[Peachey]

I recently purchased a 2010 335xi with 100k miles on it. Engine is in good condition for the age. I want to apply the 500 hp burger motorsports kit for the n54 but— is it financially wise? I’m not sure if my car is considered to old to put money into it. Some people told me that this will put strain on the engine and kill it quickly due to the miles… Please leave educated opinions!

[CarAbuser]

Tuning it is a good idea, but not with anything from Burger. That kit is just a load of junk parts and a sketchy piggyback device.

Before tuning just do some maintenance, fresh stock plugs and coils as a minimum.

One that is done go with MHD for tuning then get a CSF intercooler. If you live in a state where they allow 2 monitors to be incomplete then also get some catless downpipes.

[335i54n]

Tuning a car is never financially wise, but unlike old days, very good power gains can be had. There is no real strain on the engine, but as you add a lot of horsepower and torque, you definitely shorten certain lifespans and have less headroom for mistakes of parts, and what felt fine stock, tuned will accentuate parts that were already wearing down (injectors).

MHD, intercooler, charge pipe upgrade. kind of iffy around 100k if maint not top notch, as cooling systems, fans, LPFP, and other normal wear items also wear down normally.


coil condition, what age and index are your injectors? stock boost You may not notice issues, but at >x2 boost may lead to hiccups, misfires, etc.

[oVeRdOsE.]

modding is for fun, a hobby, and like most hobbies it's not an investment.

- do the big maintenance item on the n54, its very well documented.

- then you can start gradually. MHD OTS maps are well known, and probably the most flash-it n' forget it tune on the market. Price are reasonable.


- BMS stuff, only used, new too expensive for what it is . It's good, lot of people talk shit about it, because it's so easy to mess up. also, even if it's good, now there's better option on the market. yes this is surprising for a aging platform.
Other big cons, there's a lack of support. They could have dodge that with clear guides or dummy proof app, sad.
Also JB4 is a piggyback, slower time response. It's valuable if you use it with a MHD flash (back end flash) on a custom built, other than that, if you want to daily, and not mess around , on FBO parts, go with a simple flash, no jb4.

- people are right if you do the ''500hp kit'' you'll probably end up with engine codes, limp mode and miss fire if your engine got stock parts from 2010. Does not mean it will grenade itselft, but might put a big hole in your pocket , especially if the injectors are done.


is it worth it?! 100%. having a solid L6, on a luxury sedan , that has the potential to drop 600whp fairly easily, and that under 15k $. Its a solid ricerzzz killer

[dmckmc]

I own both JB4 and MHD. MHD is an easier set up and you will quickly want a flash tune/custom tune so you'll need MHD anyway. Get the monitoring package with MHD. I use the JB4 mobile for Bluetooth monitoring to a small tablet. The JB4 can control port injection if you go that route and I do like the BMS hardware items (charge pipes, DCI, etc).


Basics I've learned with 6+ years of ownership of N54 and FBO:

Maintenance before mods. Mods will exacerbate existing problems. Get the
car running great and fix all the leaks then mod. Expect problems once modded (misfire, various codes etc). This forum can help you sort it all out with proper logging.

Power/results for dollars spent in order (my opinion):

*Tunes - MHD or JB4 + Flash/ecu tune specific for your set up. XHP for auto transmission is terrific.

*Ethanol. Ethanol is easy and if you add an ethanol tune = WoW!

*Everything to support/push the tunes, the fuel and the fast (charge pipe, BOV, exhaust, fuel pumps, suspension, tires, meth, and on and on)


Mod, Log, Adjust, Repair and Repeat until next paycheck.

[oVeRdOsE.]

Originally Posted by dmckmc

I own both JB4 and MHD. MHD is an easier set up and you will quickly want a flash tune/custom tune so you'll need MHD anyway. Get the monitoring package with MHD. I use the JB4 mobile for Bluetooth monitoring to a small tablet. The JB4 can control port injection if you go that route and I do like the BMS hardware items (charge pipes, DCI, etc).


Basics I've learned with 6+ years of ownership of N54 and FBO:

Maintenance before mods. Mods will exacerbate existing problems. Get the
car running great and fix all the leaks then mod. Expect problems once modded (misfire, various codes etc). This forum can help you sort it all out with proper logging.

Power/results for dollars spent in order (my opinion):

*Tunes - MHD or JB4 + Flash/ecu tune specific for your set up. XHP for auto transmission is terrific.

