[Beemw335]

N54 has a MUCH cleaner exhaust note, but the n55 sounds much more aggresive.
Besides the cold start, I prefer the n55 exhaust, it only sounds diesel truck'ish on cold starts.
My friend has an n55 with dp and performance exhaust, and its the best sounding car Ive ever heard.

Besides that, tune only n54 is as faster as fbo n55, so i power is your main concern get an n54

[benzy89]

Originally Posted by scott_uw

N55 will not make more power than N54 even if you upgrade the internals of the turbo, turbo has already been taken apart by Rob of RB. It's unlikely that we'll see N55 > N54 unless you manage the change the turbo completely. I think you meant 4G series for the Mitsus..

I call you on this claim sir, and raise you

There's a reason why Shiv/Vishnu + HPF are making a single-turbo kit for the N54. On 1 turbo, you have a LOT more potential for making a high HP car. Twin-turbos are significantly better for an acceleration/track racing setup, but if power is all your interested in, 1 snail is the way to go.

Originally Posted by Andrew@ActiveAutowerke

That is very true! My fingers are crossed for all of us

I'm not sure about Rob Beck just giving up offering an upgraded turbo for the N55, he's just not going to seriously invest time until the N55's stock potential has been reached (which we're very far from). Active Autowerke has a fairly credible track record, so if they are going to acknowledge & agree that the N55 has a lot of undiscovered potential to be a more powerful car, they're onto something. So I'm gonna use some of my own logic (for high HP: 1 snail > 2 snails) and listen to AA, I think the N55's day is coming. Once the N54 single-turbo kit has been nailed down, an upgraded N55 will come right after.

[jagdeepj123]

Eventually an upgraded N55 turbo will come out and, at a stroke, the N55 will be the engine to have.
It'll be cheaper and easier than replacing two turbos on the N54, and you gotta upgrade the turbos to make serious power on these engines.
If I was taking a long-term view for modding, I'd go N55.
People are hailing the single turbo N54 conversion for serious power; why not start with single turbo N55 in the first place??
Plus Valvetronic on N55 is new compared with N54, maybe that has tuning benefits too...

[benzy89]

Originally Posted by jagdeepj123

Eventually an upgraded N55 turbo will come out and, at a stroke, the N55 will be the engine to have.
If I was taking a long-term view for modding, I'd go N55.
People are hailing the single turbo N54 conversion for serious power; why not start with single turbo N55 in the first place??
Plus Valvetronic on N55 is new compared with N54, maybe that has tuning benefits too...

+1, OP that's wat its going to come down to: Go with the N54 if you lack patience & aren't planning on holding onto the car long term. Go with the N55 if you want a motor that stock, has greater reliability & greater potential (this is coming from a N54 owner).

Ironically enough, the Valvetronic in the N55 is what's been getting in the way of exposing the unhinged power in that motor.

[Blubaron79]

Originally Posted by E90Company

N54. Sounds better, looks better, performs better.

Whenever I had a N55 loaner, I always though it sounded better.

[PR3CI5N]

100% don't get a N55. Why do you think BMW put the N54 in the 1M? Cause it's a better engine and adapts much better to mods.

[E90Company]

Originally Posted by PR3CI5N

100% don't get a N55. Why do you think BMW put the N54 in the 1M? Cause it's a better engine and adapts much better to mods.

+1

[Mike@N54Tuning.com]

Always remember that one super large turbo will have huge turbo lag at lower RPMs. I am sure it will take off like a rocket higher up but day to day driving of the car will seriously suffer IMO.

Mike

[Alessandro]

+1000 on the N54 i had it in my old and new 3 series

[benzy89]

Originally Posted by PR3CI5N

100% don't get a N55. Why do you think BMW put the N54 in the 1M? Cause it's a better engine and adapts much better to mods.

Awful logic. The N54 that was in the 1M (discontinued) got 335 HP/332 TQ, the N54 (still) in the 335is gets 320 HP/330 TQ. This week BMW announced that there will be a 135is, which uses the N55 and will be getting 320 HP/317 HP.

At OEM settings, there is really no huge difference between the output of the upgraded N54 + the upgraded N55. You have to reember that both these engines are running sub-10 PSI from BMW.

AND before anyone says, "well BMW confirmed that the next M3/M4 will have twin-turbos," that's b/c BMW has already pissed enough M-enthusiasts by ditching the naturally aspirated motors (in response to the green movement). Like Mike just acknowledge, while using 1-turbo will give you a ton of power, you're gonna have turbo-lag. By using twin-turbos, like on the N54, BMW has addressed that concern & essentially eliminated low-RPM turbo-lag. This gives the feeling of a naturally-aspirated motor, illustrated in the S63 (X5/X6 ///Ms) and S63Tu (M5/M6).

[CPWINCH]

Originally Posted by Beemw335

N54 has a MUCH cleaner exhaust note, but the n55 sounds much more aggresive.
Besides the cold start, I prefer the n55 exhaust, it only sounds diesel truck'ish on cold starts.
My friend has an n55 with dp and performance exhaust, and its the best sounding car Ive ever heard.

Besides that, tune only n54 is as faster as fbo n55, so i power is your main concern get an n54

not true at all.

i burn my friend with n54 and jb4 with dci. I am fbo N55.
Honest opinion: The n55 is a lot of fun. It doesnt make as much horsepower but has as much or more torque than the N54 with appropriate mods . The n55 sounds better than the n54. but of course the n54 will respond to mods better. It depends what you are looking for, extreme speed or a torquey fun everyday driver. I dont regret my n55 at all