Walnut blasting and typical gains

[crex]

Originally Posted by A_Squared

Yea this should be a no brainer. I did mine myself at home since the stealership's price was ridiculous. Cost me less than 150 bucks total for all supplies. Car definitely runs smoother. Throttle response is much better. Make sure to change the intake manifold gaskets also.

Lol agree about the stealership! I just didn't feel like doing it.

[n54door]

At 70k I had it done. It was never done before based on what we saw. Based on the visuals, it was estimated that 20-30% of the ports were blocked.

Look at it this way, it's like getting a port job. Depending on how much material is in the way, removing it can improve the performance of the car a little or a lot.

For me, it was a huge improvement. I immediately noticed the engine was spinning faster through the power band, and the top end was much improved. I could easily say it was about 15-20hp gain. But again, my valves were disgusting. It looked like burnt oatmeal all over my intake ports.

[A_Squared]

Originally Posted by crex

Lol agree about the stealership! I just didn't feel like doing it.

Yea man...dealer here quoted me $1000. Told them to go f themselves. It wasn't too bad...just tiring and time consuming.

[Adam135]

$300 from LTBMW in El Monte, CA. And they paid for a rental car

[crex]

Originally Posted by Adam135

$300 from LTBMW in El Monte, CA. And they paid for a rental car

Wow! I need to move to CA. That is a great deal.

[Tony135]

Only $300 from LT? hell yeah. How long did it take?

[Gutwrench]

Hey guys, my dealer also quoted $1000. No thanks, lol. Two cans of brake cleaner, a $7 gun cleaning kit from Walmart, a new set of intake gaskets, a couple of bicycle spokes sharpened and shaped into dental tools, and about 3 hours per cylinder, my intakes are spotless. Noticeable difference on idle and strong pulls at low RPMs. The time spent on doing the work was worth it since I figured I was clawing back $167 per cylinder. Would have jumped at $300, wow. I did this while I was doing to oil filter housing and oil cooler gasket changes...which the dealer quoted another $900.

[ONDEMAND]

Originally Posted by ShocknAwe

Yes!

Originally Posted by Steve-0

Good question. I'd like to know as well.

Originally Posted by Tony135

Is the N55 affected as much as the n54?

I think the N55 is NOT as prone to carbon buildup on the intake valves. Recently did a group buy blasting with a bunch of E90 guys.

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showth...=921634&page=3

look at the condition of my N55 valves at 47k miles and then the two N54 with similar miles in the post below mine. Night and day differnece

[Da_Meister_22]

I have been using the 50K mile benchmark to do this Walnut Blasting. With that said I have 9K more miles until I get mine done. Does anyone know how much $$$ it is, as well as any reputable walnut blasting services in South Florida...???

[crex]

Originally Posted by Da_Meister_22

I have been using the 50K mile benchmark to do this Walnut Blasting. With that said I have 9K more miles until I get mine done. Does anyone know how much $$$ it is, as well as any reputable walnut blasting services in South Florida...???

The price is all over the place. Some bmw service centers are charging 1k. Indie shops around me are charging around 450. I paid 600 at a dealer. Others have done it themselves with with about 150 in parts but it is time consuming. It you are mechanically inclined and have the time and patience, this is the way to go. You just have to call around to get the best price. I went with the dealer because they do it regularly and it was only 150 more than the cheapest place I could find.

[Da_Meister_22]

Originally Posted by crex

The price is all over the place. Some bmw service centers are charging 1k. Indie shops around me are charging around 450. I paid 600 at a dealer. Others have done it themselves with with about 150 in parts but it is time consuming. It you are mechanically inclined and have the time and patience, this is the way to go. You just have to call around to get the best price. I went with the dealer because they do it regularly and it was only 150 more than the cheapest place I could find.

THANKS

[Tony135]

Originally Posted by ONDEMAND

I think the N55 is NOT as prone to carbon buildup on the intake valves. Recently did a group buy blasting with a bunch of E90 guys.

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showth...=921634&page=3

look at the condition of my N55 valves at 47k miles and then the two N54 with similar miles in the post below mine. Night and day differnece

Very interesting. Doesn't it also depend on how you drive? I've also heard that having meth injection could subside the build up a lot. Any other n55 owners that have opened it up?

[ONDEMAND]

Originally Posted by Tony135

Very interesting. Doesn't it also depend on how you drive? I've also heard that having meth injection could subside the build up a lot. Any other n55 owners that have opened it up?

Funny thing is I've never run a catch can and have been cobb tuned for about the last 16k miles stage 1+. I'm a firm believer in properly exercising the engine daily (maybe not redline but 5-6k for several shifts) so the car is driven properly!

No idea how much of an impact this could have but I know for a fact the people who baby these engines, or any BMW engine for that matter are asking for trouble in the long run. These engines were designed to be driven and reved!

[Tony135]

Originally Posted by ONDEMAND

Funny thing is I've never run a catch can and have been cobb tuned for about the last 16k miles stage 1+. I'm a firm believer in properly exercising the engine daily (maybe not redline but 5-6k for several shifts) so the car is driven properly!

No idea how much of an impact this could have but I know for a fact the people who baby these engines, or any BMW engine for that matter are asking for trouble in the long run. These engines were designed to be driven and reved!

I agree! Good to know because I think we drive very similar

[Cheeze1]

Is this type of junk buildup not covered under warranty?

[A_Squared]

Originally Posted by phil97m3blue

Is this type of junk buildup not covered under warranty?

No it is not. Not unless you can prove it's causing other issues that are covered under warranty...and I believe still at that point it's at the dealer's discretion.

[ShocknAwe]

Originally Posted by ONDEMAND

I think the N55 is NOT as prone to carbon buildup on the intake valves. Recently did a group buy blasting with a bunch of E90 guys.

It varies by car as well, so that may amount to your difference. Example, I had mine done at 43k miles, and it didn't look even as bad as some that were horrible by 30k miles, looked only marginally worse than your N55 picture in that thread, light covering over everything but not caked on at all. I wish I had a picture.

Anyways, I paid $280 for the job, it was a no brainer and something I would recommend every 30-50k depending on the individual car as part of regular maintenance.

[benzosnenzos]

Answers! Thanks fam. I am getting this done.

[AZN54]

Originally Posted by benzosnenzos

Answers! Thanks fam. I am getting this done.

Sent you a PM

[joe86]

Originally Posted by Tony135

Very interesting. Doesn't it also depend on how you drive? I've also heard that having meth injection could subside the build up a lot. Any other n55 owners that have opened it up?

I have performed a walnut blasting on a stock n55 with about 45,000 miles and it definitely did not need it. Original owner and had never done a walnut blasting before. Just had a very light coating of carbon. In my experience with an n54 it's unlikely, no matter how you drive, that the valves will be that clean even after only 30k. It would be interesting to know why the n55 has less carbon buildup? Maybe BMW did something on the n55 to decrease carbon deposits. Maybe because with valvetronic carbon deposits would greatly restrict flow during low valve lift resulting in rough running. Better pcv? Some sort of coating on the valves? Maybe something about valvetronic itself that keeps the valves clean?

[Reylor]

I don't have numbers but at 150k I did mine for the 1st time and my car came alive, UT pulls so hard now, took me back to the good old days, night and day poor car