*Ethanol. Ethanol is easy and if you add an ethanol tune = WoW!

*Everything to support/push the tunes, the fuel and the fast (charge pipe, BOV, exhaust, fuel pumps, suspension, tires, meth, and on and on)


Mod, Log, Adjust, Repair and Repeat until next paycheck.

so you're using JB4 on map 0 ?

MHD monitoring pack require wifi, which breaks my hotspot for the CIC.

So I'm using JB4 gen 5 connect , and also tune a custom map on map8 + meth on the single turbo firmware + BEF single turbo pump gas.

Pros JB4: bluetooth (over wifi), free BEF map, free street tune, meth and port injection control, few safety feature that is nice, you still can use MHD options (burble, antilag, rpm, cold startup, single bank fueling, etc), cheaper than full mhd package.

Cons : piggyback (slower), some settings are mislabel or not in use anymore, some base settings from JB4tech forums are outdated, so it you use it, youll have issues (i.e. tmap , meth, transmisison, etc), easy to mess up, not dummy proof, no clear guides for newbies, way more point of faillure (wiring, controls, heat, etc), low to no support, most ''tuners'' wont touch it.


''' Mod, Log, Adjust, Repair and Repeat until next paycheck.'''' This is the spirit, and this is so much fun.

[Peachey]

Hey, I read all of the responses so far. Thank you all so much for your time! What i’ve taken away from this so far is that:

-Flash tune (MHD) is superior to JB4, so there is no need for the 500hp kit BECAUSE i don’t need the JB4 and it’s better to buy the bolt on parts used

-I also need to make sure the injectors, coils, and plugs are 100% before i flash tune

What i really liked about the jb4 was the map 5 option which auto-tunes your car based on which parts you have added.

“I would like to do cold air intake, charge pipe, BOV, intercooler, racing spark plugs, and fuel pump”

With all these bolt ons, is mhd still superior to jb4?

I live in central pennsylvania. How do i go about getting catless downpipes? It’s illegal everywhere but I heard i can pass inspection at certain places and never get in trouble

[CarAbuser]

Originally Posted by Peachey

Hey, I read all of the responses so far. Thank you all so much for your time! What i’ve taken away from this so far is that:

-Flash tune (MHD) is superior to JB4, so there is no need for the 500hp kit BECAUSE i don’t need the JB4 and it’s better to buy the bolt on parts used

-I also need to make sure the injectors, coils, and plugs are 100% before i flash tune

What i really liked about the jb4 was the map 5 option which auto-tunes your car based on which parts you have added.

“I would like to do cold air intake, charge pipe, BOV, intercooler, racing spark plugs, and fuel pump”

With all these bolt ons, is mhd still superior to jb4?

I live in central pennsylvania. How do i go about getting catless downpipes? It’s illegal everywhere but I heard i can pass inspection at certain places and never get in trouble

Most of things that tuning outlets will sell you are worthless. They make way more money on non-functional engine bay bling as it costs nothing to produce so the margins are high. That entire Burger 500hp kit boils down to pointless bling, a cheap intercooler and a low quality piggyback tune for $1500.

The car already has a cold air intake, no need to change that unless you are upgrading to some big turbo(s) that are restricted by the air intake (stock turbos certainly aren't). The standard 3-prong spark plugs are absolutely fine and perform better than the single electrode options that most people seem to use (up to 600whp+). The standard ignition coils are also fine (again, up until 600whp+).

If you're just wanting maximum easy power without breaking things then the only power adders adders you need are an intercooler and downpipes. A chargepipe is recommended because the stock one is a common failure point but there's no reason to use anything other than the stock diverter valves as there is absolutely no benefit to changing them.

The intercooler in that Burger kit is a low quality and will struggle to keep up with a stage2 tune. I actually have one on the floor of my garage after I made the mistake of buying one early on. It's shiny, but it's not very good at cooling air.

You can get away with catless downpipes in PA as I think they allow 1 monitor to be incomplete which should just be the catalyst monitor. But it's up to you if you want the hassle or not. Personally I think catless downpipes are a must as it adds an extra 30hp~ and helps the turbos spool a load faster.

Realistically you'll be around 340whp without catless downpipes and a good intercooler with the MHD stage1+ tune and maybe 370whp with the stage2+. If you have access to Ethanol then you can run the more aggressive Ethanol maps and pick up an extra 30hp. This is all relatively safe, there is more power available with custom tunes but you get into the land of diminishing returns on the stock turbos.

