[Minutes2Midnight]

Mod list as of 8/5/24

• ESS VT1 Supercharger (Vortech V3si)
• 3.4 inch Vortech pulley
• Laptorr Sport exhaust
• StageFP Air to Water Intercooler/Intake Manifold
• Active Autowerke headers
• 1000cc injectors
• PRW Stage 2.5 V2 bucketed fuel pump
• PRW In-tank fuel filter and regulator
• Tuning by StageFP
• JB Racing flywheel
• ClutchMasters FX350 Stage 3
• 3.73 Differential
• Quaife LSD
• Finned differential cover
• Turner Motorsports Delrin Diff bushings
• N54 oil filter housing
• Stett performance thermostat delete plate
• Earl's 12 inch Oil Cooler
• Brown & Miller Racing Solutions braided oil cooler hoses
• Improved Racing 185° thermostat
• Moroso Coolant expansion tank
• CSF Racing aluminum radiator
• F30 Performance brakes 370/350mm 2 piece rotors
• E9X M3 brake master cylinder
• Ferodo DS2500 Pads
• TC Kline SA Coilovers [400/600 spring rates]
• M3 upper and lower control arms
• AKG lower shock mounts and upper shock bushings
• 22RPD SSK
• 22RPD DSSR
• Dinan carbon fiber strut tower brace
• E93 M3 front swaybar
• E46 M3 Trans mounts/bushings
• UUC adjustable swaybar end links
• Macht Schnell 75mm stud conversion
• Volk Racing TE37 Saga SL 18x9et23 square
• Advan Apex 255/35/18 square
• M3 subframe reinforcement plate
• UUC Grand Am spec wing
• ECS carbon fiber lip spoiler
• M3 carbon fiber crash bars (front and rear)
• 335is front bumper inlets and fender liners
• BMW Performance carbon fiber front splitter
• BMW Performance carbon fiber mirror caps
• E92 pre-LCI power folding mirror retrofit
• Carbon Fiber rear diffuser
• BMS oil catch can
• Mishimoto check valve
• BMS cowl filters
• Turner motorsport cowl covers
• Turner Motorsport IAT Relocator
• E89 Z4 M-sport steering wheel
• Split center console armrest
• ZHP Shift Knob
• OMP 1010 pedals
• H3R Performance Halguard extinguisher
• P3 vent gauge

Current power figures: 459whp/328wtq. See page 3 for latest power adders and dyno sheet!


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I've owned this car for about a year and a half at the time of writing this, so I figured now is a better time than any to start documenting what I've done to it. My goal is to be as close to 300 horsepower and 3,000 pounds as I can while still being comfortable and fairly reliable. I plan to track the car pretty heavily going forward so I look forward to learning about setting up a car for the track.

It's a 2011 328i with a 6 speed manual and the M-Sport package. It's LeMans Blue with a Saddle Brown interior. Here it is when I first picked it up. I bought the car from Nashville, TN in September of 2018 with 55k miles on it. I drove about 12 hours round trip to pick it up.



At the time, I owned a fairly basic automatic 2008 328i coupe with north of 140k miles. It had H&R lowering springs, a 135i "BBK", and AG M355 wheels. That was my first car, and I loved it so much that I wanted to find the best example that I could to build my dream car. Here they are together.





The first mod that I did was an F30/F80 brake upgrade and a set of style 437M wheels. The brake upgrade included BMW Performance calipers, 2 piece front and rear ECS rotors, and stainless steel braided lines. The work was done by Mike, James, and Kaz at DeCoster Autowerke in Salisbury, NC.



Since it's a 328i, some fabrication had to be done to retain the e-brake functionality. This involved cutting and welding a set of 335i e-brake shoes to the existing shoes to space them out. It's a solution that I found on another thread on here, and it works perfectly.







The next mod that I did was a full header-back exhaust system. I went with Active Autowerke headers and had them JetHot coated. From the header back, I have a Laptorr exhaust system.





Here's how it sounds.

Shortly after, I did the 3-stage intake manifold conversion and had it tuned by Bimmer Performance Center. BPC no longer does tunes as Bob has left to start StageFP.



I had it dyno'd by BPC on their first dyno day of the year.





Not too shabby, it made 242whp and 229wtq.

Since then, I have added a Turner Motorsport intake and intake boot.







The most recent mods that I've done are mostly visual. I added a BMW performance carbon fiber front lip for the LCI M-Sport bumper, an ECS carbon lip spoiler, and a UUC Grand Am spec rear wing. The wing gets mixed reviews, but I've had my heart set on it and as a fan of racing, I absolutely love it.











Thanks for reading.

-M2M-

[Minutes2Midnight]

A few more pictures of how it looks right now.

[cpie168]

Absolutely stunning! Love it!!!!

[colorado.e9x]

This is now my favorite N52 build

[Minutes2Midnight]

Originally Posted by cpie168

Absolutely stunning! Love it!!!!

Originally Posted by colorado.e9x

This is now my favorite N52 build

Thanks guys! I have some new parts coming in the mail this week, and I'm excited to share the build.

[colorado.e9x]

Originally Posted by Minutes2Midnight

Thanks guys! I have some new parts coming in the mail this week, and I'm excited to share the build.

I'll be following! Love it

[AWSB328iM]

Funny I also bought my '11 E92 328i M-Sport 6MT in Nashville, TN Thanksgiving week of 2016.

I'm jealous as I really wanted Le Mans Blue / Saddle Brown. Where did you find the BMW Carbon front lip? They are discontinued everywhere I've looked.

I'm about to install the 340mm Brembos. May attempt the rear conversion this year. Hope to get over to NC to have my 3-Stage manifold tuned.

[Minutes2Midnight]

Originally Posted by AWSB328iM

Funny I also bought my '11 E92 328i M-Sport 6MT in Nashville, TN Thanksgiving week of 2016.

