My brave pill: E92 BMW 335i with the infamous N54 engine
Discussion
christhreadgill said:
Eldors & 2-step colder NGK on mine. Just make sure you set the plug gaps nicely.
I’ve just got stock Bosch ones but it looks like I’ll be at the upper end of what they can cope with when it’s mapped with the FMIC. I’ll probably need to move to NGK one step colder plugs. Do they not come pre-gapped?I had a bit of time this morning whilst the boy was at karate so I decided to change the plugs and coils and with all things N54, there was good and bad news!
Looking through the history, the plugs were changed at 24k, 38k, 54k and 63k. Technically they weren’t due but I wanted to make sure they were perfect prior to remaps etc. The OE Bosch plugs were £54 taking account of a CarParts4Less offer.
New Eldor coils and Bosch plugs ready to be fitted.
Soaking up the slight weep from the oil cooler (getting sorted on 28th Feb when it gets walnut blasted).
All plastics removed to get to the engine.
First coil out; all were OE Bosch jobs.
Plug from cylinder one out.
Old plug versus new
Everything was going swimmingly; none of the plugs had been done up ridiculously tight like on the 125i. I then got to cylinder six, which was the one that has had the occasional misfire (twice so far). The plug came out easily enough but…
It was accompanied by the smell of super unleaded. It looks like injector six is on the way out. It’s been replaced once before because it’s an index nine and two of the others are five’s. This was done under warranty sone tine ago.
With the threat of the bill for the cam ledges still looming over my head, I’m not sure I can stomach the nearly £3k bill for a set of index 12’s. As it’s only a single injector, I’m going to try and find a good used one for now.
Looking through the history, the plugs were changed at 24k, 38k, 54k and 63k. Technically they weren’t due but I wanted to make sure they were perfect prior to remaps etc. The OE Bosch plugs were £54 taking account of a CarParts4Less offer.
New Eldor coils and Bosch plugs ready to be fitted.
Soaking up the slight weep from the oil cooler (getting sorted on 28th Feb when it gets walnut blasted).
All plastics removed to get to the engine.
First coil out; all were OE Bosch jobs.
Plug from cylinder one out.
Old plug versus new
Everything was going swimmingly; none of the plugs had been done up ridiculously tight like on the 125i. I then got to cylinder six, which was the one that has had the occasional misfire (twice so far). The plug came out easily enough but…
It was accompanied by the smell of super unleaded. It looks like injector six is on the way out. It’s been replaced once before because it’s an index nine and two of the others are five’s. This was done under warranty sone tine ago.
With the threat of the bill for the cam ledges still looming over my head, I’m not sure I can stomach the nearly £3k bill for a set of index 12’s. As it’s only a single injector, I’m going to try and find a good used one for now.
d_a_n1979 said:
Bloody hell Sam... Another unexpected job 
With the N53/4 engines, I’m not sure the injectors can ever be considered as unexpected unfortunately! Luckily it’s only one, so I’ll get that sorted soon enough. On the plus side, just done 25 miles on it and there are no rattles after the interior change and I appear to have solved the one coming from the rear cubby between the seats.
I’m not sure what adaptations the garage reset on Thursday but with that, the gearbox service and new plugs and coils it’s actually driving really nicely. Better than it probably ever has.
Court_S said:
I’ve just got stock Bosch ones but it looks like I’ll be at the upper end of what they can cope with when it’s mapped with the FMIC. I’ll probably need to move to NGK one step colder plugs. Do they not come pre-gapped?
Stock Bosch plugs are best until you need to lower the gap. Because they are 3 prong you can't gap them so most move to the NGK alternatives. I've always found the stock plugs to be the smoothest idling and only recommend clients to move to NGKs when going north of 600hp.You'll be fine on the stock plugs until you decide to upgrade to some very large twins or a single turbo. I personally ran NGK 5992s and a few of the other alternatives in my cars for a while and found zero benefit and a more uneven idle.
Regarding the injectors, you want to avoid mixing index 1-10 with index 11-12 in the same bank because the flow rates differ. The engine can balance the two banks to compensate using trims but if you mix across a single bank then the engine can't compensate enough because the individual cylinder balancing has limited adjustment range.
car user said:
Stock Bosch plugs are best until you need to lower the gap. Because they are 3 prong you can't gap them so most move to the NGK alternatives. I've always found the stock plugs to be the smoothest idling and only recommend clients to move to NGKs when going north of 600hp.
You'll be fine on the stock plugs until you decide to upgrade to some very large twins or a single turbo. I personally ran NGK 5992s and a few of the other alternatives in my cars for a while and found zero benefit and a more uneven idle.
Regarding the injectors, you want to avoid mixing index 1-10 with index 11-12 in the same bank because the flow rates differ. The engine can balance the two banks to compensate using trims but if you mix across a single bank then the engine can't compensate enough because the individual cylinder balancing has limited adjustment range.
Good to know; some seem to say the stock plugs struggle as you push to 400bhp. You'll be fine on the stock plugs until you decide to upgrade to some very large twins or a single turbo. I personally ran NGK 5992s and a few of the other alternatives in my cars for a while and found zero benefit and a more uneven idle.
Regarding the injectors, you want to avoid mixing index 1-10 with index 11-12 in the same bank because the flow rates differ. The engine can balance the two banks to compensate using trims but if you mix across a single bank then the engine can't compensate enough because the individual cylinder balancing has limited adjustment range.
