[amit25]

Hi everyone, relatively new to the forum/posting but love my BMW's. I have a 2010 335i Sedan that has done about 40,000 km. I love the car but I am keen to do some work on it e.g. chip/tune etc. I am located in Melbourne. I constantly hear they are a great car to tune as you can get a lot more power out of them and it is reasonably affordable. I like the way the car currently sounds as it has a deep growl but really just want to see if i can get more out of it.

So a few questions I hope you could please answer for a rookie:

1. Will performing additional work on the car impact the stock sound at all?

2. What changes would I need to make to the vehicle to support any changes (e.g. from a tune)?

3. Recommendations on trustworthy places in melbourne and what price range I would be looking at?

4. Most importantly, is it worth doing, will the car be impacted in the long run?

Sorry for the extended post, I just wanted to make sure I covered all aspects.

Alex

[Socket]

Originally Posted by amit25

Hi everyone, relatively new to the forum/posting but love my BMW's. I have a 2010 335i Sedan that has done about 40,000 km. I love the car but I am keen to do some work on it e.g. chip/tune etc. I am located in Melbourne. I constantly hear they are a great car to tune as you can get a lot more power out of them and it is reasonably affordable. I like the way the car currently sounds as it has a deep growl but really just want to see if i can get more out of it.

So a few questions I hope you could please answer for a rookie:

1. Will performing additional work on the car impact the stock sound at all?

2. What changes would I need to make to the vehicle to support any changes (e.g. from a tune)?

3. Recommendations on trustworthy places in melbourne and what price range I would be looking at?

4. Most importantly, is it worth doing, will the car be impacted in the long run?

Sorry for the extended post, I just wanted to make sure I covered all aspects.

Alex

Hey Alex
Welcome to the forum and congrats on your 335i, super low Ks... nice
First of all this the the buy and sell section, so you might want to post in the general section to get responses to tech and modding questions

That said the N54 engine can produce significantly more power on the stock motor through a tune and performance parts
The term used is FBO (full bolt on) which describes a car with the full set of engine mods to make the most of a tune

FBO includes replacing the charge pipe, down pipes, intercooler etc and is needed before you can run aggressive tunes

MHD is the most popular tune for the N54 at the moment
The MHD app (for andriod) can be purchased and a new map "engine program" or tune can be uploaded via the port near the drivers seat

So in short yes, your car can be modded to produce 300+kw
How much power depends on how much you want to spend on mods

The best thing you can do is read posts on the Aussie forum and learn as much as you can before you decide what to spend your money on

I've pretty much done everything to my 335i that can be done
Feel free to have a read

https://www.e90post.com/forums/showt...ighlight=start

To your question on will modding impact the car in the long run.... the answer is yes.
Modifications make your car perform and look better, but devalue the car, void your warranty and can be illegal meaning you need to insure with Shannons or some insurer who allow your register mods on your car or run the risk of an insurer rejecting your claim

If all of this doesn't scare you off, then here is my list of must have mods as a guide

Have fun


Sockets must have mod list

engine mods
* charge pipe and blow off valve (the stock CP has a tendency to crack and leak) Get a GoFastBits SV50 BOV it is adjustable so you dont need to stuff around with different springs like other brands
* catless down pipes (get rid of the cats and let the car breath a little)
* replace the stock airbox with a cold air intake to allow the car to breath better
*replace the stock intercooler with better aftermarket FMIC to keep the air intake temps down (cold air = more hp)
* most importantly a tune. MHD is great although you could go with a JB4. But the MHD tune is really simple to use and is a much smoother more powerful tune imo. You need a dcan cable and an android phone or tablet and then buy the MHD app. Load up a map and away you go

Handling mods
* Coilovers are probably the best bang for buck here. On any car you buy the shocks will probably be stuffed and it rolls like a boat on stockies. Kw or any reputable brand will do. You could also go with lowering springs and shocks like H&R and Konis but coilovers allow you to set the ride height you want so just go with coilovers tbh.
* M3 sway bars will stop the body roll and are pretty cheap to fit. They are thicker and stiffer then the stock sway bars and make a huge difference
* M3 control arms tighten up the steering and are pretty cheap and easy to fit
* New engine mounts and sub frame bushings also help because in high mileage cars these will be stuffed as well

Cosmetic
* New set of rims and decent set of rubber. 18s or 19s are ideal (dont go 20s just too big) Ideal fronts are 19x35x235 and rears 19x30x265
* Black kidney grills (this is basically a must have if you mod your car lol)
* rear spoiler. The M3 spoiler is a good choice. Costs about $50 sticks on with double sided tape and is nice and subtle

Wheels and brakes
* The stock brake pads create lots of dust. Replace then with Akebono ceramic brake pads $200 for a set, stop just like stockies but create almost no dust so your wheels stay clean
* Paint your brake calipers (easy and cheap to do and looks great) I applied some $5 vinyl BMW decals for a finishing touch
* Wheel spacers to push the wheels flush with the body of the car. 10 mms up front and 5 mm in the rear will be a good place to start
* Replace the wheel nuts with. Motorsports Hardware black 75mm studs with black or silver race nuts. Looks great and makes changing tires 100% easier

Not all these things are essential, but that would be my minimum to do list without spending a fortune.

[amit25]

Thank you very much. Just out of curiousity, how much am I going to be spending approximately to make all these changes/adjustments? a ball park figure?

[Socket]

Originally Posted by amit25

Thank you very much. Just out of curiousity, how much am I going to be spending approximately to make all these changes/adjustments? a ball park figure?

Depending on what rims and coilovers you get
I would say $6 to $8K roughly
You won’t produce 300 kw but it will look, handle and pull harder then stock
If you want to go for big power then you could add another $10K on top for aftermarket turbos, fuel pumps etc

Regardless of what you do you need to put aside $5K for maintenance unless it has all been done already