficiency.

[BBenedict]

Yes, the newer engine makes either 290 or 291 HP and either 324 or 325 ft/lbs of torque,
depending on what you're reading, lol. The newer motor does make gobs of torque
just about everywhere.