[Volasko]

I've been enjoying my 330i for almost 10 years. I'm nearly at 300k km's and it still runs like a dream. Now I have maintained it very pro-actively so that is to be expected. Check my garage for mod details, I've done most of the main bolt on options available for the N52 except the MILVS and headers. What I'm looking for maybe a little push from the forums about HOW noticeable these items are with respect to performance. People who have done these items either on their own or together, how happy are you with the gains?

[Biginboca]

Originally Posted by Volasko

I've been enjoying my 330i for almost 10 years. I'm nearly at 300k km's and it still runs like a dream. Now I have maintained it very pro-actively so that is to be expected. Check my garage for mod details, I've done most of the main bolt on options available for the N52 except the MILVS and headers. What I'm looking for maybe a little push from the forums about HOW noticeable these items are with respect to performance. People who have done these items either on their own or together, how happy are you with the gains?

Catless headers and MILV’s together would be like 25whp, maybe even 30whp depending on what you do for your tune also. So it’s 10% more power. You will notice it and to me it’s worth it, especially since you get that boost with no downside as far as added maintenance, lower gas mileage, or affecting engine longevity. It’s not often you get a gain like that with no downsides (besides the buy in).

[The Nightman]

I can only speak for headers but they are well worth the effort, especially since ON no longer has emissions testing. I have Maple Ridge catless "headers" and a broken Bimmerlabs tune but I am still very happy. Increase in power across the entire range and the engine is much more responsive after it adapted. I had to relearn how to drive again due to how quickly the car accelerated. Proper headers and a tune would yield ~240whp ~225 wtq:


https://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1441332

[bluewater328]

Originally Posted by freedomfries

I can only speak for headers but they are well worth the effort, especially since ON no longer has emissions testing. I have Maple Ridge catless "headers" and a broken Bimmerlabs tune but I am still very happy. Increase in power across the entire range and the engine is much more responsive after it adapted. I had to relearn how to drive again due to how quickly the car accelerated. Proper headers and a tune would yield ~240whp ~225 wtq:


https://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1441332

What are the spec references (blue/purple vs red)?

[Volasko]

Originally Posted by bluewater328

What are the spec references (blue/purple vs red)?

I would assume the before after HP/TQ numbers after a header + tune as he said.

[W37V]

Originally Posted by Volasko

I've been enjoying my 330i for almost 10 years. I'm nearly at 300k km's and it still runs like a dream. Now I have maintained it very pro-actively so that is to be expected. Check my garage for mod details, I've done most of the main bolt on options available for the N52 except the MILVS and headers. What I'm looking for maybe a little push from the forums about HOW noticeable these items are with respect to performance. People who have done these items either on their own or together, how happy are you with the gains?

Listen man... Just get MILVS. Best mod for the money. However, you will have to get a tune to take advantage of them.

Honestly, when i had headers, I never felt much difference. I felt more difference doing dinan intake mod.

[rick100]

Originally Posted by W37V

Listen man... Just get MILVS. Best mod for the money. However, you will have to get a tune to take advantage of them.

Honestly, when i had headers, I never felt much difference. I felt more difference doing dinan intake mod.

isnt milvs like 350 $ plus the tune 650$? and the installation for what I ve seen its a pita ... Last time I called 2 reputable bmw shops around my area to get a quote, they were not too interested to even try it... and they quoted me 750 $ , 900$ if I get the valve cover gasket replaced too. I dont need the valve cover gasket replaced yet, but still by the time I m done it would be close to 2500 k canadian $ for less than 10hp

And all the dynos I ve seen so far the increase in power was like 8-10hp while headers always shows a solid 15-20 whp increase

Seems a little excessive to me ... but I guess if you can do the install yourself 1000$ is not bad , you just gotta tell yourself thats what you were going to pay for valve cover gasket replacement anyways at the dealer

[HydroxFrost]

Originally Posted by W37V

Listen man... Just get MILVS. Best mod for the money. However, you will have to get a tune to take advantage of them.

Honestly, when i had headers, I never felt much difference. I felt more difference doing dinan intake mod.

The headers work better with a tune as well, MILVS is only worth it if you can do the install on your own.

[modelm]

I have headers, tune, and 3-stage manifold on my car. I can feel the power boost, and sounds a bit more aggressive too (I have stock exhaust).

