[e90_enjoyer]

Hi, I've been getting codes 2AAB and 2AAC sporadically over the past few months. I had a shop look at the manifold a few months back and they mentioned the DISA valves seemed okay (physically) so I'm not super worried they're going to break. But with the codes appearing I'm assuming they're caked in oil and become slow, or the motor has gone bad (I can't hear them activate using my Foxwell scanner).

I've seen a few threads where people had very early issues with Vaico and Rein units but I can't imagine FCP still selling these with so many complaints, I feel like it may have just been a bad batch. They all seem to come from the same factory, at least most of them do.

I don't really want to pony up the $6-700 a set of OEM valves cost, for a motor and a flap lol.

Has anyone had any *good* experiences with Vaico, Rein, or other brands? FEBI/Bilstein, BavAuto also sell units for cheaper, as well as Beck/Arnley and URO on RockAuto, though I'm not sure how much I trust those. I'm avoiding no-name Amazon brands for sure.

[Leucosticte]

So for my DISA valves I went genuine BMW for the small one and URO parts for the large one, with the understanding that if something happened to the large DISA valve then it'll be super easy to just pop a new one in.

[WrenchesOnJunk]

Not sure what you ended up going with, but after doing some research, it seems like the Vaico ones end up failing with the actuator, and I haven't seen much/any evidence that the flap breaks commonly (don't take my word on that though). With that in mind, I opted to get the Vaico ones from FCP Euro and just use their lifetime replacement if they go bad. The small flap is a bit of a pain to get at, but not the end of the world to replace in the future if needed. Mine should be arriving early next week, and I hope to have them installed prior to the following weekend.

[Suvorovo]

Just get the OEM ones, you have a BMW so use quality parts... There's always a risk with aftermarket flaps grenading and the pin falling into the engine. Although rare. You can get away with using stuff that doesn't matter like aftermarket hoses or bolts.

[beverage]

It's just a BMW...Using an OE parts manufacturer is just as good without the "BMW" logo premium. Just don't go for the cheap crap.

[N52gettin_sideways]

Anyone try the DISA valves from ECS Tuning? They bought Bav Auto who makes the valves.

[Papa Popov]

Went with Rein when I did the 3IM swap at the end of last year. Recently started getting an intermittent buzzing sound after shutting off the car that seems to be coming from the small valve. Haven't any codes or noticed power loss, but just throwing that out there. In hindsight I should've gone with a genuine small valve.

[mike5124]

Been running Vaico DISAs for about a year now, no complaints or issues, the actuators issues are probably from not enough lubrication due to QC, as seen on the Vaico DISA thread.

Here's a video of mine when I was testing them, if they sound like this they should be good:

[mike5124]

Originally Posted by beverage

It's just a BMW...Using an OE parts manufacturer is just as good without the "BMW" logo premium. Just don't go for the cheap crap.

There's no OE DISAs afaik. Mahle manufactures the Genuine BMW DISAs but they don't sell them on their own.

[The Nightman]

Sucks that there still aren't any decent alternatives. I installed an oil catch can to hopefully minimize oil in the intake and expensive Mahle valves.

[blackknight]

Originally Posted by The Nightman

Sucks that there still aren't any decent alternatives. I installed an oil catch can to hopefully minimize oil in the intake and expensive Mahle valves.

can you share how you installed your oil catch

did you install it after the PCV or before the PCV?

[The Nightman]

Originally Posted by blackknight

can you share how you installed your oil catch

did you install it after the PCV or before the PCV?

https://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1748288