[oVeRdOsE.]

Originally Posted by Peachey

Hey, I read all of the responses so far. Thank you all so much for your time! What i’ve taken away from this so far is that:

-Flash tune (MHD) is superior to JB4, so there is no need for the 500hp kit BECAUSE i don’t need the JB4 and it’s better to buy the bolt on parts used

-I also need to make sure the injectors, coils, and plugs are 100% before i flash tune

What i really liked about the jb4 was the map 5 option which auto-tunes your car based on which parts you have added.

“I would like to do cold air intake, charge pipe, BOV, intercooler, racing spark plugs, and fuel pump”

With all these bolt ons, is mhd still superior to jb4?

I live in central pennsylvania. How do i go about getting catless downpipes? It’s illegal everywhere but I heard i can pass inspection at certain places and never get in trouble

flash is superiors for sure, so yes mhd is better, and if you have issues, you can mostlikely eleminate the tune when using mhd, it's been proven.

however, hundred of people running jb4 no issue. keep in mind you wont get all the potential and can bring single point of failure.

in my case, this was the cheapest and somewhat the only ''popular'' option for a single turbo swap back then. Now you have more choices, like reflex.


you dont ''need'' to do injectors, coils, and plugs, but those are critical item.
Ill go for eldor coils, index12 or even 11 injectors, and 1 step colder NGK sparkplug. Also like mentioned, metal charge pipe.

for the charge pipe, check your future goals. You can have charge pipe to fit the 2 diverter valves (25mm each) or a single port for a standard blowoff.
I have a dual port charge pipe, I was able to reuse it with a BOV, but had to get a 25mm BOV and plug the other port.

Open air filters is only for sound, if you want better option, a Momentum box from AFE is a nice option, I liked it. It use the fresh air original ducting.

[Peachey]

Okay so definitely no kit… I need

-High flow catless downpipes
-Quality aftermarket intercooler
-Mhd flash tune
-a better fuel pump?

I really like the idea of running e85, but apparently I need a better pump for it since e85 takes up 40% more volume to make the same power as 93 oct. To get 30 more hp, i would need a MHD ethanol tune+ a better pump to support it right?

[Peachey]

As well, I will be getting a dual cone intake and aluminum charge pipe + Tial bov because it plastic ones fail, I like bov over diverter for athletics, and cant go wrong with intake

[335i54n]

imo

mhd, 5 csf is ok but hot weather and >stage 2=7.5 better, dp
e30/e50 is ok if oem pump newer (log log log) but not e50 long term
dci >stage 2 or like the sound
cp with bov to ur liking
eldor coils, 1 step colder plug and gapped= than any future hiccup you can rule out ignition sys
cash reserve for injectors, trans tune/service

[Peachey]

Thanks for your help @335i54n and @[oVeRdOsE!! I’m only 17 and and new to the whole thing. I’ve done a fair bit of research but you both have helped me out for sure. i’ll start saving and begin the process ASAP. Thanks again for the advice guys💯

[335i54n]

^gl, if you go through the N54 FBO gauntlet, maintenance and DD it, you can do anything.

All the install and DIY videos are all over YouTube and very helpful.

Also, suspension should not be forgotten

[oVeRdOsE.]

Originally Posted by 335i54n

^gl, if you go through the N54 FBO gauntlet, maintenance and DD it, you can do anything.

All the install and DIY videos are all over YouTube and very helpful.

Also, suspension should not be forgotten

fbo he should have fun for a 17yo

and we need to mention ; avoid crackle and pops, I know this can be fun, but on stock twins, you wont last long.

Indeed , tons of video and DIY online, there's probably more modded n54 than stock one on the road

suspension is a great debate. Active german shop owners locally will tell you that audi and bmw OEM handling is so good, you dont touch it on a daily, it does not worth the effort, money and risk to fckup something.

i sold my KW to go OEM, and still can take curves at same speed and the high speed handling still fine for a mexico run. I refresh the suspension , and add some wider and stickier tires.

[Quick335XI]

I been through it all, and have had two N54 so listen to me please.

N54 is a STRONG, solid motor capable of a good 300k miles. They’re TOUGH with a lot of forged internals.

GO FOR IT. I’d do fbo and mhd custom tune. Downpipes callers of course. PM ‘e if you need details and ky YouTube is on here. It’s been a long road for me but I learned a lot and my car is a beast at this point. I wouldn’t trade ky 335 for any other car (ok maybe 911 turbo lol)

[Peachey]

Agh can’t Pm you since this is a brand new account.

