[3000GT MR]

Im making this thread to document my progress as I build my 2009 335I.
Only thing i ask is to keep this thread on topic. Please don't bicker about which vendor is better or making more HP or who has what. I chose certain products based on what I wanted and what MY goals were. Please feel free to ask any questions you may have. As always knowledgeable advice and concerns are welcome. Ok now to good parts.

I broke this build down into different phases as down time is an issue.

My Goal:
650-750HP
Traction
Mild handling upgrades
minor looks enhancers.

The Build
VFF single turbo 6466
VRSF cat back
Spec SMFW
spec 2+
FMIC
Meth
Procede
Diff lock out
Wave track
Oil cooler
Aero upgrades
BC coilovers
Rims/tires
brakes
Misc items along the way.

So far in preparation for the STS I've installed the FMIC, my own dual core oil cooler, procede, some of the meth components.

I want to take time and explain the oil cooler setup. Im using 2X 17 row oil coolers paired in series by -10 AN SS line. Temperature will be controlled by Improved Racing's 190* oil thermostat. I chose this because of its unique clean flow design. There isnt an actual thermostat in the flow path of the oil, its all in the bypass. Because im running 2 coolers on opposite sides of the front end im hoping this clean design will help with flow. I ran out of time this weekend but theres a few things i need to clean up along with some duct work to fabricate. The Bumper in the picture is not installed, Its just thrown on for clearance/looks checks. BTW i still have the housing to install so everything is just hand tight and still need to make a bracket for the thermostat.

[3000GT MR]

Reserved..

[3000GT MR]

Reserved one more

[1nityrider]

When I saw the tittle of your thread I immediately said what!! lol Hi there fellow 3S. Seeing your 3S makes me miss mine a lot even though I never got it to the potential that I wanted. Isn't it amazing how easy the n54 makes much power compared to the 3S and how the internals too can handle it? Men I wish it was easy to just bolt on some billet DR750s on this thing, I will be done with lol. That said, I am interest in your oil cooler setup especially as my xi don't have it. Did you fabricate it yourself or bought a complete kit?

Will be a nice build when all is complete.

[Markyd83]

Interesting. I'd be interested in some oil temps after doing some pulls. Cool idea

[3000GT MR]

Originally Posted by 1nityrider

When I saw the tittle of your thread I immediately said what!! lol Hi there fellow 3S. Seeing your 3S makes me miss mine a lot even though I never got it to the potential that I wanted. Isn't it amazing how easy the n54 makes much power compared to the 3S and how the internals too can handle it? Men I wish it was easy to just bolt on some billet DR750s on this thing, I will be done with lol. That said, I am interest in your oil cooler setup especially as my xi don't have it. Did you fabricate it yourself or bought a complete kit?

Will be a nice build when all is complete.

No kidding, when i first saw the power people are getting out of the n54 i was like really? Where's your fuel mods lol. I have prob close to $2k in fuel mods to support the same power level. Btw when i was looking at turbo choices i wanted to do a dr750r n54. If i had another DD i would have fabricated it to work with. Nice to see some former 3si'ers around.

The oil cooler system is 100% custom. All the brackets i made. Took about 8 hours to complete. I will Definatly post results.
I need to find a thermometer with multiple thermal couples so i can do some real testing.

[F80M]

That fmic is cxraing 4" thick, correct? It looks huge. How does this 4" with the rest of tge hardwares? Im getting this setup today.

[._.]

mind posting some details on the oil cooler brackets you made? also where did you source your oil lines?

[3000GT MR]

Originally Posted by 91Octane

That fmic is cxraing 4" thick, correct? It looks huge. How does this 4" with the rest of tge hardwares? Im getting this setup today.

Yes 4" it's a very tight fit. The closest thing it comes to is the power steering cooler. I was able to shift things around to maintain a minimum gap clearance of 1/4". Had to trim more plastic than most like to trim. But it's a big core lol

[3000GT MR]

Originally Posted by R 4 5 T 4 M 4 N

mind posting some details on the oil cooler brackets you made? also where did you source your oil lines?

I basically aligned the coolers where i wanted them and the used some . 75" 1/16 thick angle iron and picked up locations closest to the coolers. I was also able to use the same mount point that the intercooler uses. I will take more detailed pictures next time the bumper comes off.

[1nityrider]

Originally Posted by 3000GT MR

No kidding, when i first saw the power people are getting out of the n54 i was like really? Where's your fuel mods lol. I have prob close to $2k in fuel mods to support the same power level. Btw when i was looking at turbo choices i wanted to do a dr750r n54. If i had another DD i would have fabricated it to work with. Nice to see some former 3si'ers around.

The oil cooler system is 100% custom. All the brackets i made. Took about 8 hours to complete. I will Definatly post results.
I need to find a thermometer with multiple thermal couples so i can do some real testing.

