[200,000 club]

Originally Posted by Biginboca

Finally got around to installing this Cusco rear strut brace. It’s surprisingly light probably, less than 3lbs for the beefy crossbar which is probably 1.75” in diameter. The side mounts replaced a factory brace that was already there and reused the oem hardware. One nice thing is it fits really tight to the seat back, probably 1/2” of space there so it is very much out of the way and preserves trunk room.

I haven’t driven with it yet, but will update here after some time spent trying to feel it out.

Looks awesome, was it pricey?

[Biginboca]

Originally Posted by 200,000 club

Looks awesome, was it pricey?

It was $235. I was thinking of painting it black but it does look pretty cool in the polished aluminum.

[Bimmer_Engineer]

Any difference driving it?

[S65Hunter]

Hmmmm, if only I didn't have an e93

[Biginboca]

Originally Posted by Bimmer_Engineer

Any difference driving it?

Can’t say yet. I’ve been working long hours this week and haven’t had a chance to push the car yet. I’ll update after I’ve had a chance to give it a run through, probably this weekend depending on weather.

[intervigil]

Apologies if it's been asked elsewhere, are there any more details available for the N55 oil cooler/oil filter housing/thermostat? I had a look on my own E92 (LCI N51) and it looks like there is a metal hose (it looks like a coolant line for the condensor/evaporator?) blocking the the piping where hoses from the thermostat attach to the oil cooler. Did you have to re-route or replace that line with the part from the N54/N55, or did you not encounter a similar problem?

[Biginboca]

Originally Posted by intervigil

Apologies if it's been asked elsewhere, are there any more details available for the N55 oil cooler/oil filter housing/thermostat? I had a look on my own E92 (LCI N51) and it looks like there is a metal hose (it looks like a coolant line for the condensor/evaporator?) blocking the the piping where hoses from the thermostat attach to the oil cooler. Did you have to re-route or replace that line with the part from the N54/N55, or did you not encounter a similar problem?

I don’t remember having any issues with that. Can you post a pic?

[intervigil]

Trying to find a relevant picture or video right now, I had to close up my car yesterday and return the jack I borrowed because I have to drive it today.

The specific hose in question is #3 (P/N: 64539151734) on this diagram:
https://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/sho...diagId=64_1431

EDIT: The hose I'm referring to is shown in this video:

(view from front at 7 min 53 sec, view from above at 8 min 56 sec)

It's the hose the guy is tightening at the first timestamp provided.

My car also has a vertical support strut (P/N: 51617183044) connecting the frame to the upper wheel well area. This vertical support strut connects to the frame right above where the little plastic clip holding the hose to the frame is. This strut prevents simply pushing the oil cooler's hosing a little further back. Maybe your E92 didn't have this strut either if you didn't remember encountering any issues with the AC pressure hose?

I wonder how viable removing that strut is in my case.

Did you also swap out the front bumper carrier bracket for the 335 one? (P/N: 51647154546 which has two bolts protruding for the oil cooler to mount to)

[Biginboca]

Originally Posted by intervigil

Trying to find a relevant picture or video right now, I had to close up my car yesterday and return the jack I borrowed because I have to drive it today.

The specific hose in question is #3 (P/N: 64539151734) on this diagram:
https://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/sho...diagId=64_1431

EDIT: The hose I'm referring to is shown in this video:

(view from front at 7 min 53 sec, view from above at 8 min 56 sec)

It's the hose the guy is tightening at the first timestamp provided.

My car also has a vertical support strut (P/N: 51617183044) connecting the frame to the upper wheel well area. This vertical support strut connects to the frame right above where the little plastic clip holding the hose to the frame is. This strut prevents simply pushing the oil cooler's hosing a little further back. Maybe your E92 didn't have this strut either if you didn't remember encountering any issues with the AC pressure hose?

I wonder how viable removing that strut is in my case.

Did you also swap out the front bumper carrier bracket for the 335 one? (P/N: 51647154546 which has two bolts protruding for the oil cooler to mount to)

If I recall correctly I did bend that hose a little bit. I’ll take a look and some pics of that area soon.

Yes I used that bracket. Luckily the second hand cooler I used came with the bracket. I didn’t remove the original bracket I didn’t feel like pulling the bumper carrier off, instead I just altered the new one so I could slip it in with just backing off the carrier bolts about 1/2”. I’m pretty sure I posted images of the mod in this thread btw

Edit: See Page 10 in this thread, posts 199 and 200. Here’s a shortcut to page 10...

https://www.e90post.com/forums/showt...579797&page=10

[intervigil]

Thanks for the info about the bracket, I didn't find that during a search of the thread. That's a creative solution to avoid a full disassembly.

Looking more closely at the picture in that post, it appears you do have the same support brace that I have. Curious to see what that area of your car looks like when you post pics!

