Type of modification on your E90

[David Yong]

My verdict; DO NOT change to any aftermarket intake except for those produce by BMW. Even a stock BMW intake will be better than any aftermarket intake. If you want your e90 325i to be powderful...... then you need to have BMW performance intake + HiOP remap + BMW performance exhaust + sprint booster (optional).... then you will be smiling everyday. Hahaha.... As usual, we had a fun time last night All our tests are being performed in the most safest way. Therefore location and time for the test run is critical. I am now looking forward to the test between e92 M3 vs e92 335i vs AMG CLK.

 

[velocity]

My verdict; DO NOT change to any aftermarket intake except for those produce by BMW. Even a stock BMW intake will be better than any aftermarket intake. If you want your e90 325i to be powderful...... then you need to have BMW performance intake + HiOP remap + BMW performance exhaust + sprint booster (optional).... then you will be smiling everyday. Hahaha.... As usual, we had a fun time last night All our tests are being performed in the most safest way. Therefore location and time for the test run is critical. I am now looking forward to the test between e92 M3 vs e92 335i vs AMG CLK.

somebody call me eh?..

 

[Cobra Kai]

My verdict; DO NOT change to any aftermarket intake except for those produce by BMW. Even a stock BMW intake will be better than any aftermarket intake. If you want your e90 325i to be powderful...... then you need to have BMW performance intake + HiOP remap + BMW performance exhaust + sprint booster (optional).... then you will be smiling everyday. Hahaha.... As usual, we had a fun time last night All our tests are being performed in the most safest way. Therefore location and time for the test run is critical. I am now looking forward to the test between e92 M3 vs e92 335i vs AMG CLK.

How come no 325 sports in the test group...

 

[Schwepps]

I guess the performance of a 325i Sports wouldn't be different from a 325i in a flat-out drag race. Great conclusion on the intakes DY! :top: Were you all in DS mode or were you manually shifting?

On the HiOP mod, was the advantage "convincing" enough to justify the mod? It seems that it only kicks in after 140 kmh which is odd considering the 7 Nm torque gain. I can't handle any loss in low end torque just to make up with better high end torque.

The HIOP remap interests me most of all. I guess at 140kmh under flat-out acceleration, you'd be at +6k revs in DS mode. I would think that the torque and power curves after a remap would be the same at the lower end and only move up at the higher end of the rev range, so that +140kmh observation makes sense. But would there be a loss in low end torque as JPB says?

 

[David Yong]

We were on DS mode + DTC off + Aircond off

 

[ken]

The HIOP remap interests me most of all. I guess at 140kmh under flat-out acceleration, you'd be at +6k revs in DS mode. I would think that the torque and power curves after a remap would be the same at the lower end and only move up at the higher end of the rev range, so that +140kmh observation makes sense. But would there be a loss in low end torque as JPB says? [/QUOTE]

I have pre & post dyno for HIOP tune. Both power n torque graph with HIOP tune shows a higher line and the seperation is more significant from 5k rpm till 7k rpm. Low end torque is definitely not affected but just tat the benefit/advantage may not be as significant as higher RPM. in terms of fuel consumption, i feel its similar with stock n really depends on how heavy footed we are.

 

[Spaceman]

i wonder if the individual part of performance intake can be purchased seperately? such as the filter, plastic parts..etc..etc..in case we need to replace it. anybody?

how often do we need to clean & oil the filter? 2000/5000 km?

 

[Schwepps]

I have pre & post dyno for HIOP tune. Both power n torque graph with HIOP tune shows a higher line and the seperation is more significant from 5k rpm till 7k rpm. Low end torque is definitely not affected but just tat the benefit/advantage may not be as significant as higher RPM. in terms of fuel consumption, i feel its similar with stock n really depends on how heavy footed we are.

