[Aragorn30d]

So i've had my 330d for a few months now, and theres various niggles i need to sort out, however theres something thats been bugging me with the power delivery.

It feels to me, that when you floor it the car deliberately holds back performance. The power seems to build up over a second or two, rather than getting a nice torquey punch.

I know its a derv, and its throttle response isnt going to match a petrol engine, but this really feels artificial, as though the ECU is holding back power to make the car smoother. Sometimes, especially at higher rpm's, it will take off with a nice punch, but it usually has this weird delay.

Now ofcourse it might actually be indicative of some sort of issue with the engine, it doesnt seem especially lacking in power and it goes well once its build up. There are also no fault codes showing in the ECU (well bar one glow plug!).

So the question for other 330d owners is, is this normal? Does a remap cure it by making the power delivery more aggressive? Or perhaps decat/DPF to help the turbo spool up faster?

Thoughts please!

[robsta]

I believe that the DPF won't regen while it has a glow plug out so you might be a little clogged up so defiantly worth addressing that and then forcing a regen. If you have a d-can cable and DIS you can do a back pressure test to see the DPF is the issue.

Also it might be worth checking the state of your vacuum hoses. They become brittle over time and can split but that would probably loose you more power than your indicating.

[Rory]

I had a 530d and found it didn't take long for a MAF to go bad. The car can drive alright with a poor MAF but just lacking that sharpness and power.

The other thing I found restricted performance was the manifold pressure sensor at the back of the engine block, they get clogged with soot and crud as it's a tiny thin probe. Poking inside it and cleaning made a difference.

You might know but incase you don't you can test the MAF it by unplugging it and seeing if the car runs just the same or even better, letting you know it's a poor MAF.

[makkan00]

Originally Posted by Aragorn30d

So i've had my 330d for a few months now, and theres various niggles i need to sort out, however theres something thats been bugging me with the power delivery.

It feels to me, that when you floor it the car deliberately holds back performance. The power seems to build up over a second or two, rather than getting a nice torquey punch.

I know its a derv, and its throttle response isnt going to match a petrol engine, but this really feels artificial, as though the ECU is holding back power to make the car smoother. Sometimes, especially at higher rpm's, it will take off with a nice punch, but it usually has this weird delay.

Now ofcourse it might actually be indicative of some sort of issue with the engine, it doesnt seem especially lacking in power and it goes well once its build up. There are also no fault codes showing in the ECU (well bar one glow plug!).

So the question for other 330d owners is, is this normal? Does a remap cure it by making the power delivery more aggressive? Or perhaps decat/DPF to help the turbo spool up faster?

Thoughts please!

Absolutely normal. Driver it in Sports mode and that will get bit better.

I got my car remapped and that helped it. However car always has 1-2 seconds of latency. Drive in Sports mode and it was much more responsive and punchy.

After that I cleaned manifold, put the blanking plates, cleaned egr valve and then it was a lot more responsive especially on high RPMs.

When I compared mine to 335i with alpina transmission, petrol car was rapid. However I missed sudden surge of torque which was present in my 330d.

You can follow what I have done and if its still not satisfactory then you are driving a wrong car.

[mayhs]

I experience a similar feeling, however I came from a larger petrol engine 645i which didn't hesitate at all.

First thing I read about while researching this was the having the swirl flaps removed/deleted causes a loss of low end torque. Ive checked my car and the previous owner had blanked off the swirl flaps.

Secondly have you tried 'resetting' the gearbox? Some members report no change but some do. I fall into the second category. After I reset the gearbox the car does feel sharper and more willing to get going from stand still.

I have had the car remapped for more power but still have the same issue however the map wasn't done on a dyno so maybe a more tailored remap would be better?

[old grey steve]

All the above are valid points but I'd also have a look at the pressure converters out of interest as these get hot/break down with age and can/do effect the car behaviour.

There about £79+VAT but sometimes when chasing a fault they do not bring up any faults yet replace them as we've done a several 530d's for instance they regain their MoJo, not tie a minute saying thus is the answer but seen enough of these going down to know they have an effect.

On the subject of swirl removal, once done usually makes the csr a nicer drive with better on/off throttle response more power especially further up the rev range, the bsr needs to be removed or disconnected with this process but some forget to do this and you can occasionally here a thump/thud type noise from the near side of the car and this too will have an effect on drivability.

[Rory]

Fwiw on my 530d swirl flap removal made no difference to performance at all

[RIOT G]

Is it auto? Low down the box is so 'laggy' feels like it's holding everything back then get over 2k rpm it releases it, feels like it's storing all it's power like an elastic band building up then releasing.

I had my gear box remapped, it drove me mad before hand, had all that low down torque and couldn't use it as the stupid box held it back.

Next step for me is a gearbox service and adaptation reset.

[IceMan007]

I had my gear box remapped, it drove me mad before hand, had all that low down torque and couldn't use it as the stupid box held it back.

How much and from where did you have the gearbox remap done? Noticeable improvement?

[RIOT G]

Originally Posted by IceMan007

How much and from where did you have the gearbox remap done? Noticeable improvement?

Got it done at JF automotive in Maidstone mate.
Had engine and gearbox map done with dyno runs for £700

Yes the difference is massive, doesn't really feel like an auto at all pulls the same all through the rev range, free reving down low, just glides away with no effort and minimal throttle input.

Copied this

Also will notice
Faster gear shift speeds
Faster reaction to paddle shift inputs
Increased mid-range torque through relaxing the torque limiters
Earlier torque convertor locking

Earlier torque convertor locking provides a more 'connected' and less 'slushy' feel traditionally associated with automatic transmissions. It also provides efficiency improvements by transmitting a higher percentage of the engines power to the wheels earlier. This has the additional added benefit of hugely increasing off-the-line performance.

The main thing you'll notice tho is the relaxed torque limiter and earlier converter lock up, just frees the power an torque to the wheels

[Aragorn30d]

Its a manual transmission.

I think its more noticable at lower RPM's than higher ones. Sometimes its maybe just being in the wrong gear, but theres been times when everythings "right" and the delay is still there.

I have deleted the swirl flaps, but this issue was there both before and after.

I did wonder about the DPF, the cars on 140k, and the DPF service timer on the dash was displaying when i got the car, however i did some diagnostics and couldnt see any issues. The DPF "last regeneration" time was within the last 200miles when i last checked it, and the back pressure readings were all within normal ranges. No fault codes for the DPF either. Interestingly when i got the car it had 5 glowplug faults and still seemed to be managing to regenerate successfully.

I probably will get rid of the DPF at some point in the not too distant, delete the EGR, and get it remapped etc at the same time, i was just curious if this was just how they drive, or if i had some hidden fault going on.

What are the pressure converters mentioned above? I had thought the E90 M57 engines have fully electronic turbo actuators, rather than vacuum controlled like the earlier cars?

Its just a very strange sensation, i also have another diesel car, which is much older (an isuzu trooper) and much much slower, but it has a fully mechanical fuel pump with no electronics, and on that, you get immediate response rather than the slightly muted delay i found i got from the E90. Obviously nothing actually happens becuase it doesnt have any power :P but at least you feel immediately what power it does have.

[ade146]

Originally Posted by Aragorn30d

I


What are the pressure converters mentioned above? I had thought the E90 M57 engines have fully electronic turbo actuators, rather than vacuum controlled like the earlier cars?

.

You are correct