135i Turbo Engine (N54 / N55) *General Questions Thread*

[bryce]

[The1]

Originally Posted by bryce

no worries. i'll see if i can find a diagram. the charge pipes that everyone buys are just the section taht has the dv's. lower charge pipes are included with some intercoolers

well, hopefully a company gets smart and replaces the entire pipe top to bottom, it's not a nice piece by the intercooler. I figure a lot of throttle response is likely lost with how soft the rubber hose is down by the intercooler. And if the charge pipe is anything like that, it's poor all the way along.

[RaihaX]

My ER Intercooler and Chargepipe (long version) replaces all the piping from the intercooler to the bov area.

[bryce]

Originally Posted by The1

well, hopefully a company gets smart and replaces the entire pipe top to bottom, it's not a nice piece by the intercooler. I figure a lot of throttle response is likely lost with how soft the rubber hose is down by the intercooler. And if the charge pipe is anything like that, it's poor all the way along.

yea, the stock lower IC piping should definitely be upgraded. the stock upper charge pipe (that has the dv's) isn't bad at all, IMO

Originally Posted by RaihaX

My ER Intercooler and Chargepipe (long version) replaces all the piping from the intercooler to the bov area.

right, i forgot the er intercooler comes with the lower charge pipe, too

[nodleecyrb]

Originally Posted by RaihaX

My ER Intercooler and Chargepipe (long version) replaces all the piping from the intercooler to the bov area.

good info, thanks

[T-Dubbs]

sweet thread!
i have stg2 dinan( cat back, drop in filter, software) 135i
id like to upgrade the software to vishnu or jb4
and intake ( dual cone or something of the sort ) my drop in filter isn't the best..
and finally down pipes (cat-less)

my question is, is it worth it to change tunes?
or mod my car and do the dinan stg3 software upgrade?
my warrenty is up now, so thats not an issue

[The1]

I just switched from dual cone intakes to a proper real cold air(expensive option)

but from all the time I've spent with tunes and mostly modded car with 94 octane tune. Putting the cold air intake on and taking out the dual cone was probably one of the smartest things I've done.

My 91 octane setting now feels like my 94 used to. But with a lot more torque.

In your circumstances going from a dinan tune to a piggy back, it will yield a bit more power, but it will be at the sacrifice of drivability. Perhaps consider going the Cobb route. You'll have a tune more like what is in the Dinan which uses the cars ECU to it's fullest. The piggy backs can sometimes be a little bit unpredictable about how much power it's going to get at what point.

Just some food for thought.

If you want all out power, cold air intake (real one), bigger intercooler, downpipes, full exhaust, and a proper dyno tune for your specific car and the type of octane you'll find around where you live.

[T-Dubbs]

which intake are you referring to?
AFE?
Turner?
STETT?

[The1]

Originally Posted by T-Dubbs

which intake are you referring to?

I have the dinan one, but any real cold air with heat sheilding or filter outside of the engine bay should help.

Sadly, it does sound as though the Dinan one and the Mr.5 DIY intake both have the highest results out there. From what I hear.

What really made me make the switch was the inconsistent power provided to the dual cone in day to day driving. If I was on the highway, I wouldn't notice it. But in and around town, enough hot air builds up in the engine bay that the car can have noticeably less power. Basically, I'd be astonished when pressing the throttle one time, and then 5 minutes later, I'd be underwhelmed by the performance of the car.

[T-Dubbs]

the mr.5 intake uses the corrugated plastic tubing.... wouldnt that mess up airflow?
and add un needed turbulence?
that tubing seems like a flaw, rather than a benefit

[The1]

Originally Posted by T-Dubbs

the mr.5 intake uses the corrugated plastic tubing.... wouldnt that mess up airflow?
and add un needed turbulence?

which just goes to show you how bad some of the other intakes on the market actually are.

there's been lots of people test out the Mr.5 setup in their 335s and the results have been consistent.

But when you say corrugated, some of the people have put a lot of work into finding smooth interior piping for that reason, so what may appear that way, is actually quite well designed.

Probably a few people using the really cheap stuff though.

The design is actually pretty similar to the Dinan in how it's laid out. The only difference is where the pipe goes in the side, rather then in the top.

I suspect the Mr.5 might almost be easier to unstall in some respects. When I picked up the dinan, I opened the box and looked around and realized pretty quickly I didn't have half the tools I would need to install it, or the patients to try without the tools.

[T-Dubbs]

Originally Posted by The1

But when you say corrugated, some of the people have put a lot of work into finding smooth interior piping for that reason, so what may appear that way, is actually quite well designed.

designed
not engineered

id like to test out smooth tubing vs corrugated
to see which is better.
but for flow, the smooth SHOULD be better.

[The1]

Originally Posted by T-Dubbs

designed
not engineered

id like to test out smooth tubing vs corrugated

If you follow some of the Mr.5 threads, he went through a few different types of piping and a few diameters as well. So the research is there. At least the time and energy anyhow.

I'd love to see the Dinan and Mr.5 compared on the same car the same day.

[T-Dubbs]

Originally Posted by The1

If you follow some of the Mr.5 threads, he went through a few different types of piping and a few diameters as well. So the research is there. At least the time and energy anyhow.

I'd love to see the Dinan and Mr.5 compared on the same car the same day.

ill need to read some more about this.
i would perfer Mr.5 over dinan, just purely based on cost.
id rather not be bent over for minimal differences and a shiny CF box

[The1]

Originally Posted by T-Dubbs

ill need to read some more about this.
i would perfer Mr.5 over dinan, just purely based on cost.
id rather not be bent over for minimal differences and a shiny CF box

It is a massive price to have to swallow. But one could also point that out with a Dinan tune over any of the others.

So really it just comes down to taste and what you're willing to do or not do. I wanted a guaranteed result after getting annoyed at the constant fluctuation of power to no power caused by the cone filters.

I'm a do it once and do it right kind of guy. And I failed the first time, so I was more determined to do it right the second time. But right is a matter of opinion again in this circumstance.

[Phlonx]

I have a $95 BMS DCI, sounds great and never noticed heat soak. Just my $.02. Oh and....

http://www.n54tech.com/forums/showpost.php?p=199799&postcount=1

I mean $400+ for an insulated air filter? Cmon...

The BMW ram air is still present either way.. Directs outside air into the engine bay with any intake, unless its replaced, with practically the same thing.

I would rather spend the $ on real performance mods, unless ur made of $, in which case i would buy the nicest looking one.

[nodleecyrb]

dci's are fine, especially if you have an upgraded front mount intercooler

[The1]

Originally Posted by nodleecyrb

dci's are fine, especially if you have an upgraded front mount intercooler

does that mean you've run a cold air intake on your car to be able to give such advice?

I mean, afterall, the stock engine is "fine"

I've run both short ram (aka dci) and cold air intakes on multiple different cars and I can tell you 100% yes, you can make some power with the DCI but it is unreliable power. The consistencey is anoying in my opinion. I mean if you're running just an intake and a chip, it will be sufficient and you likely wouldn't notice much difference. But if you're taking your mods seriously, there's no reason to skimp.

I just don't see the point in cheaping out. I did it, and learned from my mistake. I don't have cheap downpipes, I don't have a cheap intercooler, I don't have a cheap intake, and I don't have a cheap oil cooler, all because every little thing does make a difference.

so yes, a DCI will give you power. Sometimes.... and sometimes it will give you less then even your stock box would. I'm not willing do sacrifice.

[The1]

Originally Posted by Phlonx

The BMW ram air is still present either way.. Directs outside air into the engine bay with any intake, unless its replaced, with practically the same thing.

It's barely present. if you made a box that fit those filters and still used the bmw scoops, then I would agree with you 100%

[nodleecyrb]

Originally Posted by The1

does that mean you've run a cold air intake on your car to be able to give such advice?

I mean, afterall, the stock engine is "fine"

I've run both short ram (aka dci) and cold air intakes on multiple different cars and I can tell you 100% yes, you can make some power with the DCI but it is unreliable power. The consistencey is anoying in my opinion. I mean if you're running just an intake and a chip, it will be sufficient and you likely wouldn't notice much difference. But if you're taking your mods seriously, there's no reason to skimp.

I just don't see the point in cheaping out. I did it, and learned from my mistake. I don't have cheap downpipes, I don't have a cheap intercooler, I don't have a cheap intake, and I don't have a cheap oil cooler, all because every little thing does make a difference.

so yes, a DCI will give you power. Sometimes.... and sometimes it will give you less then even your stock box would. I'm not willing do sacrifice.

to each their own. butt dyno's are rarely accurate enough to tell a difference in 5 whp. that's the performance difference between a CAI like stett and the dci's.

in regards to cheap parts, i've had both types of parts on my various n54 cars. i could not tell a difference in performance, IAT's, WGDC, or anything else really between a $900 *quality* intercooler and a $140 *ebay* intercooler.

in fact, i think the $140 ebay intercooler was better at recovering from a hard 2-3-4-5 pull than the expensive intercooler, mainly because of the design. godspeed intercoolers are tall and thin compared with the shoebox design of most intercoolers. the air traveling through the fins of the intercooler will heat up towards teh back of a shoebox intercooler, while the godspeed intercooler is thin enough to not have that happen.

vrsf downpipes appear to have zero fitment issues, and they cost over 1/2 as much as the ar design pipes. let's be real, $800 for 2 pipes that are around a foot long each is pretty ridiculous. $800 buys you a quality, usa made long-tube header system on a lot of other platforms.

again, to each their own. i doubt there's any performance difference between parts like intercoolers and downpipes that cost $1,000 and parts that cost $300

[bryce]

[bryce]

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