I'm jealous as I really wanted Le Mans Blue / Saddle Brown. Where did you find the BMW Carbon front lip? They are discontinued everywhere I've looked.

I'm about to install the 340mm Brembos. May attempt the rear conversion this year. Hope to get over to NC to have my 3-Stage manifold tuned.

What colour combo did you end up going with? I actually found the lip on eBay. I saved a search for the part #, which is 51192159867, and bought it as soon as one popped up for sale. The one I bought actually came from Australia.

I absolutely love the brembos. I went with stock pads so the brake dust is pretty bad, but compared to the hawk performance pads that I had before, they're so quiet. There's actually an OEM track brake pad made by Pagid for the 370mm rotor, not sure about the 340.

The 3 stage manifold is incredible. You can feel where the DISA valves kick in throughout the power band. You'll love it. Also, Bob at Stage Fabrication and Performance is like an N52 guru. They're located close to Raleigh, NC. That's where I'll go for tuning in the future!

[mike@x-ph.com]

Nice

[Volasko]

I love absolutely everything about this car... except the spoiler. I don't know why exactly, but it just seems off and doesn't match the lines of this car. Other than that I love what you have done to it.

[Minutes2Midnight]

Originally Posted by Volasko

I love absolutely everything about this car... except the spoiler. I don't know why exactly, but it just seems off and doesn't match the lines of this car. Other than that I love what you have done to it.

I think it's a love it or hate it kind of thing. I think it fits the lines pretty well, but like anything, some angles are better than others.

I got some new parts in today! A Dinan short shifter and the UUC DSSR. Hoping to make the throw from first to second and fourth to fifth a little shorter and tighter.

[BMDoublYou]

I recently installed the Dinan SS in my 128i, Loving the shorter throws and mechanical sound of engaging the gear. Didn't do the UUC DSSR and finding a bit of slop in gear but nothing I can't handle. Toss up a review when you are done with the install, im interested to see your opinion after the install.

[Drifter2090]

Originally Posted by BMDoublYou

I recently installed the Dinan SS in my 128i, Loving the shorter throws and mechanical sound of engaging the gear. Didn't do the UUC DSSR and finding a bit of slop in gear but nothing I can't handle. Toss up a review when you are done with the install, im interested to see your opinion after the install.

I picked up a Dinan SSK as well. How is daily driving with it compared to stock? Is it harder to put into gear?

[Biginboca]

Nice build... car looks great!

[BlackedOutBimmer]

Nice build.
240whp is nice... but with 300whp as your goal, I truly wonder what else you can do to get 60 more hp...
I love my 328... but I haven’t seen a ton of builds with them in the HP department.
Def will make a fun track car and have thought about doing the same when I’m ready to retire my 328 for daily use, but I just don’t see how can get the power needed from the n52, as much as I like this engine for smoothness and reliablilty

[Minutes2Midnight]

Originally Posted by AllBlackBimmer

Nice build.
240whp is nice... but with 300whp as your goal, I truly wonder what else you can do to get 60 more hp...
I love my 328... but I haven’t seen a ton of builds with them in the HP department.
Def will make a fun track car and have thought about doing the same when I’m ready to retire my 328 for daily use, but I just don’t see how can get the power needed from the n52, as much as I like this engine for smoothness and reliablilty

300 at the wheels is really ambitious outside of a racing engine, but I'd honestly be happy with around 300 at the motor. I'm hoping MILVs will net me in the 260whp range.

There's a company called Rebello racing that mentions they have a stroker kit for the N52 for around $3800, but at that level of investment, I'd be more likely to S54 swap. An S54 powered E92 would be pretty sweet.

[213e90n51]

Wow thats amazing I got a e90 I use for AutoX and track days but this is a dream build. How much was the tune? And also how long did it take to do it with a tuner or did you send your ecu in? Plus what other modifications do you need to do to the e90 e92 platform before besides the ebrake shoe for the bigger brakes to fit?

[Minutes2Midnight]

Originally Posted by 213e90n51

Wow thats amazing I got a e90 I use for AutoX and track days but this is a dream build. How much was the tune? And also how long did it take to do it with a tuner or did you send your ecu in? Plus what other modifications do you need to do to the e90 e92 platform before besides the ebrake shoe for the bigger brakes to fit?

BPC provided a USB flash cable and I was able to email them my ECU information. It took about a week for them to get back to me with the tune, and it was as simple as plugging back up to the computer and reflashing with the new tune, which took about 45 minutes if I remember correctly.

[Minutes2Midnight]

I have an exciting update! I've purchased an ESS Supercharger kit from another forum member. Thanks to Michael Coates for a seamless transaction!



I also have TC Kline single adjustable coilovers and some rear parts on the way from Turner Motorsport to install this week during quarantine!

[Biginboca]

Originally Posted by Minutes2Midnight

I have an exciting update! I've purchased an ESS Supercharger kit from another forum member. Thanks to Michael Coates for a seamless transaction!



I also have TC Kline single adjustable coilovers and some rear parts on the way from Turner Motorsport to install this week during quarantine!

Very nice! I was tempted by that kit also, I’m glad to see it went to a good home on the forum. Can’t wait to hear yore feedback with that kit installed.

[Minutes2Midnight]

Originally Posted by Biginboca

Very nice! I was tempted by that kit also, I’m glad to see it went to a good home on the forum. Can’t wait to hear yore feedback with that kit installed.

Thanks! I'm so excited to install and tune it. I'll definitely be updating this a lot more throughout the process.

I'll be following your carbon fiber roof install. That's a huge undertaking, one I hope to take one day. I hope it goes smoothly for you!

[cpie168]

Does the supercharger require a tune to make it work?