That's not to mention the ignition and fuel managment unit, as I am pretty sure you're using AEM EMS. If I could fabricate my own manifolds, I will do and throw me those 750rs on there and have one badass TD04 n54.
Good luck with your build man!
If possible can you throw on a list of parts for your oil cooler if you get a chance. I am in need of one for my car. I am not ready yet to spend $1500 for it lol

[3000GT MR]

A lot of this stuff ive had for a while for other projects. So some sources are unknown. These are the prices IIRC

Oil cooler parts list:
7.2 ft An -10 SS line $5/ft .......$36
2x cores IIRC $80/ea...............$160
6 90* -10 AN elbows $7/ea......$42
4 -10 AN straight $6/ea...........$24
AR delete plate.........................$150
Improved Racing T/S................$150
misc hardware/metal...............$20
Total.......................................$582

May need:
oil filter housing ...................$260
cable cutters.........................$60

[akotten]

Originally Posted by 1nityrider

When I saw the tittle of your thread I immediately said what!! lol Hi there fellow 3S. Seeing your 3S makes me miss mine a lot even though I never got it to the potential that I wanted. Isn't it amazing how easy the n54 makes much power compared to the 3S and how the internals too can handle it? Men I wish it was easy to just bolt on some billet DR750s on this thing, I will be done with lol. That said, I am interest in your oil cooler setup especially as my xi don't have it. Did you fabricate it yourself or bought a complete kit?

Will be a nice build when all is complete.

Haha same here! I still have my stealth....which is my current summer project. If only Dr650's would bolt right up. Going back to work on my stealth is going to make me realize just how easy the N54 makes it for us...especially with our tuning options.

[Lankster]

Sub'd

Love the oil cooler, my '07 XI doesnt have an oil cooler so I have also been looking at making one myself. Will prob go with different stat, since here in southern Cali it rarely gets over 80 on the coast, wont really need it to start cooling at 190

[3000GT MR]

Well since a lot of you guys seem interested in the oil cooler set up i decided to finish it sooner than planned. I gained about 1.25qt's of oil which im pretty excited about.

Well the results are better than expected, especially since i haven't ducted the coolers yet. Highest temp i saw was 185-190ish. Granted ambient temp was 53* tonight. I drove for about 30 min (normal city driving) before pulling into a gas station to fuel up. The drivers side cooler was hot to touch, the passenger side was only a few degrees above ambient. Once i verified all systems were go and no leaks were detected i did about 5 highway pulls, back to back and about 7 1 thru 3rd gear pulls and not once did the temp even twitch. You could tell when the thermostat was modulating but there wasn't a drastic temp change. Maybe about 5 degrees max. I let it idle and heat soak for about 10 minutes and then drove it though a neighborhood and into my garage. Heres a pic of the 2 coolers temps.

[Continue5]

Every time one of these pops up I am exciting that maybe we will finally see some performance numbers from more customers with the VFF kit. Pictures of you putting together the kit is great and all but it's not something the forum hasn't seen before although I am sure we all appreciate it anyway. It is extremely helpful to provide some feedback so someone could compare properly and not hate their life after because they end up with a problem ridden car. I am in no way suggesting this is the case, all I am saying is you should be one of those few that gives us data as you seem experienced in high horsepower applications.

[3000GT MR]

If i was to just buy a turbo kit and slap it on what fun would that be, like you said its been done before. That's not the main reason for this. I like to be innovative and take the road less traveled. There's a lot of things i have planned with this that no one has tried yet on this platform. Id just rather havs everything in one place. I'm not good with keeping up with 10 different threads on 10 different things i tried or did . As this moves forward it will be more technical and i hope everyone can benefit from it. Now if you could just go over to the open source thread and tell Robinhood to hurry up the real fun could begin

[3000GT MR]

Well i found another spark plug option. I couldn't find any info if people are using them on n54/n55. They are 2 heat ranges colder than stock which is a huge plus for higher HP. They are also copper which I'm pretty excited about. Should be able to get a little bigger gap out of them over the iridiums. Which brings me to my next project i hope to accomplish begining of next week. I promise i will find a way to widen the gap in higher HP cars. Right now I'm running. .035 with meth and maxed out stockers with no issues. I just want to finish a few more tests before i post it. Any ways tge plug number is NGK-4786. I came across a few multi ground plugs but to me that means a bigger hot spot in the cylinder. I hope to have a set of them within a week.

[akotten]

Have you road coursed with this oil cooler setup ever?

[4doorbmwpower]

absolutly love your oil cooler setup! bravo! i would probably find a way to shimmy the lines to the middle more but might just get angry and go with your setup in the process. nice job man and for under 600 if you dont need the newer housing... bravo!

[3000GT MR]

Originally Posted by akotten

Have you road coursed with this oil cooler setup ever?

Autocross, here in savannah its been about 85-95*f. I have tried and tried to get the temp past 230 but it won't. Even in stop and go traffic in 95* weather. It has exceeded expectations.


Im just now in the middle of my build. I'll start up dating this thread more often. I had a few hang ups waiting on a few things.

[klipseracer]

Nice setup... do you have before/after comparison numbers? Do we have any numbers from the other oil cooler options?