[ksfrogman]

(1) Collector for intake air
(2) Resonating pipe
(3) Overshoot pipe
(4) Resonance pipe

DISA actuator motor



(1) DISA actuator motor
(2) Throttle valve

The actuator forms a unit with the drive. The actuator is driven by an electric motor and gearing. The control electronics are integrated in the DISA actuator motor. The DME controls the DISA actuator motor by means of a pulse-modulated signal. There are only 2 possible positions. The actuator can be closed or opened. When activated, the actuator moves the flap to each end position. Depending on the engine concerned, the N52 is fitted with 2 DISA actuator motors, or 1 DISA actuator motor, or without.

How it works
The power and dynamics of an engine depend heavily on the quality of the cylinder filling. The intake air mass oscillates due to the piston motion. These oscillations are overlapped in turn by oscillations from pressure peaks. To guarantee optimum air intake, the N52 engine has a three-stage differentiated air intake system (DISA).

The air intake guide is realized by a switchover mechanism in the inlet pipe with two DISA actuator motors and an overshoot pipe in the intake area. The DISA actuator motors are each driven by an electric motor. The two DISA actuator motors are of different sizes. DISA actuator motor 2 is fitted in the overshoot pipe and DISA actuator motor 1 is fitted in the collector for intake air in front of the resonating pipe.



1st stage - idling/lower engine speed range
At idle speed and in the lower engine speed range, the DISA actuator motors 1 and 2 are closed.
The intake air flows past the throttle valve into the resonance pipe. In the resonance pipe, the intake air mass splits. The air is fed via the collector pipe and resonating pipes into the individual cylinders. In this way, three cylinders are provided with a comparably high air mass.



2nd stage - medium engine speed range
In the medium engine speed range, DISA actuator motor 2 is opened.
In this case, it is assumed that the inlet valves of the first cylinder are just closing. The gas motion creates a pressure peak at the closing inlet valves. This pressure peak is passed on via the resonating and collector pipes to the in next cylinder in the firing order. This improves the filling of the next cylinder to be charged.



3rd stage - upper engine speed range
In the upper engine speed range, both DISA actuator motors are opened.
In this case, it is assumed that the inlet valves of the first cylinder are just closing. The gas motion creates a pressure peak in front of the closing inlet valves. The intake air mass is now fed via the resonating, overshoot and collector pipes.

EDIT: The firing order of the N52B30M1 engine is 1-5-3-6-2-4

[just4kickz]

interestingg

[Driv3r]

GRRRRR. i really am interested in putting the 3 stage intake in the car....and adding a 330 ECU........im going to talk to my dealer...

MATT! ur just the person to talk to!! do you think itll work?
thanks..

[Pretender]

Originally Posted by Driv3r

GRRRRR. i really am interested in putting the 3 stage intake in the car....and adding a 330 ECU........im going to talk to my dealer...

MATT! ur just the person to talk to!! do you think itll work?
thanks..

And your 325 will cost more than 330. Retrofit always cost much more.

[ksfrogman]

Originally Posted by Driv3r

GRRRRR. i really am interested in putting the 3 stage intake in the car....and adding a 330 ECU........im going to talk to my dealer...

MATT! ur just the person to talk to!! do you think itll work?
thanks..

RichP already tried this. Read these threads:

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=27727

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=27729

Nice photo supplied by RichP:



I labeled it to help you visualize the parts:

[jasper]

so this has me confused... if we're saying that in the 330i the optimal condition for high RPMs is with both flaps open and all chambers/paths being utilized and in the 325i the intake manifold is missing these "flaps", which would imply they are open I'm assuming, then why wouldn't the 325i make just as much torque/hp in the high RMPs?

After reading this technical explanation I would think the 325i/328i US cars would only suffer lack of torque in the lower RPM range since the intake is optimized for high-RPM. I know RichReg has posted that both intakes are otherwise identical.

So is the difference in top-end power reduced only to ECU programming? And if so, why haven't tuners extracted this power yet?

I'd love for somebody to shed some light on this... I'm sure I'm just missing something...

And thanks for posting this info. I've always wanted to see how this thing works.

[ksfrogman]

Originally Posted by jasper

so this has me confused... if we're saying that in the 330i the optimal condition for high RPMs is with both flaps open and all chambers/paths being utilized and in the 325i the intake manifold is missing these "flaps", which would imply they are open I'm assuming, then why wouldn't the 325i make just as much torque/hp in the high RMPs?

After reading this technical explanation I would think the 325i/328i US cars would only suffer lack of torque in the lower RPM range since the intake is optimized for high-RPM. I know RichReg has posted that both intakes are otherwise identical.

So is the difference in top-end power reduced only to ECU programming? And if so, why haven't tuners extracted this power yet?

I'd love for somebody to shed some light on this... I'm sure I'm just missing something...

And thanks for posting this info. I've always wanted to see how this thing works.

This is a very good question that perhaps only some BMW tech guru could answer.

