[YoungBlood]

Like the title says, I'm considering moving on from my N54, to an N55. I also want to get an XI after dealing with the 335I in the winter. So, skip to the last paragraph for the short version

But, long and the short of it, I'm gonna need new turbos soon, likely new injectors, and I'm just flat out sick of throwing a grand or two in parts at the car every 6 months just to keep it running (gone through a hpfp, 3 sets of plugs, burnt up o2 sensors, bad low pressure fuel sensor, 2 sets of coils, 3 vanos solenoids, replaced injectors, and now have more leaking, dealt with wastegate rattle, etc all in the last 18 months)

So, who has gone from N54 to N55? What was the maintenance like from platform to platform? I'm fine with coils and plugs, those are cheap and easy. But am I gonna be chasing issues every few weeks with a FBO N55 just like an N54? Or have you guys had the experience of them actually being more reliable.

One of the benefits of trading up, is I could swap my wheels, suspension, and intercooler straight over to the new N55, and be a couple parts away from full bolt ons. I'm not looking for a big power build, just something that can make 350-370 whp reliably.

So, is the N55 more reliable than the N54? Or at least does it cost less to maintain? I've got a few grand in repairs that my car will need sooner than later, I want AWD, and I want more reliability, so is selling off my car and putting that few grand towards a newer car with an N55 a good idea, or will it be slower, and break just as much and bite me in the ass?

[Maniac0908]

N54=beast
N55= junk

[Welcome to NBA Jam]

Originally Posted by Maniac0908

N54=beast
N55= junk

It's a beast for the 10 days out of the year it's not in the shop

[bbnks2]

Originally Posted by YoungBlood

Like the title says, I'm considering moving on from my N54, to an N55. I also want to get an XI after dealing with the 335I in the winter. So, skip to the last paragraph for the short version

But, long and the short of it, I'm gonna need new turbos soon, likely new injectors, and I'm just flat out sick of throwing a grand or two in parts at the car every 6 months just to keep it running (gone through a hpfp, 3 sets of plugs, burnt up o2 sensors, bad low pressure fuel sensor, 2 sets of coils, 3 vanos solenoids, replaced injectors, and now have more leaking, dealt with wastegate rattle, etc all in the last 18 months)

So, who has gone from N54 to N55? What was the maintenance like from platform to platform? I'm fine with coils and plugs, those are cheap and easy. But am I gonna be chasing issues every few weeks with a FBO N55 just like an N54? Or have you guys had the experience of them actually being more reliable.

One of the benefits of trading up, is I could swap my wheels, suspension, and intercooler straight over to the new N55, and be a couple parts away from full bolt ons. I'm not looking for a big power build, just something that can make 350-370 whp reliably.

So, is the N55 more reliable than the N54? Or at least does it cost less to maintain? I've got a few grand in repairs that my car will need sooner than later, I want AWD, and I want more reliability, so is selling off my car and putting that few grand towards a newer car with an N55 a good idea, or will it be slower, and break just as much and bite me in the ass?

Tough choice but moving to an AWD car seems to already be your decision... Did you run snow tires on your N54 ever? I have them on my RWD N55 and had 0 issues this past winter... easily got through stuff your average car couldn't on all seasons... Being lowered aggressively will get you stuck still though.

N55 issues are in-large the same as N54. Oil gasket leaks (oil pan, thermostat housing, oil filter housing), coolant tank explodes, water pump failure on pre- 12/2012 build dates, HPFP is shared between both except N55 gets newer revisions depending on build date... Main benefit of N55 over N54 is no injector issues and the motor itself has superior oiling and cooling. The addition of X-drive to the N55 negates those benefits though as far as reliability goes lol

N55 stock turbo will get pulled on hard by an n54 with stock turbos. N55 might have an edge on an N54 in lower gears, but over 80mph/3rd gear the stock N55 turbo just doesn't flow enough air. N55 does produce a good 500wtq as low as 2700rpms with a custom tune, so driving around town is fun. 350-370whpo is very doable on an E30 tune.

[YoungBlood]

Originally Posted by bbnks2

Tough choice but moving to an AWD car seems to already be your decision... Did you run snow tires on your N54 ever? I have them on my RWD N55 and had 0 issues this past winter... easily got through stuff your average car couldn't on all seasons... Being lowered aggressively will get you stuck still though.

