E38 728 I performance enhancement

[kadir_rashid]

Hello everyone, firstly I must apologize for not communicating more often. I own a white E38 728i year 2001 . I was wondering does anyone knows where and what I can do to enhance the performance of my car. I'm happy with it now, but I know that I can enhance it's performance but don't really know where to get the parts. I know a guy who does a lot of high performance cars in damansara, he claims that he can remap the ecu and achieve up to 30% of the engine performance. I've also heard scary stories about ecru remapping. I'm really hoping for come feedback and advise. My email is kadir_rashid@ yahoo.co.uk thank you and appreciate your feedback.

 

[Slide]

dont think a simple remap will get you 30%.
with a N/a car i suggest u keep it the way it is, gains dont come cheap.

 

[mizhan]

i agree with slide. just keep the 728i engine in healthy condition.. it has enuff poke for daily use. you want more grunt, buy another E38, 740il are quite affordable these days. heavy mods on the M52 will compromise the E38's smoothness.. not to mention very expensive.

 

[andrewk]

I guess the easiest performance upgrade is to get the engine to breath better - change to a air filter with better air flow and change your exhaust system. That should get you slightly better HP (and I mean slightly) without too much moolah. Also doesn't screw up the stock engine management. You can get aftermarket filters like K&Ns and go to Sunway for custom pipes.

There is a thread somewhere in the forum about remap, and a few members already done it. Try using the search function and look up "Upsolute". They have done it on the M52 of an E39, so should not be a problem on ours I think. But 30%.... unless you have a GTR whose stock engine is designed to handle much more in stock form than it's artificially limited factory numbers, I doubt it la....

my 2 kupang....

 

[YaZmEeN]

Agreed with everyone's feedback

 

[niceputera]

Hello everyone, firstly I must apologize for not communicating more often. I own a white E38 728i year 2001 . I was wondering does anyone knows where and what I can do to enhance the performance of my car. I'm happy with it now, but I know that I can enhance it's performance but don't really know where to get the parts. I know a guy who does a lot of high performance cars in damansara, he claims that he can remap the ecu and achieve up to 30% of the engine performance. I've also heard scary stories about ecru remapping. I'm really hoping for come feedback and advise. My email is kadir_rashid@ yahoo.co.uk thank you and appreciate your feedback.

Do the intake (air filter + piping), fit a slightly bigger exhaust from front to back (delete the cats), buy shrick road cams and find someone that can & has tuned up lots of bmws preferably via reflashing the ecu and you can safely achieve about 30% power at the engine . That's about as far as you can go by playing with the outside of the engine. If you want more than that we will need to open the engine, which is not recommendable since yours is 7 series, not say an e36 - a playful unit. Or change to v8 3.5 - newer engine, slightly more maintenance cost + roadtax BUT a lot more for the money in terms of power and smoothnest of the engine. It will cost less as well compare to tune up the 2.8L.

 

[kadir_rashid]

Guys, thank you for your feed back and prompt response. Just to get my statement right, it's actually 8 to 30% increase. But I agree with everyone. Better to keep the engine as healthy as possible. I've more or less decided to do minor enhancement such as replacing the stock air filter to BMC carbon fibre air intake system and change all pulleys to the lighten & balanced pulleys. Later this morning I will be going to Kl Auto foam to insert the auto foam into the body as It claimed that it would improve the car's ride and handling. Anyways, really appreciate your kind advise and feedback. Hope to meet all of you soon. Thanks again

 

[Slide]

Do the intake (air filter + piping), fit a slightly bigger exhaust from front to back (delete the cats), buy shrick road cams and find someone that can & has tuned up lots of bmws preferably via reflashing the ecu and you can safely achieve about 30% power at the engine . That's about as far as you can go by playing with the outside of the engine. If you want more than that we will need to open the engine, which is not recommendable since yours is 7 series, not say an e36 - a playful unit. Or change to v8 3.5 - newer engine, slightly more maintenance cost + roadtax BUT a lot more for the money in terms of power and smoothnest of the engine. It will cost less as well compare to tune up the 2.8L.

not to be a prick or anything like that, but from my personal experience....

what i am currently running on my m52 2.8
:- air filter with heat shield, custom intake. bigger throttle body & intake manifold.
hotter cams, exhaust headers, no cat and a free flow centre box. custom dyno piggy back unichip remap. and i am still no where close to 30% more power.

from my experince, with before and after dyno charts for all the work i have done.
30% gains from a n/a without opening up the engine is nigh on impossible.
i also have cams in mine too...

for a 728, i would suggest u leave it stock and ride the torque.
save your cash, if u really wanted a faster car, buy a bigger engine and pay the road tax... like niceputra said.

 

[YaZmEeN]

Bro Slide,

Just curious after u have removed the cat, does ur exhaust fume smells like burned oil? and do u have any problem with the oxygen sensor? it happened to me on my previous car, not a UDM..a local jap car

 

[bmwky]

As the saying goes......there is no replacement for displacement.

 

[E28driver]

I agree with Slide.

