BMW 330i enhancements
Discussion
Just after some advice guys.
Bought myself an 07 E90 330i a couple of months ago and am now looking at a few little things I want to sort.
1. Would like to get the wheels (MV3s) refurbed. Only a few minor scuffs, but fancy getting them done in BMW ferric grey for a bit of a change, currently silver on a titanium silver car. Can anyone recommend somewhere in the north west, ideally local to Liverpool or Chester? Would also like to get the hubs painted as they are quite rusty looking and perhaps also the calipers to freshen them up.
2. The car currently has what I believe to be the standard exhaust on it, but with twin black pipes. What do people generally put on the 330i? Having come from VAG, miltek is probably the common option. Not seen any consistency with the 330i in terms of what owners go for. Don't want anything boomy or overly loud, just something to compliment the N52 engine note.
3. Remap - obviously as a NA car, this will have limited effect on output, but I'm keen to make the most of what's there in terms of delivery. Anyone have good eeriences?
Enjoying my first taste of BMW, and looking forward to getting to know it better in the coming months.
Bought myself an 07 E90 330i a couple of months ago and am now looking at a few little things I want to sort.
1. Would like to get the wheels (MV3s) refurbed. Only a few minor scuffs, but fancy getting them done in BMW ferric grey for a bit of a change, currently silver on a titanium silver car. Can anyone recommend somewhere in the north west, ideally local to Liverpool or Chester? Would also like to get the hubs painted as they are quite rusty looking and perhaps also the calipers to freshen them up.
2. The car currently has what I believe to be the standard exhaust on it, but with twin black pipes. What do people generally put on the 330i? Having come from VAG, miltek is probably the common option. Not seen any consistency with the 330i in terms of what owners go for. Don't want anything boomy or overly loud, just something to compliment the N52 engine note.
3. Remap - obviously as a NA car, this will have limited effect on output, but I'm keen to make the most of what's there in terms of delivery. Anyone have good eeriences?
Enjoying my first taste of BMW, and looking forward to getting to know it better in the coming months.
From another 330i owner, welcome to the club 
I have a Graphite version in need of a wheel ferb but will probably stick with silver. Anyways a company i used in the past was wicked wheels (think they are national) and they converted my Monza's on my Gti to the anthracite colour and they looked superb. The only down side was my car was left on jacks for a week.
As for exhausts, i too am interested to hear peoples thoughts... However i did what some people with E90's have done and completed the golf tee modification. Mine was done as i had a rattle (small valve in the exhaust pipe) which i fixed by unplugging a valve on the right tail pipe and sticking a golf tee in the tube. The valve basically makes the car more quiet around town, with it unplugged it sounds a little more meatier. Its not as loud as a after market but is just enough for me and cost no more than a golf tee and took 5 mins tops.
AS for the remap, sorry cant help with that...
I have a Graphite version in need of a wheel ferb but will probably stick with silver. Anyways a company i used in the past was wicked wheels (think they are national) and they converted my Monza's on my Gti to the anthracite colour and they looked superb. The only down side was my car was left on jacks for a week.
As for exhausts, i too am interested to hear peoples thoughts... However i did what some people with E90's have done and completed the golf tee modification. Mine was done as i had a rattle (small valve in the exhaust pipe) which i fixed by unplugging a valve on the right tail pipe and sticking a golf tee in the tube. The valve basically makes the car more quiet around town, with it unplugged it sounds a little more meatier. Its not as loud as a after market but is just enough for me and cost no more than a golf tee and took 5 mins tops.
AS for the remap, sorry cant help with that...
Cheers guys. My boss had actually mentioned wicked wheels. Will have a look at them.
Think you can get a BMW performance exhaust, quite pricey though to replace an exhaust that is in perfect working order. Someone mentioned torque flow exhausts. They do a back box for around £200, not sure what a full system would be though.
That curve on the 130i looks very impressive. How much was that? Evolve are down south aren't they?
Think you can get a BMW performance exhaust, quite pricey though to replace an exhaust that is in perfect working order. Someone mentioned torque flow exhausts. They do a back box for around £200, not sure what a full system would be though.
