[Doug R]

Originally Posted by horsedjump

This car has been out for a year....I'm very surprised major mods have been done by so few, if anyone. Think about the times when new evos, sti, etc came out....within a couple of months crazy modding was being reported. Here we have a few piggybacks, DPs, and exhausts.....

Seems to be taking a little longer, and maybe that's due to the price, newness of the engine, location of the turbos, etc....who knows but seems to be a combo of factors....

This is exactly what I was getting at when I posted. I don't personally want to do any major mods,just curious if anyone else has. Are any factory race teams using this motor?

Oh,and yes my sons 350 Z is a time bomb at that hp.I agree it wont handle 18-20 psi for long.He never runs the boost that high,only a couple of times in the past.Again,that's not my point.Just using it as an example of how the Jap cars are tested to the limit.

[meyergru]

Originally Posted by purplewidow

also the trans...the auto can hangle 450 nm/tq....

I also took that for granted, but from model year 2008 on, this is no longer true:
look here

For those of you that don't speak german: Starting from 9/2007, autos with up to 600Nm torque employ the 6HPTÜ26 transmission (which was employed for the 335d before), those with up to 750Nm the 6HPTÜ32.

So, it appears that the old tranny 6HPTÜ21 with 450Nm maximum torque is history.

[zenmaster]

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/m...82/ai_87105898
http://www.year2032.com/ecotec.htm

[herbz]

the n54 is an aluminum block.... bmw says it has "cast iron cylinder lining" which really doesn't mean anything... its aluminum... which is a good material for light weight... BMW likes aluminum because it saves weight because the rest of the car is getting so obese.

downside is that aluminum is not known for its strength at all.. you will not be seeing supra-like 900hp figures on stock internals... 500whp is even pushing it on this block reliability wise... not that it matters, because 500whp won't be done without upgrading the puny turbo's, which in turn would kill all that great low end torque.. say goodbye to not having to downshift to get in the powerband...

also dont forget, to handle ~600hp, you need major $ to send your engine to the machine shop to strengthen your engine on a new bmw like this.... unless you don't mind if the engine craps out after 10k miles.... its alot of money to do it right (if u want the car to last), not to mention it adds alot of weight up front, screwing up the weight distribution that is one of the only things that helps the 335i handle so well.. aside from the suspension of course.

to put it another way, if i wanted a 600hp race car, i wouldn't start with a $50k, 3600lb 335i. to me an e36 m3 would make a better high-horsepower project car and would be way more money efficient to get those types of numbers. not to mention if your e36 m3 explodes its only $35-$40k down the shitter instead of close to $100k it would take to get the 335i up to those levels.

[max boost]

pistons...forged...cast?

[zenmaster]

Originally Posted by max boost

pistons...forged...cast?

What are you asking? 335i uses cast pistons.

[supertech335]

Originally Posted by bimmermans54

There for awhile has been a "theory" that the cylinders 5+6 get hot and over heat due to something with the crankshaft. Thats what I hear from my bmw tech friends. They also said that there was a rumor of a newer stronger engine making more power supposed to come out to replace the 335 motor thats out now. BUT havent seen or heard anything yet.
But I can tell you this. I have been doin this awhile now, and bmw motors are STRONG. MY 2001 e46 330ci was s/c with 9lbs of boost, and a 100 shot on top of that, and it held it like a champ. Many of my e46 m3s were 270rwhp stock, and when I was done they were 650rwhp. I will be doin things to push the car a little further than most, so I guess we will see.

i sure hope the n54 is stronger than the e46 m3's s54, they had how many rod bearing recalls (2), after how many s54's put the connecting rods out of the side of the blocks. i am pretty sure there are some low mileage early production m3's that have had more rod bearings replaced than oil changes!!

[sajakh]

Originally Posted by meyergru

I also took that for granted, but from model year 2008 on, this is no longer true:
look here

For those of you that don't speak german: Starting from 9/2007, autos with up to 600Nm torque employ the 6HPTÜ26 transmission (which was employed for the 335d before), those with up to 750Nm the 6HPTÜ32.

So, it appears that the old tranny 6HPTÜ21 with 450Nm maximum torque is history.

Is this true?

That can't be true. The 6hptu26 would weigh more than the older trans and since the 2008 doesn't weigh more than the 2007, this seems like BS.

[stressdoc]

I want the failure analysis job at BMW....

[DrDomer]

Vishnu at 400rwhp... about 455bhp... assuming 12% drivetrain loss (make up a number, I have no idea what it is). We're getting in the neighborhood of drivetrain issues, at least for the automatics. I think we should see issues here first, right?

[LODOSS]

Originally Posted by sajakh

Is this true?

That can't be true. The 6hptu26 would weigh more than the older trans and since the 2008 doesn't weigh more than the 2007, this seems like BS.

Is there a cast mark on the tranny with the model number? Can someone with a 2008 go check this?

It would be awesome to know that my upcoming car will be able to handle the 400+ tq that v2.02 just put down.

[max boost]

Originally Posted by zenmaster

What are you asking? 335i uses cast pistons.

YES...thanks u

[6Zylinder]

Originally Posted by herbz

the n54 is an aluminum block.... bmw says it has "cast iron cylinder lining" which really doesn't mean anything... its aluminum... which is a good material for light weight... BMW likes aluminum because it saves weight because the rest of the car is getting so obese.

Dude, now your talking big BS! I wanna see facts! Not some bla bla!

[meyergru]

Originally Posted by sajakh

Is this true?

