[Pladi]

Originally Posted by lwgrenier

Seems like a pretty aggressive tune... might have contributed to your blown motor.

Yes i agree. You were pushing pretty good numbers on pump fuel..

In this case torque is more important to determine if power was a factor 600nm + thats over 400 lb-f to the wheels ?

I honestly didnt even think that was possible on pump gas.. even FBO.. idk i am not that sure someone can chime there,

[biz77]

Keep in mind European dynos show flywheel power, so the tune is not as aggressive as you think it is.

[feuer]

Originally Posted by biz77

Keep in mind European dynos show flywheel power, so the tune is not as aggressive as you think it is.

Correct, but isn't the tune either way. They fail in similar fashion tune or not. Most I have seen fail weren't tuned at all. Lowest mileage was 48k on 235i. Also threw a rod through the block.

[GreQonE]

Originally Posted by feuer

Correct, but isn't the tune either way. They fail in similar fashion tune or not. Most I have seen fail weren't tuned at all. Lowest mileage was 48k on 235i. Also threw a rod through the block.

48k miles? that would be roughly the same as mine 72k kilometers

Originally Posted by Pladi

Yes i agree. You were pushing pretty good numbers on pump fuel..

In this case torque is more important to determine if power was a factor 600nm + thats over 400 lb-f to the wheels ?

I honestly didnt even think that was possible on pump gas.. even FBO.. idk i am not that sure someone can chime there,

the power is measured with correction on the flywheel

[feuer]

Originally Posted by GreQonE

48k miles? that would be roughly the same as mine 72k kilometers

Correct 48k miles.

[maxihari]

~460 tq at wheels, 93 octane.
Also had issues with misfire at the time.

[lwgrenier]

Originally Posted by maxihari

Also had issues with misfire at the time.

Were they fueling related?

[maxihari]

Yep fueling.

I couldn't reliably run map 2, without pulling timing on map 2 even.
It got a little better since I did FMIC

Also I just remembered that I had the "trifecta" lights come up right after dyno. Ever since then, battery is reset, I go through window of "trifecta" lights. They go away.
Took it to BMW, they told me to get new tires, allignment. Found no solid fault fault. Did that.
Cleaned wheel / speed sensors..
still i get it.

Haven't been on a dyno since, and probably due for another again.

[bbnks2]

Originally Posted by maxihari

Yep fueling.

I couldn't reliably run map 2, without pulling timing on map 2 even.
It got a little better since I did FMIC

Also I just remembered that I had the "trifecta" lights come up right after dyno. Ever since then, battery is reset, I go through window of "trifecta" lights. They go away.
Took it to BMW, they told me to get new tires, allignment. Found no solid fault fault. Did that.
Cleaned wheel / speed sensors..
still i get it.

Haven't been on a dyno since, and probably due for another again.

Dyno usually always causes ABS issues. The car sees the rear wheels spinning faster than the front... Usually just driving around town should clear it.

[Ozzie335i]

Has anybody that has had a rod bearing failure also have an oil cooler? When I went from a Dinan Stage 2 tune to a Stage 3 tune (CPO car) it was necessary that purchasers also get an even larger oil cooler. Hmmm, did they know something? I am also running the aftermarket oil thermostat. The needle on the dash rarely ever sees anything over 230 degrees, much less 240 or 250. 210 and 220 is typical. Living in Tejas that is saying something.

Still, with all of the failures reported I am looking into swapping the bearings out proactively. I may go with the VAC bearings. I would like comments from people that have bought them.

One other interesting thing I read while looking at prices. On one site I saw that BMW DID change the bearing formulation in 2011. The reason given was due to new EU environmental regulations lead and something else were restricted.

[SnapCoupe]

Originally Posted by Ozzie335i

Has anybody that has had a rod bearing failure also have an oil cooler? When I went from a Dinan Stage 2 tune to a Stage 3 tune (CPO car) it was necessary that purchasers also get an even larger oil cooler. Hmmm, did they know something? I am also running the aftermarket oil thermostat. The needle on the dash rarely ever sees anything over 230 degrees, much less 240 or 250. 210 and 220 is typical. Living in Tejas that is saying something.

Still, with all of the failures reported I am looking into swapping the bearings out proactively. I may go with the VAC bearings. I would like comments from people that have bought them.

One other interesting thing I read while looking at prices. On one site I saw that BMW DID change the bearing formulation in 2011. The reason given was due to new EU environmental regulations lead and something else were restricted.

I have an oil cooler on mine and the oil temps were right around 230-240 when it seized. Ambient temperature was around 75 degrees F. Even when driving hard in the Summer heat I have never seen the oil temp go more than a hair past 250.

[9krpmrx8]

I too have an oil cooler, FTP thermostat "pill" and live in South Texas and even when it is 100F in traffic my oil temps are still in the 220's max. But on a road course is where you will see crazy oil temps.

