The N63 engine has been around now for over a decade, making minor but significant improvements along the way. The testing in this article focuses on the TU2 or R variant of the N63 found in this 2018 BMW M550i xDrive. The M550 is the lightest curb weight N63, and we all know that less weight equals more speed.
M550 STOCK DYNO RESULTS
According to BMW, the N63TU2 engine powering the M550 churns out 456 horsepower and 480 pound-feet of torque. However, our dyno testing has revealed that these figures might be a conservative estimate. Not too much of a surprise considering other BMW's we've tested. Strapped to a Mustang Dyno and fed with 93 octane fuel, the M550 put down 419whp and 453wtq.
On a separate run, the M550 achieved a whopping 475 lb-ft of torque, but the horsepower figure dipped slightly to 412. The rest of the runs fell somewhere between these two extremes. Based on these dyno results, it's estimated that the M550 churns out around 530 horsepower and 575 pound-feet of torque at the crank, a significant increase over BMW's stated numbers.
M550 STOCK PERFORMANCE RESULTS
Testing the bone-stock M550 resulted in the following numbers. These were the best numbers we could achieve for the day.
0-60mph : 4.21 seconds
60-130mph : 12.27 seconds
1/4 Mile : 12.42 @ 112mph
The results were impressive considering there is no launch control on this 4,372 pound sedan. The performance results were achieved using the brake-torque method where rpm held around 3k before releasing the brake.
NEXT STEPS
With the stock dyno and performance testing completed, next we're going to get our M550 equipped with the ARM N63TU2 Upgrades and a tune to see what the N63TU2 can do with the stock turbos and fueling.
If you own an N63, check out our upgrades for your N63TU2 HERE. If you need guidance upgrading your BMW let us know!