That can't be true. The 6hptu26 would weigh more than the older trans and since the 2008 doesn't weigh more than the 2007, this seems like BS.

I was asking that question as well in the referenced thread, but then again, it's only about 14kg. Considering that other suppliers (for example those for the seats) are obliged to decrease weight of their parts every production year and that specified weights are approximations only, this could in fact be compensated for.

The person writing it seemed virtually certain of that fact and did not just state it, but contradicted me when I questioned the information he gave casually in the first place.

I cannot verify this yet myself, since my current BMW ETK is from 7/2007 and thus there are no MY2008 cars in it.

[garyhgaryh]

Originally Posted by meyergru

I also took that for granted, but from model year 2008 on, this is no longer true:
look here

For those of you that don't speak german: Starting from 9/2007, autos with up to 600Nm torque employ the 6HPTÜ26 transmission (which was employed for the 335d before), those with up to 750Nm the 6HPTÜ32.

So, it appears that the old tranny 6HPTÜ21 with 450Nm maximum torque is history.

I can't read it, but if it's true this is good news. Thanks!!

[garyhgaryh]

Originally Posted by meyergru

I was asking that question as well in the referenced thread, but then again, it's only about 14kg. Considering that other suppliers (for example those for the seats) are obliged to decrease weight of their parts every production year and that specified weights are approximations only, this could in fact be compensated for.

The person writing it seemed virtually certain of that fact and did not just state it, but contradicted me when I questioned the information he gave casually in the first place.

I cannot verify this yet myself, since my current BMW ETK is from 7/2007 and thus there are no MY2008 cars in it.

I keep seeing mentions of "MY2008" - what does that mean?

[meyergru]

Originally Posted by garyhgaryh

I keep seeing mentions of "MY2008" - what does that mean?

MY = model year. BMW often makes changes after summer holidays. They apply to cars build from september of the preceeding year. For model year 2008, they added efficient dynamics for the 3 series plus some other changes we just got to know

[turbotko]

Originally Posted by Former_Boosted_IS

If this based on any data or just a guess. If so, this stuff just clouds the question and hurts the community. When guys are using the search function and find guesses it makes the search useless. Also guys like me that are looking for real info in their decision process just get frusterated with the forum. I am not trying to be rude, but when it comes to technical discussions we should refrain from guesses.

Well, considering I said "I will go out on a limb here" that pretty much says I have zero data to back it up other than the fact that I'm one of the few guys on this forum that has had a N54 torn down to the bare block.

To those that have read the N54 sticky (copied directly out of the BMW training manual that I also have) you should be fairly familiar with the construction of the block. It is aluminum with a cast iron insert for increased rigidity over the N52's magnesium alloy with cast iron insert. The unique thing about the both the N52 and the N54's is the bed plate design. This design greatly increases main bearing support and also increases the strength of the whole block. If you see one of these bare blocks in person I think you will agree that the block is surely not the limiting factor.

[herbz]

Originally Posted by 6Zylinder

Dude, now your talking big BS! I wanna see facts! Not some bla bla!

how is it bs? it is well known that the n54 is aluminum. I remember reading somewhere that BMW put "cast iron lining" on the interior walls of the cylinder walls. this is a good thing, but cylinder lining alone won't be sufficient for massive power numbers. hence the reason i said "its still aluminm". because the block, in majority, is aluminum.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMW_N54

[turbotko]

Originally Posted by herbz

how is it bs? it is well known that the n54 is aluminum. I remember reading somewhere that BMW put "cast iron lining" on the interior walls of the cylinder walls. this is a good thing, but cylinder lining alone won't be sufficient for massive power numbers. hence the reason i said "its still aluminm". because the block, in majority, is aluminum.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMW_N54

Well, the fact the the block is made of aluminum doesn't necessarily mean it's insufficient for big power numbers. Look at the old teksid aluminum Ford cobra motors. All aluminum block and heads and I've personally seen these engines take 4 digit power numbers for multiple race seasons with forged internals. There are plenty of gen 3 aluminum chevy (LSX based) blocks also safely supporting 4 digit power numbers on forged internals. These are all production blocks too. You wanna go with an aftermarket aluminum block and the sky's the limit.

Back on topic though, the reciprocating assembly will surely be the limiting factor in terms of stock longblock strength.

[herbz]

Originally Posted by turbotko

Well, the fact the the block is made of aluminum doesn't necessarily mean it's insufficient for big power numbers. Look at the old teksid aluminum Ford cobra motors. All aluminum block and heads and I've personally seen these engines take 4 digit power numbers for multiple race seasons with forged internals. There are plenty of gen 3 aluminum chevy (LSX based) blocks also safely supporting 4 digit power numbers on forged internals. These are all production blocks too. You wanna go with an aftermarket aluminum block and the sky's the limit.

Back on topic though, the reciprocating assembly will surely be the limiting factor in terms of stock longblock strength.

word. well you obvioulsy are more knowledgable than i am. i was just under the impression that cast iron is the best material for durability due to the fact that the atoms are strongly bonded together (moreso than any other element) in iron. hence why the 2jz is able to produce 900hp on the stock block, reliably.

could you expand on the "reciprocating assembly"? what does that notion entail...?

[zenmaster]

Originally Posted by herbz

word. well you obvioulsy are more knowledgable than i am. i was just under the impression that cast iron is the best material for durability due to the fact that the atoms are strongly bonded together (moreso than any other element) in iron. hence why the 2jz is able to produce 900hp on the stock block, reliably.

could you expand on the "reciprocating assembly"? what does that notion entail...?

lol. he means the parts that move.