330i e90 lack of power (again)
Discussion
I recently put a post up regarding the disappointment with the power output of my car, I had a carbon clean service done and there seemed to be a noticeable difference, all of a sudden it feels more like it should, but the problem is only sometimes. At times when I put my foot down at lowish revs in say 3rd gear it feels like an obvious turbo lag would be the simplest way to describe it, the power doesn't seem to build up then all of a sudden, bang off it goes I suppose like a flat spot maybe?, other times it seems to hesitate and not pick up at all, probably the source of my original disappointment with the car, I just never noticed it so much before I had the engine cleaned and like I said other times I put my foot down, same gear, similar revs and it goes how I believe it should. any ideas? I realise these cars pick up more at higher revs but this issue is well below that, this is low end to mid range. cheers
ok right, I will say other than the power issues the car runs great, perfect tick over and nice smooth engine too, its just the power delivery seems to vary a noticeable amount from time to time, great help guys, as long as its something I can trace and sort out i'll be happy, I hate these mysterious faults which seem to puzzle even the experts
Hi there, just an update, at long last I took my car to the garage regarding my throttle issues and it turns out that being plugged in to 2 diagnostic units (1 being from Redish motorsport, (a well respected BMW specialist in Bristol), no codes flagged up and everything seemed to be in order, my mechanic, who used to work for another BM independent specialist just reckoned it could be a flat spot and a remap should sort it out. I must say I have heard that remap specialists advertise there service 'to help iron out flat spots' etc, so I may try that in the new year. I must say I would have assumed that if you had a flat spot it would be there all the time? but this tends to be periodic but there you go
Thanks for the update - we like seeing threads followed through!
From what I read when I had my issue - you don't always gets codes, but normally something flags up. On the N52, it seems more and more common that the larger DISA fails - to begin with this will just mean a loose flap/butterfly.
That's mine (few engine covers moved out of the way), if you undo the power steering reservoir (2 x 10mm nuts iirc) and move it to the side, you can then get to the outer DISA (most common to fail), undo the 3 torx screws (might have to slide the cables in that area out of the way) and slide it out to look at it. Mine was missing the butterfly - but if it's loose, you can prod the butterfly with your finger and it will move - by default it should be open, and you shouldn't be able to move it easily by hand. It's worth a look to at least rule it out.
This was the error code I had, with a missing butterfly!
And here's what happens if your flap has been loose for a while (vs. a new one)
So, like I say, worth a check, no special tools really required and shouldn't take long.
From what I read when I had my issue - you don't always gets codes, but normally something flags up. On the N52, it seems more and more common that the larger DISA fails - to begin with this will just mean a loose flap/butterfly.
That's mine (few engine covers moved out of the way), if you undo the power steering reservoir (2 x 10mm nuts iirc) and move it to the side, you can then get to the outer DISA (most common to fail), undo the 3 torx screws (might have to slide the cables in that area out of the way) and slide it out to look at it. Mine was missing the butterfly - but if it's loose, you can prod the butterfly with your finger and it will move - by default it should be open, and you shouldn't be able to move it easily by hand. It's worth a look to at least rule it out.
This was the error code I had, with a missing butterfly!
And here's what happens if your flap has been loose for a while (vs. a new one)
So, like I say, worth a check, no special tools really required and shouldn't take long.
looking at the picture closer at home on my lap top, that seems to be a different engine to mine, no idea where to locate the disa valve on mine, if its anything like the 330i e46 I think its a pain, saying that my throttle body apparently is slightly easier to get to. I'll have a look at self help vids on youtube, while I'm there, I'll give the vanos solenoids a clean as that was 1 suggestion as that appears to be a simple job. Bloody shame there are no codes showing as it could be a number of things. my mechanic said it could be related to the positioning sensor on the throttle body or throttle peddle. 1 thing I don't want to be doing is replacing parts by guess work. Any opinions regarding the remap solution I mentioned? as I was looking at that soon any way
Andy70 said:
, that seems to be a different engine to mine, no idea where to locate the disa valve on mine,
That's strange, mine's a 2005 E91 330i, definitely N52 engine! I've moved the power steering reservoir in the photo, and a couple of covers - that's all.Here's the realoem diagram: http://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/showparts?id=VS32-...
No. 2 and 3 are the DISA's - the inner one is a bit of a pain to get to - but you can get to it blind via removing the airbox if you're good with your hands.
That said - all this talk of DISA valves - mine felt like it had turbo lag when I had problems with my "smaller DISA" on the inside of the inlet manifold - but I haven't read of these failing (mine was self inflicted - see below!), it's only the larger ones I've read as failing - which you can get to just moving the power steering reservoir out of the way.
Andy70 said:
. Any opinions regarding the remap solution I mentioned? as I was looking at that soon any way
No idea - I know there's a few about. However before I even think about that, I'll be putting an LSD on it, and the Birds ARB's (already have the B3 suspension kit on it) - and then tbh I could do with a new flywheel & clutch as that's not 100% - and then I may consider a remap - but tbh, on the road, it really is more than fast enough - I burnt a Bentley Continental GT off the line the other day just because I launched properly and anticipated the traffic light change bob one....stevesingo said:
ZIppy,
do you still have your old DISA valve?
Er, sortof. They're in bits. The smaller DISA I rebuilt with the i6 automotive kit as "preventative maintenance" to stop it doing what the larger one did...only thing is I couldn't replicate the factory ultrasonic welding and with the heat of the engine I suspect - the back kept falling off - both with formic acid and epoxy... So I got a new one - I should have just left it alone! Photo link of splitting disa valve opendo you still have your old DISA valve?
The larger one I replaced - the latest BMW iteration had a metal shaft, so they clearly new about this issue and revised accordingly! I still have that, but it's obliviously missing a few parts.
Why do you ask?
i'll have a closer look over the weekend, I must say I haven't looked closely down there, so I assume it will be behind the throttle body?, I must say it seems to be the most probable solution so far unless there is any logic in the flat spot idea or the throttle position sensors could be a possibility, but I'll look at one thing at a time
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