So the last few days have been really hectic for me. I have managed to do a few major mods to my car.
Some bad news first. You will see some pictures below of a front splitter fitted to my car and some without. The reason why i took it off was that a piece of it just ripped off when i was doing 80mph on the M1 today. It was only on for about a week!!! I guess that shows you the quality of a certain shop’s products. I will be contacting them for a full or part refund. I will refrain from naming and shaming until they have had the opportunity to resolve this. It is a real shame as i really liked the splitter.
Anyways on to the good stuff. So i recently decided to change my wheels, i wanted more of a CSL type look. I browsed online and instantly fell in love with the Ispiri ISR10 wheels that CM Wheels offer. I wasn’t sure on the colour though. My car is SGM. I though black would look too aggressive, matt graphite would look the same as the car, which left silver. It looked a bit bright in the photos, but to be honest i was in love with the design to care that much. The concave is ridiculous on the rear. Might also try and get some BMW centre caps, the standard ones won't fit but Chris did say some people managed to do it.
Mind the dirty car pics, has been to Scotland and back and no time for a wash!
The silver probably won’t be to everyone’s taste, they definitely look a lot more shiny in the photos. In person the shine is a sort of dark shine if that makes sense. I absolutely love these wheels, but half of my mind says refurb in a year or two to a different colour perhaps... really 50/50 for me.
Chris at CM Wheels gave me a competitive price and service was excellent as usual! Highly recommended!
Before i got the wheels on i did another mod. Up to now handling wise i have put Ohlins coilovers on and non RFT PSS tyres. Power wise nothing, completely stock.
I wanted to start increasing the stock power of the 335D and really unleashing the monster within. To do that i had to achieve very high power gains but i was concerned/confused about the different ways to get there. I was also concerned about the transmission as it’s rated at 700NM. I knew i had to get a DPF delete and remap to achieve around 350-380bhp, and i would have probably been happy with that....and richer.
So early on i decided that whatever i do, i wanted to get a DPF replacement pipe, and the pipe that Stan from Ecotune has looked great. I am not too concerned about MOT time as i am reading about people with this pipe passing the MOT. Also on my last MOT the tester wrote an advisory stating that the DPF was covered by an engine cover, which is correct. All of this pipe is covered. I also thought a consistent diameter pipe would be a lot better for consistency in pressure, as i’m sure a big hollow box (when gutting the DPF) will cause some pressure variances.
But then something happened that has caused me to spend a lot of money. I saw the Ecotune Stage 3 package on their website, and the dyno graph on the highest power Ecotune has ever got was 416.9bhp and 602.5ft.lbs. The package includes 2 Turbo Dynamics hybrid turbos, DPF delete pipe with a Sports Cat (to help with smell and emissions), Wagner intercooler and a custom remap.
This immediately grabbed my attention and i spent the next few weeks reading up tons of threads. In the end i decided that i will take the risk of running this high power and put my trust in Stan, as he has designed this whole package together, i.e the remap has been designed, tested, retested on these hardware upgrades.
So i then booked myself in with Stan for the Stage 3 upgrade
I also had a few other bits and pieces done: PMW Swirl flap blanks, EGR delete and breather valve change. An oil/coolant change came with the package.
I decided quite early on that considering the level of investment, it would be worth travelling to Glasgow and staying a night up there while the people who designed the stuff can also fit it. So that’s what i did.
The journey up there was very nice, especially after Lockerbie. The scenery was beautiful.
Got there for 9.30am and met the staff. They were all very helpful and made me feel at home straight away. My check in was at 3pm so i waited until then and Stan very kindly offered to drop me off to my hotel, even though he was extremely busy with meetings. I found this very surprising and goes to show how Ecotune go the extra mile.
So the first pic here is Alfie. He kept me company whilst i was there and was a really friendly dog. I had first row seats and from the sofa i could see directly under the car!
The new hybrid turbos!!!
Old stock 335D intercooler:
Wagner Intercooler:
DPF and DPF delete pipe with sports cat:
I think the following pics are first the stock large turbo, and then the hybrid one:
The guys mentioned how clean my engine was, which was a nice suprise!
Small turbo area:
Taken off:
Hybrid one:
Stock swirl flaps, which btw Stan said some were leaking so good job!
PMW swirl blanks:
Fitted:
Hardware all done. Took about a day and a half of hard labour. I could see everything they were doing and even went out a couple of times to have a chat with the lads.
So now all the hardware and bits and bobs were done. I was buzzing and hoping that my car would make 400bhp, as after all of that investment it would be a shame if it didn’t! But Stan said he hasn’t done one that hasn’t so gave me some confidence!
Car ready and eagerly awaiting to go on the Dyno for the first stock run.
