Just about set on a 335i

[Herbmiester 923]

The time has come I think to buy some horsepower. My trusty E46 has served me well and I do love the chassis but I am hankering for a bit more grunt. My budget is $20k ish and looking around there are a few E90/91/92's in that range. I drove a NZ new coupe and I did like it but I saw a nice Motorsport Touring in white and I have to honest and say it looked lovely. The Coupe front end is much nicer in my opinion but I am thinking perhaps I should get something a bit more pratical.To be honest even the Sedan in Motorsport trim looks good especially when the chrome kidney grills are replaced with black ones. The real reason I want one of course is the engine. I am interested to hear anyone's N54 tuning stories; it seems to me that MHD is probably the way to go especially when supported with a few  bolt on parts. Also curious to know more about a walnut intake port clean, oil catch can upgrade and general service issues. Oh any if anyone has done a Koni/Bilstein or other upgrade what did they find? I am partial to good suspension after having Ohlins on my E46. What bushes wear out and are poly bushes worthwhile? So many questions...

 

[Olaf 3317]

I'm in denial about the 335i John, I think you're absolutely on the money.  I'm heading for a 330i myself.  I'll be hanging on to the e46.  Shame I can't justify three vehicles, I'd snap up your coupe in a heartbeat.  Denial?  Yes, I love the idea of the grunt and fun of the 335i, but my wallet says "be cautious young man, the next one's for two years only", and I arrive back at the 330i.  That's more to do with my personal income risk, and is not a reason for others to avoid the 335i!

I think the motorsport will be the way to go; non-msport you'll miss out on the seats and have to do all your suspension.  The downside of Msport in the e90 series is that damned black headlining and pillar trim, does make it seem a bit grim inside.  The windscreen seems smaller (pretty sure it is smaller) than the e46, so coupled with all that black it's a bit like peering out through the slot in a pillbox.

There's some photos on a recent thread of the walnut intake clean, looks like a very good idea.

One of those boost pipes (I forget which) is plastic and breaks - particularly with added tuning (boost), so normally replaced with an alloy item.  

They're a bit more complex under the hood than your NA unit, so you can expect a little more $$ in maintenance... but look at what you get in that package, eh?

Do it.

Oh, hang on, let's try that again:

 

[5amchris 45]

Hehe sitting here waiting for the 330ci to pop up for sale 

[Matth5 471]

Best "suspension upgrade" is replacing the runflats with regular tyres. MSport is a great option to have, note it can come with an oil cooler too which probably helps if you like to thrash it (the main reason you'd get a 335i really).

Charge pipes explode soon after an engine tune, so replace that before you do anything. Mine lasted only a few weeks weeks after a Performance Power Kit flash.

Have it inspected for turbo oil leaks and wastegate rattle, otherwise spare about $4k for a turbo replacement.

[Mr Hyde 44]

John, I bought a 335i touring M sport in Feb after having owned Audi's for most of my driving history. Fantastic car for the price range in terms of performance and interior fitout. Mine has had a number of performance upgrades to it like down pipes, pod filter upgrade, gearbox tune, cobb accessport tune the list goes on. Intercooler and catch can hasn't been done. And the reason I always buy wagons is for the space for loading all my kids stuff!

It's very fast. The previous owner thought it might be 420hp at the crank but it was never put on the dyno to verify. Basically it was built to the same spec of one that ran 420hp. It had had the walnut blast done before I purchased it so I can't tell you much about that. If you would like to come and have a look at it, you're more than welcome. I could take you out for a run and you can see the performance for yourself. I'm in Newlands. 

 

Edited August 6, 2016 by Mr Hyde

[Herbmiester 923]

Faizal. thank you for the offer I would very much like to look at your 335i, it's a very sharp looking vehicle. I will make contact soon. 

[Herbmiester 923]

Ron I have also gone over a similar short list but keep coming back to the 335i mainly because it's such a value proposition. Pretty hard to find in manual though.

Sam the 330ci will be on here soon, I will be a bit sad to see it go as I have a lot of time (and money) invested in it. 

Matthew I agree with you on the run flat's, I had them on my E60 and they were harsh. Charge pipe seems like a must do even on non tuned cars. 

Olaf, we can always swap cars again for a drive 

[Herbmiester 923]

This has piqued my interest: http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=1133470442

As has these :http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=1135390950  http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=1134022572 

and of course a Coupe: http://www.tradeinclearance.co.nz/search-stock?sn=8456

I have driven the Coupe and it's nice NZ service history from JG and the wastegates have been done under warranty, I would have preferred less Km's though. 

[Herbmiester 923]

This is what I worry about though. 

 

[_ethrty-Andy_ 2132]

2 hours ago, 3pedals said:

335 is a very tempting vehicle  and on my shortlist - only wagon and sedan as coupe does not have 5 seats.

equally tempting is the 335d   and M3 both on my short list

isn't the M3 coupe only as well (and hence not 5 seats)

[jin108 25]

I got some WG rattle in the rear turbo which is quite common. Its easy to fix though jack up remove wheel and reach in with small spanners to tighten the rod. Apply vacuum to WG so you dont under/over tighten it. 1 hour max from start to finish. 

[Herbmiester 923]

Yeah but if you look at the video the wastegate problem is more to do with slop in the bushing so tightening it won't completely solve the problem.

[BreakMyWindow 1874]

1 hour ago, _ethrty-Andy_ said:

isn't the M3 coupe only as well (and hence not 5 seats)

nah there's a 4 door version 

[Olaf 3317]

3 hours ago, Herbmiester said:

Ron I have also gone over a similar short list but keep coming back to the 335i mainly because it's such a value proposition. Pretty hard to find in manual though.