That curve on the 130i looks very impressive. How much was that? Evolve are down south aren't they?
aussieal said:
Cheers guys. My boss had actually mentioned wicked wheels. Will have a look at them.
Think you can get a BMW performance exhaust, quite pricey though to replace an exhaust that is in perfect working order. Someone mentioned torque flow exhausts. They do a back box for around £200, not sure what a full system would be though.
That curve on the 130i looks very impressive. How much was that? Evolve are down south aren't they?
Evolve are in Luton... I think I paid £300 ish.Think you can get a BMW performance exhaust, quite pricey though to replace an exhaust that is in perfect working order. Someone mentioned torque flow exhausts. They do a back box for around £200, not sure what a full system would be though.
That curve on the 130i looks very impressive. How much was that? Evolve are down south aren't they?
In terms of the exhaust, the BMWP exhausts are pretty nicely made and look subtle but the only real benefit is the sound, they don't add any significant power.
If you want to change the note slightly you can disconnect the flap in one of the tail pipes, this makes it sound a bit louder at low revs. google bmw golf tee mod...
BTW You should be able to tidy up the hubs and calipers yourself using some paint. Clean them thoroughly with a wire brush and brake cleaner and then either brush on or ideally mask everything off and spray on the psint.
Or you could just ingore it
Hi,
I have a Z4 coupe 3.0si and in a similar situation of wanting to modify this. I have come from VAG background also and have Milltek on the brain!
I am planning on upgrading the panel air filter probably to a pipercross filter, along with an AMD Technik ECU remap. This supposedly will give 15bhp and 15ft/lbs torque. I have driven a Boxster S and a Cayman S previously with an AMD remap on and it makes the power delivery much more linear, removing the mid range dip, and boosting the top end punch. Well worth it. I am hoping for the same effect with the N52.
As for exhausts, I would love to remove one of the cats and get the full Milltek system on, however this will probably be the best part of £1500 incl labour and not sure how easy they are to source...so for now an air filter and remap will suffice.
Good luck.
I have a Z4 coupe 3.0si and in a similar situation of wanting to modify this. I have come from VAG background also and have Milltek on the brain!
I am planning on upgrading the panel air filter probably to a pipercross filter, along with an AMD Technik ECU remap. This supposedly will give 15bhp and 15ft/lbs torque. I have driven a Boxster S and a Cayman S previously with an AMD remap on and it makes the power delivery much more linear, removing the mid range dip, and boosting the top end punch. Well worth it. I am hoping for the same effect with the N52.
As for exhausts, I would love to remove one of the cats and get the full Milltek system on, however this will probably be the best part of £1500 incl labour and not sure how easy they are to source...so for now an air filter and remap will suffice.
Good luck.
A remap on a 330 will make virtually no difference to bhp, the difference it makes is the way it pulls through the gears...as for exhaust it depends what its wanted/needed for, performance wise you'll get little to nothing, noise wise there are a few out there that will make a difference. The 330 is a great engine but short of supercharging there is very little scope for improvement.
I'm in the same boat. Just purchased a 330i msport e90. I'm leaving the map as I don't want to put anything on that the engine or parts of it might not like. If something goes on it due to putting a 300 quid map on I couldn't forgive myself and it's bound to be a lot of money. I've mapped my previous 2 cars a Leon fr and Cupra but I think turbo engines are far more suited to mapping and get much bigger gains too. Cars 8 years old and obviously i want to be steady away with not having warranty no more. One thing I will be doing though is putting a full stainless system on to make the n52 sound even better. One of the best things about the car! Been quoted £800 fitted for a custom build which I thinks fair. Sport cat included as I don't want to mess with the MOT. Apparently it will add 15 to 20 hp too. Been looking into panel filters what's the general opinion? I'm undecided
just spent this weekend messing with my pals, he wanted to decat manifold but they only make LHD manifolds so we took the manifolds off cut the cats out and welded pipe in , 2 day job messing around, was it worth it.....well, inside the car sounds the same, outside the car sounds abit better , revs alot quicker now , no performance gain, just a bit of noise and bit more revvier
It's a pretty well optimised car as standard, with a better / ride / handling balance than the 130i or Z4. I kept my E90 330i for 3 years.
