[Taskmaster]

328i M Sport – 6 Speed manual

Stock with BMW Performance Exhaust:

Drove the car like this for majority of ownership – nothing bad to say about it. This car, when compared to my old one, seemed a little peppier with torque, but overall similar.

Dyno revealed that the car did make a few more ponies compared to the relatively stock black car. I’ll chalk it up to a slightly stronger motor and the BMW Performance exhaust the car came with, which sounded really good (but quiet) too.

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1220466

It was also about in line with what the black car could muster at the track (Well slower in ET – but faster in trap Speed)
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1271253
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=926586


Rev hose and Carbon Delete:

This made the intake a little louder, and I noticed just the smallest of gains. The paper filter was already on its last legs, but I didn’t change it out (I was going to do the AFE dry filter) So the gains were probably less than some people would have otherwise gotten.

According to dynos done by myself and Tom Droze (as well as using our educated guessing skills) a carbon delete is worth about 2whp on its own, and the Rev hose was another 2whp or so. Considering cost vs gains, this might be a route for people to go instead of paying out the wazoo for a AFE the like.

BPC Stage 1 Tune

Back in June, I gave a mini review of the tune:
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showth...206386&page=27

I started here, and for the brief amount of time I ran the car with it, it was great. Mid rang torque really picked up and the car seemed to want to rev forever until fuel cut. I can see how people really like the idea if the N54 manifold’s linear power band. Car was more powerful at every point in the RPM band , though I did have a failed Valvetronic sensor at the time, it still pulled hard, sounded and acted like stock. I was sure it couldn’t get any better than this – right?

3 stage Intake manifold on BPC Stage 1 Tune

I installed the 3 stage manifold (and repaired the valvetronic sensor) first and drove on the Stage 1 tune for a while. Low end torque was a better, huge dip in midrange, and the top end fell off hard after about 6XXXRPM Simply put the car wasn’t configured for this, and even with that it still performed well.


3 stage Intake Manifold on BPC Stage 2 Tune

Emailed Bob and got my updated tune really quickly, but it took me a few days to actually install it. Everything I liked about stage one got better with Stage 2 – everything. More torque, more power – zero dips, dodges, ducks, dives and dips. It was PERFECT. Perfect linear power from idle to redline, drove exactly how you thought it should, and expected.

I did an autocross event with the car in this configuration and had the one of the instructors drive my car. Him – over 300lbs (probably) with me (150-160lbs) in the passenger seat – his normal car is a Z06, but he was ok the idea of hustling the car around the track. After he car ran through the paces, he did have some praise for it. “Wow” he said “it has surprisingly good midrange torque, you can really get the car to rotate with it”
This is a different feeling I got from the car compared to a previous tune I ran on my black car, which always left me wanting for more power everywhere below 4000RPM.

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1116698

I was so satisfied a shelved my thoughts of upgrading the car further, but everyone convinced me to push further, so….

[Taskmaster]

Active Auto Headers and BCP Stage 2 tune


This didn’t last long (Like 2-3 days?), basically a speedbump in the road towards Full Bolt on status. It was louder, raspier, smellier, and yes – more powerful. I actually think the car sounded the best like this, as it was still tolerable at WOT, and didn’t drone or make weird harmonic/resonance sounds in normal driving – but I craved more.

Active Auto Headers, Super Sprint Section 2, BPC Stage 3 V1

As far as I know, I’m the first person to test out the BPC Alfa N tune.

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showth...206386&page=19

Basically the car doesn’t use a MAF, with some help (Thanks Hass and Pete) I managed to get a OEM IAT sensor from overseas (because they aren’t available in the states) I thought this was a better option than de-pinning the stock MAF in case I wanted to return to stock-ish. It’s a factory BMW part – the car was ‘meant’ to run like this, right?

