[e9x_d]

Hello everyone! I'm so glad to join the n54 club! I upgraded from an e90 328i and WOW, I didn't expect a 3 series to pull this hard stock! I bought it at a dealer for $10,100, 66k miles and single owner, the carfax showed 0 accidents, and that all maintenance was done at Pacific BMW which also made me confident in this purchase. It's an 07 e92 335i, with the production date of 08/2006 so it is indeed a very early itteration, which made me come here to ask a few questions. For starters, what should I replace right off the bat? And what should I look for aswell? I did notice that so far, the transmission does kinda jerk when I try to drive the car at lower rpm, maybe in the first 2 gears and also sometimes clunks when stopping. I also have 29E1 showing up as a shadow code, no cel tho, and my LTFTs look great at about 0.78 and 1.6ish, so I have no clue what's going on there, but for now I did just clear them out. Back to the trans, It's just not the most smooth for driving the car at low speeds from 0-40. I plan on keeping this car for MANY years, and I do want to maintain it completely and not skimp out on anything watsoever. My first "mods" will be throwing on my brand new set of Apex EC7s with Michelin PS4S, along with completely overhauling the front suspension while adding a set of TRW M3 arms, which I also have because I was going to install all of it on my n52 but then I decided to sell her for this. Overall, mod wise suspension will be the first to get done because I definitely want the car to handle to it's full potential. I'm not sure what I want to do yet shock/strut wise, but I'm coming from the bilstein b12 pro kit on my 328i and I've heard amazing things about Ohlins, which I think I want to try this go around. Are there any reccomendations for the rear suspension? Any arms or anything that I should swap out? I have new meyle hd rear links, but otherwise everything I have is for the front. I'm sorry for the long write up! I'm just very excited about the car and for what it has coming! I ESPECIALLY can't wait to drop $3000 on injectors, a whole 2 weeks of work, that's gonna be lovely! e9x_d is siging in

[dmckmc]

this is a good starting point and you'll likely be shopping FCP anyway. enjoy the new car.

https://www.fcpeuro.com/blog/the-def...bmw-n54-engine

[lookalikehuuh]

Hey welcome to the N54 club.

I would start with the basics that any E90 needs. Inspect the spark plugs, coil packs and replace as needed. Check for oil leaks because well its a BMW product and everything will leak at some point. Valve cover gasket and OFHG especially.

The mixture shadow code is a bit concerning, but I guess keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn't come back. It could be a vacuum leak somewhere or similar. I would also do the boost solenoids because when those fail they can cause weird boost issues.

Sounds like you already know about the common failures high High pressure fuel pumps, injectors, turbos, etc.

Once all your maintenance is done it will be time for some power, I recommend MHD personally but others like JB4 piggyback. Even a basic tune really wakes up the N54. I know when I have to put my car back to factory tune it feels so slow, even though its still fairly fast in stock tune.

[theoforest]

Welcome !

Definitely look for leak and fix them(valve cover, oil filter housing, rear/front main seal, oil pan). Oil leaking on the serpentine belt is not a great mix
If it been maintained at a dealership, if you’re lucky, it might have index 12.
If not, check for leaky injector by pulling a spark plug out, should be dry and shouldn’t smell fuel.

Enjoy the car!

[e9x_d]

Originally Posted by theoforest

Welcome !

Definitely look for leak and fix them(valve cover, oil filter housing, rear/front main seal, oil pan). Oil leaking on the serpentine belt is not a great mix
If it been maintained at a dealership, if you’re lucky, it might have index 12.
If not, check for leaky injector by pulling a spark plug out, should be dry and shouldn’t smell fuel.

Enjoy the car!

Thanks man!

I've been getting a feel for her over the last weeo and have lifted her up and checked her out at the shop! No leaks at all! It's crazy because this cars almost exactly like my n52, but different aswell. None of the typical n5x spots are leaking at all, but the RFTs SUCK! This is coming from full suspension with DWS06 on my 328i. The sport struts are blown too .

Worst thing, the injectors are leaking already, BUT, I have a set of Index 12 on the way, I knew what I was getting into before I got the car, so I prepared and it worked well. Thos will be here Friday with the seals and the kit and tool for the seals.

