[335i E92]

Hi All...
Took my car down to Evolve yesterday for its stage 2 flash having already fitted an ETS intercooler and AR catted down pipes. I had the ECU updated also a week before I went so it was running BMW's latest dme standard software.

Imran & the guys down there were great and not only supplied lunch but really went the extra mile to get the car sorted on the day as we hit a few niggles with trying to get the map loaded. This was due to the ECU update that i had done as it was just a partial Auto Logic engine management update and not a full ECU flash, anyway we shoe horned it in after some head scratching so al was good.

The 1st run at 335bhp was standard ECU and FBO so a good starting point. once the flash went on as you will see the 1st run was only 398 but the 2nd run done within a few minutes was 408bhp. Imran explained this was normal as it had adapted to the new flash in-between runs. Think I’ll go down to Awesome GTI in Manchester in a week or so once the map is fully bedded in to get an idea of final numbers.

Anyway, how does it feel on the road? All I can say is the drive home was more entertaining that the drive down. Going from a standard flash to the stage 2 was quite a jump as you can imagine. What surprised me though was the way the car delivered the power. With DP's, intercooler and the flash i was expecting to have all hells fury to contend with at the slightest touch of the pedal but it was super smooth still.

Rather than an instant wave of power that hits you like a train the power is somehow still delivered in a totally usable manor. the boost just comes on stronger and stronger the more the revs climb which as a result catapults you up the road in such an intense wave that it makes your stomach churn.

Another thing that surprised we was the noise, I’m running a standard exhaust and one of the main reasons i chose catted DP's is i absolutely didn't want any rasp. Even on cold start you can only just tell the difference between that stock Dp's a very slight rasp for a few minutes until the temp builds up and then it's just a nice low burble which when giving it the beans turns in to a deep throaty howl. I'm sure it'll get even quieter once the dp's have had change to build a bit of carbon/soot.

Anyway, big thanks to Evolve for looking after me once again. Couldn't be happier with the results and would recommend to anyone who is considering.

[Mike in Hampshire]

Another Evolve customer here.........got the AR DP's fitted and the stage 2 loaded two weeks ago. Like yours, there was a hitch with the software my car was running (not been updated at all since 2006, Imran couldn't quite believe it!).

This meant they had to keep the car for a few days, but they loaned me Imran's Mini JCW and honestly could not have been more helpful.

Evolve's HQ might not be the last word in luxury and glitz, but the guys there are genuine and they know their stuff. I would recommend them to anyone.

Mike.

[MERLIN335i]

Originally Posted by 335i E92

Took my car down to Evolve yesterday for its stage 2 flash having already fitted an ETS intercooler and AR catted down pipes.

Happy that you are happy, BUT do you still have the dreaded idle misfire ????

Michael.

[335i E92]

Originally Posted by Mike in Hampshire

Another Evolve customer here.........got the AR DP's fitted and the stage 2 loaded two weeks ago. Like yours, there was a hitch with the software my car was running (not been updated at all since 2006, Imran couldn't quite believe it!).

This meant they had to keep the car for a few days, but they loaned me Imran's Mini JCW and honestly could not have been more helpful.

Evolve's HQ might not be the last word in luxury and glitz, but the guys there are genuine and they know their stuff. I would recommend them to anyone.

Mike.

Lol, how have u managed to avoid a software update all this time? You must get medal or somthin for sure!! How are u finding the map? What sort of power did u get?

H

[335i E92]

Originally Posted by MERLIN335i

Happy that you are happy, BUT do you still have the dreaded idle misfire ????

Michael.

I've given up trying to fix the idle issue as I ended up chasing my tail and spending a fortune. Tbh since the dp's were fitted it's alot smoother on idle, still the odd miss but no where near as bad.

[Mike in Hampshire]

Originally Posted by 335i E92

Lol, how have u managed to avoid a software update all this time? You must get medal or somthin for sure!! How are u finding the map? What sort of power did u get?

H

Ha! That was pretty much what Imran and Sal said..........they hadn't ever seen a 355i still on the original software. Thing is, it's a low mileage car (26k) and the last service in 2010 was at a specialist indy. Nothing has ever gone wrong on it, so the software was untouched. So Evolve loaded the latest BMW software (which took a little time to do) and then were able to overwrite their Stage 2; apparently the original software causes a problem with Stage 2???

