[McLeanSC]

I tried running a search for this but didn't find much. I'm an avid member of the SXOC so know how annoying it can be to regular Forum users when new guys ask the same questions.

I'm basically looking at modifications that'll improve how my car runs and operates. Not so much for 'power', more, parts that are known to prematurely fail or not operate as efficiently as aftermarket alternatives.

My first 'mod' will be a VRSF 7" FMIC to lower my intake temps.
I'd also like to fit a subtle water temp, oil pressure and AFR gauge somewhere to monitor them but think they would look very tacky in the well designed cabin (I'm a Silvia guy so used to sticking gauges any old place). Or are these even necessary? I know in my Silvia once the OEM water temp light comes on it's rebuild time, is the BMW more reliable at catching when it's running dangerously hot?

I've read the cars run a little hot, is this a problem with the thermostats or a cooling efficiency problem? Both for oil and water. I've noticed on the Motorway the oil temp is considerably cooler than city driving, if possible I'd like to lower the temp the thermostat opens so it stays at a more consitent low (not too low though) operating temp. Or upgrade/fit an oil cooler or upgrade the radiator.

aaaaaaand that's it. I'm completely new to these cars so anyones opinion who has done something similar would be a great help.

cheers

[NightStalker]

This is what I did before flashing the car and after completing all the cosmetic mods.

• Walnut blast
• Spark plugs
• Injectors
• New HPFP & LPFP sensor
• Vanos clean up
• Boost solenoid replacements
• Vacuum lines
• Valve cover replacement with RB valve
• Fresh set of tires
• New rotors & brake pads ( StopTech & Akebono zero dust)
• BMS Charge pipe

[OriginalRecipe7]

Originally Posted by RVS

This is what I did before flashing the car and after completing all the cosmetic mods.

• Walnut blast
• Spark plugs
• Injectors
• New HPFP & LPFP sensor
• Vanos clean up
• Boost solenoid replacements
• Vacuum lines
• Valve cover replacement with RB valve
• Fresh set of tires
• New rotors & brake pads ( StopTech & Akebono zero dust)
• BMS Charge pipe

Don't forget about waterpump and oil filter housing gasket if you are going to be that thorough.

[NightStalker]

Originally Posted by OriginalRecipe7

Don't forget about waterpump and oil filter housing gasket if you are going to be that thorough.

Oil filter housing will be done at the next oil change.

Water pump will be replaced when it's about to fail lol. Parts alone is close to $500 but eventually I should replace it before it goes bad.

Also I forgot to add to the list I replaced my alternator as well. They are also known to go bad. Oh and I put in a AGM battery too.

[Vincent_E90]

N54/55 engines are direct injection motors, do some research on that. They are prone to a lot of carbon build up in the intake valves that can bog the car down. As they said walnut blasting should be done every 20-30k miles.

Look in to installing a BMS or Mishimoto oil catch can. You wont have to walnut blast as often if you install that. There's a lot of no-name OCC's on the market, but I am a little weary on how good they are, just because the name brands put a decent amount of R&D in their products not sure about the knock offs. I use Mishimoto myself.

That and an upgraded chargepipe, some people seem to have problems with them, they are made a plastic and have some weak points that can cause boost leaks(mine is still OEM have no problems but its something I closely watch). My buddy went through 3 of them on his 335is (under warranty so he kept getting the free oem replacement)

[limitdown]

You can monitor water temps with MHD. Not many guys monitor oil pressure. If you want to, you'll need this macht schnell distribution block and sending unit .
http://machtschnell.com/oil-distribution-block.html
Regarding temp regulation, previously I got a BMS oil thermostat bypass that allows oil to circulate no matter what the temp is. That didn't do much in terms of peak temp.
Then I got a CSF radiator. Which helped a bit. But nowhere near my expectations .
Then the true fix came out, when Jake and the boys cracked the tables in the DME that control the "temp target".
My tuner set my temp targets low and now I'm running 185F water and 210 to 220 oil temps in 90F+ ambient. If I switch back to my old flash tune map, I'm consistently at 208 to 214 water and 245+ oil temps.

If you got an older 2007 or 2008 model, you'll need to change out everything mentioned above + more. You can either do it now and get it over with, or pull out tons of hair, hate your car and wish you had gotten a Prius, in the next 12 to 18 mths and end up having to replace all of it anyway.

