Upcoming PPK Flash

[JustAnotherSportsCar]

I have an appointment in a few days at my local dealer to flash PPK to my ‘08 E88 135i 6MT.

I purchased the PPK2 kit from a guy in Germany on eBay and had it shipped to Iowa. Even with some pretty pricey shipping, it was cheaper than any US source. I mostly wanted the kit for the extra cooling.

I spent the last several months installing new factory turbos, the cooling kit, and servicing many other items. It is finally back together and needs an alignment after the M3 control arm upgrade. It also needs a brake fluid flush.

I know it is much debated wether PPK is worth it or not, but like I said, I wanted the cooling upgrade and am looking for a mild tune that will hopefully raise, and flatten, the torque curve across the rpm range. I’m curious if the PPK tune will give any pops to the N54 with stock exhaust? The only exhaust mod I have is the Valvetronic controller; it makes minimal difference to the ‘08 factory exhaust.

[Luxury]

Congratulations! That's quite a lot of work you've done imo. I think you'll like it a lot. I'm surprised V2 can still be purchased anywhere

Just looked through your post when you bought the car. Crazy amount of work you did. Props man

[Esteban]

Back in 2011 when I had PPK flashed on my N55 135i I got lots of pops and crackles afterwards. I already had the Performance exhaust added but didn’t really have the pops and crackles until I added the PPK. Don’t know how it is for the N54 but hopefully you’ll get that as well. Let us know.

PS - I heard from other N55 135i owners with PPK but not with the Performance exhaust that they also got the pops and crackles, just a bit quieter.

[JustAnotherSportsCar]

Originally Posted by Luxury

Congratulations! That's quite a lot of work you've done imo. I think you'll like it a lot. I'm surprised V2 can still be purchased anywhere

Just looked through your post when you bought the car. Crazy amount of work you did. Props man

I think there are more PPK2 kits out there than people realize. I really like the upgraded fan it comes with.

I figure that I acquired the car cheap enough, but I have spent a lot more money than I planned to rehabbing it. Once you dig in that deep, it is hard not to just start replacing all the old stuff. I don’t really have the ambition to complete another job like that for a long time. I just want to drive and enjoy. If anything, I do feel good about bringing new life to a cool old car!

[JustAnotherSportsCar]

Originally Posted by Esteban

Back in 2011 when I had PPK flashed on my N55 135i I got lots of pops and crackles afterwards. I already had the Performance exhaust added but didn’t really have the pops and crackles until I added the PPK. Don’t know how it is for the N54 but hopefully you’ll get that as well. Let us know.

PS - I heard from other N55 135i owners with PPK but not with the Performance exhaust that they also got the pops and crackles, just a bit quieter.

I will report back how it sounds when the dealership is done with it. I know I have researched whether the N54 got the same sound enhancement, but could never find a definitive answer. I have a feeling that the N54 with PPK installed is pretty rare.

[JustAnotherSportsCar]

Dropped her off this afternoon, can’t wait to feel the difference tomorrow! They gave me a new 228i loaner.

[Esteban]

Originally Posted by JustAnotherSportsCar

Dropped her off this afternoon, can’t wait to feel the difference tomorrow! They gave me a new 228i loaner.

Did you get the stickers and the little placard? Those meant a lot to the members who got PPK back in the day.

[JustAnotherSportsCar]

Yes, all of that came in packed in the large PPK 2 box, along with a sealed red envelope with the flash code.

[Esteban]

Originally Posted by JustAnotherSportsCar

Yes, all of that came in packed in the large PPK 2 box, along with a sealed red envelope with the flash code.

Good for you. Some people didn't get that stuff from the dealer. Mostly the ones with the 135is because the parts and the flash were done at the port of entry.

[JustAnotherSportsCar]

Hopefully the service tech puts it all on. I even left them the installation instructions that I downloaded from the internet.

[Esteban]

Originally Posted by JustAnotherSportsCar

Hopefully the service tech puts it all on. I even left them the installation instructions that I downloaded from the internet.

You should be okay.

