BMW E90 LCI 325i Msport... 6 speed manual
Discussion
Good afternoon all,
I've recently parted ways with my Civic, so I thought it's time for another, 'Reader's Cars,' thread.
I've replaced the Civic with a E90 LCI BMW 325i Msport. It has the 6 speed manual and most importantly, the 3.0 N53 engine.
The car does have its fair share of issues which I'm working on now. It needs a new clutch and flywheel, as well as, new injectors. I bought it for a fair price so I can do all the work properly using genuine BMW parts.
More updates to come as things progress with mechanical work.
I've recently parted ways with my Civic, so I thought it's time for another, 'Reader's Cars,' thread.
I've replaced the Civic with a E90 LCI BMW 325i Msport. It has the 6 speed manual and most importantly, the 3.0 N53 engine.
The car does have its fair share of issues which I'm working on now. It needs a new clutch and flywheel, as well as, new injectors. I bought it for a fair price so I can do all the work properly using genuine BMW parts.
More updates to come as things progress with mechanical work.
Edited by Stu0221 on Thursday 6th June 13:13
Stu0221 said:
Good afternoon all,
I've recently parted ways with my Civic, so I thought it's time for another, 'Reader's Cars,' thread.
I've replaced the Civic with a E90 LCI BMW 325i Msport. It has the 6 speed manual and most importantly, the 3.0 N53 engine.
The car does have its fair share of issues which I'm working on now. It needs a new clutch and flywheel, as well as, new injectors. I bought it for a fair price so I can do all the work properly using genuine BMW parts.
More updates to come as things progress with mechanical work.
That looks really good; what a great colour... This will be a good project I'm sure I've recently parted ways with my Civic, so I thought it's time for another, 'Reader's Cars,' thread.
I've replaced the Civic with a E90 LCI BMW 325i Msport. It has the 6 speed manual and most importantly, the 3.0 N53 engine.
The car does have its fair share of issues which I'm working on now. It needs a new clutch and flywheel, as well as, new injectors. I bought it for a fair price so I can do all the work properly using genuine BMW parts.
More updates to come as things progress with mechanical work.
Edited by Stu0221 on Wednesday 6th March 13:57
Stu0221 said:
Mad Maximus said:
That does look really very nice. Is that the engine that can be tuned up to the 330i?
That’s the one. Although there are gear ratio and final drive ratio differences between the 325i and 330i. This means even when tuned, the 325i will have less torque at the wheels. Not a big issue.These can now be mapped on the standard inlet manifold to around 260 BHP. The 325i apparently has the throttle limited to 70% even on WOT. Basically it’s like driving a 330i but at 70% throttle when flat out.
Can you change the throttle over to a 330i one?
That looks lovely in red. I'm on my second E91, first a pre-LCI 330i and now an LCI 335i, both black unfortunately as I'd much preferred a more interesting colour but the market isn't exactly overflowing with them. They are great cars, and the LCI in particularly still looks modern to my eyes.
You're right about the N53 325i engine being a detuned 330i, with the only meaningful difference being the inlet manifold and the software map. With a bit of effort to get around the security checks (there is a "power level" flag in the software to prevent you easily doing exactly that), you can actually run the original BMW 330i map on the 325i, although you'll need the manifold with the DISA sensors otherwise the ECU will detect the missing sensors and go into limp mode.
It's a shame that injectors are so expensive for these, the 335i has the same issue but they are great when running well.
Good luck with getting everything sorted.
You're right about the N53 325i engine being a detuned 330i, with the only meaningful difference being the inlet manifold and the software map. With a bit of effort to get around the security checks (there is a "power level" flag in the software to prevent you easily doing exactly that), you can actually run the original BMW 330i map on the 325i, although you'll need the manifold with the DISA sensors otherwise the ECU will detect the missing sensors and go into limp mode.
It's a shame that injectors are so expensive for these, the 335i has the same issue but they are great when running well.
Good luck with getting everything sorted.
That looks grand in red which must be a pretty rare colour given that so many are silver, black or one of 15 shades of grey. The LCI saloon looks a lot more modern than the pre-LCI cars.
