[gangzoom]

It's taken about 12 months, but finally all the mods on the car is done. Took it back to the dyno today so see the results (hottest of the day of the year)…

Last year, running a JB+ box (set at 50%), and Forge intercooler with Tesco super unleaded (99 Ron), 15 degrees ambient temp, the car made 316bhp at the crank.

Now running, AFE sealed intake, AR catted downpipes, Forge intercooler and Procede tune with boost limit set a 14 PSI, Tesco super unleaded (99Ron), about 29 degrees ambient temp, the car made 380 bhp and 390 lbs at the crank.



Total spend is hard to workout because the labour on the downpipes were part of a larger install, but about £1800 in parts. Had it been cooler, or had I pushed up the boost limit to 15-16 psi am sure the car would have made more bhp, but as it is, I'm very happy!!

Whilst speaking to the garage owner today he quoted me labour £800 for new turbos….which i thought was alright, who knows, RB turbos might be the next aim

[AlanYoro35i]

No intercooler???
Add an IC , you probably will see 400 i guess?

I will do mine once i get my New ETS fitted with second cat delete with Panel filter and Cobb

[gangzoom]

Originally Posted by Yoro35i

No intercooler???
Add an IC , you probably will see 400 i guess?

I will do mine once i get my New ETS fitted with second cat delete with Panel filter and Cobb

Forgot does have Forge intercooler, fitted it such a long time ago

[stuart-b]

Why do you have a power and torque spike after 2600 rpm till 3800 rpm? It seems like it makes less power, then more again sharply, is that right or did you get wheel spin

[evo335xi]

Something is off, you only have 2000rpms of power. Wheelspin/crazy lag?!

[DanTheManc]

390lbs of torque That must be fun.

I don't know alot about the shape of dyno graphs but mine shows much more linear power delivery. Your boost looks like it kicks in ferking hard. I bet it a handful but fun.

Here's mine. Only mod is a JB4.

[Josh1a1h]

I heard only rubbish things about Forge. Their end tank design is not very good.

You have low power... yes it is a hot day, but people in the states make 400 all day long.

Upgrade the intercooler

[CustomColours]

The forge cooler is too notch. Ill get a pic up of one thats been cut at the tanks to show the design. Trust me they are pretty damn good. Not sure who waffled the bad end tanks story to you but its certainly not true. I know john and chris at forge very well indeed and every part made is flow tested. If it came out wrong or crap it qould be binned and redesigned. Trust me iv whitnessed it time and time again.

[gangzoom]

Looking at the dyno graph again, I can only presume it's wheel spin, wasn't there for the runs, had to be at work today, but day to day driving there certainly isn't any noticeable turbo lag.

Regarding peak power, I'm not sure what peak PSI the Procede tune aims for normally but I'm pretty sure if I had put the boost limit up above 14PSI it would have hit 400 quite easily but I rather run the car day to day on a lower boost target, and 380bhp is hardly a 'low' output .

Pretty happy with the car, the only other upgrade I'm seriously considering is RB turbos for when the OEM turbos eventually go. In sort the N54 unit in the 335i is great .

[Davidlindsey]

weres all the low end power, that graphs horrible, yes nice top end figures but all your bottom ends gone....do you really have no boost till 3800 rpm's?

[AlanYoro35i]

Originally Posted by Josh1a1h

I heard only rubbish things about Forge. Their end tank design is not very good.

You have low power... yes it is a hot day, but people in the states make 400 all day long.

Upgrade the intercooler

I am also not sure why you slagging it so much. I had it and sold it..the forge was really good but the pipework is such a pain.. Not idea when i constantly need it on n off hence the reason i went for ets

[Josh1a1h]

I am just going from hear say. The man i spoke to at Uxbridge who has built one of the most thought out 135i's in the country had trashed them after his setup was limited terribly by his Forge. He showed me his dyno graphs and it was pretty obvious.