We didn’t do a run completely stock as it would have caused the job to take even longer, as a dyno run isn’t that quick and things need to be cooled down before stripping etc. So the stock result is basically completely stock software, but hardware all upgraded. Stan told me usually less than stock (286bhp), but it varies car by car. We were expecting 260-280bhp. First run done and it produced 316.4bhp 482.4ft.lbs!
At this time Stan came to me and said it was the highest ever he has had on a Stage 3, and the amount of low end torque was very high compared to other stage 3s he has done. I was buzzing again, and i could tell Stan was too, he mentioned it may break the record of 416.9bhp. This got me really nervous.
I then sat down and Stan spent a while doing runs and working on the calibration. Then he came in and handed me the print out. My car got 422.7bhp and 618.1ft.lbs!!!! He even said on one of the runs the low down torque was too high so that had to be turned down a touch. I couldn’t believe it, my car now has the record at Ecotune
But it gets even better than that. Not only my car achieved better peak power, the curve was also a lot more impressive. Below was the record previously:
This is mine:
A couple of points.
At 1.5k rpm the previous record got 355-360ft.lbs and about 100bhp. Mine is 500ft.lbs and about 140-145bhp at 1500rpm.
You can also see how the bhp of mine from 3.5k rpm stays above 400bhp even past 4.5k rpm, great for the track i suspect. The previous gets below 400bhp at around 4.3k. And it really does pull hard all the way to the end!
For an additional charge Stan provided me with a handheld touchscreen flash device called the iFlash:
It has been loaded with 3 maps. First is the max power map above. Then there’s an Eco map (roughly 350bhp), and then a “valet” mode which is stock power (290bhp). It is very easy to use and you can swap the maps whenever you want, just have to plug it into the OBD port. It also reads codes, and in a future update, will show engine parameters. Also the absolute original file before anything was done is on there as well. Plan is to use the Eco map for driving to work and the performance one all the rest of the time!
So, was it worth it?
Stan took it for a quick test drive after the run with me in the passenger seat. Even pulling out of the car park i could feel how much more grunt it had. Then he put his foot down. Fuck me!! My body immediately stiffened up and i was slammed against my seat. What the hell was happening?? I admit i was a bit scared at that point! This is probably going to sound over dramatic but it felt like i was flying, and when i got out of the car it was like coming back to Earth
It was pretty dry at the time, but you could feel the rear was much more lively in the first 3 gears. Then he stopped and said you drive by yourself, and obviously i took him up on that!
I drove around the local roads for a good 10 minutes, which are perfect for this. Long long straights and 90 degree bends. First time i put my foot down i was amazed. It just pulls and pulls and pulls and pulls all the way to the top of the rev range, which is to be expected looking at the dyno print out. I said to Stan it reminded me of someone taming a bull. You really do need to control the throttle to manage traction! I could also feel the rear really could do with stiffer subframe bushes, maybe solid aluminium, and definitely and LSD! But my god she is an absolute crazy monster! Feels like i’m in a plane and i am not exaggerating!
Stan was also impressed with how it felt and likened it to a Stage 3 Golf R.
I went sleep that night and woke up thinking did all of that really happen or was it a dream?
On the motorway it is a beast. It was raining hard when i left Glasgow so i didn’t want to risk anything seeing how different the car is, and i was nowhere near used to it. However i did manage to flash the DTC light at 90mph in 4th gear in the rain. Also, the acceleration from 70mph-100 (didn’t want to risk anything going past that) is brutal (running out of adjectives here).
The exhaust noise is much better at idle, and gets a bit louder when you give it some. Not very loud so it’s still civil. When i boot it, there are puffs of smoke that come out, but i was expecting that after seeing countless of youtube videos. There’s also a bit of turbo whistle, not a lot as i still have all the back boxes in place. Also, quite surprisingly, the engine sounds a lot deeper and louder when giving it some. Did not expect this!
I would love to race an M3 now. The guys at Ecotune said i would blow them out of the water, but i will have to see that with my own eyes.
Will definitely need to take it to a track now. It has become a truly dangerous machine on roads now. Insurance has also gone up, but i expected that. BMW warranty will be cancelled soon! I have probably taken a calculated risk with this mod. It gives me a bit of peace and mind that all the ones he has done are still up and running, so fingers crossed!
I also achieved 48.7mpg from Sheffield to Northampton. From Northampton to Sheffield on the way there i got 42mpg. Both times i was cruising at 70mph or 50mph. And that's on the Power map, will be interesting to see what it's like on the Eco map. I will also do some 0-60, 50-100 times using the torque app. Stock power really feels slow now.
Just want to say the service i received at Ecotune was second to none. Everyone made me feel at home and catered for all my needs, and took their time when i asked anything i wasn’t sure on. I am really happy with what they have done to my car. I just hope i don't lose my license.