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Home ! BMW 3.0L I-6 M57: Small Displacement Diesel

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BMW 3.0L I-6 M57: Small
Displacement Diesel
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The Hidden Gem of Small

Displacement Diesels
It’s an engine that is tough as nails, extremely
efficient on fuel, and highly affordable at the
present time, yet some of you never knew it
existed—until now. It’s the 3.0L M57 inline-six
diesel from BMW, and it’s arguably as chock-full
of performance potential as a common-rail
Cummins. When it debuted stateside back in
2008 (as an ’09 model available in the 335d), it
packed a unique sequential turbo arrangement
(compounds) and boasted 265 hp and 425 lb-ft
of twist—numbers that would prove to be
underrated. Tremendous drivability is on tap
thanks to a responsive high-pressure turbo, and
these sporty sedans can go from 0-to-60 mph
in 5.7 seconds, as well as scoot through the
quarter-mile in low-14-second intervals, stock.

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Capitalizing on the M57’s I-6 architecture and

beefy internals, the engine’s true potential was
eventually realized when the aftermarket got
ahold of them. With emissions system
shortcomings and a few other weak links
addressed, the platform has proven capable of
supporting north of 700 hp at the wheels
without the need for bottom-end upgrades. To
get the full scoop on what the M57 is capable
of, we checked in with Santjer Performance,
home of the world’s most powerful 335d, and
S&S Diesel Motorsport, the common-rail
experts who build larger piezo injectors for
them. We quickly learned that for way less than
$20,000 (including the purchase price of the
car), you can make Hellcat-like power without
even having to upgrade the factory
transmission. And you can have your fun in a car
that’s capable of nearly 40-mpg on the highway.

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If you’re in the market for a daily driver that sips fuel, rides
comfortably, and has 12-second potential with nothing more
than a tune, an ’09-’11 BMW 335d should be on your list.
These cars are one of the best-kept secrets in the diesel
industry. Right now, you can pick them up for $8,000 to
$12,000 with reasonably low miles on them and instantly
make your commute to work more entertaining or your road
trips more economical.

Beneath the composite intake, the BMW M57 engine in this

’09 BMW 335d conceals an aluminum block and head
(earlier versions of the M57 used a cast-iron block). Within
the crankcase, you’ll find a forged-steel crankshaft, secured
by 2-bolt main caps. The rods are forged-steel and the
pistons are cast-aluminum pieces with steel ring lands.
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The beam size of the M57’s factory forged-steel connecting

rod is impressive, and helps explain why these engines can
withstand 1,000 lb-ft of torque at the wheels. Here, it’s
being compared side-by-side with a rod out of the BMW
N54, a twin-turbo, aluminum block and head inline-six
gasoline engine that turned out 402 hp and 398 lb-ft of
torque in its most potent factory form.

A 3.31-inch bore and a 3.54-inch stroke provide for a total

displacement of 182.6 cubic inches (or 3.0L). That’s roughly
half the size of the 5.9L Cummins and less than half the
displacement of the 6.7L Cummins we celebrate so much in
the diesel industry. Despite being half (or less than half) the
size of those I-6 power plants, pound-for-pound the M57
produced more power. The ’09 version of the M57 that
came in the 335d was rated at 265 hp at 4,200 rpm and
425 lb-ft of torque at 1,750 rpm. However, baseline chassis
dyno testing would prove those numbers to be considerably
underrated (they are achievable at the wheels).

Unlike most overhead cam diesels you come across, they

are chain driven rather than belt-driven in the M57. The
cylinder head features four valves per cylinder, and relies on
four head bolts per cylinder (with sharing) to fasten the
head to the block. While we in the truck world are used to
seeing six head bolts per cylinder, in the BMW’s case the
lower fastener count does not affect its durability (more on
that later).

It’s unlike any compound arrangement you’ve likely seen

before, but the factory sequential turbo system on the M57
hangs both turbochargers from the exhaust manifold.
Internal bypass valves limit flow to one turbo or the other at
the appropriate time. To get things moving, the low-
pressure charger, a BorgWarner K26, sees nearly zero
exhaust flow so that the high-pressure unit, a BorgWarner
K39, can bring everything to life quickly. At higher rpm, a
bypass valve diverts flow to the low-pressure unit without
cutting the high-pressure turbo out of the loop completely
(the high-pressure charger remains operating at or near
100-percent). The low-pressure charger is also wastegated
to avoid possible overspeed.

Although the factory hardware is stout on the M57 engine,

its parts do have their limits. Throughout the past five years,
Matt Santjer of Santjer Performance Development has bent
plenty of connecting rods and melted a few pistons while
testing the limits of the M57 platform—but as a result he
now knows what parameters need to remain in check in
order to keep a factory M57 alive. “If we really pushed it
down low we could make 1,500 lb-ft, but it might come
apart,” he told us. “So we try to keep torque in check.”

While 1,500 lb-ft of torque might be out of the question for

the M57, Santjer’s relentless testing of the 3.0L BMW has
shown that he can get away with running 600 to 700 hp at
the wheels and 1,000 lb-ft on the stock bottom end without
issue. “Now that we’ve gathered so much data, we’re more
comfortable with what we can get away with,” he said.

Despite having just four head bolts per cylinder (14 total),
Santjer Performance Development has proven that the
factory head bolts can keep the head gasket alive at 75-psi
of boost. The folks at Santjer believe it has more to do with
the bolts’ length and their engagement in the block than
their 12mm diameter. After all, the head bolts extend almost
to the mains.

If you must, there are aftermarket head studs for the BMW
M57. So far however, Santjer Performance hasn’t felt the
need to run them—not even with its triple-turbo 335d
turning out 75-psi of boost and more than 1,000 lb-ft of
torque! Still, should the company ever find the limit for the
factory head bolts, it’s nice to know this option is out there.