The sound - Booing loud/raspy at startup – but just for a few seconds. Cold start has been deleted, so the car settles down almost instantly. Driving it out of the garage, it took a little getting used to – there is a harmonic resonance sound around 2000RPM at anything more than 20% throttle, but things settle down by 3000RPM. At anything more than 4000RPM at WOT- the car WAILS.

I had to test it at a local track, and instantly found that more torque made it easier to launch and the increased power made for effortless near 100mph runs

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showth...1271253&page=3

Fuel economy and everything else was pretty decent, it’s was hard to tell because I didn’t really care – I was having a lot of fun. I can tell you I still manage around 30-31 on the highway which is a little lower than normal, but still good. Mark that down for the winter gas formula and maybe a tune that prioritizes power over economy – sounds at cruise are stock as well, no buzzing, humming or noise. The power is enough that I can do most normal maneuvers (at highways speeds) without downshifting as well.

AFE Stage 2 SI intake

This thing was a pain in the ass to install – I don’t remember it being that bad when I did it 2 years ago. Now, I could barely fit the rubber over the coupler and the tube over the rubber without STRUGGLING. The tube in box was another nightmare to contend with, and the MAF to tube is missing the rubber gasket (not a big deal on my car – it only measures air temp) and I lost a screw or two while I was in there. Oh, and AFE is a pain to deal with, screw it.

However, the car was instantly smoother, and quicker than it was with the Stock box/filter combo. I chose AFE specifically because of the results from my old intake comparison test:
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showth...=918378&page=7

Some of the credit also has to go to the fact that a freshly cleaned and oiled high flow filter is being compared to a stock box and paper filter with over 40K+ miles on it. Even so, there is a noticeable increase to the point where I’m positive it’s more than a handful of HP. Unfortunately, there is a downside as the car buzzes/roars at highways speeds, so much so I want to drive slower. Fuel economy may be up; I don’t know I’m not paying attention anymore – too busy playing ‘heel toe hero’ and enjoying the ride.

[Taskmaster]

TL/DR

Good:

Instantaneous throttle response
More power EVERYWHERE
Stock like civility* within reason
7500RPM redline is too cool

Bad:

Headers require some sacrifice on your part
AFE intake drone is...meh
Car is loud
Fuel economy may suffer because you mash the gas too much.
Automatics can't use the 7500RPM Redline, but still can have the Stage 3 tune

Verdict:

It's literally everything I hoped the N52 would be.


I have to give a LOT of praise and thanks to justpete, hassmaschine, Mike. tetsuo111 and of course Bob@BPC for really helping me out with these dumb questions, and the willingness to be my guinea pigs.


What's next?


Dyno
More track time
Some intake scoops (with datalogging to see if they work)
BBTB (and dyno)
Quiet down the exhaust

Enjoy it.

[tdavis42]

All I'm missing is the tune and manual gear box. I think I will be glad I kept the secondary cats. Neighbors would hate me going to work at 4am.

BTW: thanks for the write up.

[AWSB328iM]

I just purchased a 2011 328i M-sport. Sometime in the next year I plan to get a stage 3 intake and a tune. I'd like to keep the exhaust quiet because it's a daily driver.

I would love to get the horsepower of a stock 2006 330i (255-260hp crank) Is that possible with just a stage 3 intake, BPC tune, drop in filter charcoal delete?

Can you give an educated guess on exhaust mods and their individual gains and combined total gains?

PE or other muffler alone ?
Headers + Muffler?
Headers + Midpipe + Muffler?

What is most horsepower that can be extracted by full bolt-ons and a custom tune? 290-300hp crank?

[JuniorB]

Sounds like a great starting point for needed info,on what works and what to expect. I don't know of to many people running Bpc tune,I couldn't find any info on the n54 intake swap and there experience. I notice BMW's exhaust could have been build a little better,a lot of squish points,but nice writeup

[JayTriggy14]

Thanks for the write-up! Very detailed. It sounds like BPC is the move for tuning. Hopefully they will be able to complete their turbo kit as well as provide tuning support for the ESS supercharger.