N55 issues are in-large the same as N54. Oil gasket leaks (oil pan, thermostat housing, oil filter housing), coolant tank explodes, water pump failure on pre- 12/2012 build dates, HPFP is shared between both except N55 gets newer revisions depending on build date... Main benefit of N55 over N54 is no injector issues and the motor itself has superior oiling and cooling. The addition of X-drive to the N55 negates those benefits though as far as reliability goes lol

N55 stock turbo will get pulled on hard by an n54 with stock turbos. N55 might have an edge on an N54 in lower gears, but over 80mph/3rd gear the stock N55 turbo just doesn't flow enough air. N55 does produce a good 500wtq as low as 2700rpms with a custom tune, so driving around town is fun. 350-370whpo is very doable on an E30 tune.

Yeah, I have a dedicated winter setup, but coming from a G37x, the 335i sucks hard in the snow. We get dumped on where I live, and I regularly spend 30+ minutes digging my car out, to be able to even make it out of the driveway on days when it's bad. Perks of living halfway up a mountain in Utah...

Are you saying X-drive is less reliable? just more things to break with Awd?

[YoungBlood]

Originally Posted by Welcome to NBA Jam

It's a beast for the 10 days out of the year it's not in the shop

or hitting limp mode and misfiring while v8's that have the same power stock walk by it I love my N54, but I have friend with supercharged mustang, and camaros that walk my car, and are 10x more reliable

[Welcome to NBA Jam]

Originally Posted by YoungBlood

or hitting limp mode and misfiring while v8's that have the same power stock walk by it I love my N54, but I have friend with supercharged mustang, and camaros that walk my car, and are 10x more reliable

To be fair, the N54 is a power monster, but it's quite difficult to work on. Replacing turbos in an N54 is a big job.

[Turbod]

Originally Posted by bbnks2

N55 issues are in-large the same as N54. Oil gasket leaks (oil pan, thermostat housing, oil filter housing), coolant tank explodes, water pump failure on pre- 12/2012 build dates, HPFP is shared between both except N55 gets newer revisions depending on build date... Main benefit of N55 over N54 is no injector issues and the motor itself has superior oiling and cooling.

^This. The N55 with an upgraded hybrid is really where most want to be. Having boost fall off at 5,000 is not fun once you start pushing the car. During the 3 years I have owned the 335i I had the oil filter housing, oil pan gasket, and coolant expansion tank replaced. I chose to do coils, plugs, and waterpump before issues showed up. I would consider this to be pretty reliable comparing it to N54 stories I have heard.

[YoungBlood]

That's quite reliable compared to mine

[aaron_]

I had charge pipe blow when still stock, waterpump at 40000miles, oil filter housing gasket leak and that's about it for breakages in 18months.

[EB89]

Originally Posted by YoungBlood

Like the title says, I'm considering moving on from my N54, to an N55. I also want to get an XI after dealing with the 335I in the winter. So, skip to the last paragraph for the short version

But, long and the short of it, I'm gonna need new turbos soon, likely new injectors, and I'm just flat out sick of throwing a grand or two in parts at the car every 6 months just to keep it running (gone through a hpfp, 3 sets of plugs, burnt up o2 sensors, bad low pressure fuel sensor, 2 sets of coils, 3 vanos solenoids, replaced injectors, and now have more leaking, dealt with wastegate rattle, etc all in the last 18 months)

So, who has gone from N54 to N55? What was the maintenance like from platform to platform? I'm fine with coils and plugs, those are cheap and easy. But am I gonna be chasing issues every few weeks with a FBO N55 just like an N54? Or have you guys had the experience of them actually being more reliable.

One of the benefits of trading up, is I could swap my wheels, suspension, and intercooler straight over to the new N55, and be a couple parts away from full bolt ons. I'm not looking for a big power build, just something that can make 350-370 whp reliably.

So, is the N55 more reliable than the N54? Or at least does it cost less to maintain? I've got a few grand in repairs that my car will need sooner than later, I want AWD, and I want more reliability, so is selling off my car and putting that few grand towards a newer car with an N55 a good idea, or will it be slower, and break just as much and bite me in the ass?

The N55 platform is improving and with MHD now available, stock turbo cars are much better than they were back in the JB4 FBO days.

The other benefit you get are that N55 are also LCI so you get the better iDrive, better interior trim quality (doesn't peel everywhere).

Swap your FMIC and wheels, get a catless down-pipe and flash MHD Sage 2+ OTS and I think you would be happy.

"But am I gonna be chasing issues every few weeks with a FBO N55 just like an N54? Or have you guys had the experience of them actually being more reliable. "

Ive had mine for 1.5 years and had no major issues that were caused by me (JB4) installing things.

Water expansion tank cracked, thats an easy swap out, everything else has been great really.

[NRigs]

I picked up my n55 at about 41k miles. Water pump failed at about 47k. I am currently at 54k and I believe my oil filter housing gasket is going so I am having that replaced soon. Not sure if oil dripped from that on the belt or the tensioner is failing, but my serpentine belt is squeaking when cold (squeaking speeds up as rpms go up). I have the belt, belt tensioner, upper and lower pulleys on their way.