[Pladi]

Originally Posted by Ozzie335i

Has anybody that has had a rod bearing failure also have an oil cooler? When I went from a Dinan Stage 2 tune to a Stage 3 tune (CPO car) it was necessary that purchasers also get an even larger oil cooler. Hmmm, did they know something? I am also running the aftermarket oil thermostat. The needle on the dash rarely ever sees anything over 230 degrees, much less 240 or 250. 210 and 220 is typical. Living in Tejas that is saying something.

Still, with all of the failures reported I am looking into swapping the bearings out proactively. I may go with the VAC bearings. I would like comments from people that have bought them.

One other interesting thing I read while looking at prices. On one site I saw that BMW DID change the bearing formulation in 2011. The reason given was due to new EU environmental regulations lead and something else were restricted.

Generally its the opposite. Cold engine temp wears bearings not hot. All m3 bearing fails suspected due to thick oil and cold engine as well as tighter than usual bearing clearance. That was the case for m3.

So i dont see how 10-20 degrees is going to make a difference.. ur at operating temp. Oil shear is tested at 150 c or 302 f. Even at that temp it protects pretty well.

[lwgrenier]

Mine would consistently run around 250... didn’t have an oil cooler. Just picked up my car after engine swap and haven’t seen the temps go above 230. Still no oil cooler, thought it was a little strange.

[Pladi]

Originally Posted by lwgrenier

Mine would consistently run around 250... didn’t have an oil cooler. Just picked up my car after engine swap and haven’t seen the temps go above 230. Still no oil cooler, thought it was a little strange.

I see a big difference between summer and winter. Now since its winter u would generally see about 15 deg difference operating.

I see consitant 230 winter and 250 summer.

[Pladi]

Originally Posted by SnapCoupe

I have an oil cooler on mine and the oil temps were right around 230-240 when it seized. Ambient temperature was around 75 degrees F. Even when driving hard in the Summer heat I have never seen the oil temp go more than a hair past 250.

These are very normal numbers.

Plenty of healthy n55s run close to 250. Without oil coolers. Mine is like that in summer.

[feuer]

230f to 250f is insignificant difference, 110c vs 120c, between two diferent engines, diferent level of wear, diferent oil and etc....

[Ozzie335i]

Originally Posted by lwgrenier

Mine would consistently run around 250... didn’t have an oil cooler. Just picked up my car after engine swap and haven’t seen the temps go above 230. Still no oil cooler, thought it was a little strange.

Who did your engine swap? Where do you live? And do you track your car?

[Ozzie335i]

Originally Posted by Pladi

Plenty of healthy n55s run close to 250. Without oil coolers. Mine is like that in summer.

Seemingly all is ok until they hit a certain point, then bang, replace your engine with a used N55 that soon will spin a bearing also, thus costing thousands more. I have a Pure Dos and an external oil cooler. Trust me, I am not about to end up on the spreadsheet, debating why IT all happened.

[Pladi]

Originally Posted by Ozzie335i

Seemingly all is ok until they hit a certain point, then bang, replace your engine with a used N55 that soon will spin a bearing also, thus costing thousands more. I have a Pure Dos and an external oil cooler. Trust me, I am not about to end up on the spreadsheet, debating why IT all happened.

So you just made the determination that the oil cooler would have saved these engines ? Sorry i am confused

Is that what ur saying ? All we need is an oil cooler?

Or are you saying that running higher temp is a first indication of something being an issue already like a sign of bearing failure?

[xxMike61]

I have an oil cooler and my operating temps are 250F

[Ozzie335i]

Originally Posted by Pladi

So you just made the determination that the oil cooler would have saved these engines ? Sorry i am confused

Is that what ur saying ? All we need is an oil cooler?

Or are you saying that running higher temp is a first indication of something being an issue already like a sign of bearing failure?

WTF did you read that from what you directly replied to? I simply brought up the oil cooler since it was included in some cars, and for more aggressive Dinan tunes (not that they really were) a bigger oil cooler yet was first required. So smart guy, you tell me why the bigger coolers were necessary, then we can move on. Doing it for you, they obviously were concerned about thermal expansion in an already tightly put together machine. Unfortunately we end users have found out the most vulnerable part. Fortunately it really is not all that difficult of a fix in comparison to other stuff that could have gone wrong internally instead.

BMW changed how the bearings were made in 2012 in order to satisfy environmental fruitcakes. People like Occasional Cortex come to mind. And in the process gave us a seriously flawed part. In some shape or form temporary oil starvation is occurring. IMO when people have the bearings fail after an OFHG swap or tracking with it 75 degrees out the damage (read wear past the point of no return) was already done and that one time was merely the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back. A simple oil change may also temporarily have air in the galley of concern as the oil flows back into the oil pan, so the OFHG being the cause is bunk.

The bottom line is that we are all driving time bombs. While you go from thread to thread pissing on people's conjecture, all opinions are as valid as anybody else's, I've made the choice to swap them out and buy myself more time with my ride. We can all debate the cause until a bearing spins and we wonder why or we can lay down a grand now versus 6, 8, 10 later. It is each individual's choice.