[hassmaschine]

Originally Posted by AWSB328iM

I just purchased a 2011 328i M-sport. Sometime in the next year I plan to get a stage 3 intake and a tune. I'd like to keep the exhaust quiet because it's a daily driver.

I would love to get the horsepower of a stock 2006 330i (255-260hp crank) Is that possible with just a stage 3 intake, BPC tune, drop in filter charcoal delete?

Can you give an educated guess on exhaust mods and their individual gains and combined total gains?

PE or other muffler alone ?
Headers + Muffler?
Headers + Midpipe + Muffler?

What is most horsepower that can be extracted by full bolt-ons and a custom tune? 290-300hp crank?

yes, with a 3 stage intake and BPC tune, it should be a little better than a stock 330i.

[Mike.]

get em!!!!!!!!

[tlow98]

Appreciate the info and reference points, axiom!

[tetsuo111]

Don't know how I missed this (actually I do, just slammed lately resulting in less time on E90post).

Thanks for this! Excellent write-up that addresses most of the questions anyone might have about extracting the full N52 potential.

[W37V]

Dyno charts?

[W37V]

Originally Posted by TheAxiom

252whp/221wtq STD
247whp/216/wtq SAE

If I had a decent chart to show, I would. I'll be doing another one here soon

That's impressive.

I keep wondering what pete would put down with his.

Also what is even more impressive is that you are running off the shelf tune and not a custom one. Damn!

Bob if you are reading this, you are an artist.

[Taskmaster]

Originally Posted by W37V

That's impressive.

I keep wondering what pete would put down with his.

Also what is even more impressive is that you are running off the shelf tune and not a custom one. Damn!

Bob if you are reading this, you are an artist.

The car is having (hardware) issues, so it's actually down on power.

[W37V]

Originally Posted by TheAxiom

The car is having (hardware) issues, so it's actually down on power.

your car? What kind of issues?

[Taskmaster]

Originally Posted by W37V

your car? What kind of issues?

MAP sensor is bad I believe, and the car was running pig rich due to me experiementing with E85. I'll try to hit another one again this week or next.

[e90dum]

Originally Posted by TheAxiom

TL/DR
Fuel economy may suffer because you mash the gas too much.

...such an uncomfortably relatable statement

[e90dum]

Hey, with the BPC tune did you notice a low idle? I emailed Bob and he told me it should be around 675 as they deleted the cold start but it feels like it's going to stall idleing normally

[Taskmaster]

Originally Posted by e90dum

Hey, with the BPC tune did you notice a low idle? I emailed Bob and he told me it should be around 675 as they deleted the cold start but it feels like it's going to stall idleing normally

Stall how, what tune are you on?

My car has the cold start deleted, and it still goes through a warmup phase, but the idle isn't lower than normal...from what I remember though.

[e90dum]

Originally Posted by TheAxiom

Stall how, what tune are you on?

My car has the cold start deleted, and it still goes through a warmup phase, but the idle isn't lower than normal...from what I remember though.

The notes said stage 2 tune, whatever that means. My cold start is deleted, but after it warms up it idles so low the car shakes. Maybe stutter is the right word. It feels at times like the engine is about to stall. Ill make a video of it tomorrow, i bet youll know what i mean

[Taskmaster]

Originally Posted by e90dum

The notes said stage 2 tune, whatever that means. My cold start is deleted, but after it warms up it idles so low the car shakes. Maybe stutter is the right word. It feels at times like the engine is about to stall. Ill make a video of it tomorrow, i bet youll know what i mean

Did you install headers at the same time?
Mine is at 650 or so.

[e90dum]

Originally Posted by TheAxiom

Did you install headers at the same time?
Mine is at 650 or so.

No, ive had headers for quite a few months now. Installed the tune today. Mine is 650 and thats when i hear it. The car just vibrates much more at idle. If you idle at 650 it might just be a normal sound. It used to idle at 750+ stock tune and i didnt hear it then.