I wouldn't bother with air filters and the like (leave it to the boy racers - no offense). In my experience, it adds little but some nasty sucking sounds.

I would try a remap to improve throttle response and enjoy your E38 728i for what it is a refined and comfortable cruiser.

30% HP gains? In your dreams on a 2.8L displacement. You might get close if you do a 3.0L stroker conversion with cams, exhaust etc but with a E38 why bother?

Just my 2 sen lah.

 

[alantiong]

bmwky... thats is spot on.


Anyway. for a M52, keep it original... bernard do some ECU flashing and it does help and give another 10% (max) on power, but 10% more on fuel as well.. and if u have an eager foot.. its going to be more..

there are a lot of 740iL for sale right now for very good price.. around 40-60 depending on year.

Hmmm i would remove the cat... then Air filters.. and remove the restricter cone in the airbox. the restricter is worth 5hp at 6000 rpm..

and dont forget the vanos seal.

other than that.. it is a very well built and tune engine so.. cant do much more on it.

regards

Alan

 

[pussy]

er... can i inject some poison here...

if okay, then i will post...

 

[badrul880]

er... can i inject some poison here...

if okay, then i will post...

Please do....:listen:

 

[kadir_rashid]

Guys, again thank you for your advise. Yes it's true, u can't get any where near 30% increase in performance, unless it's in a dream. I was at KL auto this morning, spent half a day there doing the auto foam chasis stiffening, and installing a alternator booster. Here are my reviews :

Auto foam : Tremendous improvement on the road handling, I'm able to handle corners at reasonably high speed only after a couple of hours of full application. According to the shop owner, it takes approximately 4 days for the foam to be fully cured and to enjoy full advantage of it's capability. A little pricy, but it's worth the money.

Altenator booster : apparently it's only available at KL auto. Immediate difference in trottle response and the car feels much lighter. It's like installing a sprint booster. Very cheap, affordable to everyone, it's only RM 380.00. I feel that my car drives a lot smoother, faster and it's no burden on the electronic of the car. Would definitely recommended it to everyone.

Tomorrow, I will be heading to sun way damansara, to further investigate on the benefits of installing lighten and balanced pulleys
As well as the installation of BMC carbon fibre air filter. The pulleys are a costly affair, therefore, I seek advise from you guys on the benefit of changing the pulleys. As for the air filters, I might just go ahead with it. Would love to meet anyone of you if you ate free tomorrow around noon. Pls give me a buzz. My number is 0122039777 for location.

Guys, thank you so much for all the feedback.

 

[YaZmEeN]

Go ahead bro....really love to eat the poisons...haha

er... can i inject some poison here...

if okay, then i will post...

 

[Alex5522]

Guys, thank you for your feed back and prompt response. Just to get my statement right, it's actually 8 to 30% increase. But I agree with everyone. Better to keep the engine as healthy as possible. I've more or less decided to do minor enhancement such as replacing the stock air filter to BMC carbon fibre air intake system and change all pulleys to the lighten & balanced pulleys. Later this morning I will be going to Kl Auto foam to insert the auto foam into the body as It claimed that it would improve the car's ride and handling. Anyways, really appreciate your kind advise and feedback. Hope to meet all of you soon. Thanks again

Bro
Don't mind to share what is Auto Foam ?? Need to insert to where ??
TQ

 

[Noctilux]

Bro
Don't mind to share what is Auto Foam ?? Need to insert to where ??
TQ

You could refer to this http://www.autofoam.com.my/autofoam/

I have done the auotfoam into my 2 other cars (Jap car) few years ago, it will enhance the handling & sound insulation, pricy but worth the money.

 

[kadir_rashid]

Hi Alex,
You should check the website out. The shop owner is a cool guy by the name Desmond. A very straight forward person, will give you honest opinion and advise. Yup, its a little pricy, but for the long run, its worth doing it particularly when most of the roads these days are full of pot holes. I would suggest u do the sports package that would enchance the handling and the comfort package to compansate the sports package.

Today, its another costly day for me. After much considerations, despite the negative feedback, I went again in purchasing the CDA(Carbon Dynamic Air intake) intake system & lighten & balanced pulleys. It took about 4 hours to install all the bits, but the end result is satisfactory.

I feel that my car feels a lot lighter on the trottle, response better then before and the drive is much smoother. Took a drive to seremban & back just now, car feels good with the handling and the performance. Not sure about the fuel consumption but I guess there is a little improvement.

Purchased the CDA & lighten pulleys at Exotimods in sunway damansara, purchased price includes installation, got them installed at Benneys auto(a new workshop, owner and workers are formerly ex M performance & Benz world). They are all well experienced and have the right diagnostic system for all BMW, Audi, VW and most german makes.

Should anyone out there have any tips on performance, would appreciate your advise.

Thank you all

 

[E28driver]

There's been a lot of discussion on the merits of autofoam in local auto forums over the years. I think one of the main concerns expressed was how the foam affects the performance of the chassis crumple zones in the event of a crash. YMMV.