[McLeanSC]

Cheers for all this guys it's great. Had no idea 'Walnut Blasting' even existed. Going to get it done ASAP and already bought the RB PCV after reading the first post. The intercooler cones with an optional Charge pipe upgrade which I'll be getting as well.

Everything listed will be getting down as soon as possibe, thanks for all the info guys keep it up ha

Edit: Has anyone in the UK had the Walnut Blasting done? I contacted BMW and they've never heard of it?

[jpeacock]

Originally Posted by McLeanSC

The intercooler cones with an optional Charge pipe upgrade which I'll be getting as well.

Just a heads up that you're likely talking about a lower charge pipe upgrade rather than the upper. They're connected, but the one that blows is the upper one. The lower is just basically a metal pipe coming out of the intercooler that goes upwards, connecting to the upper CP.

[Cabdriver]

Along the themes of running hot, anyone have experience with the 335is aux. radiator set-up? Looks to be plug and play.
https://www.ecstuning.com/b-genuine-...17117602241kt/

Also, I know there are many oil cooler upgrade options but curious if there is any feedback on this particular secondary oil cooler.
http://www.hardmotorsport.com/hard-m...9x-335i-07-10/

Both of these set-ups augment existing heat exchangers, the coolant radiator is a factory add-on used in the 335is and the other is straight after market.

[McLeanSC]

Originally Posted by limitdown

You can monitor water temps with MHD. Not many guys monitor oil pressure. If you want to, you'll need this macht schnell distribution block and sending unit .
http://machtschnell.com/oil-distribution-block.html

On the subject on monitoring my temps, boost, knock, AFR etc I see the 'COBBS' Accessport V3 looks like a good unit. It also looks very nice and woudn't look out of place in the cabin. £600 seems a fair price as well, even just for the montoring alone. Do you know if this can monitor my oil pressure? Or will the macht schnell only work with the MHD?

Originally Posted by jpeacock

Just a heads up that you're likely talking about a lower charge pipe upgrade rather than the upper. They're connected, but the one that blows is the upper one. The lower is just basically a metal pipe coming out of the intercooler that goes upwards, connecting to the upper CP.

Cheers mate, the upper one will be getting added to my list.

[arhoads335i]

As for a gauge I always thought P3 gauges looked really clean in our cabin. Here is a link to the product. http://www.p3cars.com/shop/bmw/bmw-3...p3-vent-gauge/

[=C=]

Originally Posted by Vincent_E90

N54/55 engines are direct injection motors, do some research on that. They are prone to a lot of carbon build up in the intake valves that can bog the car down. As they said walnut blasting should be done every 20-30k miles.

Look in to installing a BMS or Mishimoto oil catch can. You wont have to walnut blast as often if you install that. There's a lot of no-name OCC's on the market, but I am a little weary on how good they are, just because the name brands put a decent amount of R&D in their products not sure about the knock offs. I use Mishimoto myself.

A OCC is only good when you are in full boost. Now you wont be driving your car in full boost all the time. Its a good upgrade but its not a solution to the problem.

[limitdown]

About 2yrs ago, Cobb stopped making improvements in their product for the N54. They are still making big improvements for other platforms, but they stoppped for ours.
MHD continues to make massive strides for our platform. Check out the main MHD thread on the first page to learn about the new features they keep adding.


After you get the cables for MHD to work, you can also get the "Carly for BMW" app that lets you do deep diagnostics and service resets. The upcoming xHP transmission flash tool will also run on Android and use the same cables.
Check the main xHP thread on the first page.

I regularly use the Carly app. I just close the MHD app and launch Carly, without unplugging or changing any cables.

For oil pressure, it can't be monitored via the OBD2 port (nobody has been able to figure out how to do it). With the macht schnell T, you'll still need an aftermarket sender and gauge (ie from Jegs or Summit ). There are a few makers of a triple gauge tray that fits in the ashtray. Macht schnell also has an "ashtray gauge panel "

Awron also makes a nice looking gauge that replaces an air con vent. Pricey, but nice looking.

[limitdown]

Originally Posted by Cabdriver

Along the themes of running hot, anyone have experience with the 335is aux. radiator set-up? Looks to be plug and play.
https://www.ecstuning.com/b-genuine-...17117602241kt/

Also, I know there are many oil cooler upgrade options but curious if there is any feedback on this particular secondary oil cooler.
http://www.hardmotorsport.com/hard-m...9x-335i-07-10/

Both of these set-ups augment existing heat exchangers, the coolant radiator is a factory add-on used in the 335is and the other is straight after market.