The map is great, like you say very smooth and progressive; like it was before but more, if you follow me.
Regarding peak power, there's a fuelling issue at 5000 rpm, the Evolve guys are sure it is the HPFP since it threw a fuel pump code on their dyno. The car drives perfectly, but I suppose I'll have to visit Birds to get the fuel pump replaced. Oh well, I knew this was possible running a remapped N54 engine with no warranty, so I don't really mind. All part of the 335i experience! Apart from that the car is perfect, no rough idle or shakes, no long cranks either but they may appear in due course.

Imran has offered me a free dyno run once the pump is fixed, so I'll probably take him up on that. With the DP's and the FMIC I'd like to see the magic 400 hp mark, we'll see.

Mike.

[doughboy]

Nice one H,

At last you've got your stage 2.

What about the cold idle, any wastegate rattling / chinging?

[335i E92]

Originally Posted by Mike in Hampshire

Ha! That was pretty much what Imran and Sal said..........they hadn't ever seen a 355i still on the original software. Thing is, it's a low mileage car (26k) and the last service in 2010 was at a specialist indy. Nothing has ever gone wrong on it, so the software was untouched. So Evolve loaded the latest BMW software (which took a little time to do) and then were able to overwrite their Stage 2; apparently the original software causes a problem with Stage 2???

The map is great, like you say very smooth and progressive; like it was before but more, if you follow me.
Regarding peak power, there's a fuelling issue at 5000 rpm, the Evolve guys are sure it is the HPFP since it threw a fuel pump code on their dyno. The car drives perfectly, but I suppose I'll have to visit Birds to get the fuel pump replaced. Oh well, I knew this was possible running a remapped N54 engine with no warranty, so I don't really mind. All part of the 335i experience! Apart from that the car is perfect, no rough idle or shakes, no long cranks either but they may appear in due course.

Imran has offered me a free dyno run once the pump is fixed, so I'll probably take him up on that. With the DP's and the FMIC I'd like to see the magic 400 hp mark, we'll see.

Mike.

What a nightmare, hope u sort it. At least the cost of common failing parts have been dramatically reduced now. Turbos are £500 a piece, fuel injectors are now only £150 each and I belive hpfp are just £250.

Let me know how you get on when u get it sorted n back on the dyno!!

[335i E92]

Originally Posted by doughboy

Nice one H,

At last you've got your stage 2.

What about the cold idle, any wastegate rattling / chinging?

Ive been really lucky in that department, car almost sounds the same as stock dp's on cold start. Zero wastegate rattle, I had new 8mm actuator rods a year or so ago and Woods doubled checked my wastegate settings when a had my head rebuilt. You have any plans to get dp's again?

[idnan]

Nice one H, good to see you've got it running to it's full potential. Now you need to get that diff sorted so you can utilise your power properly I'm eager to see how much power you make once your car has fully adapted as I'm sure having the head cleaned up and rebuilt will help quite a bit.

I'm up back up at Darren Woods on Saturday to get my turbos checked and new ones ordered. Looks like I'm getting new turbos, clutch, maybe flywheel and a short shift.

[335i E92]

Originally Posted by idnan

Nice one H, good to see you've got it running to it's full potential. Now you need to get that diff sorted so you can utilise your power properly I'm eager to see how much power you make once your car has fully adapted as I'm sure having the head cleaned up and rebuilt will help quite a bit.

I'm up back up at Darren Woods on Saturday to get my turbos checked and new ones ordered. Looks like I'm getting new turbos, clutch, maybe flywheel and a short shift.

Hi Mate

They did 2 runs post flash as you can see on the dyno graph. I already picked up an additional 10 bhp on the 2nd run so i would hope when i get it dyno'd next week i'm closer to the 420bhp mark. Although i've opted for the catted DP's so i might not quite make it there. Will post it up when i get it done.

I'm now saving up for the Eibach arbs, Quaife, Powerflex bushes & koni yellow shocks, will get them all done in one hit before the summer.

Good luck at Woods this w'end, i might pop in as Mike wanted to have a quick blast now the map's on. You going for stocker turbo's or RB's

[doughboy]

H,

hmmmm, DPs? maybe


Idnan,

if you're buying new turbos, why not get them down to Turbo Dynamics to have them fettled, and the wastegate problem fixed for goood before they go on the car? I would defo do that if I was going to the expense of engine out. TD will do a next day turnaround if you like.

[phil200tdi]

I think he's going with Rob Beck..

Turbo Dynamics are uk based though.. I heard they are doing just the wastegate fix for pretty cheap though. Anyone got the details?