The turbulance caused when the air rushed through the intercooler resulted in higher temps as the turbos were forced to work harder and lost 19bhp on his current UK intercooler setup, for which i cannot remember the name.

He has a dark red 135i which has been converted to almost a 1m rep... Know it?

[phil200tdi]

Looks like the guy who did the dyno doesn't have a clue! Did they just do one run?

What gear was this?

The power seems a little low for your mods, but then again stock cars with no other mods get similar power at 14psi.

[gangzoom]

Originally Posted by phil200tdi

Looks like the guy who did the dyno doesn't have a clue! Did they just do one run?

What gear was this?

The power seems a little low for your mods, but then again stock cars with no other mods get similar power at 14psi.

I think you might be right, I was rushing a bit after work to pick up the car so didn't really pay much attention to the graphs, so my fault for not spotting the odd power curve .

I'm pretty sure the car can easily make more bhp, but for me 380 is more than enough, infact most of the time I have the boost limit set at 10.5 psi which is hardly above stock, which i guess would be 320ish bhp max. Touchwood the car has been faultless since my ownership, so rather run conservative power than push things too far.

But that's me done on mods now, saving up for RB turbos though, am sure at some point my OEM turbos will need replacing .

[windymissile]

So you're contemplating RB's for an extra 40-50 bhp? A proper tune and set up could see your car as it is now running that kinda power.
You're right 380 is plenty but why settle for that when more is available, and for free!
WM

[stuart-b]

Originally Posted by windymissile

So you're contemplating RB's for an extra 40-50 bhp? A proper tune and set up could see your car as it is now running that kinda power.
You're right 380 is plenty but why settle for that when more is available, and for free!
WM

Nothing is for free.

Additional wear and tear on the drive chain, clutch, drive shafts, tyres, turbos, oil, etc etc etc.

[phil200tdi]

RBs would compound those issues much more.

[gangzoom]

Just to reassure my self, had another look at my logged runs, and am pretty sure the guy doing the dyno must have had wheel spin at 3000-4000 rpm, since on my logged runs by 4000 rpm the boost is already nearly at 14 psi!! Looking at other N54 dynos graphs it appears maximum torque is usually around 4000 rpm, wheres on my graph at 4000 rpm the car is making hardly any torque/power, so wheel spin seems like the most feasible explanation . So I guess the maxium torque is probably over 400 ft-ibs

Originally Posted by windymissile

So you're contemplating RB's for an extra 40-50 bhp? A proper tune and set up could see your car as it is now running that kinda power.
You're right 380 is plenty but why settle for that when more is available, and for free!
WM

Not chasing big BHPs, but when the turbos go (which they will at somepoint) I might as well get them replaced with some better non-OEM ones...I know all I have to do is up the maximum boost limit and the Procede Tune will easily push out more BHP for the engine, but I rather get more BHP from upgrading the mechanical bits, it makes no sense at all I know, but if I have any sense regarding £££ and cars I'll be driving around in a 1.0 Micra

[gangzoom]

Originally Posted by stuart-b

Nothing is for free.

Additional wear and tear on the drive chain, clutch, drive shafts, tyres, turbos, oil, etc etc etc.

+1 hence, my car runs at virtually stock map day to day, an extra 70-80 bhp doesn't make any difference when crawling around in traffic .

[nicktyler]

+1 for the wheel spin and weird power curve. This is mine when on just an Evolve stage 1 and shows similar numbers to you but more torque and linear delivery:

[idnan]

+1 to something not right in the dyno graph.

FYI here is my graph with the same mods a few summers ago at the same place! This was on the old oil leaking turbos btw

[gangzoom]

Cheers for your graph idnan, not sure why mine looks weird the dyno graph from 12 months ago was perfectly linear, and to drive the car certainly doesn't feel its lacking in power at 3Krpm, quite the opposite 3Krpm is usually where the car really starts to pull.

Next time I take the car in for a service I'll ask them about it, but for now I'm not too bothered. Still amazes me how much tuning potential there is in these N54 units!!