The only real internal weak-link that’s been exposed so far

are the factory valve springs. To rule out boost creep and
valve float at high rpm and elevated boost, Santjer
Performance worked closely with Hamilton Cams in
developing stiffer replacement springs. These direct drop-
in replacements are good to 6,000 rpm and 75-psi of boost.
They’re recommended any time you tune an M57 engine.
The rest of the head and valvetrain has remained 100-
percent stock throughout all of Santjer’s horsepower
pursuits.

A high-pressure common-rail injection system from Bosch

is employed on the M57. In it, a CP3 high-pressure fuel
pump provides the rail with as much as 1600 bar (or roughly
23,200 psi) worth of pressure for the injectors to use. The
injectors themselves are Bosch piezo electric units. Not
unlike larger engines that use piezo injectors (such as the
6.7L Power Stroke), the injectors flow much more than the
OEM high-pressure fuel pump can keep up with.

The factory piezo injectors can support a tune-only, 360

rwhp. Add another CP3 to the equation and they can
support as much as 425 rwhp. Then, with a second high-
pressure fuel pump in the mix a much larger injector can be
utilized. As we go to press, these are the largest injectors
built to date for the M57. Built, benched, and balanced by
S&S Diesel Motorsport, they are equipped with 100-percent
larger nozzles and flow 2,250 cc/min. They are believed to
be capable of supporting more than 1,000 rwhp.

Many of you are familiar with the Bosch CP3, but some
aren’t aware that many different versions were produced for
a wide array of applications. In the BMW M57’s case, an
R70 model CP3 is used. The R70 is different from the larger
version of the CP3 you’d find on a Duramax due to no pump
gears being present on the backside of the pump. In BMW
335d applications, the R70 gets its low-pressure fuel supply
from an in-tank lift pump.

To get around the volume imitations of the R70 CP3, Santjer

Performance came up with a dual CP3 kit. The second CP3
(which is sourced by the customer), is driven independent
of the serpentine belt via a Poly-V drive belt. Due to the
pulley ratio it’s also overdriven, which means that more than
twice the fuel volume is on tap. Here, you can see the billet-
aluminum CP3 support mount, but that’s only the tip of the
iceberg. Santjer’s comprehensive bolt-on kit also comes
with the plug-and-play PWM controller, billet belt tensioner,
upper and lower drive pulleys, high-pressure fuel lines,
high-flow CP3 fittings, and expansion tank coolant hose you
need to install it.

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Not wanting to increase the risk of timing chain failure by

placing more stress on it, Santjer’s belt-driven dual CP3 kit
reduces the load on the factory timing chain by 50-percent.
Thanks to the second CP3 being overdriven, Santjer
believes that—in conjunction with S&S Diesel Motorsport’s
100-percent over injectors and BRR Tuning’s ECM
calibrating—1,000 rwhp is possible on fuel with the M57
platform.

Every dual CP3 kit Santjer sells also comes with the support
you need on the low-pressure fuel side of things. To help
the in-tank lift pump supply the high-pressure fuel pumps,
a Bosch turbine fuel pump is run in line with the factory
pump. At idle, supply pressure being sent to the CP3’s is 50
psi. At higher rpm, it increases to 60 psi. A supplied wiring
harness provides for the lift pump to be integrated with the
factory PWM-controlled fuel pump circuit.

Matt Santjer will be the first to tell you that making an M57
perform at its peak begins and ends with sound tuning.
None of the injector, high-pressure fuel pump, and turbo
mods he’s tried would’ve mattered without someone writing
the perfect files for the ECM. Working closely with BRR
Tuning and sticking with the factory Bosch EDC17, the
results are undeniable. Santjer owns the most powerful
335d in the world according to his dyno sheets. Soon, he’ll
be gunning for the honor of owning the fastest 335d in the
world as well.

WOPIE

Building on the factory bypass-style compound turbo

arrangement, Santjer has added a third turbo to his
purpose-built drag racer. The custom, Holset-based
charger serves as a second atmosphere unit and boasts a
compressor wheel that’s somewhere in the 64mm to 70mm
range (the sizing has been kept proprietary for now). So far,
the three-stage, triple-turbo configuration has produced
75-psi of boost—a far cry from the 26-27 psi the original
system produced from the factory!

He may not own the record for the world’s fastest BMW
335d yet, but Matt Santjer won’t rest until he does. And
even though he’s still campaigning a full weight car (3,900
pounds), he still believes he can top the current best E.T. in
Europe—a gutted race car in the 9.20’s in the quarter-mile.
After all, the triple-turbo system, 100-percent over
injectors, and dual CP3’s have already produced a timeslip
with a trap speed of almost 140 mph. On that pass, Santjer
was attempting to get the 335d on the 100-200 KPH super
car’s list (it did it in 5.3 seconds), and left the line with zero
boost on tap and with power limited to 600-rwhp before
fourth gear in order to maintain traction.

Perhaps the craziest part in all of Matt Santjer’s M57

madness is the fact that the factory six-speed automatic
has survived without modification. The ZF 6HP transmission
is of the Lepelletier epicyclic/planetary gearset variety and
in Santjer’s case has held up to the aforementioned 9-
second pass and 140 mph trap speed. Beyond that, we’re
told the differential and axles are tough-as-nails, too.

Just when you thought the M57 was invincible, we have to

remind you that no engine is perfect. One of the primary
weak links on the M57 engine is the swirl flap design on the
intake manifold. Each port is graced with a plastic flap that
is intended to help engine efficiency, most notably fuel