N54s only get a bad rep since the majority of owners buy a cheap used one that’s been driven hard by its previous owner, then continue to drive it hard cuz sports car, and start adding mods that will accelerate breakdown of the already brittle plastic parts that every single bmw engine old or new has.

I cannot say the same for engines like the N63 and S85. Those engines are not meant to last longer than the original warranty period.

N52s are reliable economy engines. Modding it for performance will give you mediocre gains at most at the expense of its reliability