Sam the 330ci will be on here soon, I will be a bit sad to see it go as I have a lot of time (and money) invested in it. 

Matthew I agree with you on the run flat's, I had them on my E60 and they were harsh. Charge pipe seems like a must do even on non tuned cars. 

Olaf, we can always swap cars again for a drive 

Great idea John, I think we should do that quickly, before you've let the Ci go.  I think you'll be impressed with the changes to the touring, and I'd love to see how much further your Ci has come since we went to Samson.

[jin108 25]

51 minutes ago, 3pedals said:

So the waste gate rattle is really a poked bearing and adjusting just disguises the problem - the real fix is replace the bearing and probably the shaft.

5 minutes of silly video for a 5 second  diagnosis.

Spend 2-3 days pulling turbos apart to replace the actuator rod mechanism. Or spend a few minutes to tighten a rod to get rid of the dreaded rattle and fix 95% boost leak. 

[Herbmiester 923]

Quote

Spend 2-3 days pulling turbos apart to replace the actuator rod mechanism. Or spend a few minutes to tighten a rod to get rid of the dreaded rattle and fix 95% boost leak. 

If that works for you then fine, but it's not a solution to the problem especially if you want to grab the extra HP that is on offer with a tune and a few bolt ons. 

Quote

So the waste gate rattle is really a poked bearing and adjusting just disguises the problem - the real fix is replace the bearing and probably the shaft.

5 minutes of silly video for a 5 second  diagnosis.

Well at least you are now fully aware Ron. 

[hybrid 1043]

50 50 on that one Ron, The problem seems to be where BMW have placed the turbo, and so close to the output of the ports apparently causing a harmonic issue and vibrating the shaft enough to put pressure on the bearing and cause the chew out.

[zero 1162]

On 8/5/2016 at 10:14 PM, Herbmiester said:

The time has come I think to buy some horsepower. My trusty E46 has served me well and I do love the chassis but I am hankering for a bit more grunt. My budget is $20k ish and looking around there are a few E90/91/92's in that range. I drove a NZ new coupe and I did like it but I saw a nice Motorsport Touring in white and I have to honest and say it looked lovely. The Coupe front end is much nicer in my opinion but I am thinking perhaps I should get something a bit more pratical.To be honest even the Sedan in Motorsport trim looks good especially when the chrome kidney grills are replaced with black ones. The real reason I want one of course is the engine. I am interested to hear anyone's N54 tuning stories; it seems to me that MHD is probably the way to go especially when supported with a few  bolt on parts. Also curious to know more about a walnut intake port clean, oil catch can upgrade and general service issues. Oh any if anyone has done a Koni/Bilstein or other upgrade what did they find? I am partial to good suspension after having Ohlins on my E46. What bushes wear out and are poly bushes worthwhile? So many questions...

 

If you really like the e46 why don't you look at upgrading the power on the m54b30? Supercharger or turbo would give you plenty.

Alternatively an e46 m3 is inside your budget.

[Olaf 3317]

he's already considered both of those options, I think the 335i is one of those great 'bang for buck' options that's hard to beat.

[Herbmiester 923]

Yep 335i can make 400HP with a small investment and the chassis is decent. 

[Matth5 471]

Try to enjoy it stock before you go all out on the mods, 300hp is still a hell of a lot for a street car. You will easily fly past "loss of license" territory when overtaking on the open road and not paying attention to speed. I've set my iDrive speed warning to 120kph to stop me getting into too much trouble, makes the car chime and flash a warning on the dash when you hit that speed. Useful feature in this car

Consider the N55 if turbo reliability is more important that pure power to you (it is to me), it's not as easily tunable. Also it can make better noise with a few mods

Edited August 7, 2016 by Matth5

[Herbmiester 923]

I come from a drag racing/muscle car background and I want horsepower again. My old XR6 turbo with 450 plus horsepower and a mountain of torque was fun and I would like something similar but in a more refined package.  

[Herbmiester 923]

So I spoke to Geoff Gray BMW and the the service manager said that in the 9 years he had been there he could only remember 1 o2 incidences of N54 engines with rattly wastegates. I wonder how prevalent an issue this actually is. 

[jin108 25]

On 06/08/2016 at 6:11 PM, Herbmiester said:

If that works for you then fine, but it's not a solution to the problem especially if you want to grab the extra HP that is on offer with a tune and a few bolt ons. 

Well at least you are now fully aware Ron. 

It is the solution for all rattling wastegates unless they are too far gone and no more room to adjust. Even a rattling wastegate doesnt necessarily mean HP is being lost or none that you can notice. You will know if you are having a boost issue because car goes into limp mode and you get a code. I have done a lot of logging and my actual boost and actual load follow targets near perfectly. You will  lose more hp from degrading plugs than a wastegate issue. 

[jin108 25]

14 hours ago, Matth5 said:

Try to enjoy it stock before you go all out on the mods, 300hp is still a hell of a lot for a street car. You will easily fly past "loss of license" territory when overtaking on the open road and not paying attention to speed. I've set my iDrive speed warning to 120kph to stop me getting into too much trouble, makes the car chime and flash a warning on the dash when you hit that speed. Useful feature in this car

Consider the N55 if turbo reliability is more important that pure power to you (it is to me), it's not as easily tunable. Also it can make better noise with a few mods

Yeah agree 400hp makes the car unmanageable and twitchy and before you know it you are spending more money on suspension upgrades. Its a good car but the power overwhelms the chassis so harder bushings and shocks/dampers are needed to make it handle better. Unless you are a point and shoot kind of guy then yeah go full bolt on and up the boost to 20psi.