[downhere75]

I'd had my 57 plate 330i Msport N52 manual saloon for a couple of years and was very happy with it but was getting a bit bored (I usually swap cars every couple of years) and wanted a change. Ideally I wanted a 2013 onwards 335i but these are still are still quite pricey, minimum price I found was around £15-16,000 so started searching performance upgrades for this model and didn't find anything that informative other than a lot of speculation so I decided to get somethings done and see what happened.

I started with an AFE stage 2 cold air intake which cost about £450 and a BMW performance exhaust back box, quite pricey at £750. AFE claimed a 15 BHP gain which I doubted to be true but there was a slight gain more like 5 BHP I would guess. I wasn't expecting any gain from the exhaust, which is what I found, but it did make the engine sound much better and got rid of the annoying valve rattle.

I then had the engine remapped by my local BMW specialist garage (not main dealer), I don't know what software they used but the difference is very noticeable and well worth the £200 they charged. It's hard to tell how much BHP it has gained, but the car is much more fun to drive now, more torque, more BHP and definitely quite a bit quicker.

I also had new Michelin Pilot 3 Sport ZPs all around, cost about £620, to replace the terrible stock Bridgestone Potenzas run flats which makes the car drive like a bone shaker and offer awful grip in the wet. They are so much better it feels like I'm driving a different and much better car.

In total I spent just under £2000, a lot less than if I had upgraded to the 2013 335i, and I'm delighted with the results. I will definitely be keeping the car for another couple years now as it feels totally upgraded.

[Phil325i]

Care to tell us who did the re-map?

[LucasAry]

Thsnka

[downhere75]

Had the remap done at Burch Motorworks, they are an independent BMW specialist in Christchurch Dorset. I have all my work done there, they are very honest and much more reasonably priced than main dealers. Normally a 4 week booking in wait though, but I suppose that is a good thing.

[Sir_Dave]

Being that this is a "factual guide" i was kinda hoping for some before/after rolling road results (at the same dyno); seems like you have spent £2k and have nothing to show for it barring an improvement in the bum dyno? Any chance you could get it rolling roaded at some point? We all know the N52 tends to put out a baseline of circa 250bhp.

[anees]

The N52 is pretty much at the top of its limit for what you can get using stock cams and a stock head, stock intake ( though the OP has changed the stock intake ) Therefore, to get any real gains from this engine, you should ideally be looking at major surgery on the engine.

Personally, I would spend the money on weight reduction + put in a 330i auto diff.

[Smokey33]

Factual guide? Where? just seems like you are tryin to convince yaself more than us. lol

450quid on a airbox but 200quid on a remap?

The best thing you did sounds like the tyres, lol.

[Dann]

Regardless of what you spend on the 330i, it will never feel as fast as the 335i.
You'd never be able to match the torque curve unless you went down the turbo route.

The 330i would probably be way more fun to drive though.

[Sxanth]

One of the best things I had done on my old 330i was to have the auto box serviced. Made a huge difference to the smoothness of the drive.

[Smokey33]

Originally Posted by Dann

The 330i would probably be way more fun to drive though.

Why? It's exactly the same just slower.

[Dann]

Originally Posted by Smokey33

Why? It's exactly the same just slower.

Because you have to work harder to get it to go faster and most of its power would be at the top end.
The torque curve of the 335i makes it less fun to drive imo but makes a better all rounder

[downhere75]

The reason I called this a factual guide is because when I was searching for info on upgrades for the 330i N52, there was lots of speculation but nobody actually seemed to have had anything done. Sadly, there are no rolling roads to get any real stats near to me, and am not inclined to spend the probable £200/£300 (or more) it would cost to obtain these. Never thought it would make the car as fast as a 335i, but the owner and chief mechanic of the BMW specialists I use (who's always been pretty honest) did say it was the fastest one he'd driven after the upgrades. I was pretty happy with the improvements and although I intend to upgrade to the 335i F30 when they come down in price a bit, it was a lot cheaper than buying one of these. The car is a manual.

[DriverLDN]

Originally Posted by Sxanth

One of the best things I had done on my old 330i was to have the auto box serviced. Made a huge difference to the smoothness of the drive.

Same here, I had that and the rear diff oil changed at the same time. I couldn't believe how much of a difference it made.

Had it done at A1BN in Steveage along with the gearbox software update and adaptations reset.

[Sxanth]

Originally Posted by DriverLDN

Same here, I had that and the rear diff oil changed at the same time. I couldn't believe how much of a difference it made.

Had it done at A1BN in Steveage along with the gearbox software update and adaptations reset.

I actually bought another n52 330i last year and this post had just reminded me I need to get this done again. Something to do when the lock down has finished.

I also got my last one done by A1

[rasa bmw]

garage is bound to say that,,he aint gonna remap it then say its piss poor...placebo has kicked in im afraid and maybe a little more throttle response.jason at bw chiptune will tell you what these cars are capable of

[Tambohamilton]

Originally Posted by downhere75

The reason I called this a factual guide is because when I was searching for info on upgrades for the 330i N52, there was lots of speculation but nobody actually seemed to have had anything done. Sadly, there are no rolling roads to get any real stats near to me, and am not inclined to spend the probable £200/£300 (or more) it would cost to obtain these. Never thought it would make the car as fast as a 335i, but the owner and chief mechanic of the BMW specialists I use (who's always been pretty honest) did say it was the fastest one he'd driven after the upgrades. I was pretty happy with the improvements and although I intend to upgrade to the 335i F30 when they come down in price a bit, it was a lot cheaper than buying one of these. The car is a manual.

"My mate says it's quick!"

Glad you're happy with how you've spent your money, OP, but I don't know what uncertainty you've cleared up in this post/thread...