Let me give you some background info before I tell you what I think.

The N52B30 engine uses Valvetronic II technology along with the 3 stage DISA intake manifold, electric coolant pump and new Engine Management System (MSV70). These improvements resulted in a 12% reduction in fuel consumption and a 10% increase in dynamics compared with the previous M54/M56 engine.

Both the US 330i and 325i engine variants are designated as N52B30. However, the engine codes found on the driver's side of the engine block, which by the way, are very difficult to see (look between the 2nd and 3rd intake resonating pipes), are labeled either "AF" or "AE." "AF" refers to the upper ouptut stage or "OL" (High Output). "AE" refers to the lower output stage "UL" (Low Output).

The engine management system or MSV70 is responsible for many tasks: ignition control, injection control, Valvetronic II control, double VANOS, Engine temperature control, electronic collant pump control, knock control, lambda control, activation of DISA, etc.

My theory is that without the DISA actuators (i.e., 3-stage differentiated intake manifold), engine management via MSV70 would have to be mapped differently to optimize the delivery of power throughout all RPM ranges, and perhaps to comply with fuel consumption and emissions objectives. The presence of resonating, overshoot and collector pipes all work in concert to maximize power output during upper engine speed ranges. However, without the actuator valves (as in the case of the 325i) to close off the pressure flow through collateral channels at lower engine speeds, engine efficiency and performance would probably be compromised at lower rpms. Too much pressure would be passed on to the next cylinder in the firing order--i.e., it might "flood" that cylinder. In order to compensate for this problem, fuel injection control, valve attenuation control (VANOS) or combination of any of the MSV70 tasks listed in the preceding paragraph are probably changed for the US 325i (vs the 330i). This could explain why the peak output of the US 325i is lower than that of the US 330i in spite of using the same engine.

Does this make sense?

[jasper]

yes, it makes a lot of sense

thanks so much for taking the time to explain!

[RichP]

I have that one for sale, make me a REASONABLE offer! Keep in mind they cost about 1000 new (for the 3 parts) and supposedly are hard to get. (I bought mine new, BTW)

Nice diagrams of how it works!

[dmitri]

Very interesting, Thanks

So im guessing based on how efficient the intake manifold is and because the ECU controls ignition, fuel injection, valvetronic etc. it would be pointless and difficult to have an aftermarket intake manifold?

Would this intake manifold effect someone who wants to get a supercharger?

[SE3P_to_E90]

325i/330i power differences are probably due to the restrictive airbox of the 325i and a much less aggressive ecu tune. my 2 cents.

[ksfrogman]

Originally Posted by SE3P_to_E90

325i/330i power differences are probably due to the restrictive airbox of the 325i and a much less aggressive ecu tune. my 2 cents.

Not exactly.

The airbox of the 325i is exactly the same (Part Number 13717542018) as the one on the 330i. Both use the same air filter element, the same hot-film air mass meter, same connectors, O-ring, etc.

The tuning of course would have to be different, but do you understand why? The mechanical differences in how DISA manages intake air into the cylinders at varying rpms work in concert with Valvetronic, which by the way uses the same eccentric shaft for both the 325i and the 330i. In fact, the inlet and outlet camshafts for the 325i and 330i are identical.

[SE3P_to_E90]

hrmmm

[cm3rc]

interesting.

[Not Ur Avg 3]

someone complete richp's project
would like to see if this shinanagin works

[dmitri]

Almost liek having 3 difffernet VTECs


really though its cool how we have a variable valve timing system controlled by the ECU that works in conjunction with the 3 stages of intake for maximum power and efficiency.

[ScheerSpeed]

has anyone done this this yet?

[Excellence]

Anyone know if this modifcation will work on my new 07 323i?
Planning to get more ponies out of my 200hp stock beast!

[ADHD]

Originally Posted by ScheerSpeed

has anyone done this this yet?

DITTO!!!!

has anyone done this

[ksfrogman]

What's interesting is that realoem.com shows the same part number for the control unit DME/MSV70 for the 325i and 330i: #12147561818.

Makes me wonder if you swap out the intake manifold, then reflash the 325i control unit with programming for the 330i if this would work.

[crex]

anyone try this yet

[Not Ur Avg 3]

Originally Posted by ksfrogman

What's interesting is that realoem.com shows the same part number for the control unit DME/MSV70 for the 325i and 330i: #12147561818.

Makes me wonder if you swap out the intake manifold, then reflash the 325i control unit with programming for the 330i if this would work.

yup according to wat it really is, thats all u really need to do
and like richp said in another thread, it seems like magic, but thats basically all u need to make ur 325 a 330. someone has to try this
im suprised that this isnt one of the most talked about things on this forum.... ppl w/ 325's are trying to get 5 ponies from expensive intakes and other softwares, when this could potentially boost up to 245 ponies, thats 40 increase. ahh i wish, i would try it in a heartbeat if i had the money, but i heard the 330 programming (chip) is hard to attain?