Junk the runflats and put an excellent set of tyres on, that made the biggest difference to mine. The ride was transformed and afterwards traction was never a problem. I also put Ferodo DS2500 pads on the front, as I was getting some fade compensation when driven hard. The pedal would firm up and feel pretty wooden.
A panel filter gives a little more induction noise, not a lot, but I thought they sound great as standard. You won't get any noticeable power upgrade for sensible money. There is a supersprint manifold and full system, although at the time I couldn't find anyone with experience fitting it.
The long, widely spaced gearing was probably the biggest let down for me, at least when driven quickly. Great for mpg or cruising though. A great car, enjoy.
Junk the runflats and put an excellent set of tyres on, that made the biggest difference to mine. The ride was transformed and afterwards traction was never a problem. I also put Ferodo DS2500 pads on the front, as I was getting some fade compensation when driven hard. The pedal would firm up and feel pretty wooden.
A panel filter gives a little more induction noise, not a lot, but I thought they sound great as standard. You won't get any noticeable power upgrade for sensible money. There is a supersprint manifold and full system, although at the time I couldn't find anyone with experience fitting it.
The long, widely spaced gearing was probably the biggest let down for me, at least when driven quickly. Great for mpg or cruising though. A great car, enjoy.
rm163603 said:
I've got a 130 but the engine is very similar to the 330i.
I had mine remapped by evolve and it was well worth doing. It was definitely noticeable...
Can you get a 'bmw performance' exhaust for the 330i?
Now, if someone could tell me how to get those sorts of figures out of the M54 engine...I had mine remapped by evolve and it was well worth doing. It was definitely noticeable...
Can you get a 'bmw performance' exhaust for the 330i?
bigfish said:
I an under whelmed at exhaust note, but not prepared to spend 500+ on after market...just think BMW could have done a better job!
Its just something I have got used to now because BMW`s exhausts are always quiet, I had a Z4M and E92 M3 and thought exactly the same with them and its almost as if BMW are ashamed of their engines because they make them sound so bloody quiet and it annoys me! abarber said:
It's a pretty well optimised car as standard, with a better / ride / handling balance than the 130i or Z4. I kept my E90 330i for 3 years.
Junk the runflats and put an excellent set of tyres on, that made the biggest difference to mine. The ride was transformed and afterwards traction was never a problem. I also put Ferodo DS2500 pads on the front, as I was getting some fade compensation when driven hard. The pedal would firm up and feel pretty wooden.
A panel filter gives a little more induction noise, not a lot, but I thought they sound great as standard. You won't get any noticeable power upgrade for sensible money. There is a supersprint manifold and full system, although at the time I couldn't find anyone with experience fitting it.
The long, widely spaced gearing was probably the biggest let down for me, at least when driven quickly. Great for mpg or cruising though. A great car, enjoy.
Most of the above may be so, but I wouldn't consider changing my Z4 Coupe for an E90 330i! Junk the runflats and put an excellent set of tyres on, that made the biggest difference to mine. The ride was transformed and afterwards traction was never a problem. I also put Ferodo DS2500 pads on the front, as I was getting some fade compensation when driven hard. The pedal would firm up and feel pretty wooden.
A panel filter gives a little more induction noise, not a lot, but I thought they sound great as standard. You won't get any noticeable power upgrade for sensible money. There is a supersprint manifold and full system, although at the time I couldn't find anyone with experience fitting it.
The long, widely spaced gearing was probably the biggest let down for me, at least when driven quickly. Great for mpg or cruising though. A great car, enjoy.
Z4C is 265ps with 1,395kg against 330i with 258ps to haul 1,525kg?! There may be a few 130i owners who don't agree either! But if you need some interior space an E90 may be an acceptable compromise to be fair. (Z4 also has a sound generator so you don't need to mess with golf tees or panel filters)!