Long story short, if they haven't already been replaced, expect to replace the water pump and oil filter housing gasket. Closer you get to 100k, you probably want to do the belt and tensioner just because it is cheap and easy to DIY.

In about 10k miles once, I hit around 65k I will be doing trans and diff fluid.

Make sure to keep on the oil and filter changes every 5-7k. These cars use paper filters which is ridiculous. Oil is still good but wouldn't trust them lasting longer than 8k miles.

Other than that, car has run great. Catless downpipe is going in and secondary cats being deleted on Sunday.

[houtan]

N55 doesn't need to have a walnut blast as frequently like the n54 which is a plus for me.

[Turbod]

Originally Posted by houtan

N55 doesn't need to have a walnut blast as frequently like the n54 which is a plus for me.

I had mine done at 50,000 miles and I would agree that you should wait until at least 80,000 miles before getting this done. That is assuming you are not having excessive blowby.

[YoungBlood]

That's good news, for walnut blasting, because I've already done my N54 twice in 30k miles, and I was shocked how bad it was with 80k on it, and shocked again at the build up just 30k later. As far as oil changes go, I do those religiously, every 4-5k, and it's a bmw so I'd plan on the filter housing gasket as par for the course haha. Does MHD have e85 maps out yet? Seriously though, for what new injectors, and oem turbos are going to cost me, I'm very temped to just put that towards a downpayment on an LCI with the N55..

[houtan]

Originally Posted by YoungBlood

That's good news, for walnut blasting, because I've already done my N54 twice in 30k miles, and I was shocked how bad it was with 80k on it, and shocked again at the build up just 30k later. As far as oil changes go, I do those religiously, every 4-5k, and it's a bmw so I'd plan on the filter housing gasket as par for the course haha. Does MHD have e85 maps out yet? Seriously though, for what new injectors, and oem turbos are going to cost me, I'm very temped to just put that towards a downpayment on an LCI with the N55..

yup. MHD has basically brought everything we were missing tuning wise. MHD still hasnt released the update for the 2012ish cars with the locked DME, but they are close. MHD is also working on some other exciting things such as boost by gear, flex fuel, and map switching. So IMO, the future is bright for the N55.

The N55 is a solid motor with, as others already mentioned, a stock turbo that runs out of breath up top compared to the n54 or b58. For very cheap, you can rememdy that with a PS1 or if you want more there is the PS2. There are also other turbo upgrades being released, but nothing has been out in the field more than the Pure Turbos.

[YoungBlood]

I mean, my N54 has trouble flowing more than 14 psi in the top end, stock N54 turbos are pretty small too. I'm at a high altitude and on high milage stock turbos too, with likely worn wastegates so that doesn't help a ton, so I'm not sure that a newer N55 would be much slower to be honest

[bbnks2]

Originally Posted by YoungBlood

I mean, my N54 has trouble flowing more than 14 psi in the top end, stock N54 turbos are pretty small too. I'm at a high altitude and on high milage stock turbos too, with likely worn wastegates so that doesn't help a ton, so I'm not sure that a newer N55 would be much slower to be honest

You need to review more than just one area of the power curve. The stock n54 twins may die off at redline too, but there is a good 1000rpm band (review around 4500-6300 rpms) where the stock twins continue to peak and the n55 stock twinscroll has already started to decline. That makes a huge difference and results in car lengths being pulled on the n55 once you get into 4th gear.

[ShaneN55]

I'm at about 52k miles on mine. Had a rear main seal, oil pan leak and my pressure converter went out randomly. Other than that even with mods I can't really complain. Car has been serving me good as a daily.

[maddmatth]

I'd say an N55 makes a better daily car due to the easier maintenance and the toque comes on a bit earlier in the power-band (especially with a tune). Stock turbo doesn't make as much extra power when you tune it, but if you're power-hungry you can upgrade the turbo. Stage 1 will put you on a similar level to N54, stage 2 will turn it into a tyre destroying beast.

The other benefit is that you have the newer LCI model.

Also the N55 might cope better on a track, it doesn't seem to have overheating issues when abused. Mine survived a 20 min track session pretty well with a stage 1+ MHD tune, only my brakes let me down. Although it was my first track session, so I didn't push it to the limits.

[BoosTonian]

Find an n55, put a ps2 in it. Custom tune mhd.

Done.

[335togo]

07 335....203k on my stock turbo FBO N54 maybe just lucky but also have 2011 N55 FBO....cute but can't hold old guys jock strap if you know what I mean