[tim_s]

Thought I'd give a quick update. I realised I've done something that I try not to do and not actually reported back on how the various tweaks have worked out for me. So... eibach springs - very happy with them, I'd read that the ride height would be basically factory, that's not the case for me and they have a bit of a drop which is noticeable on country lanes etc around here and speed bumps. Likewise the ride, I was expecting from what I'd read that they'd not really be any tauter than factory and equally compliant, but for me they were tauter and less compliant. I really like them for that though!
Larger rear ARB - brilliant. Makes a surprising difference.
Diff - I've actually now swapped to a 3.46. 3.23 is a good all round ratio, but didn't have a big enough impact for my liking. I got a great deal on a really mint late x1 (same as 130i) diff. I'm really happy with it, the car feels so much more eager, 2nd and 3rd are really punchy, and it makes the car easier to drive in most scenarios as you can be lazier with gears. It does have a bit of an impact on cruising, but nothing that bothers me and fuel consumption still seems great.
The blackline LSD- I'm really happy with it. Much improved traction and you don't see the DSC kicking in at all when pushing on, locks well, is silent. When I drained the oil there wasn't any swarf which I was happy about.
the headlights - so far, not great. They look great, new plastic lenses make the car look newer and the fxx style angel eyes are great, but the cut-off on the low beams seems pretty sharp, the height adjusters seem pretty crap, similarly I can't get the horizontal adjustment as I want it for a rhd car. I'm not sure what I'm going to do about all this as yet but no rush.

Overall I'm enjoying the car much more now.

[0l0dom0l0]

I like the sound of the diff conversion. I do think the standard gearing is just a bit too long!

Do you have anything to report back re the nox changes?

I'm still reluctant to pay £350 for a NOXEM as the reviews are very hit and miss - would rather sort it by adjusting whatever limit in the calibration is triggering the cat aging code.

[Dormermike]

Re gearing, i have an f10 with the 272ps n53 and zf8 gearbox. I've never driven a manual or 6spd auto n53 in an e90 so cant compare, but the extra 2 ratios of the zf8 and the instant throttle response of the n53 make a grear pairing IMO. Would love to try some of the LSD setups discussed above.

[tim_s]

Another little update after having run the 3.46 for a while. First thing to report is that the dme does need adjusting. You could just about get away with 3.23, but with the 3.46 if the gear recognition parameters aren't changed, on my car with ED at least, cruise control didn't work correctly nor the little gear display in the dash. I changed all values by 11% and it seems perfect now. Otherwise I'm pretty happy with 3.46, it feels a bit short at times mainly on the motorway, but overall is good fun and makes the car feel much more alive. It's interesting to note that the car didn't run properly with the gear recognition parameters set to junk (I accidentally flashed some incorrect values on). This actually appears to have led to a few more issues, hopefully only temporary. After having to run the car with that flash on it for a bit due to issues with my flashing rig, having sorted it and returning from a family break this weekend thinking the fuel economy was a bit crap even with my bike on the roof rack, checked fault codes and have 2AEC (nox sensor self diag) along with 2B48 and 49 (mixture). the nox sensor is probably 3-4 years old. I've just reset the codes and adaptation values and will see what that does....

[Donnie2000]

that's strange. I have a 3.38 and cruise control works fine i think and i didn't notice any issue with the little gear display. I'm probably being stupid but what's ED?

[tim_s]

Efficient Dynamics I thought ED was basically the gear display on the dash telling you when to change gear but I might be wrong.
Interesting that yours works ok without correcting the ratios in the dme, with the 3.23 mine was ok, but with the 3.46 it was pretty hit and miss and the ED gear indicator on the dash display was usually wrong. I did a bit of reading when I had the issue and there was some mention of it being an issue with cars with ED and cruise, so the difference might be 325 ED vs 330.

Beyond that, it must also have an impact on fuelling because when I accidentally flashed in junk values (I had a copy/paste hex/dec mess up), transients and light throttle were horrible, so I expect it informs accel enrich.

[Schomosport]

tim_s - as a new member I cannot use PM at present. I have a 330i manifold winging its way to me that I intend to fit to my 525i to bring it up to 530i spec. I have read with interest your posts on reprogramming ECUs using the proper BMW software in preference to using generic map flashes and would like to do the same with mine. This is an old thread, you were offering to flash ECUs in return for a token of appreciation - are you still able to offer this as a 'service'? More than happy to reward realistically! TIA Mark

[Ian_G]

It does seem like the 5 series crowd have turned up late to the party.

I have a 525i N53, and this thread caught my eye a year or so back. Although I have fitted a 3 stage manifold, I've not yet got anywhere with the DME side of things.

I suspect a 330i map won't be a direct for for. 5 series, but any advice or help Tim can give about the binary and check sum changes you made would be very appreciated!

Ian

[Schomosport]

As luck would have it, I bought an E61 530i the day before the 330i manifold I had located turned up which is why it is sitting winking at you all in the classified section!

I did have some conversations last year with Enda at EndTuning.com about the remap approach and his seems similar to that used by Tim_s i.e. the car still sees the map being identified as the original 525i map but the underlying map values are changed to suit fueling the 530i.

Enda also fixed an 530i ECU with a couple of failed injector driver MOSFETS for me, changed all 6 while I waited for what I thought was a very resonable £50. It was worth the 140 mile round trip as it immediately cleared the faulting that was plaguing that particular 530i.

[Ian_G]

Thanks - I might drop them a line then, as they're about half the distance to me than Maptech, up near Grimsby.

[Ian_G]

For what it's worth, I dropped that company a line, and got a very prompt and detailed reply.

They understood the concept of needing the powerclass to match in the various different places, and we're confident of doing it, but there's also some info on diff ratios I need to look into it seems.

I'm still a bit hesitant, as this mod is something that would really need declaring to my insurer, and renewal isn't that far away.

I also would want a dyno run before and after, but can get them locally for about £45 I think.

[camboNZ]

Originally Posted by Schomosport

As luck would have it, I bought an E61 530i the day before the 330i manifold I had located turned up which is why it is sitting winking at you all in the classified section!

I did have some conversations last year with Enda at EndTuning.com about the remap approach and his seems similar to that used by Tim_s i.e. the car still sees the map being identified as the original 525i map but the underlying map values are changed to suit fueling the 530i.

Enda also fixed an 530i ECU with a couple of failed injector driver MOSFETS for me, changed all 6 while I waited for what I thought was a very resonable £50. It was worth the 140 mile round trip as it immediately cleared the faulting that was plaguing that particular 530i.

Hey mate, where did you manage to source the 330i manifold for N53 from? I’m super keen to hunt one down!