Thanks ken, good to know that the HiOP curves are higher all the way up! Nothing like first-hand reports from you and E46F on your respective mods. :top:

 

[Juan Powerblow]

i wonder if the individual part of performance intake can be purchased seperately? such as the filter, plastic parts..etc..etc..in case we need to replace it. anybody?

how often do we need to clean & oil the filter? 2000/5000 km?

Good question. I believe you can. As for the K&N styled filter element, I rather change it every 10,000 km then clean it manually. Not only is it a hassle but manual clean is never 100%.

 

[E46Fanatic]

i wonder if the individual part of performance intake can be purchased seperately? such as the filter, plastic parts..etc..etc..in case we need to replace it. anybody?

how often do we need to clean & oil the filter? 2000/5000 km?

Good question. Right now, in the ETK you can't buy the filter separately but its itemized in the diagram as (2) and not listed in the detail table. Perhaps they never intended for it to be replaced in the first place and cleaned instead? If so there should be a BMW Service Bulletin on how to do it at the SC.

In terms of the filter, it looks a lot like the K&N element. I guess one day I'll take it out and compare it to the K&N element I have to see the exact difference between the 2. I'll definitely prefer to replace it than clean as cleaning is messy and can leave oil residue which gets sucked into the intake to destroy the MAF sensor. Factory oil'ed is not oily and feels dry to the touch.

 

[Spaceman]

BMW should itemised the Air Intake and sell seperately if we needed to replace. Such as when small front collision, the air channel is damaged together with the CF plate (since its attached closely to the bumper) while the air box and filter is not touched at all. So, dont expect us to buy the whole thing?

 

[speedrats]

The BMW performance filter IS a K&N filter

 

[E46Fanatic]

The BMW performance filter IS a K&N filter

Cool. It cost ~RM350 only then. Did you manage to compare them side by side with the K&N drop in filter for our E90's? Is it identical to the off the shelf K&N element we can buy outside?

 

[speedrats]

Its exactly the same filter without the K&N emblem...

 

[meinauto]

BMW performance exhaust....

Decided to be the guinea pig for this. Wanted to hear what the fuss is about


Installation

System is not plug and play as the mid-pipes are for a 330 and this requires some cutting and welding (not the rear part of the mid-pipes, but the upfront section, closer to the cats). Hence the two clamps provided for the upfront section could not be used. Rear part of the mid-pipes that connects to the muffler is fine

Other than that, install was pretty straightforward


Sound

Fred's mechanic drove the car back and said "tarak bunyi" so we were both surprised. I was wondering if it was that mild....But when we started the car, the exhaust was much louder than expected. Because the mid-resonator was removed, car has a burble during idle and when the engine is rev'ved, the exhaust has a higher pitched tone, higher than most exhausts which suggested that the drone would be minimal

Fred drove it while i observed, and from the outside, you can definitely tell the car has an aftermarket exhaust. A nice howl when you stomp on the pedal and a burble when you let of the gas

Proof of the pudding to me is when the engine is under load at 6th gear and has to lug from 1500 rpms. During my drive home, there was in my opinion, no drone esp at the dreaded drone zone of 1800-2000 rpm. The exhaust is not intrusive in the cabin at all speeds and when you hit 4000 rpm onwards, the sound of the engine actually takes over. So, again, quite a refined sound. Maybe that is why the mechanic said "tarak bunyi"

In short, a good balance between a more aggressive sound while ensuring the cabin remains comfortable

For those, wanting a slight increase over stock (sound-wise), keeping the centre resonator would probably work best


Performance

Engine seems more eager to rev, probably a combination of some placebo effect and the fact that there is really less restriction . Did not feel the additional ponies as traffic was heavy but engine felt a tad lighter


Summary

• I think it is pretty good, especially since the exhaust comes with a mid-pipe. And coming from having an Eisenmann Race, this in my opinion is really mild esp from the inside
• But how an exhaust sounds and feels is subjective so you should hear and feel it for yourself before deciding

And if you want to hear it live, I will be at Fred's tomorrow afternoon. Probably from 3pm onwards

 

[Juan Powerblow]