If you do a search, you will see a lot of reports that headers + tune "totally transform" the car. I think that's a bit of a stretch, but overall I'm happy with the mod.

The only thing you have to get past is that these mods make no financial sense. Our cars aren't worth much, and these mods can be a significant percentage of the cars value.

[W37V]

Originally Posted by rick100

isnt milvs like 350 $ plus the tune 650$? and the installation for what I ve seen its a pita ... Last time I called 2 reputable bmw shops around my area to get a quote, they were not too interested to even try it... and they quoted me 750 $ , 900$ if I get the valve cover gasket replaced too. I dont need the valve cover gasket replaced yet, but still by the time I m done it would be close to 2500 k canadian $ for less than 10hp

And all the dynos I ve seen so far the increase in power was like 8-10hp while headers always shows a solid 15-20 whp increase

Seems a little excessive to me ... but I guess if you can do the install yourself 1000$ is not bad , you just gotta tell yourself thats what you were going to pay for valve cover gasket replacement anyways at the dealer

Low end torque that milvs yield is the best mod you can do to feel the difference with daily driving apart from 3im. So, yes... it’s almost $1000 mod (parts and tune), but to me it’s worth it. Considering that AA headers are about $750 and you still have to get a tune, milvs is better option.

I installed mine myself using washers method. It wasn’t difficult. Using the proper tool for installation would make this job a breeze and would add extra 10 min to your gasket swap time. . Gaskets are $20 in parts. After 40-60k miles, your gaskets are bound to leak, so might as well change them.

Paying shop to do this will always be more expensive.

[W37V]

Originally Posted by HydroxFrost

The headers work better with a tune as well, MILVS is only worth it if you can do the install on your own.

With proper tool, installing milvs would add about 10 extra minutes to you valve cover job. But yes, you are correct. If you do the job yourself it’s totally worth it. Honestly, it’s not a difficult job. Just a bit tedious.

And just for reference my car has following:
Euro intake, dinan mod, revo tube, 3im, milvs, afe race pipes, AA gen 2 exhaust, 3.73 rear differential, And BPC tune (now known as stagefp). At one point I had headers, but I removed them. Let’s just say that I can drive my car in 6th gear at 900rpm and accelerate smoothly without shaking or bogging down the engine.

Essentially, there is not much more I could do to this car power wise.Maybe n54 intake and throttle body. However, with n54 intake you lose some of the tq.

Each mod was done one at the time, so I could feel the difference. Like I said, the biggest difference I felt was milvs with tune. However, overall, my impressions for gains were I. This order:
1. Tune
2. Milvs
3. 3im
4. Dinan mod
5. Rear dif
6. Headers
7. Muffler
8. Race pipes
9. Euro intake
10. Rev hose

[dwashy]

Originally Posted by Volasko

I've been enjoying my 330i for almost 10 years. I'm nearly at 300k km's and it still runs like a dream. Now I have maintained it very pro-actively so that is to be expected. Check my garage for mod details, I've done most of the main bolt on options available for the N52 except the MILVS and headers. What I'm looking for maybe a little push from the forums about HOW noticeable these items are with respect to performance. People who have done these items either on their own or together, how happy are you with the gains?

Do it if it's within your means. I had it all done at once with a BPC tune. Wish I had gotten a dyno, but I'm happy with how it turned out. Much more usable TQ and HP

Here's a vid of mine after the mods, exhaust isn't the best but you get the idea. I also had the "burble" version of the tune. I've since gotten rid of the "burble" part of the tune, it messed with the feel/throttle response on engine decel/engine brake. Anyways, I don't think you'd be disappointed if you pulled the trigger

EDIT: forgot to mention I've got about 167k right now, I've had these mods since probably 145k. Drove from Midwest to Vegas with everything and it didn't affect anything in terms of reliability. 21hrs driving one way.

EDIT2: If you wanted a similar tune it would be StageFP these days, the tuner (Bob I think) left BPC to start his own venture I believe

[rick100]

Originally Posted by W37V

Low end torque that milvs yield is the best mod you can do to feel the difference with daily driving apart from 3im. So, yes... it’s almost $1000 mod (parts and tune), but to me it’s worth it. Considering that AA headers are about $750 and you still have to get a tune, milvs is better option.