For sure though. You have insta? Wouldn’t mind checking out your Bimmer Thanks again

[Podunk]

i have 184K miles and went stage 1+, but car had hard pipe for cold side, aftermarket FMIC, VRSF race exhaust, and i verified fuel pressures under WOT before throwing the tune at it. ( 2600-1800 at max RPM PSI under WOT in boost HPFP and over 60 PSI on LPFP, STFT's and LTFT also looked good.) i also did replacement items like air filters, and VANOS solenoids and added a crank seal guard.

waiting to get ti back from body after i got rear ended to put on new aluminum valve cover with vargas PCV guts in the bremmen PCV that came with the aluminum valve cover, and also have an aluminum PCV cap cause the VTTO PCV didn't want to fit in the bore and i kinda didn't notice it until after it pulled the threads off the plastic cap trying to reinstall ( ECS needs to check PCV fitment before shipping, i've already emailed them about this issue as well), and the bremmen PCV leaked air like nobodies business, so i pulled the little end cap cap off the VTTO PCV pulled out the guts, stuck them in the bremmen PCV after pulling off it's cap, and put the VTTO cap on the bremmen PCV.. sometimes solutions require unorthodox methods.

Point is, make sure maintenance is done, and fueling and turbo parts are good before you go throwing a tune at it, otherwise you're going to get issues.

as for other systems to control p[ort injection, Motiv Reflex is an option, and it integrates into the CANBUS, and is plug and play for ethanol content analyzers and can be tuned/flashed with the MHD program. the MHD program also has a multi tune feature to simulate the JB4 multimap tune without the JB4.. Literally the only benefit of the JB4 is bluetooth monitoring.

and E85 takes 30-35% more fuel because it has approximately that much LESS BTU per volume. the interesting thing with E 85 is the fact you run more timing for a more complete burn before the exhaust valve opens, the flame speed of E is faster, but with 30-35% more fuel, it takes longer for a complete burn. ( i dug into the formulas for this when i had an SRT4) and of course more advance=more power

for E the question becomes what are your power goals? dependign on that will direct you which stage LPFP to get. stage 2-2.5 or stage 3. or even dual bucketless walbro 450's??

[Podunk]

Originally Posted by Quick335XI

I been through it all, and have had two N54 so listen to me please.

N54 is a STRONG, solid motor capable of a good 300k miles. They’re TOUGH with a lot of forged internals.

GO FOR IT. I’d do fbo and mhd custom tune. Downpipes callers of course. PM ‘e if you need details and ky YouTube is on here. It’s been a long road for me but I learned a lot and my car is a beast at this point. I wouldn’t trade ky 335 for any other car (ok maybe 911 turbo lol)

i'd trade it for a porsche GT3 RS.. wife wouldn't be happy, but then again she'd never see me, cause i'd be bankrupt and broke from the fuel costs driving it all the time.

or maybe a 340i or 540i with a B58 and unlocked DME..

[oVeRdOsE.]

I would trade for a GT3 for sure.

Next car in few years, would be an R8 V10 6mt. (or the V8 if Im too poor)


But now, I can't see what I can have on the market power/reliable/practical wise.

a 6mt , awd, low mileage, wagon with 600bhp, is all I can dream of.

Ultimate car for me would be a F31 m pack orange ext with a B58 6mt swap.

[Peachey]

Guys I just bought catless downpipes! I told my friends at school and they said i’m gonna get caught and fined

Is this true? I really want the power but not if they fine me. What are the risks to this? And how often do people do this/ get in trouble?

[oVeRdOsE.]

Originally Posted by Peachey

Guys I just bought catless downpipes! I told my friends at school and they said i’m gonna get caught and fined

Is this true? I really want the power but not if they fine me. What are the risks to this? And how often do people do this/ get in trouble?

depends of your state laws.

- do you have smog test or thecnical control ? if yes, can fail
- if you keep the secondary cats , the smell will be OK, so cops wont pull you over for un-catted smell, Cop can't really check on the spot, its hidden.

At the end, removing catalytic converters is illegal in most places, for a reason... This is a risk a lot of people are taking, and only few got issues.

Other issue you might have is O2 error codes, can be fixed with a adapter or coding.

Catted downpipes are safer, you'll get same power +/- , and safer legally wise. but more expensive.