[idnan]

Originally Posted by 335i E92

Hi Mate

They did 2 runs post flash as you can see on the dyno graph. I already picked up an additional 10 bhp on the 2nd run so i would hope when i get it dyno'd next week i'm closer to the 420bhp mark. Although i've opted for the catted DP's so i might not quite make it there. Will post it up when i get it done.

I'm now saving up for the Eibach arbs, Quaife, Powerflex bushes & koni yellow shocks, will get them all done in one hit before the summer.

Good luck at Woods this w'end, i might pop in as Mike wanted to have a quick blast now the map's on. You going for stocker turbo's or RB's

Cheers mate. I've already prepared myself for the worst case scenario so it should just be confirmation of what I've already thought. I've sent a set of turbos to the USA which I bought off eBay so I'm going for the RB option. I'm glad that I found a set for £100 local so i'll avoid the surcharge. I figure that it would be better to run less boost and make the same power and obviously have the option to crank it up

Working it out, TD just worked out too expensive for me and having to pay for custom oil lines on top of that was more than I wanted to spend. I can buy RBs and a qaife for the same price.

[doughboy]

Originally Posted by phil200tdi

I think he's going with Rob Beck..

Turbo Dynamics are uk based though.. I heard they are doing just the wastegate fix for pretty cheap though. Anyone got the details?

Didn't realise TD were so expensive Idnan...

I spoke with TD last year (April) about it - reply below (£175 per turbo):

The cause of the wear is the design of the actuators. Because they operate under vacuum which is applied constantly when the engine is ok, this means there is always a load to the crank arm that runs through a bush to operate the wastegate. When the wastegate opens and closes, the pressure on the crank arm causes it to rub on the bush. While both are hardened, they are still prone to wearing which is likely to be the main cause of the rattling noise.

The only solution we have come up with that seems to work to a satisfactory standard is to use a glass hard steel sleeve between the crank arm and bush. This is effectively acting as a bearing between the two and will at least slow the wear down. It is by no means a guaranteed fix but does seem to alleviate the problem.

We can offer a repair on the wastegate’s for £175.00 + vat per turbo

Might be cheaper now though?

[idnan]

Ah I as comparing TD stage 2 vs Rob Beck turbos. I didn't actually know that TD did the wastegate repair on its own, that would've been an alternative option.

With the TD stage 2 they charge £1700+vat each plus extra for the wastegate repair and you need custom oil lines. RBs are $3100 plus shipping (either $200 or $350 depending on courier)

[doughboy]

Wow - that's really expensive for the TD ones!

The wastegate repair is a reasonable price but a lot of labour removing/refitting the turbos.

I suppose if you can tie it in with new clutch etc it justifies the labour a bit more.

Are you fitting an OE clutch & flywheel?

(sorry H, threadjack!!)

[idnan]

It looks like I've got a leaky oil seal on one of my turbos beacause I'm using oil and blowing smoke at the moment. Since having the turbos out it is an engine out job I might as well get the clutch and flywheel sorted.

I've ordered an ACT clutch with a heavy duty pressure plate and I'm speaking to Darren on Saturday about the flywheel. I've found that Buypartsby sell the LUK DMF for 330+vat so it isn't so bad.

I've calculated the RBs to cost me under £2.5k but I'm taking a large risk with them coming from America.

(my apologies too H)

[335i E92]

That wasn't surpossed to happen...

Lol typical, 1st car I come up against and I get walked like I was stood still. Coming off a roundabout on a quiet A34 with a Skyline GTR filling my rear view mirror, empty dual carriageway ahead of us. So I get on the power in 2nd but as I'm still runing a standard diff I'm not putting all the power down, even so I'm only losing a bit of traction and was still movin some but the GTR just walked past me. Even when I got to 3rd n putting all the power down he was pulling away easily.

The noise out of this thing as it went past was unreal, I know these are probably the quickest thing you'll encounter on the road but I would have hoped to hang with it better than I did, maybe it was mapped? That's the only thought I have to console me right now anyhow.

Parade proplerly pissed on, arse handed & off for a sulk!!

[phil200tdi]

Even stock it will kill you.

With rb turbos and meth I still think you would lose...

[doughboy]

Yep, not much less than a supercar is gonna take a GTR on greasy winter day.

Don't worry about it, pick on something a little smaller next time

[335i E92]

They're a different animal for sure!!

I was never expecting to keep up with it, i just didn't realise how brutal they are. Lesson learned!!