I installed mine myself using washers method. It wasn’t difficult. Using the proper tool for installation would make this job a breeze and would add extra 10 min to your gasket swap time. . Gaskets are $20 in parts. After 40-60k miles, your gaskets are bound to leak, so might as well change them.

Paying shop to do this will always be more expensive.

interesting , havent looked at the dyno sheets in a while but low end torque is very important and even after the mods I ve done the low end is still weak , once my car gets up to 4k I can feel a difference , after 5500k is like vtec hitting lol


Maybe I ll take a look at milvs in the future ... once I get a newer car , i can play around with the 328 and try it doing it myself. Covid has put on hold new car purchase for now

[E91Swagger]

Originally Posted by Volasko

I've been enjoying my 330i for almost 10 years. I'm nearly at 300k km's and it still runs like a dream. Now I have maintained it very pro-actively so that is to be expected. Check my garage for mod details, I've done most of the main bolt on options available for the N52 except the MILVS and headers. What I'm looking for maybe a little push from the forums about HOW noticeable these items are with respect to performance. People who have done these items either on their own or together, how happy are you with the gains?

Very noticeable gains with both headers and MILVS. Do both mods and get the SFP tune for the combo. Also consider ceramic coating the headers before the install to keep heat down in the engine bay.

[4foothill]

Originally Posted by rick100

interesting , havent looked at the dyno sheets in a while but low end torque is very important and even after the mods I ve done the low end is still weak , once my car gets up to 4k I can feel a difference , after 5500k is like vtec hitting lol


Maybe I ll take a look at milvs in the future ... once I get a newer car , i can play around with the 328 and try it doing it myself. Covid has put on hold new car purchase for now

Wouldn't a change in diff also help with that?

[AmuroRay]

I have a set of MILVs sitting for my N55...

[neilvan]

I mean I cant see either of those parts having any real effect on motor regardless of mileage. Ya youre pumping more power through but its only 10/15% more and its not like adding boost.

Both parts arnt moving parts and wont really add any extra wear; They might help your motor(headers specifically) by making it work more efficiently.

I have 1 set of MILVs waiting and about to order 1 more for one of our 328i(196km) and my 530i(194km); Headers well still thinking on that one (E60 ones are absurdly priced)

[AmuroRay]

Originally Posted by neilvan

I mean I cant see either of those parts having any real effect on motor regardless of mileage. Ya youre pumping more power through but its only 10/15% more and its not like adding boost.

Both parts arnt moving parts and wont really add any extra wear; They might help your motor(headers specifically) by making it work more efficiently.

I have 1 set of MILVs waiting and about to order 1 more for one of our 328i(196km) and my 530i(194km); Headers well still thinking on that one (E60 ones are absurdly priced)

What will you do for tuning?

[neilvan]

Likely going to go with the Bimmerlabs tune, Once I get them installed I'll contact them and go from there

[e90yyc]

Originally Posted by neilvan

Likely going to go with the Bimmerlabs tune, Once I get them installed I'll contact them and go from there

Sorry to resurrect this but what did you end up doing for a tune for this?

I’ve considered MILVS but the tune aspect has always held me back.

[Fritzer]

Originally Posted by rick100

isnt milvs like 350 $ plus the tune 650$? and the installation for what I ve seen its a pita ... Last time I called 2 reputable bmw shops around my area to get a quote, they were not too interested to even try it... and they quoted me 750 $ , 900$ if I get the valve cover gasket replaced too. I dont need the valve cover gasket replaced yet, but still by the time I m done it would be close to 2500 k canadian $ for less than 10hp

And all the dynos I ve seen so far the increase in power was like 8-10hp while headers always shows a solid 15-20 whp increase

Seems a little excessive to me ... but I guess if you can do the install yourself 1000$ is not bad , you just gotta tell yourself thats what you were going to pay for valve cover gasket replacement anyways at the dealer

You should have a performance shop do it, instead of your average BMW/Euro Indy. Will probably give you a more accurate price too. Think about it, the shops you talked to deal with repairs and basic maintenance. Nothing aftermarket, their techs don't have experience and they won't make much money from it. That is why they aren't interested. You need to find a performance shop, optimally, for something like MILVs install.

[Saico]

What exactly needs to be changed in the tune for the MILVs to work? Is that documented anywhere?