HalfJobHarry

M The Cats and post cat sensors all all about emissions compliance and serve no function beyond that so no surprise its running okay. The pre-cat sensors do all the real work. So I've seen two scenarios here, bad cats (rare)...bad sensors (more common)...i've had multiple O2 sensors fail close together (often due to vibration). If you're otherwise happy with your data , fuel trims etc...then consider just programming/flashing out these fault code as there is nothing to gain by chasing this problem down (unless you want to be sure you're not contributing to NOx pollution!)

About a month ago I changed the plugs and coils. Paid less for a set of six sparks and Delphi coils from FCP euro including shipping that I would have paid here for one plug and one coil. Also lifetime warranty, it will be worth paying the shipping for free replacement parts! Massive difference to the idle. N54s are 'known' for a slightly rough idle at times but new plugs and coils have made nearly as much improvement as the walnut blast did (that improved low revs). Next thing on the hitlist for later in the year will be a new set of injectors. I'll stump for a set of Index 12s from FCP Euro and be done with it with their lifetime warranty.

Yes ... I had an FRM3 fault and was going to replace the unit until I discovered the pricing. In the end it turned out I had some corrosion on some pins that were shorting together...cleaning this up sorted me out. However I did a fair bit of research. First step is to determine if the FRM is still 'alive' at all...as in can it be seen on the CAN bus. If it cannot be seen then it's highly likely that the bootloader area has been corrupted (the common failure mode for FRM3). If I had a total failure I'd probably send it out to get repaired (overseas as to not get totally ripped off). I flirted with buying a Ali Express programming tool for the EEPROM (it cannnot be reprogrammed using the BMW tools) and maybe starting a little sideline here. The Xprog copies are only about $180 USD from Aliexpress. I'd wager there are a fair few programmers around that can do it....just about finding somebody locally that won't fleece you.. P.S. There are a bunch of worldwide BMW warranty extensions on FRM3... if you're under 10 years old I'd give the dealer a call and have a moan...worst they can say is no. Often dealers like doing this warranty work as they get paid for it by the mothership.

Indeed ....strangely it's never the bit of a job I expect to be difficult that turns out to be difficult. I'd have thought getting the new intercooler into place at all would be the hard part...interestingly I did not have to trim or cut anything....there is a small 'lip' that attaches to the bottom of the of the stock intercooler and lower front bumper that looks like it won't go back on but apart from that all good.

Thanks. I'm thinking I might have an alignment issue...because my pipe fitting experience has been......not just difficult but bloody impossible so far...and I've tackled some nasty jobs over the years...something is feeling a bit wrong. I think I'll drop it...remove the extra nut...add some bigger washers (the ones I have are a bit small my my comfort...reposition, lube up those fittings and the cooler and have at it.

Thanks for the insight once again....yes I was curious as to the 2nd bolt....I my hose struggle might be magnified by having the intercooler sitting several mm lower than it could be (but that said others 'out there' managed to get it in). Notes of caution advised...yes it would be easy to crank up the nylocs too much and start stripping the plastic thread...

Ahh good info thank you. So like the radiator hose clips...you have the clip on BEFORE pushing the connecting hose in? Also do you have a nut on the hanger bolts before the intercooler too? The hangar bolts don't go in as far as the stock screws so I followed some of those DIYs and put a nut on first...then the intercooler...then a fixing bolt.... I'm wondering if that extra nut is causing me grief? Yeah I'm pretty high on the curse-o meter right now. The intercooler itself seems to be fitting VERY well ...it's just the hose connections

Received my unit and it fits easily enough and screws in well....however I'm having a disproportionate amount of trouble getting the pipes in...I cannot for the life of me get the 'flared' retaining bits that are supposed to fit into the grooves on the intercooler to seat. Everything seems so tight...I spent about 3 hours last night trying to get the damn things to seat....this is twice as long as removal and fitting of the new intercooler itself took (such is life!). Did you have any difficulty getting the pipes in? I don't want to write this off as some kind of machining tolerance issue as the overall quality of the unit seems really good.

Just reporting back in on this...two washes and about 600 ks of driving.... the Autoglym definately lasts and has a good shine (maybe a bit too shiny for my tastes but mild for most i think). It is 'stickier' than something like my previous goto Optibond (which is too expensive to get brought into NZ). It's a good but not ideal alternative to Optibond so I'm overall pleased.

Honestly..... as others have said this GuardX stuff looks to be just a totally overpriced (by about $950! ) application of a polymer paint sealant (like a Klasse....although Klasse lasts a long time). They seem to be riding the bandwagon of SiO2 ceramic coatings (which are great if you don't enjoy the whole car grooming process)....

Have a look at GROM : https://gromaudio.com/store/all-bmwo4.html I had this in my E46 330i ... I wanted to retain a stock look and feel and have all the original buttons working. The GROM gave me bluetooth audio and MP3 etc via a USB stick (that pretended to be a six disc CD changer so the stock head unit could control it). If you had CCC / iDrive I'd recommend an AVIN Android head unit replacement....but you don't so I can vouch for the GROM.

