Herbmiester

Yeah disappointed that my trans can't take the flash but as its a street car rather than a track day car it makes it easier to live with. Even on the street I can notice that the rear is not properly sorted. LSD and a bigger rear bar are on the cards. To be honest I didn't pay much for my 335i so if I spend some cash on it then It won't stress too much.

Intercooler and Charge Pipe, Then tune with MHD. A stage 1 plus tune for 98 octane will give 360 to 380 HP. A stage 2 MHD tune with replaced down pipes will get you over 400. You can of course have the tune customised to suit you mods.

Sorry I should have said 400plus in modified form.

Personally my experience is that BMW's have inherently decent chassis' but they are not perfect and many other manufacturers can claim equivalence or better these days. That said BMW's are cheap in NZ and when a car that was north or 100k in 2007 only cost 20k in 2016 then it makes the expense of average reliability at higher KM's easier to digest. I have noticed that that as BMW's get older the aftermarket parts become pretty cheap, not much more than Toyota. With my 330ci most of the components that attach to the engine had to be replaced or repaired so the cheapish costs here make it less onerous, but like any make once you have a passion you tend to buy on emotion and justify with warped logic. As regards suspension one man's stiff is another mans soft, I dont mind a stiffish ride but in the case of my Ohlins small bump compliance is better than M Sport by a noticeable margin so I sort of get the best of both worlds. I have not found the N54 reliable but like the M54 its all the stuff bolted to engine rather than the engine itself. I dont do big KM's in my cars 5-7k per annum so in 4 years time when I upgrade my 335i will still be around 100k by then it will be a 12-15k car perhaps and that opens it up to a whole new market of buyers. Yes I modify my cars I always have and I have always ended up with a superior product. BMW are no different to any other manufacturer there are compromises and some I live with and some I fix. I would also say the N54 is relatively cheap to modify especially compared to an N/A car.

Oh the N54 gives reward 400plus Hp is more than an S54 can muster (without a big $ investment) and you get the bonus of big torque.

As the owner of both an E46 330ci and an E92 335i I thought I might share what I see as the noteworthy points. I have to say that my 330ci is not stock especially with regard to the suspension but as I have also driven a fairly stock 328i Motorsport recently I can hopefully give a fair appraisal. Firstly with regard to engines the N54 is a cracker, now mine is running correctly it's a joy to drive and obviously it has potential for quite a bit more. You can catch it out on occasion and have to wait for the boost to arrive but on the whole the small turbos spool quickly and give a nice linear response. The M54 is a good engine and with 170 Kw it's not a slug but the N54 will hose it. I will say that having driven a few M54B30's they can feel a bit lifeless in the midrange if the DISA and VANOS are not working correctly. Fix those ( As I have done) and the midrange is really quite good and the mellow torque you feel in the M50/52 is replaced by a good strong shove. Both my cars are Auto and the 6HP is definitely a step above the 5HP. That said for winding roads I find using the manual shift option on both cars actually works quite well, better in the 335i of course. Manuals or a DCT in the 335i would be better for press on driving but you pay a hefty premium to shift yourself so you have to factor that in. Interior wise the I think Its closer. The 335i looks more modern and the 330ci looks older by comparison but ergonomics might actually be with the e46 and while the 335i has more adjustability in the seats the E46 seating position is a bit lower and there is a bit more legroom up front as well. The E46 seating position really is very good. In the back the 330ci is a 3 seater while the 335i is only two, as I have two kids and they both fit in there I call this even as the 335i has a bit more rear leg room. The I drive in the 2007/8 iteration is ok but a good aftermarket audio system that you can fit into the e46 is probably just as good an option. The I Drive St Nav works buts it's a bit slow and not anywhere as easy to use as Google Maps. Audio quality is just a shade better in the 335i but the head unit in the 330ci is lower mid range and lacks quality DAC's. Both have big usefull boots and decent lights. There are a few more bits and bobs in the 335i like auto wipers and headlights that turn when you turn but they are small things that really dont have a big influence on my ownership experience. Externally it's a personal thing but the 335i looks more Coupe than the E46 which is to me almost a 2 door sedan. I love silver as a colour and the Blue of the 330ci is not one of my favourite shades of blue so I personally like the look of the 335i better. Chassis wise its interesting, the 335i has active steering and this results in a fast rack, steering in the 335i requires less input and feels very direct, the 330ci rack has more play and is less precise on centre but has a little bit more feedback but that could be down to tyres as the Nitto NT830's on the front of the 335i are ok but they are a touring tyre so they find their limits quite early. The 330ci is obviously an evolution of the E36 (and up front the E30), the rear Z Axle is a proven system and really it could be argued that while the 335i system is more advanced it's only incrementally better. This of course is dependent on how you set it up and the ancient trailing arm setup of the E30 still has its fans even though the mid corner lift off toe changes scare the sh*t out of me. The 335i does have a small advantage when retrofitting with M3 parts as it seems they are easier to obtain and fit. Stock the 335i has a small rear anti roll bar and stiff rear springs, like the 330ci there is no LSD so it's all done with electronics, this can give a bit of a disconcerting feel at times and an LSD would surely help here. This is magnified by by bigger HP and tq numbers. I feel that the stock (Msport) 330ci rear is better balanced than the 335ci rear as it is setup from the factory. Up front I favour the 335i just and to be fair this is mainly about the quick response from the rack and this may yet increase when I fit the M3 Arms and Konis. In push on driving the 330ci feels like it has a lower roll centre and with the Ohlins suspension it's more composed than both the 328i and the 335i. The 328i did exhibit a similar confidence inspiring feel however but its limit was quite a bit lower even though it was running on 18's and Michelin tyres, (The Ohlins Suspension is a bit of an unfair advantage). I will get serious about selling the 330ci at some stage but I have to say chassis wise it's still a very competent car and it has proven to be more reliable than the 335i. The 335i is faster and while there is nothing in it brake wise the 330ci is more confidence inspiring in the corners but as mentioned that may change when I fit the M3 parts to the 335i. My love of horsepower will always give the 335i the win but a quick blat over the Rimutakas yesterday in the 330ci showed me its still got a lot to offer.

