I have an E90 335i with an N54, and I've been trying to figure out what the ticking noise was at cold start. It sounded like lifter tick in N52's and had all the same symptoms. This week I just got to the bottom of it and it's not lifter tick at all... It's my Evap Purge valve. This is located behind the intake box (or dci). If you have an N54 and have what you belive to be lifter tick, try unplugging the electrical connector for the evap purge valve while its making the ticking noise and see if it goes away, its only a $100 part!
https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/bmw...id-13907618652