E39 528i SE questions

[Robatr0n]

Hello all,

My dad has an E39 528i SE lying about in the garage that he has had since it was 18 months old and when he does get the chance to drive it, he enjoys the silky smooth 6 cylinder so much that he could never bring himself to part with it.

The only complaint he has is that he could do with abit more power and has asked me for possible ways of improving it without spending too much money.

I have read on several occasions that BMW restricted/strangled the power on the inline 6 cylinders of that era in order for them to meet certain emission tests and that by doing something to the air intake and perhaps replacing the manifold you can get the power that was originally intended for the engine.

Whether or not this is completely true I don't know but if anyone could shed some light I would be grateful.

Oh just to add, the car is a 1998 model.

[Robatr0n]

Thanks for the response.

I'll have to run it by him but from what you have said I can already guess that he won't be as keen as he loves torque and doesn't like the idea of driving a car hard to get the best out of it.

The trading up option is something I have suggested to him over the years but the car is very low mileage and the body work is in near perfect condition so if he was trading up he would have to find something in nearly identical condition.

[kavman0]

He could get his vanos seals done,this will improve low down torque.

http://www.beisansystems.com/

Also i would consider the manifold and throttle body conversion, if he gets a live remap he can have it suited to his taste.

I would contact the guys at the link below for more info on live maps.

http://www.a-ltuning.com/

[phelix]

If it's the M52TU engine there's not much, if anything, to be gained from a manifold or TB conversion.

[kavman0]

phelix said:

If it's the M52TU engine there's not much, if anything, to be gained from a manifold or TB conversion.

No true anymore, manifold and bbtb conversions are now available for all M52/M54 double vanos motors.

[phelix]

Not saying they're not available - just saying there's not a lot to be gained. Most such mods for NA engines tend to be cash flow devices.

[phelix]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Agreed - but won't the OP's car have either the M52 or the M52TU engine?

[Shropshiremike]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Yes it will have the later engine.....but the M50 mod Caboose refers to is so called because it uses the manifold from the old iron block engine ( M50) used in the 325i ( amongst others )

[kavman0]

There's a feature in the March issue of Performance BMW mag about the conversion for the Double Vanos engines.