E90 may ride better, but if you buy a Z4 your priority is probably more biased towards handling anyway!
abarber said:
It's a pretty well optimised car as standard, with a better / ride / handling balance than the 130i or Z4. I kept my E90 330i for 3 years.
Junk the runflats and put an excellent set of tyres on, that made the biggest difference to mine. The ride was transformed and afterwards traction was never a problem. I also put Ferodo DS2500 pads on the front, as I was getting some fade compensation when driven hard. The pedal would firm up and feel pretty wooden.
A panel filter gives a little more induction noise, not a lot, but I thought they sound great as standard. You won't get any noticeable power upgrade for sensible money. There is a supersprint manifold and full system, although at the time I couldn't find anyone with experience fitting it.
The long, widely spaced gearing was probably the biggest let down for me, at least when driven quickly. Great for mpg or cruising though. A great car, enjoy.
Most of the above may be so, but I wouldn't consider changing my Z4 Coupe for an E90 330i! Junk the runflats and put an excellent set of tyres on, that made the biggest difference to mine. The ride was transformed and afterwards traction was never a problem. I also put Ferodo DS2500 pads on the front, as I was getting some fade compensation when driven hard. The pedal would firm up and feel pretty wooden.
A panel filter gives a little more induction noise, not a lot, but I thought they sound great as standard. You won't get any noticeable power upgrade for sensible money. There is a supersprint manifold and full system, although at the time I couldn't find anyone with experience fitting it.
The long, widely spaced gearing was probably the biggest let down for me, at least when driven quickly. Great for mpg or cruising though. A great car, enjoy.
Z4C is 265ps with 1,395kg against 330i with 258ps to haul 1,525kg?! There may be a few 130i owners who don't agree either! But if you need some interior space an E90 may be an acceptable compromise to be fair. (Z4 also has a sound generator so you don't need to mess with golf tees or panel filters)!
E90 may ride better, but if you buy a Z4 your priority is probably more biased towards handling anyway!
Mr Tidy said:
abarber said:
It's a pretty well optimised car as standard, with a better / ride / handling balance than the 130i or Z4. I kept my E90 330i for 3 years.
Junk the runflats and put an excellent set of tyres on, that made the biggest difference to mine. The ride was transformed and afterwards traction was never a problem. I also put Ferodo DS2500 pads on the front, as I was getting some fade compensation when driven hard. The pedal would firm up and feel pretty wooden.
A panel filter gives a little more induction noise, not a lot, but I thought they sound great as standard. You won't get any noticeable power upgrade for sensible money. There is a supersprint manifold and full system, although at the time I couldn't find anyone with experience fitting it.
The long, widely spaced gearing was probably the biggest let down for me, at least when driven quickly. Great for mpg or cruising though. A great car, enjoy.
Most of the above may be so, but I wouldn't consider changing my Z4 Coupe for an E90 330i! Junk the runflats and put an excellent set of tyres on, that made the biggest difference to mine. The ride was transformed and afterwards traction was never a problem. I also put Ferodo DS2500 pads on the front, as I was getting some fade compensation when driven hard. The pedal would firm up and feel pretty wooden.
A panel filter gives a little more induction noise, not a lot, but I thought they sound great as standard. You won't get any noticeable power upgrade for sensible money. There is a supersprint manifold and full system, although at the time I couldn't find anyone with experience fitting it.
The long, widely spaced gearing was probably the biggest let down for me, at least when driven quickly. Great for mpg or cruising though. A great car, enjoy.
Z4C is 265ps with 1,395kg against 330i with 258ps to haul 1,525kg?! There may be a few 130i owners who don't agree either! But if you need some interior space an E90 may be an acceptable compromise to be fair. (Z4 also has a sound generator so you don't need to mess with golf tees or panel filters)!
E90 may ride better, but if you buy a Z4 your priority is probably more biased towards handling anyway!
I find it disappointing that BMW can get their boring saloon car just about right but get it so wrong when they try to build a sports car.
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