I will second the Avin units. Mine has been good. I have one on m E82. It's important to keep in mind that a working CCC *is* needed for the system to work. If you intend to use the bluetooth hands free you will need to install the external mic. Also if you want to hear the Android sat nav voices while using the CCC AM/FM then you'll need to fit the silly external speaker under the dash or something too. I'd also recommend using the supplied GPS antenna from the get go also, I had nothing but aggro with the splitter feed from my 'shark fin'....it just seemed very temperamental.

Thank you, they have those in stock at my local Mitre 10. A 3rd / 4th gear pull from rolling to redline is the 'gold standard' for data collection at least. The gear changes and associated noises can upset the knock detection etc and obscure good data. It's also handy for keeping the speeds down (ish!). I have plenty of data on the stock IC IATs and Wastegate duty so should be able to see any substantial pressure drops in the logs once the new one is in. I can relate to you on finding places to do a pull..... all of mine take place on a 'closed circuit or 'private airfield' LOL! 🤣

The inter cooler finally arrived via detour to Israel of all places !!! (Apparently somebody though NZ was Nazareth??!). I cannot recommend the XHP flash enough.... went straight to Stage 3 on that and never looked about about 9 months ago. I feel that sometimes this one change has made the biggest driveability enhancement :D The throttle blip in manual mode is just superb.

I'm going to look at this indirectly by seeing how much my turbos have to work before and after. The waste gate duty cycle is an indirect measure of this. The ECU (and piggyback system) target a boost pressure at the manifold. The higher the waste gate duty cycle the more the turbos are being made to work to deliver a given pressure. If I see a substantial increase in WGDC...I can assume the pressure drop from the new intercooler is substantially bigger than the stock one. However even if that were to be the case, there must be a 'crossover' point where the increased flow volume through the intercooler + higher charge air density (lower temperature) results in positive returns. I think a significant issue with the stock intercooler is heat soak following multiple 'pulls' in a short space of time. That said, regardless of climate I've seen logs that show a sharp rise in IAT toward the end of a single pulls resulting in timing pulls and power 'left on the table'. I'm keen to see what my logs say.

Thanks if Jon didn't claim these already I'd be more than happy to cover your costs on them! Failing that, is there a part number on these? Looks like they screw in to the 'factory' holes then some other bolt goes over it? . EDIT: Totally missed the posts about the hangar bolts and what they do...makes sense and I should get hold of these.

Ah yes.....I see. I'll have a look when I'm in there and make an assessment I've ordered the intercooler......I'll do a comparison of my before and after logs for both IAT and WGDC ....I've no doubt the IAT will reduce but it's the before and after on the WGDC I'm keen to see...as even if the charge is denser / less timing , my feeling is the turbos are going to have to work harder to make up a couple of psi pressure drop.... I have plenty of before logs to compare with.

Good looking store actually....I'm thinking I'll go with this guy if I can get a good shipping price. At the price those downpipes look mighty attractive too...but then I'd have to drop my subframe...and I'm really not wanting to do that just yet. Re the lower charge pipe....I don't see that on the store...you talking about the bit from the intercooler outlet that goes up to the charge pipe proper?

Interesting, did you get that work done locally? I've had some ludicrous quotes for any kind of turbo work here. Was thinking of sending the spare set I have out to America for rework. Is that increased flow number from some kind of test data? I'd not really considered changing anything on the stock units as was struggling to get my head around how more flow could come 'from nothing' without sacrificing something else...but then I'd put my turbo knowledge in the 'know the basics but not much else level'.

I have a spare set of rebuilt stock turbos (which I may get rebuilt into TD04 sizes, but my main interest is keeping the boost in an efficient range for the turbo if I do upgrade).

CBS.... I assume anybody who cared about their vehicle long term totally disregarded CBS anyway and did their maintenance on some other planned schedule.

The only real issue I ever tended to see was under the arches...and especially on silver ones for some reason....that 'lip' under the arches seemed to be a weak spot. Ironically, bodywork repair seems to be fairly reasonably priced here... There is no way the difference between a little bit of non structural rust and rust free justifies the insane price difference. Nothing is cheap here because as a "recent" (~ 5 years) arrival I feel the shopping habits drive that.....nobody seems to question or shop around and I feel retailers bank on the fact that 99% of people just stump up the cash, whatever silly price they are quoted. Anyway , I digress

Yes...there is an alarming habit here to buy something in any state and literally run/thrash it into the ground.

Oh those end tanks are not half bad either! Would you mind PMing me the seller for that one? I'll have a look, as for that kind of cost saving (looking at at least $800 NZ for a named brand) I'd consider it

Thanks again. I suspect the improved flow over the stock IC probably negates any other issues (apart from terrible end tank design, which this IC doesn't seem to have!). It's a tossup between this one and the VRSF as they both come in at similar cost with shipping.