Decided to be the guinea pig for this. Wanted to hear what the fuss is about


Installation

System is not plug and play as the mid-pipes are for a 330 and this requires some cutting and welding (not the rear part of the mid-pipes, but the upfront section, closer to the cats). Hence the two clamps provided for the upfront section could not be used. Rear part of the mid-pipes that connects to the muffler is fine

Other than that, install was pretty straightforward


Sound

Fred's mechanic drove the car back and said "tarak bunyi" so we were both surprised. I was wondering if it was that mild....But when we started the car, the exhaust was much louder than expected. Because the mid-resonator was removed, car has a burble during idle and when the engine is rev'ved, the exhaust has a higher pitched tone, higher than most exhausts which suggested that the drone would be minimal

Fred drove it while i observed, and from the outside, you can definitely tell the car has an aftermarket exhaust. A nice howl when you stomp on the pedal and a burble when you let of the gas

Proof of the pudding to me is when the engine is under load at 6th gear and has to lug from 1500 rpms. During my drive home, there was in my opinion, no drone esp at the dreaded drone zone of 1800-2000 rpm. The exhaust is not intrusive in the cabin at all speeds and when you hit 4000 rpm onwards, the sound of the engine actually takes over. So, again, quite a refined sound. Maybe that is why the mechanic said "tarak bunyi"

In short, a good balance between a more aggressive sound while ensuring the cabin remains comfortable

For those, wanting a slight increase over stock (sound-wise), keeping the centre resonator would probably work best


Performance

Engine seems more eager to rev, probably a combination of some placebo effect and the fact that there is really less restriction . Did not feel the additional ponies as traffic was heavy but engine felt a tad lighter


Summary

• I think it is pretty good, especially since the exhaust comes with a mid-pipe. And coming from having an Eisenmann Race, this in my opinion is really mild esp from the inside
• But how an exhaust sounds and feels is subjective so you should hear and feel it for yourself before deciding

And if you want to hear it live, I will be at Fred's tomorrow afternoon. Probably from 3pm onwards

Thanks mate! Don't think I can make it tomorrow but will try to rope in Funj to try to make it this Friday. Probably during lunch, so might have to get Fred to ta-pau lunch at his place like how the late Simon used to do for us, heh.

BTW, was the install done on an E90 325i? If so, stock or modded? I do think that some findings may become more apparent over the days, and would like to hear more. Funnily, this was the case with the performance air intake i.e it took a few days for the car to get accustomed to the new stuff and it got better and better.

 

[meinauto]

install was done on a stock e90 325 LCI

maybe it is best for you guys to orgynise a small gathering at Fred's, at a time that is most convenient for most. I can then bring the car over

 

[E46Fanatic]

Very cool Kevin. I guess this was done to your wifey's car hehe. Was there any noticeable loss in power in low end torque as a result of the mod?

From the postings in E90post, the sound is supposed to get better and better after 1-2k kms. What will be even better if the car is mated with the performance intake . Anyway, R u gonna be there at Freds later in the afternoon then? I might drop by to sibuk a bit.

 

[E46Fanatic]

Just curious, which center resonator was removed in the install? From the pics of the performance exhaust, it already deletes the center resonator before the muffler. Was it the twin cats in this pic?

This is the stock exhaust. Notice the center resonator just before the tailpipe muffler

This is the std install of the BMW Performance exhaust with the clamping bushes in place just after the twin cats. No more resonator in the center as the stock BMW Performance exhaust is designed as such.

 

[Juan Powerblow]

install was done on a stock e90 325 LCI

maybe it is best for you guys to orgynise a small gathering at Fred's, at a time that is most convenient for most. I can then bring the car over

Ah right, I kinda figured that just after I posted my last post.

E46F's statement that the power is best felt when mated with the performance air intake is what a lot of fellas elsewhere have said. Would appreciate any more feedback you have after some time and more driving.

P.S. Was the install done at Fred's place or did he have to subcontract?