Overall, the car is amazing and I'm in love!

[theoforest]

That’s nice!
Yhea rft are no good here too, too many pothole haha

At least you go no leak that’s good!

Make sure to also replace injector découpler (with new seals obviously). Not worth a chance to damage the head to save 20$
You’ll also have to code the new injector, a few video out there show how too

[lowrydr310]

Congrats and nice car! I had a 325i (E90) then a 330i (still have it) and last year picked up a E93 335i same color as yours. Huge difference in power. First thing I did was upgrade to a black grille and wrap the chrome window trim in 3M satin black vinyl.

For that transmission, try a drain and fill with fresh fluid. Remember the proper fill procedure so you get the right fluid level. Hard to say but if think at that mileage the integrated filter in the pan and mechatronic seal are probably fine so I'd just do a fluid change. Also look into a transmission tune. My car came with the Alpina transmission tune and it's absolutely amazing. A bit soft and mild in D but in DS and manual modes the shifts are amazing, makes me not feel bad about giving in and settling for an auto (330 is a manual and I wanted a 335 manual). xHP is another option but I have no experience on the 335i. My brother has it on his 335d with an OTS tune and it's a huge improvement over stock but still doesn't shift as fast and firm as my Alpina tune in DS or manual modes.

M3 bits up front are nice but at your mileage I'd leave the rear arms alone for now unless there's some obvious issue. Ohlins dampers are excellent but $$$. I have no experience with anything but Bilstein B4 on stock sport springs, for both my 330i and 335i, but I am really interested in upgrading the 335i to a set of ST coilovers or maybe just Koni yellows on the stock springs.

MHD is really easy to flash and works well, makes a noticeable difference in power. I personally want to keep stock downpipes, and the Stage 1 OTS tune is a very nice increase in power.

[Quick335XI]

WElcome! I remember when I first drove mine, i was blown away - check out this video actually:

Also, try not to let people scare you with stories lol. I've had two of these, they do cost more to maintain but there are lots running around with 250-300k miles on them, they'll definitely last; legendary, very strong motors. Many call them the "modern day JZ" referring to the old supra 2JZ motors which were WWWAY overbulit and could handle like 35psi of boost on stock bottom ends.

If you're really having injector issues, or if you do, instead of paying that much for injectors you might look at MaxxxECU for the same amount, I'm probably going that way when I have injector issues.

[AWD Addict]

Congratulations on the purchase! I've owned mine since 2/09 (purchased via direct order from Germany in Dec. 08), and I absolutely love this car, even despite her common issues. I'd just say that this car, particularly with the amount of common tuning going on in the community, is at least somewhat incorrectly categorized as a problem car. There aren't a lot of cars from 2008 still on the road, driving this great, and looking this great these days.

I'd start with:

1) Check for oil leak staining around and under the engine.
2) Check your injectors by pulling your plugs and smelling for fuel.
3) Replace all fluids, even the ones BMW calls "permanent."
4) I'd check for any evidence of prior tuning . The shadow code you've got could be related to someone that was running E85.
5) After checking, I'd consider redoing the entire suspension. Whether you go coilovers or bilsteins, this car performs amazingly with a good functioning suspension - braking specifically. While they're under the car, consider replacing a lot of the rubber components as well (mounts, bushings, etc.)
6) As a coastal car, check the subframes front and rear for rust. For some reason, it's the only real weak point on the car for corrosion.
7) Install MHD, and run some logs and share them on the thread in this forum for comment. People are generally still pretty active in analyzing data logs.

Good luck with the new whip!

[lowrydr310]

Originally Posted by AWD Addict

I'd just say that this car, particularly with the amount of common tuning going on in the community, is at least somewhat incorrectly categorized as a problem car.

I think all the hatred comes from the problems that were experienced early on when the N54 was first released. I didn't own the car back then so I can't comment on how well BMW handled these problems with the original owners, specifically HPFP, injectors, and turbos (or more specifically the wastegates) but I can see people whining when your 50K car is misfiring, stalling, or rattling. The good news is BMW fixed most of those problems and the current revisions of all those parts are fairly reliable.

Look now, nearly every new car that isn't a hybrid is turbocharged with direct injection... BMW was way ahead of the game.