[Biginboca]

Originally Posted by intervigil

Thanks for the info about the bracket, I didn't find that during a search of the thread. That's a creative solution to avoid a full disassembly.

Looking more closely at the picture in that post, it appears you do have the same support brace that I have. Curious to see what that area of your car looks like when you post pics!

Does this help?





I think I remember bending the AC line slightly during this install FYI. It has play in the plastic bracket that holds it to the chassis and it also bends easily. If you need more pics let me know!

[intervigil]

Thanks for the pictures, that really does help.

Here's what mine looks like.

View post on imgur.com

The secondary air pump is located above this area in my car, so it's a bit more difficult to get in there from the engine bay.

It looks like you've moved the hose backwards towards the support land inwards towards the engine which gave you enough clearance.

[Biginboca]

Originally Posted by intervigil

Here's what mine looks like.

View post on imgur.com

The secondary air pump is located above this area in my car, so it's a bit more difficult to get in there from the engine bay.

It looks like you've moved the hose backwards towards the support land inwards towards the engine which gave you enough clearance.

Yeah I see that pump. I don’t think it would be an issue though most of this install is with the bumper and fender liner removed and I would think that pump isn’t an issue for the install. I did move the a/c line back towards the firewall a bit. I don’t see any reason this wouldn’t work for you.

[E92William]

I wonder, were you guys having any oil temperature issues before installing the oil cooler? I have pretty much a whole setup ready to go in the car that I've put together but the car doesn't even get to 240 most of the time even after a long time driving. Might be that I do highway mostly. I see an advantage for stabilizing oil temperatures with this mod on the N52 but not much more

[Biginboca]

E92William on spirited road driving my car used to get to 260+. I felt if I ever wanted to track the car then the cooler would be a good addition.

The oem n54 thermostat I’m using opens at 240 degrees and my car has never gone above 250 since I’ve installed the cooler. It’s definitely not a necessary mod but if you drive the car hard or have ambitions of taking it to the track it’s good insurance.

[intervigil]

Managed to fit it in.

View post on imgur.com

Thanks for the pics and pointers!

I wonder, were you guys having any oil temperature issues before installing the oil cooler? I have pretty much a whole setup ready to go in the car that I've put together but the car doesn't even get to 240 most of the time even after a long time driving. Might be that I do highway mostly. I see an advantage for stabilizing oil temperatures with this mod on the N52 but not much more

I'll hit 270 driving up in the mountains, 280 driving down to southern California in the middle of summer. To be fair, it has been abnormally hot this year with >100F temps. I don't have issues, but stabilizing the oil temps at 240-250F is peace of mind for me.

[LJsGarage]

Has anyone been able to successfully fit an intake manifold from a 530i onto a 2008 328i e90? I’m looking to upgrade and it seems like many of you are mire knowledgeable than I am, so I’m wondering if this is possible to do. A local dismantler around me doesn’t have a 3SIM from a 330i near me but does have one off of a 530i of the same year/generation. Anything helps!

[200,000 club]

Originally Posted by LJsGarage

Has anyone been able to successfully fit an intake manifold from a 530i onto a 2008 328i e90? I’m looking to upgrade and it seems like many of you are mire knowledgeable than I am, so I’m wondering if this is possible to do. A local dismantler around me doesn’t have a 3SIM from a 330i near me but does have one off of a 530i of the same year/generation. Anything helps!

Yea itll fit but the pcv hose might need some modification. If it has 2 ports for the pcv then you're good, but if it has one you might need to plug the second hole on the pcv hose, no big deal. There have been many threads on this issue, plus countless videos on YouTube about this, go ahead and buy the manifold and do some digging. It might seem a bit overwhelming but once you're under the hood everything comes together

[Biginboca]

Did another cheap aero mod today, although I must confess my motivation was mainly cosmetic. I didn’t like how high the rear sat off the ground but I didn’t want to lower the car either, just wanted to fill some of this space under the rear bumper...




My remedy is an Ebay generic diffuser set for $60 delivered...



The parts are plastic (kydex I believe). Easy to work with but they were a little heavy and I’m looking to keep weight down, so I ended up hacking them apart and using just the minimum amount of material. I’d be surprised if this added more than 2lbs and I used just enough to accent the car I didn’t want to do anything that looked extreme or “non oem”. It’s a daily not a track car lol. Here’s how I finished up...









I feel like this accomplished exactly what I wanted. Visually lowered the rear and looks subtle not extreme, and I’m very happy with how it turned out!

[200,000 club]

It is subtle, though it really compliments the carbon trunk lid

[NoGuru]

Looks good. I made my own Kydex end skits and paint matched them too. I'll see if I can find a pic.

[Biginboca]

Originally Posted by NoGuru

Looks good. I made my own Kydex end skits and paint matched them too. I'll see if I can find a pic.

Post a pic, I’d like to see how you did it!