On the 135is, when they installed the bigger fan that is a part of PPK2 they left the original fan plug just hanging there, so you might see it under your hood, like in my link here:

https://www.1addicts.com/forums/show....php?t=1895372

[JustAnotherSportsCar]

Yeah, I installed the entire PPK2 kit myself, aside from the code flash. I taped the plug up and tucked it down by the vacuum canisters, then zip tied it down to secure it. I forgot about removing the old fuse for the original fan until today.

[Esteban]

Cool. You're ahead of the game.

[JustAnotherSportsCar]

Well, I didn’t end up getting the car back today. The Service Advisor called and handed the phone off to the technician. The BMW computer system was down at their shop all day, so no flash performed yet. The front left brake bleed screw snapped, so that brake never got bled. He offered to try and drill it out but said if unsuccessful, I’d be paying $1,200 for a new caliper. Also, when doing the rear alignment, he snapped a stuck bolt, had to order it. He said the upper rear control arm on each side were starting to wear and recommended replacing. I told him to hold off while I consider replacing with aluminum M3 rear control arms.

Worth the hassle, or pay dealer to just deal with it now?

Additionally, he said he couldn’t get the front camber, I believe, to meet the specs. I informed him that I replaced the front arms with the M3 ones. He said, “that makes more sense.” Anyone think the M3 front control arms were a mistake?

[jwolf]

M3 arms are great. I also suggest Dinan fixed camber plates. It is a different car with that extra -camber. I looked over all that PPK level 2 kit install, it is intensive. Not sure I will ever get there. I have the flash, but not the extra cooler. The fan, I have been told, is not such a big deal once you are rolling.

[Esteban]

I had PPK1. Didn't need the extra cooling from PPK2. My car never overheated and I had it for 9 years. Added Dinan stage 2 which made the car more fun. There's also Dinan stage 3 which some on here really like but I didn't want to add the extra equipment. Some people like the versatility of MHD. I was happy with Dinan S2, plus some simple suspension mods.

And good tires…

[JustAnotherSportsCar]

Anyone have any input on the M3 rear arms, worth it?

Honestly, the PPK2 kit wasn’t very difficult. The instructions were good enough that I could stumble through it. I am by no means an expert mechanic, but have done my fair share of wrenching. The hardest part of the install was getting the old coolant lines off. Once you pop the clips, man were they stuck on there. I was worried about the wiring because I feel dumb when it comes to that stuff, but it was pretty easy and the instructions made sense. The bumper pulls off easy and the headlight is simple to remove. In reality, I just really wanted the driver’s side to be as functional as the passenger side with its oil cooler. The fan, while not a big deal when rolling, it freaking rips when at a standstill and AC blasting. Beyond more power, it has additional blades. I figure the cooler these cars can run, the better, especially after seeing how fried and dry some of gaskets get. I considered Dinan S2 and may go that way in the future, but this should do for now. Tires are next on my list, Michelin PS AS4. I will be driving in sub-40 degree weather.

[Esteban]

I had Michelin PS4S on my 1er. Summer tires all year here in SoCal.

[JustAnotherSportsCar]

I want to stick with the stock size and the PS4S isn’t available in that. Plus, all season is really what I need here in Iowa. If this was strictly a weekend summer car, I’d probably opt for the summer tire. My goal is to drive this from March through November each year. It will save me a considerable amount of gas over driving my Suburban. My wife drives a 2015 SHO.

[Esteban]

I had upsized to 225/40 and 255/35. Fits on stock size wheels. Very common here. I had the BMW 313 style wheels.

[JustAnotherSportsCar]

While I do like the 313, and appreciate the sizes they are available in, I can’t get over how good the 264 wheel looks on my car. I know it is subjective, but I can’t bring myself to consider anything else.

[Esteban]

Originally Posted by JustAnotherSportsCar

While I do like the 313, and appreciate the sizes they are available in, I can’t get over how good the 264 wheel looks on my car. I know it is subjective, but I can’t bring myself to consider anything else.

I understand and completely agree. My first 135i came with the 264s. Always thought they had a great classic look.