It's not rocket science I did my own in the end so any decent garage that deals with forced induction cars should be able to do it. Many garages won't be able to supply the parts anyway. The hardest part is the lack of working room for joining the the piping that comes off the intercooler and the charge pipe.

I clean the wheels once a week along with the car so no big deal, I have had the Hawks for a year now and they are not overly dusty, not really much worse than factory BMW pads. this may change when you track them of course.

I run RDA slotted dimpled rotors and Hawk HPS pads on my E46. They work well as an everyday setup but have very good fade resistance. Trying Stoptech pads on my 335i.

Yes still for sale.

Yes had it done but it looked like an average job, will not be going back.

I have a crank pistons and rods for sale if that helps.

I hope I dont have it by then

So I have an AMS intercooler and new charge pipe as well as the basics like new plugs and new vacuum hoses. I have a set of downpipes but have not installed them yet. I was thinking of the Stage 1+ tune for 98 octane as I have good access to 98 round here. I could always flash to stock again if I can't get good gas. Other option is just to go with a Stage 1 + 95 tune and I assume this will have a more conservative timing and will keep me away from detonation (I assume MHD will still pull timing if the knock sensor sees something wrong?). I am keen on a TCU flash as even in sport mode it will upshift but as my car is an early 2007 (Pre march 2007) the Alpina TCU flash wont work, what is the XHP option?

Yes an E60 with an N54 would be nice. I liked my E60 very much and the chassis was very good indeed. I am hoping to be back on track now, This whole experience was very frustrating and while the end fix was simple the process was not. I have spent half a life working on cars (I was an Auto Electrictrician). I will say this not since the days of working on British cars have I been so frustrated by the way a car is built; with the older Brit cars it was sloppy build quality and questionable design, with the N54 it seems to be complication for the sake of it, design philosophy over practicality. The proof to me would be the N55. Sure it doesn't have quite the same tuning potential but it delivers similar results with less complication. Anyway rant over, I will fit the M3 front control arms and Koni shocks after Easter: still need some new front rotors though.....

I am looking to hear from people who have tuned their N54's with one of the off the shelf MHD tunes. I am deciding whether to jump into a stage 2 tune or start with a stage 1. I have an upgraded intercooler and charge pipe. No access to Ethanol in Wellington but can run 98 octane.

$5000 come on guys its a great E46.

Sorry for the long gap in updates but between work/life commitments I just had to close the bonnet for a few weeks. To cut to the chase the problem is sorted. I replaced the factory charge pipe with an Evolution Raceworks pipe which I have to say was an easy fit. The problem came with the pipe that connects intercooler to the charge pipe. In the end I got some help from Brad and his hands being a bit smaller than mine allowed him to button up the clamps and then it was just putting it all back together. So I can now rev it out and there is no check engine light. I stuck with the original diverter valves and will do some logging with them in place and then swap over to the forge valves. Without a leak throttle response seems better and power builds from lower down in the rev range. I have gone over the original charge pipe a couple of times and I can't find any cracks. I can only conclude that with the diverter valves being a slack fit into the charge pipe that could have been where the boost leak was occurring. The vaunted BMW engineering excellence was perhaps not at its highest in the N54 and I was somewhat underwhelmed. The charge pipe is a fail waiting to happen.

The bonus is that the Evolution Raceworks charge pipe fits nicely, as opposed to the previous no name CP i bought that I suspect was made in China, looks like someone threw up on the welds as they were working. THe pipe out of the intercooler need to come to the right a few degrees and the connecting pipe from there is a bit too short, (all aftermarket stuff) so off to Repco/Sc tomorrow to see what I can find that will work a bit better. Unfortunately I will have to get under the car to realign the bottom pipe.

Problem is it's a complete b***h to put back on. Absolutely no working room.

Possible problem found, the pipe that come off the cold side of the intercooler just pulled off with very little force. Note I was not trying to remove it I was taking some ducting out further up, and the bottom of the pipe just came out.

I cant think what it could be, it does have a bigger volume intercooler.

Based on what I have read on the US boards slow acting plastic OEM diverter valves are contributing to the boost response and the overshoot. The leak; well I suspect again DV or CP or both. CP has arrived so i will try and fit it tonight.

Latest log file, DTC off 3rd gear pull, interestingly no 30FF codes. http://www.datazap.me/u/herbmiester/2007-335i-auto-has-intermittant-30ff-fault-car-stock-apart-ams-intercoolerrunning-98?log=0&data=3-7-24

Yes that makes sense.