e90 Performance Parts Wellington

[Bostrom_NZ 0]

Hi guys,

I recently upgraded my e46 330i to an e90 335i and now that I have a decent platform, I want to dip my toes into modding.

Are there any recommended suppliers/tuners in Wellington? I want to start with the downpipes, high flow cat etc and a FMIC. I want to do as much myself as possible but the exhaust system can be handled by a pro.

Any other recommendations?

(I've visited this site on and off for a few years - onto my third BMW but this is my first post).

[Matth5 471]

Chargepipe absolutely has to be your first mod. Stock will explode not long after a tune. Don't learn the hard way like me.

Start with MHD for tunes, the off-the-shelf tunes are a good start, there are several to choose from based on your mods. Consider a custom tune at a later point once your hardware mods are finalised and you've had time to make sure you car is well sorted - you will likely find new problems when you start modding it

And the best deals to be found are by importing stuff yourself. I don't think you'll find much locally. 

Edited December 19, 2016 by Matth5

[Herbmiester 924]

Matthew, what charge pipe did you use, the one I bought won't fit, it is too wide and hits the lines from the power steering pump.

 

[Matth5 471]

BMS, made by CPE. It does push against my power steering lines a bit but it's ok. 

Yours from Cobb by any chance? I've seen some fitment complaints about it. 

[Herbmiester 924]

Its a Cobb copy by the look of I suspect China. 

[fatjoez 3]

I've ordered / waiting for

VRSF:
Charge pipe
Silicone inlet hoses
5" Street step intercooler

Keeping the car very stock so no downpipes etc that messes with OEM spec / emissions etc.

Already running MHD Stage 1 tune 98 fine

The price of the VRSF is reasonable and quality is good from reviews.
Cheaper than COBB / other bigger names.

[Matth5 471]

If you're going far from home without the new chargepipe, flash back to stock.

I live in Auckland, and had only been running the BMW PPK (mildest tune you can get) for 2 weeks. It decided to explode when I was near Thames for a long weekend road trip. Spent my trip in a crappy rental, on Monday I had to drive back to Thames in the rental to rescue my car.

Fun times...

There is no warning, you won't see it coming, it just goes 'bang'.

It's as if BMW engineered the chargepipe to explode with more boost than stock, to help catch out people tuning the car's under warranty. 

Edited December 20, 2016 by Matth5

[Bostrom_NZ 0]

Thanks for the tip Matthew, I thought the chargepipe was only needed to be looked at if you were running meth or some exotic fuel mixtures. I'll make sure that's the first thing I do. Is it a big job? Hard to get to?

Importing myself won't be too bad, used to bringing things in.

Was gonna go with a JB4 until I read about MHD so I'll go with that first. Ordered the D-Can and OTG cable so should be good to go soon for a stock tune. Might go for a custom tune once everything is done or just upgrade to a JB4 and put it on the self learning mapping, I've read that's wuite good.

[Bostrom_NZ 0]

On 20/12/2016 at 9:01 PM, fatjoez said:

Already running MHD Stage 1 tune 98 fine
 

How are you finding the tune, noticeable gains from stock?

[Herbmiester 924]

Any recomendation on what D-CAN and OTG cable to buy?

[Matth5 471]

I bought one of those cables off Ebay and got lucky, it works fine with MHD. 
Got the OTG cable from my local PBTech.

Digging through my purchase history it's this one:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/BMW-INPA-Ediabas-K-DCAN-USB-OBD2-Interface-Full-Diagnostic-With-FT232RL-Chip-/381105593326?hash=item58bba9dbee&item=381105593326&vxp=mtr

Charge pipe install... well make sure you have some decent free time for your first go as it's a bit of a pain but it's easy enough to do on the driveway. Make the c-clamp on the inter-cooler side nice and tight, take it for a test drive and then tighten the clamp a little more when it's warm.
On my first time I didn't tighten it enough and mine popped off later on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere, trying to re-connect it with a hot engine aint fun. 

I think MHD is the best choice these days. JB4 on it's own is just forcing up boost without altering other parameters, I never felt too comfortable about the way it works. 

[fatjoez 3]

22 hours ago, Bostrom_NZ said:

@How are you finding the tune, noticeable gains from stock?

Yeah I can't tell really but yes there are big gains performance wise on stage 1 MHD.
Look it's like $2-300 it's not even something to think about just do it.

@Matth5 did your charge pipe rip? or just blow off? Mine blew off with MHD tune too but it was 2 minute job to put it back on. It hasn't ripped on me. I'm running stage 1 - 98ron fuel map for the last 6 months and my car has 160,000km mileage. So if yours actually ripped or was damaged, maybe it was worn more or bad luck or higher boost I dont know. 

But as I said above I've ordered a new metal one because it's worth it

[Matth5 471]

I was at about 130 000km at the time. I had the BMW PPK tune flashed by BM Workshop, it's milder than the MHD tunes.

Mine broke, exactly same as the example on the BMS site here:
http://www.burgertuning.com/chargepipe_upgrade_N55_N54_BMW.html
I was lucky enough to find the C Clip attached to a piece of the charge pipe on an engine undertray but the rubber o ring was gone. Had to order the stupid o-ring from a BMW dealer for $15 and wait 2 weeks for it to arrive from Germany. I tried to make an oil filter o-ring fit but it didn't work. BMS doesn't include one with their CP so you have to get one if yours is lost. 

Mine is an N55 though, seems to happen more easily with them. Probably because they run with a bit more boost but the charge pipe isn't any stronger. 

ATM I'm running MHD Stage 1 98.

Edited December 22, 2016 by Matth5

[Herbmiester 924]

Guys I am looking to replace my charge pipe. I got one of the Phoenix racing ones but its junk and wont actually fit. What options are there that fit RHD cars. I like the look of the Cobb pipe. 

[Herbmiester 924]

Alos I want to replace my vacuum tubing with silicone tubing but BMW use 3.5mm tubing and I can only get 3mm or 4mm. Any thoughts here? 

[Stevie S 49]

On 1/27/2017 at 11:48 AM, Herbmiester said:

Guys I am looking to replace my charge pipe. I got one of the Phoenix racing ones but its junk and wont actually fit. What options are there that fit RHD cars. I like the look of the Cobb pipe. 

Don't buy the cobb one either most reports are they are junk also. I recommend ER even VSRF are better that the ones you have mentioned

[Herbmiester 924]

I like the reviews on the ER pipes any thoughts on best place to buy one from?

 

[Herbmiester 924]

In the end I ordered an ER pipe from Extreme Power House in Vegas. Good price and not too bad on shipping. Once I get that installed and finish off replacing the vacuum hoses hopefully I can run an MHD tune.  

[Olaf 3317]

Hopefully this is the turning point, John!