3-stage inlet manifold acquired for 325i mod, advice please!
Discussion
After months of searching, I've finally gotten my hands on a three-stage inlet manifold to upgrade the stock manifold on my 325i! 
It's coming off a breaker's yard 630i that has 78k on the clock. I've been told it's in excellent nick but will obviously be checking it closely once it arrives (hopefully later this week). If all's well with it, £150 seems like a good deal.
My 325i is a 2011 E91 with the N53 engine.
I have absolutely no intention of doing the swap myself, or any of the remapping required, both of which are well outside my competence.
I'm in SE London and my local (indie) garage is a BMW specialist, so obviously that's an option for the swap.
I've also been recommended Jason at BW Chiptune in Hayes for the remap.
But I'm keen to hear what the rest of you think before I go about booking anything in!
It's coming off a breaker's yard 630i that has 78k on the clock. I've been told it's in excellent nick but will obviously be checking it closely once it arrives (hopefully later this week). If all's well with it, £150 seems like a good deal.
My 325i is a 2011 E91 with the N53 engine.
I have absolutely no intention of doing the swap myself, or any of the remapping required, both of which are well outside my competence.
I'm in SE London and my local (indie) garage is a BMW specialist, so obviously that's an option for the swap.
I've also been recommended Jason at BW Chiptune in Hayes for the remap.
But I'm keen to hear what the rest of you think before I go about booking anything in!
d_a_n1979 said:
What's the point of the swap/upgrade; what do you stand to gain?
It's a not-uncommon mod for the detuned engine on the N52/N53 x25i, to bring it up to x30i spec. Three-stage x30i manifold replaces stock x25i manifold before remapping. Several folks on here and other forums say they've done it with success.The aim is to boost torque lower down the rev range and hp overall. Impossible to know what actual gains are until it's been on a dyno (which is the plan).
I will be watching this thread with interest.
A lot of discussions on various forums on how this is just software plus manifold but surprisingly few evidence of this mod being successful.
That aside, 150 for the part and coding on top of it is not expensive - I do hope it works out and let us know the result.
A lot of discussions on various forums on how this is just software plus manifold but surprisingly few evidence of this mod being successful.
That aside, 150 for the part and coding on top of it is not expensive - I do hope it works out and let us know the result.
Fiedka said:
I will be watching this thread with interest.
A lot of discussions on various forums on how this is just software plus manifold but surprisingly few evidence of this mod being successful.
That aside, 150 for the part and coding on top of it is not expensive - I do hope it works out and let us know the result.
Appreciate it - thanks!A lot of discussions on various forums on how this is just software plus manifold but surprisingly few evidence of this mod being successful.
That aside, 150 for the part and coding on top of it is not expensive - I do hope it works out and let us know the result.
It's a calculated risk, for sure, and you're right that the evidence isn't 100% solid. But I plan to post my progress and results in this thread for all to see, whether or not it works. And I'll be honest if it doesn't work - might as well save others the time and money!
You'll need to make sure that the ECU is configured to control the DISA valves, as the 25i software will not. A remap is one thing, but most remaps will be designed to work with the standard manifold so probably don't touch the area that controls the DISAs.
I know it's possible to apply the original BMW software for a 330i, which obviously means everything will work per a 330i including the DISA valves. It's not straightforward however, as there are various checks to ensure that the ECU has the correct "power level" against codes stored in CAS and possibly other modules. That's probably the route I would go down if I could find someone with the requisite expertise. You'll get the full 272 BHP of the 330i and you can have reasonable confidence in the map being safe. I doubt you'd get much more than the factory map on a N/A 3.0 engine anyway.
I know it's possible to apply the original BMW software for a 330i, which obviously means everything will work per a 330i including the DISA valves. It's not straightforward however, as there are various checks to ensure that the ECU has the correct "power level" against codes stored in CAS and possibly other modules. That's probably the route I would go down if I could find someone with the requisite expertise. You'll get the full 272 BHP of the 330i and you can have reasonable confidence in the map being safe. I doubt you'd get much more than the factory map on a N/A 3.0 engine anyway.
pmorg4 said:
You'll need to make sure that the ECU is configured to control the DISA valves, as the 25i software will not. A remap is one thing, but most remaps will be designed to work with the standard manifold so probably don't touch the area that controls the DISAs.
Absolutely. Jason at BW Chiptune says he's done these sort of x25i to x30i remaps before, and I only hear good things about him, so I'll most likely be going to see him in Hayes in the near future!meddler said:
It's coming off a breaker's yard 630i that has 78k on the clock. I've been told it's in excellent nick but will obviously be checking it closely once it arrives (hopefully later this week). If all's well with it, £150 seems like a good deal
So, although the 630i was said to be in “excellent nick”, the manifold certainly wasn’t: when the breaker took it out, they found it was split in half. Hmm.The search goes on…
Resurrecting this because I'm still trying to find said inlet manifold, and wondered if anyone has an idea where I might go to get one...
None of the well-known specialist BMW breakers (eg Quarry) have had any in for months, and I've tried several smaller, non-specialist breakers without luck.
None of the well-known specialist BMW breakers (eg Quarry) have had any in for months, and I've tried several smaller, non-specialist breakers without luck.
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