I’ve not experienced the N53; oven tended to avoid it because it has most of the pitfalls of the N54 without the tuning potential. I’ve had an automatic E90 33i and my wife current has a manual E91 330i, both with N52’s. I think the N52 suits the manual better. A fluid change to with some Redline oil, new white shifter bush, M3 gearbox mounts and binning the CDV make a big difference to the gear change.
I’ve not experienced the N53; oven tended to avoid it because it has most of the pitfalls of the N54 without the tuning potential. I’ve had an automatic E90 33i and my wife current has a manual E91 330i, both with N52’s. I think the N52 suits the manual better. A fluid change to with some Redline oil, new white shifter bush, M3 gearbox mounts and binning the CDV make a big difference to the gear change.
pmorg4 said:
That looks lovely in red. I'm on my second E91, first a pre-LCI 330i and now an LCI 335i, both black unfortunately as I'd much preferred a more interesting colour but the market isn't exactly overflowing with them. They are great cars, and the LCI in particularly still looks modern to my eyes.
You're right about the N53 325i engine being a detuned 330i, with the only meaningful difference being the inlet manifold and the software map. With a bit of effort to get around the security checks (there is a "power level" flag in the software to prevent you easily doing exactly that), you can actually run the original BMW 330i map on the 325i, although you'll need the manifold with the DISA sensors otherwise the ECU will detect the missing sensors and go into limp mode.
It's a shame that injectors are so expensive for these, the 335i has the same issue but they are great when running well.
Good luck with getting everything sorted.
I remember watching a German tuner on YouTube remapping an 125i N53 and achieving exactly the same power of the 130i/330i N53. Unfortunately I don’t remember if he had changed anything other than the map. You're right about the N53 325i engine being a detuned 330i, with the only meaningful difference being the inlet manifold and the software map. With a bit of effort to get around the security checks (there is a "power level" flag in the software to prevent you easily doing exactly that), you can actually run the original BMW 330i map on the 325i, although you'll need the manifold with the DISA sensors otherwise the ECU will detect the missing sensors and go into limp mode.
It's a shame that injectors are so expensive for these, the 335i has the same issue but they are great when running well.
Good luck with getting everything sorted.
trickywoo said:
N53 is direct injection. Otherwise the same / very similar.
Stu0221 said:
I think the main difference is direct Vs indirect injection engines in the 330i pre LCI Vs LCI.
- N52 330i, 3.0 indirect injection 258ps
- N53 330i LCI, 3.0 direct injection 272ps
- N52 325i, 2.5 indirect injection 218ps
- N53 325i LCI, same 3.0 as 330i with different inlet and map, produces the same 218ps as the N52 2.5 325i
The N52 325i isn't very tuneable as it's a 2.5 litre engine. That's the reason why - for a NA engine - the N53 3.0 LCI 325i gains so much from a remap at circa. 60 hp.
Thanks chaps, every day's a school day.- N52 330i, 3.0 indirect injection 258ps
- N53 330i LCI, 3.0 direct injection 272ps
- N52 325i, 2.5 indirect injection 218ps
- N53 325i LCI, same 3.0 as 330i with different inlet and map, produces the same 218ps as the N52 2.5 325i
The N52 325i isn't very tuneable as it's a 2.5 litre engine. That's the reason why - for a NA engine - the N53 3.0 LCI 325i gains so much from a remap at circa. 60 hp.
Edited by Stu0221 on Thursday 7th March 07:12
M.F.D said:
What's the differences between the N52 and N53.
Looking at E90 330i for my next car but assumed they were all N52's which are known to be very robust.
OP - That is a nice looking car in that colour.
N52 produces less power, more CO2 but is generally considered to be more reliable although it has a few weak points….leaks, DISA valves, Vanos solenoids and eccentric shaft sensor.Looking at E90 330i for my next car but assumed they were all N52's which are known to be very robust.
OP - That is a nice looking car in that colour.
N53 is direct injection and tends to suffer from more eco issues, the injectors being a biggie these days (c.£3k for all six to be supplied, fitted and coded). Then there is the HPFP and NOX sensor and the usual leaks.
