Herbmiester

Yes plus one on the Merc 7 speed, lovely box.

Having owned a few modified Aussie big bangers, I understand the feeling, I am hoping when my 335i is sorted it will deliver that feeling once again. My buddy Marks 550i is a nice drive and surprising good on juice when cruising.

No wastegate rattle so that's why I am focussing on other issues. I will get someone else to have a look at it if the gasket and charge pipe fixes fail. You have probably seen this video but I will post it for those that have not. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQD6tITYH7k

Not boring mate it's exactly what I do . Plus you need something to stimulate the brain, it's like a mini project.

The vacuum gauge showed they closed and there was no leak down over time. If you Google waste gate rattle you will see how the pivot arm wears and even tightening up the arm will not solve the issue. That said at 80ks there should not be enough wear to cause this.

The 30ff code shows that there is a difference between actual boost and what the ECU wants to see as boost. Common reasons are , leaking vacuum lines, faulty wastegate solenoids, leaking diverter valves, leaking intercooler, cracked charge pipe and wastegate rattle caused by wear in the wastegate arm pivot. As mentioned I have been through the obvious stuff, two separate workshops have had a go as well and it persists. So now we are down to the less common reasons. And while Ron may have his theories I am inclined to listen to a guy who has specific experience with the N54 platform. The reason I am not convinced it's the charge pipe as it didn't leak on the smoke test and concensus on the US e90 form is that it usually handgrenades when it goes rather than Crack. However the valve cover cracks and there is a direct correlation between the 30ff code and leaking/cracked valve covers. So we will see what happens when this is fixed.

The leak has to be fixed so if the fault code doesn't show after its fixed it should be a fairly good indication. If it doesn't solve the problem then at least I have dealt with a pesky maintenance issue. It is possible that it is a combination of issues, Rob Beck did say that the N54 can be a difficult engine to diagnose as there are a number of potential leak points including the valve cover itself which cracks. I would say that the Saab experience may or may not have relevance here as its a completely different engine and if I have learnt one thing about tuning engines over the last 30 or so years it is that principles are all well and good but the devil is in the detail.

I bought a second hand set of Forge DV,s a while back as the oem ones have a sketchy reputation. I should have mentioned I checked the wastegates with a vacuum pump and they held seemed to be OK but I can't establish the actual seal unless I remove them. It could be the actuator arm becoming sloppy but in theory that doest usually happen at such low kms.

This is from a post by Rob Beck of RB turbo in the US. I run one of his replacement PCV valves The other "PCV" you reference is a check valve that only limits airflow in low load conditions for the PCV in the valve cover to vacuum up impurities in the crankcase. This is accomplished from vacuum in the intake post throttle blade, through individual channels from each intake port in the cylinder head casting up through the valve cover gasket and into the chambers of the valve cover and finally to the PCV valve. Under high loads the air charge has the same path, but closes the PCV and uses the Bank 2 turbo to help relieve crankcase pressures as you mentioned. But the point is that if the valve cover gasket is leaky or whatever, boost could leak out of it under high loads and it could be a vacuum leak at low loads. The valve cover gasket is the seal for the channels. Personally if I ever pulled one off I would use some RTV Gray or equivalent around each of those 6 channels between the head mating surface and the gasket, but that is just me.

Nitto NT555 is available in 255/40/17 and 235/45/17 the 235 would work on a 7.5 inch rim, definitely on a 8 inch. My friend has a them on an Audi S6, he was very happy with them and he pushes his car. He had Pirellis before that.

I can't say for sure it's not the turbos but two mechanics didn't seem to think so. No waste gate rattle and at 80,000 ks there shouldn't be. Everything I have read and discussed with people here and in the US says charge pipe or gasket. Fingers crossed.

Don't worry about the debate, its par for the course round here.

The X5 is a bus and combined with 4wd its a lot less economical than a lower CD 2wd vehicle.

Hankook Ventus S1 Evo 2s (in your sizes) were on my 335i when i bought it. The rears were a bit worn so hard to say how good they were but the fronts gave good steering response and the car felt agile with them on. With S001s on the rear and Hankooks up front it did understeer a bit but I suspect that is due as much to the chassis setup as anything.

I bought my 335i last September and so far I have only done a few thousand km's in it. It has a persistent boost leak. So far I have done the following, new intercooler and piping, new vacuum hoses and checked and replaced the boost control solenoids. I have had smoke tests and vacuum tests done, the computer reset and it still persists. Now I will admit it could be the charge pipe, I have removed it and inspected it and I can't see any cracks but to be safe I have an Evolution Raceworks Charge pipe coming. I will also replace the OEM plastic diverter valves with some Forge Diverter valves. The OEM diverters are far from tight in the OEM charge pipe. With all that said I think the real culprit might be the leaking valve cover gasket. I had a conversation with a guy on the US E90 forums who went through a similar scenario and the valve cover gasket was the culprit. BTW my car is just about to hit 80,000kms; hopefully one day BMW will sort out their gasket materials. I will post an update next week with the results. I am hoping this is it so I can finally give it an MHD tune and extract all the potential the engine has.

Olaf did you do the purchase price difference between a petrol and diesel, then used that cash difference to amortize the cost difference between petrol and diesel taking into account road users and maintenance? I did it for a Hyundai my friend was looking at a while back and we worked out the break even point was 70,000 kms.

Yes the high seating position is nice and as I am 1.97m I do appreciate some leg room.

Just looking at some notes i made when I test drove an E70. "Best SUV I have driven, but still an SUV" I think that summed it up for me. I was looking for a family hauler with a bit of dirt road capability and in the end I bought a Toyota because I was a bit sick of unreliable Euros at that stage. Go the e61 if you like driving, the E70 is good for what it is but there really is no comparison otherwise.

Wellington has the best CBD in NZ and outside of the hilly suburbs the Hutt Valley has a lot to offer. Plus it has a very usefull rail system.

Well his reasons for tyre wear will drop no doubt.

I lived in JVille for a while and its ok, the CBD commute is best done on the train as parking post earthquakes is getting tight. I also lived in Khandallah for a while and found the tight streets and limited parking a pain. I would look at the Hutt, two rail options to town and much greater likelihood of a garage. Don't dismiss Upper Hutt either the commute is longer but again the rail option is there and its a good option. Seriously driving into the CBD is a pain in the ass. Driving into the Hutt from Upper Hutt or south is not too bad. Save your driving for the weekends.

Hard luck Richard, I do like the E60/61 having owned a 530i. The chassis is a real step up from the already very good E39, especially in V8 form. Keep looking mate and make sure you get an LCI version, the old school idrive will drive you nuts if you excuse the pun. Dont overlook the petrol sixes, sure economy isn't quite as good but the N52 and N53 engines provide very good motivation.

BMW alignment specifications for my E46 wear the front outside edge and the rear inside. On the US E46 forum this is discussed at some length. You need more front camber which you can get by punching out the front strut tower detent pins. (same on an e36). Lowering you car below Msport ride height can exacerbate these problems on some BMW's. E90/92 etc can have less than desireable geometry when riding below M sport height.

Bump.

I have run different tyres front and rear for years, its not a big deal if the tyres have similar performance specs.