The biggest breakthrough in cooling came from the guys working on MHD. They cracked the target temperature tables.
I live in a very hot and humid tropical climate , imagine southern Florida summers 365 days a year 24/7
My water temps were always around 208 to 214+ and oil temps above 245 to 250, just from spirited city driving. Water and oil temps go hand in hand.
After I put in a CSF radiator my temps improved slightly.
After my tuner adjusted my target temps down, under the same exact weather conditions and driving behavior, my water temps now stay under 190 and my oil temps stay at around 220.
I've always run pure distilled/RODI water with Water Wetter and a BMS oil thermostat bypass. If there is risk of freezing temps in your area, then use an appropriate coolant mix.
Last week just for shats and giggles, I flashed back to a map that was made before the target temp tables were cracked, and my temps shot right back up.

I was previously eyeing the dual race oil cooler from Evolution Racewerks to add to my existing CSF radiator. After the flash, my oil temps are so good that there's absolutely no need for me to spend ~$1500

If you're 6AT, the CSF radiator will kill 2 birds with 1 stone. The main radiator cools trans fluid.

[McLeanSC]

This is all great stuff guys really appreciate the feedback. I've abandoned the idea of the COBBS and will do the reading on the MHD tonight in work. I had read into the threads you mention Limitdown after my first post but will need to take some proper time to have an in depth read. I'll also add the CSF radiator to my list as well. Will have the waterpump replaced at the same time. I know on the E36's the OEM water pump was made of plastic of something and could fail, before I go OEM are there any aftermarket pumps that work more efficiently?

[MJ80.]

Mate upgrading the radiator isnt really common, i wouldnt bother if i was you, especially in scotland. This blokes simply done it because he lives in florida.

[335e92tx]

see http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=935690

[ucdbiendog]

Originally Posted by 335e92tx

see http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=935690

most definitely. that piece of shit stranded me at a ski resort recently, had to fix in the parking lot at night.

[McLeanSC]

Originally Posted by 335e92tx

see http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=935690

Cheers for that mate, it'll be getting replaced while the gbox and diff oil are swapped and the RB PCV gets fitted. About to do a 800 mile road trip so having that break wouldn't have been ideal.

Also.... £90 ex VAT for spark plugs!? Wasn't expecting that

[McLeanSC]

Before making a new thread, has anyone had issues with the auto box when cold?

This morning I noticed when in manual mode and 5th gear, when accelerating the car was just revving as oppsed to actually moving. The clutch definitely isn't worn as it pulls fine on full boost 4th to 6th. It was also dropping the revs into some kind of neutral when I wasn't accelerating. Once warm it was behaving as normal. Anyone had any issues similar to this?

[STR8-6IX]

they run hot for emissions and fuel economy purposes, and they run very hot. this is probably why BMW gaskets are always exploding. I would remove the plastic engine cover to help combat temps and use a thicker 5w40 weight oil

[335e92tx]

I was in the process of replacing my n54 (zf6) with a IS and got to reading on the DCT, it basically has a warmup circuit for the coolant. It runs it thru the radiator to get it up to operating temp quicker.


The M DCT transmission oil cooling circuit consists of an oil to coolant heat exchanger, an oil to air heat exchanger, a transmission oil thermostat and the relevant cooler lines. The oil to coolant heat exchanger is part of the engine cooling system of the vehicle. Mounted on the transmission housing it allows the oil to flow directly from the M DCT into the oil to coolant heat exchanger.
Engine coolant directly from the cylinder head is pumped to the oil to coolant heat exchanger by the auxiliary coolant pump and then circulated back to the engine cooling system. The M DCT electronics can switch on the auxiliary coolant pump as needed. The auxiliary coolant pump, which is normally used to enhance the efficiency of the heating system, is used here to warm up the M DCT transmission. This design shortens the warm up time and maintains the transmission oil in the desired operating temperature range.
After the oil to coolant heat exchanger has brought the temperature of the transmission oil to above 95°C/203°F, an oil thermostat directs the transmission oil to the oil to air heat exchanger located at the front of the vehicle.