Court_S said:
N52 produces less power, more CO2 but is generally considered to be more reliable although it has a few weak points….leaks, DISA valves, Vanos solenoids and eccentric shaft sensor.
N53 is direct injection and tends to suffer from more eco issues, the injectors being a biggie these days (c.£3k for all six to be supplied, fitted and coded). Then there is the HPFP and NOX sensor and the usual leaks.
THREE THOUSAND POUNDS..... N53 is direct injection and tends to suffer from more eco issues, the injectors being a biggie these days (c.£3k for all six to be supplied, fitted and coded). Then there is the HPFP and NOX sensor and the usual leaks.
Surely there is an aftermarket alternative, that's rich considering the value of these cars now.M.F.D said:
THREE THOUSAND POUNDS..... Surely there is an aftermarket alternative, that's rich considering the value of these cars now.
When I was looking at these I checked the injector prices as they seemed to be more or less a service item. They are expensive for sure. I didn't think they were as much as £3k a set though. Surely there is an aftermarket alternative, that's rich considering the value of these cars now.trickywoo said:
M.F.D said:
THREE THOUSAND POUNDS..... Surely there is an aftermarket alternative, that's rich considering the value of these cars now.
When I was looking at these I checked the injector prices as they seemed to be more or less a service item. They are expensive for sure. I didn't think they were as much as £3k a set though. Surely there is an aftermarket alternative, that's rich considering the value of these cars now.There are some local specialists to me who will supply, for and code a set for £2.7k which is still nuts.
Stu0221 said:
Most likely the inlet manifold from a single stage (as fitted to the 25i) to a 3 stage - as fitted to the 30i engine. All being the same N53.
However, you can get near the 272 ps of the N53 130/330i with a, 'stage 1,' map on a N53 125/325i. This is due to the 25i versions only opening the throttle 70% at full throttle, rather the 100% you get with the 30i engine.
I've seen Dyno plots of N53 25i running between 260 - 268ps with no hardware changes, just the remap.
The 1 Series stuck with the N52 for its whole production run- and for some reason the 125i also got the 3-stage manifold- which on the N52 you absolutely need to get the full 270hp of the 130i/330i. I've had a few arguments with Americans on other websites as other than the first model years (05/06) they only got the N52 with the single stage manifold (as the 128i/328i) so they don't really remap well. They don't believe that the EU cars can simply be mapped with no hardware changes. However, you can get near the 272 ps of the N53 130/330i with a, 'stage 1,' map on a N53 125/325i. This is due to the 25i versions only opening the throttle 70% at full throttle, rather the 100% you get with the 30i engine.
I've seen Dyno plots of N53 25i running between 260 - 268ps with no hardware changes, just the remap.
I would have assumed that to make the full power on an N53 325i you'll still need to swap the 3-stage from a 330i and then map it so surprising to hear you don't. Makes me wonder how much much one could make with a 3-stage manifold and a remap...
Edited by Sofa on Thursday 7th March 21:17
Stu0221 said:
A few people have commented on the colour, so I thought I'd look into it a bit more.
I really wanted a red msport over anything else; I've always loved red cars and have owned quite a few in the past.
I thought red would be relatively common as I've seen quite a few red BMWs locally - with a couple of 3 series, a Z4 and a few 1 series. When I bought the car, I was under the impression that it's a red called Crimson Red. On investigation of the colour it appears to be called JapanRot? This is on a plaque under the bonnet that I hadn't seen before.
I'd like to know how many 3 series came in this colour and is it a standard colour.
Japan red is a great colour but unfortunately not many people opted for it - I'd love a Japan red M3.I really wanted a red msport over anything else; I've always loved red cars and have owned quite a few in the past.
I thought red would be relatively common as I've seen quite a few red BMWs locally - with a couple of 3 series, a Z4 and a few 1 series. When I bought the car, I was under the impression that it's a red called Crimson Red. On investigation of the colour it appears to be called JapanRot? This is on a plaque under the bonnet that I hadn't seen before.
I'd like to know how many 3 series came in this colour and is it a standard colour.
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