[themanthatcan]

Got my walnut blasting done yesterday at TWG Automotive in Camberley, along with new disks and pads fitted all round. Will that runs the place is a really nice guy and TWG's workshop is incredibly clean. One nice touch and a sign of a garage that takes care in their work is that they use wing covers when working in your engine bay to prevent damage

The courtesy car was a brand new Mini Cooper. It's the new 1.2 3 cylinder turbo'd engine and despite it sounding like a typical chugging 3 cylinder, it really does shift! 7.9 to 60, top speed of 145MPH and a book MPG of 62.8 combined means the gf is seriously considering replacing her diesel Juke with one!

I dropped the car off at 8:30 and Will advised it should be ready around 3-4pm, but unfortunately they had an issue with the walnut blaster so the car wasn't ready until 5:30. I got to take a look at the intake after the work though and it's now squeaky clean; pics can be found below.

Initial impressions are that pickup is much quicker and smoother, and MPG is definitely improved. I can also hear the turbo whistle much clearer as well now. I popped up to visit Sumil so we could swap our diffusers and sideskirts over, and as it was rush hour we ended up in stop-start London traffic for at least 10 miles but still averaged 29mpg! I was enjoying the increased power on the way back too much, but think that had I taken it easier should easily be able to hit over 30mpg, something I've never seen before in this car.

Overall I'd highly recommend that anyone with a direct injection engine with more than 30k miles on the clock get this work carried out. Without it you're not experiencing the full potential of your car! It was £280 well spent!

Before:






After:

[dy63]

funny i was just doing some reading about this on the net as i wasnt sure what it was...im glad your mpg figures are that high...its the same as what my E90 330d is giving me at the mo!

for £280 i think you cant go wrong.

[Greg330]

I'm booked in next month.

I've always kept a log of my mpg so interested to see how it compares!

Got a bench mark with a friend in an E39 M5 so will see if that gap drops on our next run after i've had this done to see if it makes a difference speed wise....

[AWBimmer]

Do Diesels need walnut blasting? I'm on 65k mileage atm lol! TWG is only 15mins downt he road from me so quite tempting.

[themanthatcan]

Pics now added for your enjoyment. Will said it was one of the worst N54's he's seen, but still nothing like as bad as the Mini's get.

[themanthatcan]

Originally Posted by AWBimmer

Do Diesels need walnut blasting? I'm on 65k mileage atm lol! TWG is only 15mins downt he road from me so quite tempting.

I believe so buddy. There is a SIB here from BMW detailing the procedure for performing a walnut blast on the M57

[zltm089]

Quite keen to know about how much improvement it made on power.

Would have been good if the car was dyno'd before and after...but then again, dyno run costs money!

[Ess]

Originally Posted by AWBimmer

Do Diesels need walnut blasting? I'm on 65k mileage atm lol! TWG is only 15mins downt he road from me so quite tempting.

I think it needs some very specific kit for the diesel, and it's more involved than the petrols. I don't think Steve offers it yet at A1, but he knows all about it. I'm sure he'll clarify when he's back.

[andysat]

Does this need doing on a 2008 e93 320i?

[old grey steve]

Originally Posted by Ess

I think it needs some very specific kit for the diesel, and it's more involved than the petrols. I don't think Steve offers it yet at A1, but he knows all about it. I'm sure he'll clarify when he's back.

We're awaiting 3 tools from BMW then we're off and rolling, but unlike the Petrol's Seb, thus ones more time consuming as the rocker covers has to come off as well and the head internals also need the magic touch.

Re the OP post Yep makes a real difference superb price quoted too, we simply wouldn't do it for the price due only yo the time it takes, but as many of you msy have seen the pre post results speak volumes

[Ess]

Originally Posted by old grey steve

We're awaiting 3 tools from BMW then we're off and rolling, but unlike the Petrol's Seb, thus ones more time consuming as the rocker covers has to come off as well and the head internals also need the magic touch.

Re the OP post Yep makes a real difference superb price quoted too, we simply wouldn't do it for the price due only yo the time it takes, but as many of you msy have seen the pre post results speak volumes

Thanks Steve. Having seen your photos, it's on my list for when funds allow

[magic77]

Got to +1 will he is a top guy and always full of information. the workshop is very well setup as well he could teach some dealerships a thing of two on how to work on cars

[jackstrath]

iv had my 335d just over a month now , got it remaped and the EGR coded shut for this very reason , although my cars what id like to call lower milage (61k the remap got done at) i do have a set of glow plugs to change in the next month or so (working offshore is a pain for finding time to do it) il take photos of what the intake looks like and hopefully nothing like that haha! , i always now run V power derv as i really do think the type of fuel you use can help this from becoming a issue! , my car gets 42mpg on a run and about 31mpg nipping about town if im being sensable (2007 e91)

[lolololol]

Have all my work done by Will at TWG - great team and workshop, I've also had the blast done a while ago now - well worth it !!

[LovinMyE93]

I've had three ignition coils fail after a misfire (at different times, not all at once) and my gut is telling me this could be the root cause...

'08 E93 convertible with 57K mi., purchased in May, and the dealership I purchased from had a clueless detailer- pressure washed the engine compartment during the sale prep.

That caused a couple of bad problems: ABS error that took two tries to clear properly, followed days later by three ignition coils crapping out at once.

They swapped all six at once back in May, and since then we've gone through three more - always crapping out when the auto downshifted.

I'm starting to think this carbon buildup could be the ultimate cause of my IC probs, but I've also read that the Bosch OEM coils have had bad batches too.

Befor I initiate a service expense of this scale, I'd love some input from you guys to see if there's another even more expensive service I've gotta have done.