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      07-21-2011, 05:50 PM   #1
hollpe
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England
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Drives: BMW iX3 M Sport
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: UK

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320D Performance Power Kit Review

Hi all. I'm not a frequent poster but I've had the performance kit on my E91 for about 8k miles now.

I know a few people are interested in hearing what its like So here's a mini review for you.

After a reasonably long period of time running some of the more powerful models; the purchase of a dog & the arrival of our son, it was time to move into something a bit more family orientated. Over the last few years I've had an Alpina Roadster S, Z4M and more recently a 135i. So the move to the a 59 320D M Sport Touring (Auto) was always going to be a bit down on power. I picked up a nice spec car though. Ruby Black, Oyster Leather and a decent amount of extra kit.







A few months down the line I decided to try a tuning box. It gave a decent increase in power but I had some issues with vibrations through the drive train on full throttle. So with some worries about destroying the gearbox I decided to take the box off.

This was about 6 months ago and my dealer mentioned that BMW Performance were releasing a kit. After looking at the increase in power it offered it didn't seem worth the £2k it was going to cost (the auto needs an uprated torque converter as well as the usual hardware that comes with kit). But... after trying one of their demos with the kit on it certainly felt more than the 20BHP & 40Nm increase quoted on paper.

After a lot of haggling I got the kit supplied & fitted for a very reasonable price (PM me for details).

The kit comprises of:

BMW Performance Engine Plaque.
BMW Performance ECU (it replaces the existing one as opposed to remapping it)
600W Engine Cooling Fan.
Additional Air Pipe.
Uprated Intercooler.

Performance

The figures quoted by BMW for the increase that this kit provides really don't do it any justice at all. A 20bhp increase & an additional 40NM doesn't sound a lot, but its the way that it is implemented that really makes the difference. I'm also convinced that these number are very conservative indeed. I would estimate that 205-210bhp & 400-420NM is nearer to the mark.

From standstill there is a lot more torque and it pulls very hard with an even greater surge around 2600RPM to the redline. The standard car tapered off the power at the higher end of the revs, whereas with the kit keeps on pulling. The turbo lag is also extremely minimal.

On the move is when the increased power is most noticeable. Overtaking is VASTLY quicker and the car accelerates into 3 figures in a way it couldn't before!

The power increase doesn't tell the whole story though. Coupled with this is the change in the way the gearbox behaves. One of the biggest annoyances of the standard car was the gearbox not locking up the torque converter quick enough and I often found I would try to accelerate, the torque converter would take a second or so to lock up and then the car would accelerate. This is almost non-existent now. The car takes off, in the way a manual would, in almost any situation. This is a HUGE improvement over the standard car. Previously I would need to make sure I was in DS mode to guarantee the box would be locked up enough to make a quick manouver. I'm guessing that the gearbox software has been updated to take advantage of the uprated torque converter?

Fuel Consumption
Initially I had a drop in fuel consumption but its gone back to normal now. A mix of motorway and town driving sees about 47MPG.


Conclusion
BMW have done a great job in the way the kit delivers the power, not just with the increase in the BHP & torque but with the way they have coupled the changes to the gearbox.

Hope this helps. If you want any more info please feel free to PM me.

Last edited by hollpe; 07-22-2011 at 01:47 AM..
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