My brave pill: E92 BMW 335i with the infamous N54 engine
Discussion
cerb4.5lee said:
I really like the wheels that you have on it now Sam, however I reckon that it will look absolutely ace with those on it though. 
Cheers Lee. I like the 225’s to look at but they’re a pain to clean plus CSL’s are ace. I don’t care that they’ve been done to death…there’s a reason why.
Court_S said:
Despite my car being on the naughty step, I got stuck in detailing it. So, I did the following..
That’s a great way to get to know your car, Sam, and to improve it at the same time.- snow foamed with Garage Therapy zero decon shampoo
- washed with Garage Therapy decon shampoo and dried
- chemical decontamination with Car Pro Trix and Bilt Hamber Korrosol
- washed with Garage Therapy decon shampoo and dried
- clayed with bilt hamber clay and Dodo Juice Born to be Slippy
- polished with Scholl S20 and a purple flex pad
- paint wiped down with Angel Wax Stripped Ease to remove any polish residue
- glazed
- two coats of Soft 99 Kiwami extreme (mega gloss but not massively durable so I only use it in the summer)
- glass cleaned inside and out
- leather cleaned with Angel Wax Heaven for Leather
- interior surfaces cleaned
- tyres dressed
Court_S said:
My first N54 issue has reared its head…
Under hard acceleration I get the engine warning light and reduced power. Plugging Carly in and I’m getting two codes;
0030FE - boost pressure control, boost too high
003100 - boost pressure control shut down
I’m day to day driving it’s fine and feels pokey enough, but once worked a bit harder it s
ts itself. Turn it off and turn it back on and it’s all good, until you boot it again. The idle on a cold start is a bit lumpy too.
Having googled it, could be HPFP, injectors and / or carbon build up.
I’ll be calling a main dealer to get it looked at under the warranty on Tuesday.
I wouldn't worry about the reliability, the basic motor is actually very strong and not prone to spun bearings and the like you get with M motors.Under hard acceleration I get the engine warning light and reduced power. Plugging Carly in and I’m getting two codes;
0030FE - boost pressure control, boost too high
003100 - boost pressure control shut down
I’m day to day driving it’s fine and feels pokey enough, but once worked a bit harder it s
ts itself. Turn it off and turn it back on and it’s all good, until you boot it again. The idle on a cold start is a bit lumpy too. Having googled it, could be HPFP, injectors and / or carbon build up.
I’ll be calling a main dealer to get it looked at under the warranty on Tuesday.
The basic checks are:
-Make sure you have the latest index 12 injectors.
-Make sure your inlet has been cleaned / is clean
-See if you have an MSD80 or MSD81 ecu. If it's an 80 you will want to upgrade to an 81 as the injector drivers burn out
I'm sure you know about the HPFP. I think these are not really an issue now, it was the early versions that failed.
Then there's the water pump but that's the same as on the 130i
I've got a 135i with the N54 and yes it has had all of these things done in the past but now it's generally pretty reliable on a day to day basis.
Saying that I did have to replace some o rings on the turbo coolant lines recently and that was a massive PITA.
The difference that a tune makes to these cars is huge. I hear the argument for keeping it standard but really there isn't much point in having one of these if your'e not going to do that. With a stage 1 tune you are at 1M power level so it's not as if it's going to wear it out out any quicker really.
The gap between the stock N52 and N54 isn't that large although the delivery is quite different so doing that will definately make it a more obvious upgrade.
Basically get MHD and install stage 1 with the 1M throttle settings. It makes it much better!
rm163603 said:
I wouldn't worry about the reliability, the basic motor is actually very strong and not prone to spun bearings and the like you get with M motors.
The basic checks are:
-Make sure you have the latest index 12 injectors.
-Make sure your inlet has been cleaned / is clean
-See if you have an MSD80 or MSD81 ecu. If it's an 80 you will want to upgrade to an 81 as the injector drivers burn out
I'm sure you know about the HPFP. I think these are not really an issue now, it was the early versions that failed.
Then there's the water pump but that's the same as on the 130i
I've got a 135i with the N54 and yes it has had all of these things done in the past but now it's generally pretty reliable on a day to day basis.
Saying that I did have to replace some o rings on the turbo coolant lines recently and that was a massive PITA.
The difference that a tune makes to these cars is huge. I hear the argument for keeping it standard but really there isn't much point in having one of these if your'e not going to do that. With a stage 1 tune you are at 1M power level so it's not as if it's going to wear it out out any quicker really.
The gap between the stock N52 and N54 isn't that large although the delivery is quite different so doing that will definately make it a more obvious upgrade.
Basically get MHD and install stage 1 with the 1M throttle settings. It makes it much better!
Thanks, they’re definitely not index 12 injectors hence paying for the BMW warranty! I’m hoping that they sThe basic checks are:
-Make sure you have the latest index 12 injectors.
-Make sure your inlet has been cleaned / is clean
-See if you have an MSD80 or MSD81 ecu. If it's an 80 you will want to upgrade to an 81 as the injector drivers burn out
I'm sure you know about the HPFP. I think these are not really an issue now, it was the early versions that failed.
Then there's the water pump but that's the same as on the 130i
I've got a 135i with the N54 and yes it has had all of these things done in the past but now it's generally pretty reliable on a day to day basis.
Saying that I did have to replace some o rings on the turbo coolant lines recently and that was a massive PITA.
The difference that a tune makes to these cars is huge. I hear the argument for keeping it standard but really there isn't much point in having one of these if your'e not going to do that. With a stage 1 tune you are at 1M power level so it's not as if it's going to wear it out out any quicker really.
The gap between the stock N52 and N54 isn't that large although the delivery is quite different so doing that will definately make it a more obvious upgrade.
Basically get MHD and install stage 1 with the 1M throttle settings. It makes it much better!
t themselves in the next few months.It’s never had a carbon clean from what I can tell so that’s probably on the cards later in the year.
Is there an easy way to check the ECU version? Guessing mine will be an 80 being an 08 car. Is it a big job to change?
A mate has just bought an E91 330i, so it’ll be interesting to see how they compare. He’s not hanging about with mods either and is having his remapped soon.
roadie said:
The wheels look really good and I can't wait to see them on your car. Was there a specific reason you went for 19" over 18"?
The initial plan was to reuse the run flats, at least in the short term. The fronts are pretty much brand new and the rears have a solid 5/6mm tread. Skipping them seemed a bit wasteful, no matter how much I dislike them, hence I bought 19’s.I then couldn’t buy the brand / model I wanted so ended up with some front wheels that are half an inch wider, the 225’s look a bit stretched as it is and I hate that look. So on a rim that’s wider they’ll look even worse hence the decision to fit none run flats…..when I could have dropped down to an 18 with hindsight
Luckily I think the 19’s look ok with the E92 being relatively big. My mates MV3’s look dinky on his E91.
Court_S said:
Luckily I think the 19’s look ok with the E92 being relatively big. My mates MV3’s look dinky on his E91.
The 18s don't look that small. It just means I have a decent amount of sidewall and wont destroy my rims over the pot holes around here.We will have to get the two together for some pics.
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