[MenTul]

This is my first post on this forum.

Its my understanding that the 328 motor is essentially a detuned 330. Is it simple bring the 328 motor (230hp) up to 330 (255hp) power levels?

Or even euro 330, 272hp?

ECU flash?
Intake, exhaust?

[BudVlad]

Originally Posted by MenTul

This is my first post on this forum.

Its my understanding that the 328 motor is essentially a detuned 330. Is it simple bring the 328 motor (230hp) up to 330 (255hp) power levels?

Or even euro 330, 272hp?

ECU flash?
Intake, exhaust?

Euro 330 is using N53 engine, US 328 is using N52. The N53 is BMW's 14th generation production straight six engine. It makes use of HPI: High Precision Injection or Direct Injection, which consists of Piëzo-electric injectors directly in the cylinder.
BMW does not plan to put the N53 engine for sale in North American models due to the high sulphur content of the fuel available in these markets.

[JayReplay]

Does anyone know what type of intake manifold the 328i uses? 3 stage like the 330i?

[w00kiec00kie]

328i does not have a 3 stage intake.
You may have better luck searching this forums for people who have tried such conversion though...

[im spencer]

Alot of people think its that easy to get 330-esque numbers. You need the 3 stage intake for any of this to become possible and I believe so far only one member (Willstophe) has this mod or so he says he does since he refuses to show anyone a dyno. So far there are no reliable tunes for our n52 engines, my best recommendation get an intake and an exhaust wait a couple of years for a reliable tune to come out. Patience is a virtue

[MediaHI]

just trade in your 328 for 335 if you want speed. cause unless you invest 20-40k, you wont gain much power from n52.

id just make your car look nice for now.

[nicknaz]

seems like manifold swap only works on E9x 325. by the way, in the track forum it seems like the 330 and 328 are close enough to be a driver's race, so it may not be worth it to modify the drivetrain.

[sim@ecuprogram]

Originally Posted by im spencer

Alot of people think its that easy to get 330-esque numbers. You need the 3 stage intake for any of this to become possible and I believe so far only one member (Willstophe) has this mod or so he says he does since he refuses to show anyone a dyno. So far there are no reliable tunes for our n52 engines, my best recommendation get an intake and an exhaust wait a couple of years for a reliable tune to come out. Patience is a virtue

totally agree

[MenTul]

Wow.

What a great forum with everyone contributing their input so quickly!

I think I'll stick around.

PS.. I really like Spencer's rims. What are they? How much lip? R they staggered?

[mike-y]

I have a 330 manifold, but like others have said, I'm going to wait until there is some more reliable information. I'm pretty sure it's possible, given that all the part numbers on the engine for both the 325 and 330 are the same, except for the intake manifold. The key is being able to change the valvtronic and vanos programming on the 325. One of the vendors is supposed to be releasing an ecu flash for the 325/330 shortly, so maybe then I'll be able to do something with this. If someone did figure out how to edit the valvtronic programming, then you could get decent gains even without swapping the manifold.

I only wish there was something like Hondata for bmws. Bar none, one of the best custom tuning editors I've ever seen for a factory computer.

[im spencer]

My wheels are LM replicas by Exclusive alloy. No step lip but the reverse lip. 19x8.5 in the front and 19x10.5 in the rears. I have about a 3.5 inch lip in the rear and 1.5 lip in the front. Hope this helps

[TommyK]

i talked to the head mechanic at the dealership about this and he said its REALLY hard and close to imposible due to computer modifications and programing, pluss the ecu are ment for the two different cars. even though there suposedly only one part difference he said that each car is different and they are made to do differenth things. and example is the exhaust, even though they appear to be the same the 330 will be louder do to the way that they have change the way the muffler resonates the sound. he said for the 328 and 325 bmw really wanted a difference between thoes models and the 330 and the 335. if there wasnt then everyone would get the cheaper one and just mod it.

[mike-y]

Well, Turner Motorsports has already done it, so we know it's possible.

[MenTul]

Originally Posted by TommyK

i talked to the head mechanic at the dealership about this and he said its REALLY hard and close to imposible .

I wouldn't take the dealership tech as a credible source for mod information. Many dealerships use the slightest excuse to void your warrantee. Replace the factory speakers and somehow you've blown the ECU! (and other BS fables told by dealers). And the dealer is always interested in selling you the more expensive car.

Florida is the armpit of the sun in summer. Heatsoak in turbo cars is a real problem (how much can an intercooler cool when its 100 degrees ambient, and 130 degrees on the tarmac). Street turbos do not compare to well tuned all motor in this weather.

[machine]

how come BMW put a stop to the 330 and moved to the 328?

I have the SULEV 328, which sucks even more.

[BudVlad]

Originally Posted by machine

how come BMW put a stop to the 330 and moved to the 328?

I guess the reason is to distinguish 330 with N53 engine from 328 with N52 engine.
335 is not as popular in Europe because there isn’t as much difference in performance as in US 328 and 335.
330 has 34 hp less than 335 but is 55 kg (121 lb) lighter and the engine is more reliable than the turbocharged engine.

[bavarian19]

its probably not worth the effort and money to upgrade from 325/328 to the 330 power levels

[Bimmer Al]

Originally Posted by bavarian19

its probably not worth the effort and money to upgrade from 325/328 to the 330 power levels

Just buy a 330...cheaper than a mod

[shift330]

If you're not happy with 328 power levels, 330i power levels won't make much difference.

[Schm]

Yeah, I've got a 330 and I've driven a 328i. The difference is not really noticeable. Just debadge it and pretend.

The biggest game changer-Manual Transmission. Always opt for the stick.

[Willstophe]

Originally Posted by J3Yer

Does anyone know what type of intake manifold the 328i uses? 3 stage like the 330i?

I have the 3-stage intake manifold with stage I 330i software. However, I believe Riss Racing is trying to crack the 328i and make the 3-stage intake manifold conversion availible for your car.

[w00kiec00kie]

Originally Posted by Willstophe

I have the 3-stage intake manifold with stage I 330i software. However, I believe Riss Racing is trying to crack the 328i and make the 3-stage intake manifold conversion availible for your car.

This development from Riss Racing might be pretty interesting...
not to mention they're local to me