I’m on the look out for a working index 9 or 10 injector for now to make life as easy as possible for the foreseeable. The car ran beautifully today.
Regarding your injectors.
I took mine to an official BMW dealer some time ago and they still had a recall action open on the car to change the injectors.
Turns out that BMW decided not to fuss around with testing anymore and change all injectors to index 12 in the action.
Might be worth giving them a call to see if you're car already had the injector recall action.
Mind you, this is in Belgium, so might be different the other side of the pond.
I took mine to an official BMW dealer some time ago and they still had a recall action open on the car to change the injectors.
Turns out that BMW decided not to fuss around with testing anymore and change all injectors to index 12 in the action.
Might be worth giving them a call to see if you're car already had the injector recall action.
Mind you, this is in Belgium, so might be different the other side of the pond.
JohnDuh said:
Regarding your injectors.
I took mine to an official BMW dealer some time ago and they still had a recall action open on the car to change the injectors.
Turns out that BMW decided not to fuss around with testing anymore and change all injectors to index 12 in the action.
Might be worth giving them a call to see if you're car already had the injector recall action.
Mind you, this is in Belgium, so might be different the other side of the pond.
Thanks. I don’t think there are any recalls in the UK for injectors any more. My car was subject to a recall when four of the five were changed.I took mine to an official BMW dealer some time ago and they still had a recall action open on the car to change the injectors.
Turns out that BMW decided not to fuss around with testing anymore and change all injectors to index 12 in the action.
Might be worth giving them a call to see if you're car already had the injector recall action.
Mind you, this is in Belgium, so might be different the other side of the pond.
I’ve bought a working used injector. Hopefully that’ll sort the issue.
The car is currently running really well; it’s smoother, feels a bit quicker and the economy is up despite doing shorter trips. Bonkers.
This f
king car…..
Ran absolutely perfectly to Holyhead and back today. Last time I did the journey innit just before Christmas I was greeted with the yellow light of doom a couple of times. Today, no sight of it and the car continues to run better than I think it ever has. It feels perkier than it has done and fuel economy is better. I’ve averaged 29mpg since the battery was disconnected to fit the seats. It’s looking increasingly likely that the indy was right about it being connected to the cam sensors rather than the ledges.
The gearbox service was definitely money well spent. It’s so much smoother than it was. The red interior is lovely and makes it a much nicer place to sit.
It’s very very dirty though because the weather at times today was horrendous.
The only think I noticed today was that it idled ever so slightly lumpily from time to time, but I suspect that’s because injector six is leaking.
It’s back in the garage on Tuesday for a walnut blast, oil filter and cooler gaskets being replaced and a new, used injector being fitted and coded.
king car…..Ran absolutely perfectly to Holyhead and back today. Last time I did the journey innit just before Christmas I was greeted with the yellow light of doom a couple of times. Today, no sight of it and the car continues to run better than I think it ever has. It feels perkier than it has done and fuel economy is better. I’ve averaged 29mpg since the battery was disconnected to fit the seats. It’s looking increasingly likely that the indy was right about it being connected to the cam sensors rather than the ledges.
The gearbox service was definitely money well spent. It’s so much smoother than it was. The red interior is lovely and makes it a much nicer place to sit.
It’s very very dirty though because the weather at times today was horrendous.
The only think I noticed today was that it idled ever so slightly lumpily from time to time, but I suspect that’s because injector six is leaking.
It’s back in the garage on Tuesday for a walnut blast, oil filter and cooler gaskets being replaced and a new, used injector being fitted and coded.
roadie said:
The progress is great and hopefully the fixes mean the car is issue free before you get to the performance upgrades.
Who do you use for insurance? Have your changes so far had much impact on premium? The changes I have made to my car have barely had an impact on mine.
Hopefully. It seems to be running really well at the moment. Who do you use for insurance? Have your changes so far had much impact on premium? The changes I have made to my car have barely had an impact on mine.
I’m with a Chris Nott. Most of the stuff they’re not really fussed about so far because they see it as cosmetic (the spring’s haven’t dropped it much). Will see what they say when it comes to power!
After yesterday’s trip to Holyhead and taking the boy to Cannock today, my car was looking rather sorry for itself.
The wheels were especially manky.
Broke out the Alien Magic snow foam which creates a really think foam that clings to the car for a long time.
It does a great job at breaking down the road filth.
Looking much better after a good wash and a coat of QD.
The wheels were especially manky.
Broke out the Alien Magic snow foam which creates a really think foam that clings to the car for a long time.
It does a great job at breaking down the road filth.
Looking much better after a good wash and a coat of QD.
That's great news about the car behaving itself, and about the gearbox service too. So much for lifetime fluid!
I'm still somewhat confused as to the actual cause of the issue, presumably not the solenoids as you swapped those and it didn't resolve it. What did the indy change in the end, the cam position sensors?
Still flabbergasted that BMW wanted to just dive in and strip the engine without even exploring other possibilities
The car is looking great as always
I'm still somewhat confused as to the actual cause of the issue, presumably not the solenoids as you swapped those and it didn't resolve it. What did the indy change in the end, the cam position sensors?
Still flabbergasted that BMW wanted to just dive in and strip the engine without even exploring other possibilities
The car is looking great as always
Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff