Order of Modification

[135iRick]

What's the order of modification does one take with these cars? I can't afford to purchase all the engine mods up front without making dumb financial decisions, so it will be done piece by piece. It's a '11 135i M-Sport. N55 car, DCT.

The list of things I want to do, in no particular order, are as follows:

Intake
Charge pipe
Intercooler
Down pipe
Full exhaust
Tune
Boost gauge
Wideband O2 sensor/gauge

Possible mods:
Meth Injection
Blow off valve

Any suggestions? Additions, subtractions? I'm only listing power related mods in here. Nothing overly major (i.e. turbo, cams, forged pistons, port and polish, etc.), I'll wait for the car to be paid off for that.

[rsr552]

I dont think its possible to change blow off valve on the n55 engines

[rsr552]

besides a tune...downpipe will probably net you the most hp for you dollar

[Eyeman]

Hey Rick. I live in Buckhead and work at Sugarloaf Mills Mall and the Costco near Perimeter if you need to see/hear my car. My mods are listed in my signature pretty much in the order I installed them. I would not recommend catless downpipes to be done early for most owners.

[MuNkY6913]

I'd say first thing would be intake, axleback exhaust and tune should be the first. Then everything else. That's how I did it. If you go jb4 you don't need a boost gauge. Then as you learn more and want more and get used to what you have. Ease into the other parts.

[Curare86]

Originally Posted by MuNkY6913

I'd say first thing would be intake, axleback exhaust and tune should be the first. Then everything else. That's how I did it. If you go jb4 you don't need a boost gauge. Then as you learn more and want more and get used to what you have. Ease into the other parts.

if he wants power he should definitely NOT be doing intake and axleback first, which mainly just improve sound with minimal HP gains. tune should be first. then DP's and CP to handle the extra boost. Then meth or intercooler depending which you want more. Meth will give you better power gains but requires a bit more maintenance. BMS showed that there is minimal to no improvement from running both on the n55, at least in terms of dyno runs and peak power. The tune you choose probably also affects this decision, as I feel the combo of JB4/meth is easier to run than cobb+meth. Therefore, if you're flashing I'd prob go with upgraded intercooler, whereas if you're going piggyback I'd run meth

[MuNkY6913]

Originally Posted by Curare86

if he wants power he should definitely NOT be doing intake and axleback first, which mainly just improve sound with minimal HP gains. tune should be first. then DP's and CP to handle the extra boost. Then meth or intercooler depending which you want more. Meth will give you better power gains but requires a bit more maintenance. BMS showed that there is minimal to no improvement from running both on the n55, at least in terms of dyno runs and peak power. The tune you choose probably also affects this decision, as I feel the combo of JB4/meth is easier to run than cobb+meth. Therefore, if you're flashing I'd prob go with upgraded intercooler, whereas if you're going piggyback I'd run meth

Doing the axleback exhaust and intake along with tune, all at once is going to be the easiest to do on a budget. All of those are usually listed pretty cheap on this and the other forum as well as eBay. There's no reason not to do them first. They may be minimal gains but pave the way for the bigger gains. Baby steps. I didn't go to E85 until I had all of the bolt ons. Now I'm going to up that and do more E85 and meth. Intake and exhaust with tune is a good place to start. Both of which can be done with little effort but still change the car. You'll be able to feel it and hear it.

[Curare86]

Originally Posted by MuNkY6913

Doing the axleback exhaust and intake along with tune, all at once is going to be the easiest to do on a budget. All of those are usually listed pretty cheap on this and the other forum as well as eBay. There's no reason not to do them first. They may be minimal gains but pave the way for the bigger gains. Baby steps. I didn't go to E85 until I had all of the bolt ons. Now I'm going to up that and do more E85 and meth. Intake and exhaust with tune is a good place to start. Both of which can be done with little effort but still change the car. You'll be able to feel it and hear it.

A meth kit is about the same price as an exhaust. As is a DP or a CP. The CP is the weakest link if you want to "pave the way" to handle bigger power. If your budget is limited do you want biggest bang for your buck or do you want best sound
Read kennys thread for some good objective info:
http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=397086

[Freon]

The two most popular solutions, Cobb and JB, will grow with you as you mod. There is little reason not to get the tune first. It's the biggest power gain by a long shot. ~50whp on a bone stock car.

I agree the intake and muffler (axleback) are largely moot, and will primarily be sound enhancements.

[cheshirecat79]

Tune first. Follow up with intake an exhaust, then IC. The CP isn't really a problem for the n55 from what I've seen, but I would move to that with downpipes last.

That being said, there's no real order that you have to follow, although the tune will make the biggest immediate difference and it's perfectly fine to put on first.

[MuNkY6913]

I agree with above. Tune then intake and exhaust, if you can afford it all three at once. The other sounds completely backwards to me. Tune, meth kit, then dp's and charge pipe? I would never do that. When I first installed my jb4 it had prerequisites to going up each map. First was intake, axle back. Second was downpipes which allowed me to run higher boost. Then came the intercooler and charge pipe to up the boost more with race gas. Now that all that's done and I want to stay at top boost and not have to buy race gas I'm going meth. I'm not sure if I'm being over protective of my car but I would not get a jb4 and then hook up a meth kit and run 18psi without all of the other supporting mods. I guess it's up to what the op can afford. Definitely search the tunes and build your car to what the tune manufacture suggests. I built mine according to what was suggested I do before I pushed the car more. Intake and exhaust was the easiest and the first things.

[e36addict]

Downpipe was first for me, followed by JB4, which was a mistake because chargepipe should have come first lol. Then resonator delete (superb), and intercooler. Lastly, flex fuel wires and 60/40 mix. Loving it!

[Curare86]

Originally Posted by MuNkY6913

I agree with above. Tune then intake and exhaust, if you can afford it all three at once. The other sounds completely backwards to me. Tune, meth kit, then dp's and charge pipe? I would never do that. When I first installed my jb4 it had prerequisites to going up each map. First was intake, axle back. Second was downpipes which allowed me to run higher boost. Then came the intercooler and charge pipe to up the boost more with race gas. Now that all that's done and I want to stay at top boost and not have to buy race gas I'm going meth. I'm not sure if I'm being over protective of my car but I would not get a jb4 and then hook up a meth kit and run 18psi without all of the other supporting mods. I guess it's up to what the op can afford. Definitely search the tunes and build your car to what the tune manufacture suggests. I built mine according to what was suggested I do before I pushed the car more. Intake and exhaust was the easiest and the first things.

If you read my first post, it says tune then DP and CP then meth or intercooler. Your reasoning is perfectly correct, higher maps require upgraded components. But where does any tuner say that you need an upgraded intake and exhaust to safely run a higher boost map? They dont because they make no difference

[tapout2taxes]

Originally Posted by e36addict

Downpipe was first for me, followed by JB4, which was a mistake because chargepipe should have come first lol. Then resonator delete (superb), and intercooler. Lastly, flex fuel wires and 60/40 mix. Loving it!

Which chargepipe did you go with? I'm debating downpipes and chargepipe at the same time because I know I'll need both together.

In regards to OP's question I think it's a question of what you want. When I got my car I knew the quad exhaust was going to be first for the look. So what are you trying to upgrade? Looks, sound or performance? That really determines where to go, not what anyone else's preference is.

[e36addict]

Originally Posted by tapout2taxes

Which chargepipe did you go with? I'm debating downpipes and chargepipe at the same time because I know I'll need both together.

In regards to OP's question I think it's a question of what you want. When I got my car I knew the quad exhaust was going to be first for the look. So what are you trying to upgrade? Looks, sound or performance? That really determines where to go, not what anyone else's preference is.

I went with the CP BMS sells.. which is a CP-E unit. Definitely recommend it. Perfect fitment and best of all, haven't touched it since I installed it. Absolutely do downpipe and chargepipe at the same time. I went with JB first and blew my stock chargepipe while I was in Colorado.. big time suck.

[135iRick]

Originally Posted by Eyeman

Hey Rick. I live in Buckhead and work at Sugarloaf Mills Mall and the Costco near Perimeter if you need to see/hear my car. My mods are listed in my signature pretty much in the order I installed them. I would not recommend catless downpipes to be done early for most owners.

I'm over here in Sandy Springs and I work in Vinings/Smyrna

Originally Posted by e36addict

Downpipe was first for me, followed by JB4, which was a mistake because chargepipe should have come first lol. Then resonator delete (superb), and intercooler. Lastly, flex fuel wires and 60/40 mix. Loving it!

flex fuel wires?

[135iRick]

Performance first, then sound. This car does need better sounding exhaust, it's a shame how quiet they make these engines.

So I'm looking at in order:
Tune/Charge pipe
Intercooler
Down pipe
Intake/Full exhaust
Wideband O2 sensor/gauge

[e36addict]

Originally Posted by 135iRick

Performance first, then sound. This car does need better sounding exhaust, it's a shame how quiet they make these engines.

So I'm looking at in order:
Tune/Charge pipe
Intercooler
Down pipe
Intake/Full exhaust
Wideband O2 sensor/gauge

No need for any tacky gauges if you go with JB4.. And flex fuel wires from BMS to go along with the JB4 so you can run up to a 50% mix. Without the wires you can only run a 20ish% mix before it leans out.

[Freon]

Originally Posted by Curare86

But where does any tuner say that you need an upgraded intake and exhaust to safely run a higher boost map? They dont because they make no difference

Cobb has intake and exhaust marked as "suggested" for the 135i for some of the maps. It's listed in their map notes. I disagree with them on intake, but perhaps midpipes are worth it.
(note they have specific maps for FMIC and DP, and all combinations thereof)

Worth noting that exhaust is not marked as suggested on the 335i maps. For some of the same N54 maps it remains marked "stock." This seems to indicate they believe the 335i has a better flowing exhaust from the factory, which I believe is correct.

[135iRick]

Originally Posted by e36addict

No need for any tacky gauges if you go with JB4.. And flex fuel wires from BMS to go along with the JB4 so you can run up to a 50% mix. Without the wires you can only run a 20ish% mix before it leans out.

What are "Flex Fuel wires"?狷

[Curare86]

Originally Posted by Freon

Cobb has intake and exhaust marked as "suggested" for the 135i for some of the maps. It's listed in their map notes. I disagree with them on intake, but perhaps midpipes are worth it.
(note they have specific maps for FMIC and DP, and all combinations thereof)

Worth noting that exhaust is not marked as suggested on the 335i maps. For some of the same N54 maps it remains marked "stock." This seems to indicate they believe the 335i has a better flowing exhaust from the factory, which I believe is correct.

Originally Posted by 135iRick

What are "Flex Fuel wires"?狷

Does thatapply to n55 too? Cos we already have catless mids?

Rick, the jb4 is a piggyback harness that you plug into a few plugs in the engine bay. Flex fuel wires plug into the jb4 and hijack one additional plug in the engine bay, allowing jb4 to increase fuel flow rates for people running fuel mixes with higher ethanolcontent

[NY135ivishnu]

If you get a jb4 or procede you can bang 3 things off the list at once.

Tune, and both gauges.