Injectors
Introduction
Injector Flow
- What size injectors do I need?
- You can figure this out using our CFI tool here
Types of Body
Types of Connections
Types of Outlets
One thing to consider when purchasing injectors is the spray pattern. This difference is most noticeable when comparing older <1990 injectors to newer >1990 injectors. The older injectors have a single exposed pintle (Fig. 1), whereas more modern injectors tend to have an internal pintle with a patterned nozzle (Fig. 2) that helps better disperse fuel into the intake air.
It’s evident just from the physical difference that the spray pattern will differ. In the below image (Fig. 3) you can see a comparison of both of these two patterns.
The patterned nozzle will provide better overall fuel efficiency which can lead to improved fuel economy and power output while also minimizing knock potential. Upgrading injectors to a patterned nozzle is a worthwhile upgrade for any vehicle equipped with an exposed pintle design.
BMW Injectors
So what do you need to use for your BMW? This depends on your year and engine. For pre-2014 vehicles it's most likely going to be a "long" body injector with EV1/Jetronic connection. There are some exceptions, such as the M44B19 which uses an unusual injector and requires an adapter for common injectors to be used. With direct injection and diesel engines, injectors vary drastically depending on engine.
M20 vs M50 injectors
A common upgrade that people make to their M20 is to use M50 injectors. It's often stated that these injectors flow more, and while that is true, it's a minimal difference of about 6.5%. What this means is that you can usually use M50 injectors with a tune meant for stock M20 injectors.
Please keep in mind that 86+ M20 models use a 3.0 bar fuel pressure regulator (M20B27 ETA and early M20B20 models use a 2.5 bar regulator), whereas M50 models use a 3.5 bar regulator. So while M50 injectors will flow around 175 cc/min @ 3.5 bar, they will flow only about 162 cc/min @ 3.0 bar. Compared to the 156 cc/min of the M20 injectors, this is not much of an upgrade in terms of flow rate. However, the M50 injectors do utilize a patterned nozzle instead of an exposed single pintle. This provides a much improved spray pattern and fuel dispersion into airflow and can provide slightly better combustion. Therefore it is a worthwhile upgrade for stock or near-stock M20 engines, but is not suitable for vehicles making above about 170 WHp without increasing the fuel line pressure.
A comparison of the flow rates between M20 injectors (0280150715) and M50 injectors (0280150415) can be seen below:
| Test | 0280150415 | 0280150715 |
|---|---|---|
| Static 3.0 bar | 162 cc/min
15.9 lb/hr |
156 cc/min
15.4 lb/hr |
| Static 3.5 bar | 175 cc/min
17.2 lb/hr |
167 cc/min
16.6 lb/hr |
| 8000 RPM 3 MS 3.0 bar | 70 cc/min | 65.5 cc/min |
| 8000 RPM 3 MS 3.5 bar | 76.5 cc/min | 72 cc/min |
